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11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Entertaining, but *not* accurate history, 3 February 2005
6/10
Author: Canvoodoo

For those that don't know the history, the Avro Arrow project was a Canadian interceptor project from the late 1950s. It was cancelled due to excessive cost, and to a perception that interceptor aircraft were obsolete in the wake of Sputnik and the development of ICBMs. Subsequently, the Arrow program has become the basis of a Canadian cottage industry of book publishing and conspiracy theory about why the cancellation occurred, the involvement of the *dastardly Americans*, the downfall of the Canadian aircraft industry, etc.

This program is interesting in many respects -- most particularly the use of CGI to show what a flying Arrow would have looked like, and the use of a near-full scale mock up of an Arrow as set dressing in many scenes. (The Arrow was a *very* large aircraft, and building a mock up was a major proposition). Genuine archive footage of the original Arrow is also used. The set design does a good job of setting the scene for the story.

Where the program falls down is in the story itself. Some posters here have suggested that history needs to be mythologized a bit to make it palatable/interesting. I don't agree with this as a general rule, and certainly not in this case, as the story is every bit as interesting just as it occurred. I understand the need to compress characters and keep a story simple enough to fit in a reasonable duration, but there's no need to generate a whole pile of total fiction to fill out the story. The important issue is that many people who watch this program will think that it's 100% historically accurate -- An impression that the program doesn't try very hard to correct. The story is very heavily fictionalized, and diverges significantly from the established history.

The one good part of all this is that one of the extras on the DVD release of "The Arrow" is the one hour CBC documentary "Dateline -- There Never was an Arrow" from 1980. This is probably the most informative and balanced examination of the Arrow program, and was unavailable for many years. If you want some light entertainment, watch "The Arrow" -- It's not bad, just don't take the story seriously. If you want to know the true history, see the "Dateline" documentary, or the Avro Arrow book by Ron Page et. al. from Boston Mills Press.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Great story of engineering success and political failure, 23 April 2004
Author: (cinemabitch) from Colorado

I really enjoyed the movie! Given, I am a sucker for films about aviation, space, and engineering. About an all-Canadian interceptor/fighter built in the late '50's, that was years (if not decades) ahead of its time. The true story shows the development of The Arrow, a plane capable of Mach 2, but also the politics that ultimately doom the project. I am glad that it was not ALL "blame the Americans" as it showed Canadian internal politics, personality conflicts, personal flaws..... and ........ yes....... The Americans (who didn't want the competition in aviation from North of the border).

This ranks right up there with space and aviation films like THE RIGHT STUFF, and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON. It is also a great story of concepts ahead of their time getting squashed, like the film TUCKER: A Man and His Dream. A similar story might be (though not yet on film to my knowledge) about Jack Northrop and his flying wing which had a similar development and fate in the US. Of course, Northrop's concept was validated with the B-2...... But, I digress........

Though the budget was low (a Canadian Mini-series, after all), they did the most with what they had. The choice of R/C models for most of the flying scenes was a good choice! It gave the look of the film an organic feel, as opposed to the CG effects, which were so-so. I hope they donated the full-size mock-ups to a museum!

If you love stories about aviation, space, engineering, or cold war history, this is one to find on tape or DVD, or search for on cable! A must see!

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A real feel good Canadian movie., 2 October 1998
8/10
Author: Cassius Adams (cassiusa@yahoo.com) from Toronto, Canada

The Arrow is a very dramatized version of the happenings around the Avro project.

The Arrow is a real feel good movie for us Canadians. Though Dan Aykroyd has had better days, it's important that he was included in the Canadian cast, bringing a familiar face to a long forgotten subject.

Just recently an original Avro Arrow model airplane was found in Lake Ontario.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Flawed, but basically good, 6 June 2007
7/10
Author: Jim Atkins from Twentynine Palms, CA

This is a laudable attempt to portray the destruction of the Canadian aerospace industry by a scheming President Eisenhower and a clueless Prime Minister Diefenbaker. Unfortunately, that part isn't at all true. The Arrow was killed by cost overruns and the near-impossibility of developing a new plane, a new engine and a new radar system all at the same time. The geeky engineer character kind of annoyed me, too. The writers had him inventing about three things that were utterly crucial engineering and aerodynamics breakthroughs all by himself. Sorry, nobody's that good, not even the people who did that work in the first place. A lot of the people in the film are historical characters, some are composites. All in all, I really enjoyed this film, but the aviation geek in me gets irritated by factual errors.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
An interesting (not perfect) story, 6 July 2003
Author: Dreamer1

Having seen the mini-series when it initially aired and seen again since, I think that what "The Arrow" tries to do (and accomplishes pretty well, I'd say) is to do what few Canadian films do: that is, it tries to introduce a little bit of mythology into a Canadian story. Certainly, as far as Canadian events go, the story of the Arrow is one that still resonates in the Canadian psyche as an opportunity thrown away by the politicians of the day. Having the Arrow fly off to parts unknown at the end plays into that wish to be able to correct the mistakes of the past.

