I think it was called “Failsafe”. . . . or something like that.
Thats it!!!
Got to get that movie
David
Failsafe- A pretty stone serious deal. Henry Fonda is the President. I think the a/c were called Devastators and the shots were of B-58’s. The ending is a little different, but you’ll have to see it. We had to see this in school in 1967, in between drills to hide under our desks. Remember those? But I digress.
Chopperfan put one in that I would put at the top of my list too. “Always” with John Goodman, Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss is a great a/c movie. Directed by Spielberg. Lots of in-the- seat A-26’s plus a guest appearance by a Catalina, a C-119 and a Citabria. I really like that one. John Goodman bright orange, priceless.
Oh yeah, Always, I had forgotten about that one. Remake of a WWII movie called A Guy Named Joe, which featured a P-38 at some point. Loved the opening shot of Always where Goodman lands his PBY in the water and comes right at a guy fishing from a boat, then takes off right before he would have run the guy down.
Spielberg also has what appears to be modified Bf108’s in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and a Ford Tri-Motor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. That flying wing in Raiders of the Lost Ark was pure fiction but it did make for a nice set piece around a great fight scene.
And for that matter, check out the opening few minutes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Apparently the UFOs abducted Flight 19 and the Hellcat that disappeared looking for the downed Avengers, then many years later dropped the warbirds off in a desert.
1941 … any movie that features John Belushi as a P-40 pilot can’t be that bad, can it? I loved that one. Lots of models were used in it but some of the P-40 sequences certainly were real.
Seems like there are loads of movies out there with warbird footage. I might actually have to load up the Netflix account if I can slip some of those by the wife. And that description of Fail Safe makes me want to move that one up in my queue.
Women seem to like “The Aviator” . The Sikorsky S-38 may or may not be real, but it’s a great scene.
One I love is the scene at the beginning of “Never Cry Wolf”, which is a movie based on a Farley Mowat book (great man-book writer, shippies all should read “The Grey Seas Under”) about life in the Alaskan bush in the '60s. Brian Denehy is a bush pilot with a D-H Otter and how he solves a fuel filter block while trying to climb thru a high pass.
All the C-47’s taking off and uncoiling tow-ropes at the beginning of “A Bridge Too Far”.
I think Spielberg is a closet a/c modeller, except that he has a couple dozen working for him. One can only dream… Remember the tank with guns inside the tread path?
Nobody wants to bite on “…Phoenix”? Only that the hero was an airplane modeler???
There was another movie along the same lines as Failsafe called “By Dawn’s Early Light” not sure if the flying scenes were models or actual B-52s. Not a bad movie all in all.
Steve
Hi guys
How about all the Star Trek movies.
It’s a well known fact that the movies are in fact the on board flight recorders that were being beamed back to star fleet HQ and unfortunity on the trip got sucked into a worm hole and a TV network were lucky enough to record them.all they had to do was put end credits and put some names of unkown actors and BINGO a Sci-fi program(sic)[8-]
But its real
Chris
I remember duck and cover all to well!. In 1962 during the missle crisis, my school was having D&C drill, and while we were under our desk’s, at that precise moment, there were two sonic booms VERY close and VERY low to the ground, being 11 yr’s old and never hearing one before almost everyone in my 5th grade class started freaking out, your’s truly included[banghead]
As well as already mentioned “Midway” and “Battle of Britain”, some of my favorites are:
“Flight of the Intruder” starring Danny Glover and Willem Dafoe.
In addition to a thorough intro to the Grumman Intruder missions, excellent carrier launch of 'Nam era shots of Corsair II’s and Crusaders as well as graphic depiction of the Sandy’s supression of the `NVA.
In my opinion, this movie, as an aviation film, far outdoes “The Bridges at Toko-Ri” movie in every respect.
“We Were Soldiers”-Madeleine Stowe, Mel Gibson
Excellent Huey footage throughout, as well as various fighter-bomber footage at the end when Mel Gibson declares a “Broken Arrow” situation.
“The Blue Max”-George Peppard and James Mason
Best assemblage of replica and converted WWI aircraft depicting the politics of desperation in that war.
