The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) [PG] ****

A film review by Dr. Svet Atanasov for Blu-ray.com on Feb. 16, 2022.

Robert Aldrich's The Flight of the Phoenix arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new program with filmmaker Walter Hill and film scholar Alain Silver; exclusive new program with biographer Donald Dewey on actor James Stewart; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

Robert Aldrich gathered an excellent cast of international stars for this ambitious adaptation of Elleston Trevor's popular novel The Flight of the Phoenix. Despite a strong promotional campaign, however, the film did not meet studio expectations and was considered a flop. But since its release in 1965 it has evolved into something of a minor genre classic, and in 2004 John Moore even directed a loose remake for Twentieth Century Fox, titled Flight of the Phoenix and starring Dennis Quaid.

James Stewart plays the veteran pilot Frank Towns who is forced to crash land an old plane transporting oil rig workers deep into the heart of the Libyan Desert. A few of the passengers die when the plane hits the sand dunes, but the rest survive. After they bury the dead, they figure out that they have enough water for a little over ten days.

Towns takes full responsibility for the accident and tries to keep the morale up, but eventually some of the men begin questioning his authority. The first to do so is Captain Harris (Peter Finch), who thinks that waiting for a rescue mission with a limited supply of water means certain death. But the nearest oasis is more than hundred miles away and reaching it seems impossible. Nevertheless, Harris leaves the camp, and is soon after followed by Trucker Cobb (Ernest Borgnine). Meanwhile, another survivor, Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Kruger), announces that he is an aircraft designer and knows how to use parts of the broken plane to build a new one. Towns immediately confronts Dorfmann and declares that his plan is ridiculous, but when he describes exactly what he intends to do it becomes obvious that he could in fact succeed. However, for his plan to work Dorfmann needs everyone to get involved and follow his instructions. This immensely complicates the situation, and even after the interference of his loyal assistant, Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough), Towns refuses to see Dorfmann as anything else but an egoistic challenger who should not be trusted. While the two men openly clash and question their technical knowledge and credibility, the water supply continues to shrink.

The film is loosely broken into three uneven segments, the longest being the second one. It is in this segment that Aldrich gives each actor a chance to shine and introduces a couple of interesting what-if scenarios.

The visuals are quite wonderful and, more importantly, feel authentic. The construction of the new plane certainly looks like a very challenging project, but it is not difficult to accept that it can be made to function exactly as described by Dorfmann. The only questionable element of the project is the final phase, where the exhausted men must drag the new plane to the location chosen by Dorfmann and then test it.

Despite using the same material, Aldrich and Moore's films have very different identities. Aldrich's film has a quasi-documentary appearance and its characters certainly emerge as mortals who must roll the dice and hope that they get a chance to survive. So, there is some real drama and tension in it. Moore's film is more of a show-off piece with all the whistles and bells big-budget Hollywood productions are known for.

Labels: adventure, drama
IMDb 75/100
RottenTomatoes (critics=86, viewers=81)
Blu-ray
Criterion Films catalog entry

Blogger's comment:
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