That said, it was an enjoyable mini-series and didn't play any faster or more loosely with the facts than most of what passes for "historical" narrative. The casting was well-done and it did a good job showing the social impact of the Arrow project

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Very interesting, entertaining and educational, 3 August 2003
Author: Sam-285 from Los Angeles, California

This movie is quite a surprise. It tells a story I had no idea existed. It seems quite amazing it is a true story. It is as dramatic as a fictional story written to be dramatic. I missed the beginning of the movie but based on the description of the DVD I will buy a copy when I get the chance.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Incredible drama, 17 July 2001
10/10
Author: Steven Koehler from Michigan

Few movies are made of the aviation industry. Of course, the most popular, Top Gun was a fictional movie about the glory of flying. This movie, based on a true story, was amazing. First viewed it on CBC in December of 1997. I bought the movie direct from CBC I was so impressed. Dan Akroyd plays an executive with the "right stuff" to make Canada's Avro corporation a success. Character development was fabulous as you see how his professional and personal life affect each other. A few fictitious characters are introduced to help add depth. For example, one of the lead engineers is a female developed in this movie to represent all females who contributed to the Arrow's success. It is a true representation of the actual events. Political influence from the government in Canada's business sector. Governmental influence of the United States and Europe on Canada. The fight for political power within Canada. And the struggle for air superiority in the 1950's. It also is a very real portrayal of the challenges of producing an aircraft. The engineering team includes all facets of design. The unrealistic expectations and design specifications. But most importantly the dedication of the employees to make Canada a great country and respected in the political and economical arenas. This movie is a long, detailed drama that starts slow and keeps rolling down hill. I recommend that those with any interest in the aforementioned items, it is worth the time for your viewing pleasure and historical knowledge.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Very loose historical representation, 8 June 2000
Author: Sergio Ortega

Many people will disagree with the vision of the filmmakers of "The Arrow" and how they portray the political figures involved, including Diefenbaker and Eisenhower. This movie makes it sound like Diefenbaker was a heavy responsible for this aviation fiasco, while many will agree that is not totally true. Remember that "true story" movies are not always 100% true.

Leaving that behind, I think this was a nice movie, and the real historical sequences inserted were neat. It is visually brilliant and shows it had quite a big budget. And it really makes you feel sorry for the Arrow, wishing it would have really been put in service.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Michiganders have an advantage . . ., 3 June 2003
Author: gmr-4 from Lowell, Mich. U.S.A.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

in having a crack at the C.B.C. out of Windsor. I watch it all the time.

*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***

THE ARROW is based upon a story of which I was ignorant, no aviation expert, but it has inspired further study. Knowing something of Canadian history, I too find the anti-Progressive-Conservative angle in THE ARROW a bit much. They could have shown something of the Government point of view in the recession of 1958-9, and the serious doubts emerging about Canada's fiscal ability to build, deploy, and maintain such an armada. Also, the knock-out redhead engineeress played by Botsford does seem to find her way into a awful lot of prominent places in scenes, a function more of the gender of one of the co-producers than any weight of female contribution to the project. Ackroyd does fine work, but how close to Gordon that rendering is . . . cannot say. I agree with another writer that Eisenhower is not done well at all, and certainly the Canadian stable of actors could have provided a man better suited if less well known. I have it on decent authority that Chamberlin was not a quirky as depicted, and were he alive in 1997 he would be offended. Oh yes: the is NO WAY the Arrow could have reached the edge of space.

All said, however, I found THE ARROW genuinely moving in places, and understand the mythic proportion it has come to occupy in Canadian history and that people's sense of national accomplishment as well as the bitterness from the airplane's cancellation in subsequent decades. It is good that someone put it on film.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Worth searching for ..., 19 April 2002
Author: Anthony G Pavick from Pittsburgh PA USA

It's a shame that most people in the USA aren't aware of this great film, or this chapter of history, as this TV mini-series produced by the CBC (like most Canadian programming) never made it to our screens. Seeing Dan Aykroyd in this dramatic role shows how good an actor he really is, and that is more than his Saturday Night Live persona.

The DVD is chock-a-block with the 3 hour film, the documentaries 'There Never was an Arrow', 'The Legend of the Arrow', 'The Plane Truth', a Dan Aykroyd interview, photo and magazine gallery, and the pilot training manual!

My advise to other Americans: search for this gem and buy it!

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