Iron Eagle (1986)

A young pilot plans a rescue mission when his father, an Air Force Colonel, is shot down over enemy territory and captured.

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writers:

Kevin Alyn Elders (as Kevin Elders), Sidney J. Furie

Stars:

Louis Gossett Jr., Jason Gedrick, David Suchet

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Col. Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair
Jason Gedrick	...	Doug Masters
David Suchet	...	Minister of Defense Col. Akir Nakesh
Larry B. Scott	...	Reggie
Caroline Lagerfelt	...	Elizabeth Masters
Jerry Levine	...	Tony
Robbie Rist	...	Milo Bazen
Michael Bowen	...	Knotcher
Robert Jayne	...	Matthew 'Matt' Masters (as Bobby Jacoby)
Melora Hardin	...	Katie
David Greenlee	...	Kingsley
Michael Alldredge	...	Col. Blackburn
Lance LeGault	...	General Edwards (as Lance Le Gault)
Tim Thomerson	...	Col. Ted Masters
Tom Fridley	...	Brillo

Storyline

When Doug's father, an Air Force Pilot, is shot down by MiGs belonging to a radical Middle Eastern state, no one seems able to get him out. Doug finds Chappy, an Air Force Colonel who is intrigued by the idea of sending in two fighters piloted by himself and Doug to rescue Doug's father after bombing the MiG base. Their only problems: Borrowing two fighters, getting them from California to the Mediteranean without anyone noticing, and Doug's inability to hit anything unless he has music playing. Then come the minor problems of the state's air defenses.

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Plot Keywords:

two seater aircraft | aircraft cockpit | jet aircraft | warplane | aircraft | 

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Taglines:

Break the sound barrier. Break the speed barrier.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA Israel Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der stählerne Adler

Filming Locations:

Ramat David Air Base, Israel

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,104,754, 19 January 1986

Gross USA:

$24,159,872

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures,Delphi Films,Falcon's Flight

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the DVD liner notes, the U.S. Air Force was going to consult on this film, until they realized that a major part of the plot hinged on Doug and his friends hacking into the base computers, stealing equipment, et cetera. They didn't like the idea of the ease with which they had control of the base.

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Goofs

All Air Force members and/or civilians are not allowed to wear hats/flight caps on the Flightline. They can fall off and create FOD (Foreign Object Damage).

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Quotes

Doug Masters: How can you think with that music on?
Chappy Sinclair: Aw come on, let's see what you got.

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Crazy Credits

The credits are yellow over a blue background, as opposed to the normal white over a black background.

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Connections

Edited into Black Thunder (1998)

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Soundtracks

There Was A Time
Written and performed by James Brown

User Reviews

Don't watch it again if you have loved it as a child ;)

I loved this movie 10 years ago when I was about 16 years old. My biggest mistake was to watch it again, 10 years later. It's not the worst "I-wanna-be-a-pilot" movies ever, but it has so many flaws in it that you can hardly overlook them.

Queen's "One Vision" (along with the rest of the soundtrack) makes this film better than the average patriotic nonsense you usually get to see ;)

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