The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

After a plane crash in the Sahara, one of the survivors says he's an airplane designer and they can make a flyable plane from the wreckage.

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Lukas Heller (screenplay), Trevor Dudley Smith (novel) (as Elleston Trevor)

Stars:

James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Stewart	...	Frank Towns
Richard Attenborough	...	Lew Moran
Peter Finch	...	Captain Harris
Hardy Krüger	...	Heinrich Dorfmann (as Hardy Kruger)
Ernest Borgnine	...	Trucker Cobb
Ian Bannen	...	Crow
Ronald Fraser	...	Sergeant Watson
Christian Marquand	...	Dr. Renaud
Dan Duryea	...	Standish
George Kennedy	...	Bellamy
Gabriele Tinti	...	Gabriele
Alex Montoya	...	Carlos
Peter Bravos	...	Tasso
William Aldrich	...	Bill
Barrie Chase	...	Farida

Storyline

A cargo plane goes down in a sandstorm in the Sahara with less than a dozen men on board. One of the passengers is an airplane designer who comes up with the idea of ripping off the undamaged wing and using it as the basis for an airplane they will build to escape before their food and water run out.

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Plot Keywords:

profanity | airplane | sahara | sandstorm | cargo plane | 

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Taglines:

Theirs was the triumph - yours, the excitement!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Arabic

Release Date:

15 December 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le vol du Phénix

Filming Locations:

Buttercup Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,355,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associates & Aldrich Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Aldrich wanted Barrie Chase to do her exotic dance topless, but she refused.

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Goofs

Right after Cobb attacks Capt. Harris and is subdued, George Kennedy's character, Bellamy, is seen standing under the plane's wing whilst Watson (Ronald Fraser) lies on the ground next to the doorway. In the very next shot, Bellamy is seen sitting in the doorway next to Watson.

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Quotes

Lew Moran: Time was you could take real pride, in just getting there, flying used to be fun Lou, it really was.
Frank Towns: He's crazy Lou, he builds toy airplanes.

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Crazy Credits

Closing credits epilogue: IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED...

THAT PAUL MANTZ, A FINE MAN AND A BRILLIANT FLYER GAVE HIS LIFE IN THE MAKING OF THIS FILM...

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Connections

Referenced in The A-Team: Holiday in the Hills (1983)

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Soundtracks

The Phoenix Love Theme
Senza Fine"
Sung by Connie Francis
Music & Italian Lyrics by Gino Paoli
English Lyrics by Alec Wilder

User Reviews

Outstanding movie with an extraordinary cast and nail-biting direction by Robert Aldrich

The movie talks about a motley group in a small airplane piloted by a stubborn and obstinate man (James Stewart) and a navigator (Richard Attenborough) . The aircraft crashes on Sahara desert rounded by sand seas and passengers crew (Peter Finch , George Kennedy , Ronald Fraser , Christian Marquand..) have to survive against extraordinary odds and risks and they try to rebuild their plane in order to avoid sufferings caused for hostile elements . This has a well sense desert atmosphere filling one with revulsion for the conditions in which unfortunates are forced to exist stranded on an Arabian uninhabited spot : starvation , famine , heat , thirst , enemies and confrontation among themselves .

This exciting movie is an intelligent variant upon the Hollywood scripts in which aircrafts crash in remote locations such as : ¨Airport¨ series or ¨Alive : Miracle of the Andes¨ . It's a thoughtful and broody film with excellent interpretations and an utterly male star-studded casting . James Stewart as a veteran and embittered pilot is the intrepid hero who's considered guilty of the accident for his error , he's magnificent likeness to Richard Attenborough , a previous RAF pilot and now a boozy alcoholic navigator in a damaged plane . Hardy Kruger as the cocky German engineer is splendid . John Finch as a rigid and stiff officer is very fine and similarly to his coward subordinate Ronald Fraser . Ernest Borgnine as a nutty with enormous eager to escape is sensational . George Kennedy , Gabriele Tinti , Christian Marquand , Dan Duryea are well but make roles quite secondaries . Special mention to Ian Bannen , as the group's mechanic , he only achieved the Academy Award nomination but he didn't obtain it . Frank de Vol musical score (Robert Aldrich's usual musician) is spectacular and lively . Joseph Biroc cinematography is glimmer and colorful . The motion picture is stunningly directed by Robert Aldrich . The second and recent version with Dennis Quaid , Giovanni Ribisi and Miranda Otto is worst deemed . Rating : Awesome and astounding .