Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9947 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-06-27
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 108 minutes

Synopsis
Originally a 1965 Jimmy Stewart vehicle, this FLIGHT gets a rough and ready updating for the new century, with the stalwart Dennis Quaid now inhabiting the title role. He's a pilot on a routine trip out to investigate some remote oil rigs in the Gobi Desert, but things go wrong and he makes a crash landing in the middle of nowhere. For him, and the men along for the ride, a slow, tortured, thirsty death seems certain, unless the plucky mechanic in the crew (Giovanni Ribisi) can design a whole new plane from the wreckage. As with the original, this is a manly adventure of rugged survival and mechanical ingenuity, only this time there's a woman on board, Kelly (Miranda Otto) who generates some romantic sparks. Some of the other survivors are played by: Tyrese Gibson, Sticky Fingaz, Bob Brown and Kirk Jones. The men and one woman have to tangle with murderous desert raiders and numerous sandstorms in addition to the frequent squabbling amongst themselves. Director John Moore gets a lot of mileage out of the desert backdrop and Ribisi is solid as the mechanic with a troubled past. Edward Burns (THE BROTHERS McMULLEN) co-wrote the new screenplay.

Customer Reviews

Inferior to the original
Only got this because it was cheap and I was curious to see how it compares to the (somewhat under-rated) original. Turns out its inferior in every way except for the scenery. The basic problem being the near-complete-absence of the factor that made the original worth watching - the flawed nature of all the protagonists and the consequent tensions between them.
Its as if the makers were terrified that if the central characters were less than heroic (not to mention buff and toned) a modern audience would lose interest. But without that factor its just an exercise in aeronautical engineering, without the drama of seeing a bunch of flawed human beings, who mostly can't stand each other, managing to pull together to survive.
The best example of this dumbing-down is the encounter with the desert nomads/smugglers. In the original it was a uncompromisingly bleak episode, complete with a little vignette on the English class system. Here it's just a chance for Quaid to indulge in some gun-wielding heroics.

The only character to retain any semblance of its original interest is that of the engineer, who's actually played quite close to the original.
Quaid's character is altogether less interesting than Jimmy Stewart in the original, 6-pack notwithstanding, and the Attenborough one seems to be absent entirely.

Best just watch the original next time its on TV.

Great extras, mediocre film
Sadly, Flight of the Phoenix is just another duff remake. Despite massive advances in special effects and a moderately exciting last two minutes, this feels even longer than Robert Aldrich's much longer original, and the reason is pretty elementary: lack of characterisation and drama. Where Aldrich typically set his flawed protagonists at each others throats in a hostile environment that was driving them mad and dealt with the way the pilot who crashes off-course in the desert turns his guilt into anger at his passengers, this is mostly feel-good stuff, full of life lessons, spiritual slogans and far too much high fiving for any self respecting survival drama - at one point they even get down and boogie. A modicum of drama is thrown in at the last minute in the wake of the key revelation about the new plane's designer, but it's so little and so late that it totters on the edge of laughable. As a result, some good actors and Giovanni Ribisi (horribly overacting the old Hardy Kruger part minus the Nazi undertones) are stranded by committee filmmaking rather than the elements and poor piloting.

Strangely, for such a bland film, the making of documentary is surprisingly gloves off, showing director John Moore in full effing and blinding mode as he throws several fits (and he's not the only one). At least one of the extended scenes (involving a biplane) was good Enough to be in the feature, and the commentary throws up the odd interesting fact amid the mutual back slapping. The result is a modest extras package that easily outshines the film.

You can't beat the original
What is wrong with Hollywood. Have they not got enough storylines landing on their desks to drive new and dynamic movies.
This is another death and distruction of a fantastic story to fulfil the conveyor belt of 2 hour timefillers being produced. Itanlian Job, Assault on Precinct Thirteen. All are great stories and originals so brilliant. I don't mind remakes but at least give them the attention they deserve.

I recommend all to see the James Stewart original so that they do not have a blinkered view of a fantastic yarn.
The movie was of such poor quality that the music tracks were raised deafeningly in volume at periodic intervals not to increase the sense of drama, but to wake you from the coma induced by the corny acting and Americanised script.

Come on hollywood producers and directors start reading some books and paying the writers for the film rights.