Survivors of a plane crash in the Mongolian desert work together to build a new plane.Survivors of a plane crash in the Mongolian desert work together to build a new plane.Survivors of a plane crash in the Mongolian desert work together to build a new plane.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
- Jeremy
- (as Kirk Jones)
- Newman
- (as Martin 'Mako' Hindy)
- Lead Smuggler
- (as Anthony Wong)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe model used for the crash sequence cost $250,000 and was so perfectly built it actually flew further than the crew and testing had predicted. In fact it flew so far it hit the camera filming it and broke the cameraman's leg.
- GoofsThe nomads have dromedary camels which are native to Arabia whereas the Bactrian camel is native to the Gobi desert.
- Quotes
Frank Towns: Why give people false hope?
Liddle: Come on man.Most people spend their whole lives hanging on to hopes and dreams that are never going to come true but they hold on to them. Why are you going to give up on them now when you need them most?
Frank Towns: You are assuming I'm one of those people who has hopes and dreams.
Liddle: I find it hard to believe that a man who learns to fly never had a dream.
Frank Towns: Look, how can I let those people build that plane when I don't believe it will work? And, every day they waste trying to build it brings them one day closer to dying.
Liddle: I think a man only needs one thing in life. He just needs someone to love. If you can't give him that, then give him something to hope for. And if you can't give him that, just give him something to do.
[James tosses the water bottle back to Frank and walks away]
Frank Towns: James, you'll never make it.
Liddle: Then I'll die trying. There are people counting on me.
Frank Towns: Okay, Okay, Okay. Okay. We'll build it. Just come back with me.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Phoenix Diaries (2005)
- SoundtracksI've Been Everywhere
Written by Geoff Mack
Performed by Johnny Cash
Courtesy of American Recordings, LLC
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Although the new version follows the original fairly closely in terms of both character delineation and plot development, the story doesn't seem quite as fresh today as it did when we first encountered it close to 40 years ago. Perhaps what's missing is the guiding hand of a master craftsman like Aldrich to really deliver the goods (John Moore, a far less distinguished director, is manning the controls here). This "Flight" feels awfully predictable and rote, as we plow our way through each of the various survival threats, rescue attempts and internecine personal conflicts that are standard in all such tales of survivors stranded in a hostile environment. Each of the characters steps out of the shadows to have his or her own Moment in the Sun (yes, in this version, there is actually a woman aboard), before receding dutifully into the background to allow the next person to do the same. About the only intriguing element in the story is the fact that the main character, the pilot of the plane, has to actually be talked into participating in the Quixotic rescue plan. Thus, he is a leader and a hero more by default than by design.
Although the crash itself is fairly impressive from a technical standpoint - despite a rather phony-looking, computer-generated sandstorm that brings the plane down - once we end up on the desert floor, the movie doesn't do a particularly effective job conveying the truly grueling nature of the predicament these individuals are facing. We never really get the sense that they are just a few water droplets away from dying of thirst or heatstroke. Moreover, the feat that they are able to accomplish seems barely credible - from a sheer mechanical engineering standpoint - given the lack of resources and expertise with which the group has to cope. The main weakness with a film like "Flight of the Phoenix" is that, when the plane goes down, we're stuck in the desert right along with the characters, and if they don't have anything particularly interesting to say to one another, we can feel just as stranded as they.
Thus, despite a few quality moments, this "Flight" never manages to get off the runway. Check out the original instead.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $45,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,009,180
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,019,430
- Dec 19, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $35,021,497