Air America (1990)

A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt C.I.A. airlift organization operating in Vietnam War-era Laos.

Director:

Roger Spottiswoode

Writers:

Christopher Robbins (book), John Eskow (screenplay)

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr., Nancy Travis

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Gene
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Billy
Nancy Travis	...	Corinne Landreaux
Ken Jenkins	...	Major Donald Lemond
David Marshall Grant	...	Rob Diehl
Lane Smith	...	Senator Davenport
Art LaFleur	...	Jack Neely (as Art La Fleur)
Ned Eisenberg	...	Pirelli
Marshall Bell	...	O.V.
David Bowe	...	Saunders
Burt Kwouk	...	General Lu Soong
Tim Thomerson	...	Babo
Harvey Jason	...	Nino
Sinjai Plengpanich	...	Gene's Wife (as Sinjai Hongthai)
Natta Nantatanti	...	Gene's Daughter

Storyline

Air America was the CIA's private airline operating in Laos during the Vietnam War, running anything and everything from soldiers to foodstuffs for local villagers. After losing his pilot's license, Billy Covington is recruited into it, and ends up in the middle of a bunch of lunatic pilots, gun-running by his friend Gene Ryack, and opium smuggling by his own superiors.

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | cia | laos | vietnam war | black comedy | 

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Taglines:

Anything. Anywhere. Anytime.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Lao

Release Date:

10 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Air America: locos por el peligro

Filming Locations:

Santa Ventura Studios - 5301 North Ventura Avenue, Ventura, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,064,480, 12 August 1990, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$31,053,601

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carolco Pictures, IndieProd Company Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Veteran stunt fliers, aged around sixty, performed some more of the more difficult and dangerous flying stunts seen in the film.

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Goofs

In opening scenes a C-123 is shown dropping cargo from it lowered gate in the tail end of the fuselage. In the next camera scene it is shown nearing the ground and going through the roof of a hut. It is shown going straight down. In the case of an air drop, all such cargo would be dropping at an angle, and not straight down.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Richard Nixon: There are *no* American combat forces in Laos.

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Alternate Versions

UK television screenings are usually missing the translation subtitles of Gene's conversation with the 'Hillbilly's' when he and Billy are captured shortly after the helicopter crash. The subtitles are present on both the R2 Optimum Home Entertainment DVD and Guild Home Video VHS releases.

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Connections

Referenced in Tosh.0: The Average Homeboy (2010)

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Soundtracks

Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Written by Bob Nolan
Performed by Sons of the Pioneers

User Reviews

Some pilots are willing to work anywhere to "slip the surly bonds of earth" ...

This film rendition of Christopher Robbin's "Air America", the story of CIA's secret airforce in Laos during the Vietnam War has been fluffed up a tad too much. I would have hoped they would have kept the tone of the book which was a bit edgier; more like the film version of MASH. This version makes the "non-war" in Laos seem like a Disney World Ride. However Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr make it worth the price of admission. After you watch the flick track down the book for the REAL story.