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The Flight of the Phoenix | Year: 1965 Classification: Action/Adventure Directed: - Robert Aldrich Actors/Actresses: - James Stewart - Richard Attenborough GREAT CAST...great adventure One of the great adventure movies of all time. I'm kinda surprised it hasn't been remade...it's a perfect little movie. Basically, we see the trevails of the survivors of a plane crash into the dunes of the Sahara. Their quest to find a way out is only part of the adventure...the human quarrels and intersecting interests are just as fascinating. The movie has a slightly dated "manly" feel...there are no women, but it isn't a "tough guy" movie, a la, THE DIRTY DOZEN, let's say. These are military men, mostly, each with his own idea of how to escape. How all these efforts play out is at the heart of the movie. Everyone is very good. Richard Attenborough is very good, and Peter Finch even better. What a underrated actor he was. He is certainly someone who should have had more work. Hardy Kruger is very fine...and his character holds the key to possible escape (and a VERY BIG humdinger of a surprise too!!). And James Stewart is at the top of his game. We so often remember him in romantic comedies like PHILADELPHIA STORY, and impersonators have done him no favors with their stammering, slightly dim-witted approach. When he was a mature actor (not an older, more feeble man)he could be very strong, and very unlikeable if need be. This is one of those roles. He is a convincing tough guy...not just a bland hero, but a hard-headed, sometimes wrong, leader. I put this right near the top of my Jimmy Stewart list. If you haven't seen this movie, and you are an adult viewer who doesn't require lots and lots of noise and special-effects to have a good time...you MUST see this film. It is a nearly forgotten classic, in my estimation, and one that bears up very well with repeated viewings. Unhappy Landings ! I'm sure that many movie buffs will remember this fine, suspenseful thriller from the 60s. Jimmy Stewart is flying a cargo plane with an interesting assortment of male passengers across the Sahara desert, and he decides to battle through an oncoming sandstorm. The sandstorm wins ! The plane crash-lands in an ocean of sand--not without casualty--and our heroes are stranded, with limited supplies, under a brutal sun. The men waste several precious days on the assumption that help is on the way. They eventually realise that survival will depend on their own resilience and ingenuity. Of course, we have one of the finest American actors in the lead, but Mr. Stewart is ably supported by a blue-chip international cast, including Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Kruger, Ernest Borgnine and Ian Bannen. As the sun gets hotter and with no rescue party in sight, this unfortunate group displays all of the human qualities that arise in desperate situations--resentment, fear, arrogance, assignment of blame, madness, cowardice and courage. Richard Attenborough is the sensible voice of reason and compromise, which makes the scene where he finally "loses it", even more compelling. Peter Finch is the typical British "stiff upper lip " officer--stubborn and brave-- though I doubt that this role was much of a challenge to such a talented actor. Ernest Borgnine gets to chew up a little scenery as a guy who is pretty unhinged even before the plane crash--that blazing sun doesn't do him any good at all ! Well--it's 1965 and you need someone to play a brainy, cold, arrogant German--Hardy Kruger, come on down ! The other actors are excellent--Ian Bannen, in particular, is effective as a guy who would get under your skin even at the North Pole ! As another reviwer has noted, the film is perhaps longer than it needs to be, although it does give the characters plenty of time to interact with one another, and display the psychological aspects of the plot. After a while, you--the viewer--will also start to feel that oppressive heat and sand, and the tension of being trapped in this hell-on-earth. I can't really comment on the feasibility of the plan that Hardy Kruger's character comes up with to save everyone--I'm not an aeronautical engineer ! It certainly gives the film an exciting climax though. I found the DVD picture to be beautiful--the sound typical for an almost 40-year old film. "Phoenix" gave Jimmy Stewart another great role, later in his career, and with the supporting cast--and a liberal amount of suspense--this nice DVD could appeal to a variety of viewing tastes. Recommended. A gripping story of survival (and Jimmy stewart in the lead) Any film with Jimmy Stewart in a leading role is sure to be a hit and Flight of the Phoenix doesn't disappoint.<BR>A plane crash in the desert follows into a gripping two hour film of survival and hope. Led by Jimmy Stewart, the crew which include great acting talents like Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine courageously try to survive the desert heat, lack of water, and high tempers between crew members. <BR>When all hope of a rescue is gone, an idea by a German model plane maker, to rebuild the crashed craft, initially not taken seriously by Jimmy Stewart, is eventually seen as the only option of survival and the movie climaxes into a gripping story of team effort and a race against time to get the plane flying. This is a highly recommended film that will have you on the edge of your seat right to the end. The film got 4stars because the UK DVD lacked even the simplest extra, like a trailer. 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