The Flight of the Phoenix

19651965
PGPG
2h 22m

7.5/10

After an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors are buoyed with hope by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who plans for them to build a flyable plane from the wreck... Read allAfter an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors are buoyed with hope by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who plans for them to build a flyable plane from the wreckage.After an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors are buoyed with hope by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who plans for them to build a flyable plane from the wreckage.

7.5/10

20K

Director
- Robert Aldrich
Writers
- Lukas Heller(screenplay)
- Trevor Dudley Smith(novel)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 6 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 3:08

Official Trailer

James Stewart in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

Richard Attenborough in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, and Hardy Krüger in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

James Stewart, Ian Bannen, George Kennedy, Dan Duryea, and Hardy Krüger in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

Hardy Krüger in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

Richard Attenborough and Hardy Krüger in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

James Stewart, Ernest Borgnine, and Peter Finch in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, George Kennedy, Dan Duryea, Peter Finch, Ronald Fraser, and Hardy Krüger in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

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. —John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

sahara desert crash landing pilot engineer airplane accident 53 more

Taglines
- Its excitement is headed straight for you!
Genres
- Adventure
- Drama
Certificate
- PG
Parents guide

Trivia
The Phoenix's take-off was considered too dangerous to stage at the sandy filming location (its actual take-off was from a smoothed, compacted-earth runway), so legendary stunt pilot Paul Mantz was asked to do a "touch-and-go" landing in which he came in low, skimmed his landing gear along the ground, then throttled up to gain altitude, merely simulating a take-off. On the second take, as the landing gear made contact with the ground, the plane's aft boom fractured, causing the aircraft to nose into the ground and cartwheel, killing Mantz. As the second take had merely been a "protection shot," with the necessary footage captured during the first attempt, a vintage North American O-47A observation plane from an air museum was substituted for the remaining necessary close-ups.

Goofs
Capt. Towns shoots the lame camel, but doesn't think to use the dead animal for food.

Quotes
Heinrich Dorfmann: Mr. Towns, you behave as if stupidity were a virtue. Why is that?

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...

Connections
Featured in Film Preview: Episode #1.4 (1966)

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

Top review

Tension and drama are the making of a classic.

Where as many films with star casts have failed, this one does not.

This film oozes quality by the bucket load. It centres round the story of the survivors of a plane crash who attempt to build a plane out of the wreckage. The tension is apparent from the start with the heat of the desert alone almost driving the characters to madness.

The combination of brilliant script and excellent acting brings to the fore a brilliant film. Ian Bannen, in particular, gives gives both grit and relish in his possibily his greatest screen performance.

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