Flight of the Intruder (1991)

During the air war over Vietnam, a U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder bomber pilot schemes with a hardened veteran to make an unauthorized air strike on Hanoi.

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

Stephen Coonts (novel), Robert Dillon (screenplay)

Stars:

Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Brad Johnson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny Glover	...	Commander Frank Camparelli
Willem Dafoe	...	Lt. Cmdr. Virgil Cole
Brad Johnson	...	Lt. Jake' Cool Hand' Grafton
Rosanna Arquette	...	Callie
Tom Sizemore	...	Boxman
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	Lt. Cmdr. 'Cowboy' Parker
Jared Chandler	...	Lt. J.G. Jack 'Razor' Barlow
Dann Florek	...	Mad Jack
Madison Mason	...	'Cag'
Ving Rhames	...	McRae
Christopher Rich	...	Lt. J.G. Morgan McPherson
Douglas Roberts	...	Guffy
Scott N. Stevens	...	Hardesty (as Scott Newton Stevens)
Justin Williams	...	Sammy
John Corbett	...	Big Augie

Storyline

After his bombardier is killed, Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton (Brad Johnson)', a carrier-based Intruder pilot, questions the purpose of Navy bombing missions. He finds an ally for his cynicism in Virgil Cole, a bombardier on his third tour of duty, and together they ponder the notion of one unsanctioned mission "downtown", to "Sam City" in North Vietnam.

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | bomber | bombing run | vietnam war | navy | 

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Taglines:

The only thing they can count on is each other.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apostoli thanatou

Filming Locations:

Harbor Star Stage, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,725,133, 21 January 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$14,587,732

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of four Vietnam War themed films starring Willem Dafoe. The other films are Platoon (1986), Off Limits (1988), and Born on the Fourth of July (1989).

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Goofs

During the Ironhand flight, the weapons under the Intruder go from Shrike missiles, to bombs, then back to missiles.

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Quotes

Lt. Grafton: Well, this is the end of Devil Five- O - Five. Say goodbye, asshole! Eject, eject, eject!
Cole: Goodbye Asshole!
Cole: [Cole and Grafton punch out]

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Connections

References Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

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Soundtracks

Love Potion #9
by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
Performed by The Clovers
Courtesy of EMI, a division of Capitol Records, Inc.
By arrangement with CEMA Special Markets

User Reviews

Not as bad as others seem to think

Watch this movie for the flying scenes! It has some the very best shots of an Intruder still or in flight. This aircraft is now out of service with the Navy except as a fueler but I can testify that this aircraft is down right dominating and scary to anyone on the ground when they make a low level pass and this movie captured it all!

That said, I read the book too and yes it is a lot different from the book but then most movies are. The question is does it conform to the spirit of the movie and Flight of the Intruder is close. It does take some short cuts which are even more obvious to a Navy vet but over all, this is one of my favorite Vietnam War movies and about the only one that gives a decent treatment to the carrier pilots.

The romantic part is not much and probably left in to keep it from not having any attractive females but it sure is not needed for dramatic effect.

The political and legal junk is really over blown and trite but if sufficient detail were included the movie would have been 3 hours long.

It is a good "Tiger flick" (war movie) for a rainy day and it has an honored place in my DVD collection!