Air Force One (1997)

Communist Radicals hijack Air Force One with The U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a Veteran, fights to rescue the hostages on board.

Director:

Wolfgang Petersen

Writer:

Andrew W. Marlowe

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	President James Marshall
Gary Oldman	...	Ivan Korshunov
Glenn Close	...	Vice President Kathryn Bennett
Wendy Crewson	...	Grace Marshall
Liesel Matthews	...	Alice Marshall
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Chief of Staff Lloyd Shepherd
Xander Berkeley	...	Agent Gibbs
William H. Macy	...	Major Caldwell
Dean Stockwell	...	Defense Secretary Walter Dean
Tom Everett	...	NSA Advisor Jack Doherty
Jürgen Prochnow	...	General Alexander Radek (as Jurgen Prochnow)
Donna Bullock	...	Press Secretary Melanie Mitchell
Michael Ray Miller	...	AFO Pilot Colonel Axelrod
Carl Weintraub	...	AFO Co-Pilot Lt. Col. Ingrahams
Elester Latham	...	AFO Navigator / Major Bridges

Storyline

The President of the USA goes to Moscow and gives a stirring speech outlining the USA's new "Zero-tolerance" policy with respect to terrorism. On the flight home, terrorists take over Air Force One (the President's official plane) and take the passengers (including his wife and daughter) hostage. The terrorists plan to execute one hostage every half-hour unless/until their demands are met. However, the President is a former Medal of Honor winner, so the terrorists may be in for a surprise...

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war veteran | first lady of the united states of america | president of the united states of america | airplane hijacking | aircraft cockpit | 

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Taglines:

The fate of a nation rests on the courage of one man.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the DVD commentary, Wolfgang Petersen noted that he likely would not have made the film after the 9/11 attacks.

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Goofs

If it wasn't for the C-4/Semtex explosives planted on the cockpit door, which cannot be detonated by gunshots, Air Force One could have landed safely at Ramstein Air Base.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Major Perkins: [after landing in Kazakstan] Quick head count! One, two, three, four, five. Move out!

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Crazy Credits

Per Marshall's comment to her, the aide who helps him with the fax machine (portrayed by Messiri Freeman) is listed in the credits as "Future Postmaster General".

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Alternate Versions

In the theatrical release and the original DVD and VHS releases, Korshunov's line (in Russian) as he puts the explosive on the cockpit door was translated as "If we land, we're finished" in the burned-in English subtitles. On the US Blu-ray and UHD releases, and on most digital streaming versions, the previous subtitle "They're landing" is incorrectly repeated instead.

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Connections

Referenced in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: 500th Video - Blu-Ray Collection!! (2013)

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Soundtracks

L'INTERNATIONALE
Written by Eugène Pottier (as Eugene Pottier) and Pierre De Geyter

User Reviews

An enjoyable action flick

Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Glenn Close are the main stars in director Wolfgang Petersen's action thriller 'Air Force One', a film about the scenario of the famous presidential jet being taken over by a group of terrorists. The terrorists, led by Ivan Korshunov (Oldman) want one thing, the release of one of their comrades named General Redek. However, little do they know the President is a very intelligent and lethal man, and the film becomes a cat and mouse game onboard the air liner between the terrorists and the president. The suspense works out well, there are some good moments of surprise and plenty of good action sequences. The film keeps its momentum and pace going, despite some lame moments through out (e.g. the 'parachuting' scene). Harrison Ford is enjoyable in the role of the tough- as- nails president, but it's not particularly anything new for the actor. Gary Oldman is spectacular as the cold blooded terrorist, he is very commanding and daunting in the role. Close also her role well, making the character live, also worth nothing is William H. Macy as a major on board the flight. The script has some nice lines to it, and some strongly written scenes of action, though there are still notable clichés. Petersen's direction is almost furious in style, he tries his hardest to not let the film fall apart, and in some way he succeeds. All in all, 'Air Force One' is worth watching, it's not necessarily one of the top action films of all time, but it has plenty of moments and is definitely entertaining. Oldman is also a very nice treat. 8/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

25 July 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Air Force One

Filming Locations:

Channel Islands, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,132,505, 27 July 1997

Gross USA:

$172,956,409

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$315,156,409

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Beacon Communications, Radiant Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1