Forgotten amid Robert Aldrich’s more critic-friendly movies is this superb suspense picture, an against-all-odds thriller that pits an old-school pilot against a push-button young engineer with his own kind of male arrogance. Can a dozen oil workers and random passengers ‘invent’ their way out of an almost certain death trap? It’s a late-career triumph for James Stewart, at the head of a sterling ensemble cast. I review a UK disc in the hope of encouraging a new restoration.
The Flight of the Phoenix
Region B Blu-ray
(will not play in domestic U.S. players)
Masters of Cinema / Eureka Entertainment
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 142 min. / Street Date September 12, 2016 / £12.95
Starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti, Alex Montoya, Peter Bravos, William Aldrich, Barrie Chase.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Stunt Pilot: Paul Mantz
Art Direction: William Glasgow...
The Flight of the Phoenix
Region B Blu-ray
(will not play in domestic U.S. players)
Masters of Cinema / Eureka Entertainment
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 142 min. / Street Date September 12, 2016 / £12.95
Starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti, Alex Montoya, Peter Bravos, William Aldrich, Barrie Chase.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Stunt Pilot: Paul Mantz
Art Direction: William Glasgow...
- 9/22/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Kriv Stenders on a recce for Wake In Fright in Broken Hill.
The Nsw Government has invested over $2 million to secure four new feature films, four television drama series and four factual TV series, as well as several one-off documentaries, a web series and a multiplatform project. The productions are predicted to create 1080 new screen jobs and generate a direct production spend of almost $35 million in Nsw. Included among them is Ten.s recently announced mini-series Wake In Fright, the first local production to be supported under the Screen Nsw.s $20 million Made in Nsw Fund. The other 15 productions are being supported through the Film Production Finance Fund. According to Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant the fund can now support many more local film and television productions because funds have been freed-up by the Made in Nsw Fund. The full list of funding recipients: Project: Ali's Wedding...
The Nsw Government has invested over $2 million to secure four new feature films, four television drama series and four factual TV series, as well as several one-off documentaries, a web series and a multiplatform project. The productions are predicted to create 1080 new screen jobs and generate a direct production spend of almost $35 million in Nsw. Included among them is Ten.s recently announced mini-series Wake In Fright, the first local production to be supported under the Screen Nsw.s $20 million Made in Nsw Fund. The other 15 productions are being supported through the Film Production Finance Fund. According to Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant the fund can now support many more local film and television productions because funds have been freed-up by the Made in Nsw Fund. The full list of funding recipients: Project: Ali's Wedding...
- 9/12/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
The Bond franchise which has been with us so long, has become so deeply entrenched in popular culture, that we often forget what it was that first distinguished the Bonds a half-century ago. Skyfall might be one of the best of the Bonds, and even, arguably, one of the best big-budget big-action flicks to come along in quite a while, but it’s not alone. The annual box office is – and has been, for quite some time – dominated by big, action-packed blockbusters of one sort of another. The Bonds aren’t even the only action-driven spy flicks (Mr. James Bond, I’d like you to meet Mr. Jason Bourne and Mr. Ethan Hunt).
That’s not to take anything away from the superb entertainment Skyfall is, or the sentimentally treasured place the Bonds hold. It’s only to say that where there was once just the one, there are now many.
That’s not to take anything away from the superb entertainment Skyfall is, or the sentimentally treasured place the Bonds hold. It’s only to say that where there was once just the one, there are now many.
- 10/26/2015
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
(*My apologies for this coming so long after Sound on Sight’s celebration of 50 years of James Bond, but I’ve been swamped with end-of-semester work and only just now managed to finish this. Hope you all still find this of interest.)
As a coda to the Sos’s James Bond salute, there’s still a point I think deserves to be made.
The Bond franchise which has been with us so long, has become so deeply entrenched in popular culture, that we often forget what it was that first distinguished the Bonds a half-century ago. Skyfall might be one of the best of the Bonds, and even, arguably, one of the best big-budget big-action flicks to come along in quite a while, but it’s not alone. The annual box office is – and has been, for quite some time – dominated by big, action-packed blockbusters of one sort of another.
As a coda to the Sos’s James Bond salute, there’s still a point I think deserves to be made.
The Bond franchise which has been with us so long, has become so deeply entrenched in popular culture, that we often forget what it was that first distinguished the Bonds a half-century ago. Skyfall might be one of the best of the Bonds, and even, arguably, one of the best big-budget big-action flicks to come along in quite a while, but it’s not alone. The annual box office is – and has been, for quite some time – dominated by big, action-packed blockbusters of one sort of another.
- 12/20/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Whether you measure your movies by box office, reviews, or popular appeal, Sony’s $125 million remake of the 1990 Ah-nuld Schwarzenegger interplanetary action fest Total Recall looks like a strike-out. The movie opened with a lethal softness; a $25.7 million first weekend meaning Recall won’t even come close to making back its budget during its domestic theatrical run. In fact, despite 22 years of ticket price increases, it’s doubtful the movie will even match the original’s $119.3 million haul.
And for those of you who think maybe the problem is Total Recall was outgunned opening while The Dark Knight Rises was still sucking up box office coin, entertain, at least for a moment if you will, the possibility the movie just plain sucks. According to Rotten Tomatoes’ canvas, almost 70% of reviewers – and over three-quarters of “top critics” – gave Total Recall a thumbs-down. Those who went to see the movie didn’t...
And for those of you who think maybe the problem is Total Recall was outgunned opening while The Dark Knight Rises was still sucking up box office coin, entertain, at least for a moment if you will, the possibility the movie just plain sucks. According to Rotten Tomatoes’ canvas, almost 70% of reviewers – and over three-quarters of “top critics” – gave Total Recall a thumbs-down. Those who went to see the movie didn’t...
