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:

Doug is 18. Raised on an air base and born to fly. His father has been shot down 6000 miles away, and has been sentenced to death... for the crime of being an American. Everyone's telling Doug to sit tight and wait. Everyone but Retired Air Force Colonel Chappy Sinclair. They know what they have to do. And they've "borrowed" a pair of F-16s to do it. For them, waiting time is over.

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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

James Spader was considered for the role of Knotcher.

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Goofs

When Doug Masters asks to use the Simulator, he is told that another person is waiting for it but hasn't arrive yet. Doug is given permission to use it for the interim. When this person does arrive (revealed to be Chappy), he is told he missed is simulator time. Doug was in the simulator for no more than a minute, so either Chappy was very late (therefore his fault) or the simulator time was impossibly short. Either way, it certainly doesn't seem like Doug's fault.

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Quotes

[Doug sees what appear to be enemy planes on his radar coming head-on while trying to escape with his father]
Doug Masters: Dad, four more MiGs jumping us!
Col. Ted Masters: Pull up hard!
Maj. Dwight Smiley: This is Blue Leader, do you read?
Doug Masters: They're ours dad, they're American! Roger Blue Leader, I've got two bandits on my ass, can you assist?
Maj. Dwight Smiley: We were about to contact the aggressor and verify his intentions. Attention unidentified aircraft, this is Major Dwight Smiley of the United States Air Force, you are following one of our F-16s in ...
[...]

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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

Featured in Cinematic Excrement: Iron Eagle (2017)

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Soundtracks

Maniac House
Written by Kimberley Rew
Performed by Katrina & The Waves
Courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Very fun movie with a great soundtrack...

I remember seeing this movie in the theater when it first came out. I think I saw it three or four times. It was the best air combat movie I had seen at the time.

I hear this movie compared to Top Gun a lot. In my opinion there is no contest. Iron Eagle is far better than Top Gun. Here's why. Top Gun had very good aerial combat sequences. Some of the best I've still ever seen. However, the plot of Top Gun was AWOL. All I remember of Top Gun is, they practiced, he got the girl, his pal died and he was the hero at the end. Iron Eagle had a good plot. However the aerial combat scenes are pretty fake and tame. Sure it was unbelievable that they could pull it off but there was a plot and a good one.

Iron Eagle's fun lies in it's youthful angst and comedy. Louis Gossett Jr. shows his veteran acting skill in this movie as the veteran pilot. Jason Gedrick was good as the young upstart pilot with too much testosterone. They chemistry between the actors was good. There is one scene where they young pilot asks for Chappy's help and he turns him down and Louis Gossett's acting skills become quite evident. One of the best scenes in the movie is the race between the motorcycle and the Cessna with a pounding rock song in the background. It is one of the best done flight sequences I've seen in a move and is not fake like the combat scenes. Another scene is when the kids use their dupe their parents and other military personnel into getting them what ever they want from the base, including two F-16s. But more than these scenes, it's really the soundtrack that makes the movie. There are songs by Queen(One Vision), Dio(Hide in the Rainbow) and The Spencer Davis Group(Gimmie Some Lovin), what a combo! Not only does the music sound good to our young pilot, it also makes him fly and fight better! While I can't say that Iron Eagle is a masterpiece, it is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Iron Eagle is out on DVD! Now I finally have and excuse to buy a DVD player!

Rayvyn