- 8/15/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
by Nick Schager
What's new is always old, and in this recurring column, I'll be taking a look at the classic genre movies that have influenced today's new releases. In honor of Tomas Alfredson's John le Carré adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, this week it’s Michael Anderson's secret-agent thriller The Quiller Memorandum.
The Quiller Memorandum has many things going for it, but a compelling lead performance is, alas, not one of them. Headlining this 1966 tale of Cold War espionage in austere Berlin (adapted from Trevor Dudley Smith's novel by famed playwright Harold Pinter) is George Segal as Quiller, an American spy called into service by the British after his predecessor is gunned down in the dead of night by a mysterious sniper. Quiller’s mission is to uncover a secret cabal of neo-Nazis who—in a plot that's practically defined by its sketchiness—are seeking to...
What's new is always old, and in this recurring column, I'll be taking a look at the classic genre movies that have influenced today's new releases. In honor of Tomas Alfredson's John le Carré adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, this week it’s Michael Anderson's secret-agent thriller The Quiller Memorandum.
The Quiller Memorandum has many things going for it, but a compelling lead performance is, alas, not one of them. Headlining this 1966 tale of Cold War espionage in austere Berlin (adapted from Trevor Dudley Smith's novel by famed playwright Harold Pinter) is George Segal as Quiller, an American spy called into service by the British after his predecessor is gunned down in the dead of night by a mysterious sniper. Quiller’s mission is to uncover a secret cabal of neo-Nazis who—in a plot that's practically defined by its sketchiness—are seeking to...
- 12/10/2011
- GreenCine Daily
Best-selling author of techno-thrillers whose 1977 blockbuster was made into a film
Craig Thomas, who has died from pneumonia aged 68, was at the forefront of the spy/adventure genre known as the techno-thriller, novels in which technology – usually cutting-edge military hardware extrapolated from current technological advances – is central to the plot. Thomas's 1977 novel Firefox featured the fictional MiG-31, an aircraft so advanced that it would immediately give the Russians the upper hand.
At the time, the Russians had the MiG-25 Foxbat, the fastest reconnaissance bomber and interceptor in the air, with a top speed of Mach 2.8. Thomas's Firefox could achieve speeds of Mach 5, had stealth technology which made it invisible to radar and a guided missile system controlled by the pilot by thought alone. Realising the implications to security in the west, his British spymaster Kenneth Aubrey suggests an audacious plan to steal one of the two prototype aircraft.
Firefox...
Craig Thomas, who has died from pneumonia aged 68, was at the forefront of the spy/adventure genre known as the techno-thriller, novels in which technology – usually cutting-edge military hardware extrapolated from current technological advances – is central to the plot. Thomas's 1977 novel Firefox featured the fictional MiG-31, an aircraft so advanced that it would immediately give the Russians the upper hand.
At the time, the Russians had the MiG-25 Foxbat, the fastest reconnaissance bomber and interceptor in the air, with a top speed of Mach 2.8. Thomas's Firefox could achieve speeds of Mach 5, had stealth technology which made it invisible to radar and a guided missile system controlled by the pilot by thought alone. Realising the implications to security in the west, his British spymaster Kenneth Aubrey suggests an audacious plan to steal one of the two prototype aircraft.
Firefox...
- 4/13/2011
- by Steve Holland
- The Guardian - Film News
I've really dislike musicals. In fact the only musical I've even remotely enjoyed was Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog, but even then I wanted to fast forward the songs after four bars. It's weird, because I like music (even play it) and I like movies, so why don't I like the two together?
In Sudden Death, a short film written and directed by Adam Hall, Los Angeles has been overtaken by a virus known as "Sudden Death Syndrome," a disease that causes its victims to die suddenly and has only one symptom... spontaneously breaking into well-choreographed song and dance.
I think Hall is banking on a viral sensation akin to Wheddon's Dr. Horrible. It certainly exudes the same kind of colorful charm. It's not nearly as funny as it thinks it is though and I have my doubts whether or not it will live up to its own idea of what makes it "clever.
In Sudden Death, a short film written and directed by Adam Hall, Los Angeles has been overtaken by a virus known as "Sudden Death Syndrome," a disease that causes its victims to die suddenly and has only one symptom... spontaneously breaking into well-choreographed song and dance.
I think Hall is banking on a viral sensation akin to Wheddon's Dr. Horrible. It certainly exudes the same kind of colorful charm. It's not nearly as funny as it thinks it is though and I have my doubts whether or not it will live up to its own idea of what makes it "clever.
- 3/18/2011
- QuietEarth.us
1 year ago I attended the best festival I have ever been to as a filmmaker. All the movies were free. The location was beautiful. The people were amazing. And apparently I inspired them to create an Independent Spirit Award just to give to me.
Well the Orlando Film Festival is back and it kicks off Wednesday November 3rd at the Plaza Cinema Café in Downtown Orlando. While I won.t be screening anything at the festival, I will still be on hand checking out some films and promoting my own. I will also be handing out the Independent Spirit Award, which has been named after me this year.
The festival runs from Wednesday November 3rd through Sunday November 7th. All the film screenings are free but you must get a ticket for each at the booth in front of the theater. The Plaza Cinema Café is located at 155 South Orange...
Well the Orlando Film Festival is back and it kicks off Wednesday November 3rd at the Plaza Cinema Café in Downtown Orlando. While I won.t be screening anything at the festival, I will still be on hand checking out some films and promoting my own. I will also be handing out the Independent Spirit Award, which has been named after me this year.
The festival runs from Wednesday November 3rd through Sunday November 7th. All the film screenings are free but you must get a ticket for each at the booth in front of the theater. The Plaza Cinema Café is located at 155 South Orange...
- 10/31/2010
- by Jerry Cavallaro
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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