The close-up footage showing the German aircraft idling on their airfield with their deep gutteral engine sounds is fantastic on a sound-surround home theater system.
Howard Hughe’s “Hells Angels”
Mr. Hughes used an actual fleet of newly built Fokker D-7’s in this one.
Interesting enough, the Fokker D-7 crash scene from this film is still being patched into various WWI documentaries as actual footage from the First World War.
“Victory at Sea” series set which has:
- The bombing of Malta by the various Luftwaffe bombers.
- The destruction of the Allied convoys by the Ju-87’s en route to Russia
- A actual footage scene showing an F4U bombing a Pacific Island with napalm, with it’s wheels down to ensure accuracy of the hit.
To name a few.
Tom [C):-)]
Okay there are some really great titles here. Here are mine: Strategic Air Command, Bridges at Toko-Ri, Bombers B-52, A gathering of Eagles, The War Lover, 12 O’clock high, The Hunters, The Blue Max, Tora-Tora-Tora, Midway, The Dam busters, The Flying Leathernecks, on and on and on. I could be here all night, and I am not opening up my DVD, and VHS cabinets.[8-][#toast]
A short list of my faves:
Dive Bomber - 30s USN… an absolute must-see for anybody who’s nuts for things with wings, especially if those wings are gold!
Captains of the Clouds - Wartime RCAF Homefront
Air Force - USAAC/USAAF Early WWII, B-17 fans will delight in this one.
Battle of Britain - Battle of Britain… duh! Not original period footage, of course, but who cares?
Catch 22 - B-25s, B-25s, and MORE B-25s… non-period footage, but some groovy scenes and very warped humor.
Fighter Squadron - This film was made a few years after WWII and, like many war flicks, is full of nonsense. But them-there ANG Jugs dolled up to look like Ninth AF birds, along with their arch-nemesis Boguswaffe Muschtangs, look mighty-fine in Technicolor!
Flying Tigers - Now look here, Pilgrim… for the most part, this here flick makes really loud sucking noises that may incline 'ya to saddle up and head outta Dodge. But that stock footage of the AVG and the footage of real P-40s, shot just for the film, might make 'ya think twice. So set yourself up with some mighty fine grub and sit yerself down on that sofa a’yours and watch this flick all the way to the end… even if it makes 'yer head spin. Any questions? Alright… saddle up!
God is My Co-Pilot - Some really good footage of P-40s and B-25s shot at one of the auxiliary strips near Luke Field.
Tora! Tora! Tora! - Again, not original period footage, but dang good stuff… far better than most of what’s in ‘Pearl Harbor’.
Strategic Air Command - G-g-g-gee, Rusty… I don’t think this flick is long enough. Waddya think?
TOP GUN - We all know how bad this story is… but we also know how good most of the aircraft footage is. So, as usual with Hollywood crapolaganzas, it all evens out… just watch it for the flying scenes and witty but childish banter. Heck, even the karaoke scene is tolerable, depending on whether or not you’re a Righteous Brothers fan and/or if you have a warped sense of humor. But you’d best head to the fridge during the cheesy love scenes. Or, if you don’t need to restock on survival food, there’s always the fast-forward button…
Fade to Black…
I can’t believe John Wayne’s “The Wings of Eagles” haven’t been mentioned…
I am surprised no one has mentioned it (at least I didn’t see it mentioned)
THE FINAL COUNT DOWN! My personnal favorite. The only movie that I know of that has all those awsome shots of A-6’s A-7s, an RF-8, E-2’s, S-3’s. And last, but certainly not least F-14’s from VF-84!
Ummm… see the very first post in the thread… [;)]
That flick is actually the center of alotta inside jokes here in the WNY… despite what seems at first to be a typical hoaky story, it’s actually not that bad. The book was better though…
One of my favorite parts of the flick…
Captain Yelland: Alert 1 this is Eagle 1, what’ve you got?
Pilot: Two Japanese Zeroes, sir.
Captain Yelland: Two what?
Pilot: Two Trophy Class Mitsubishi A6Ms in original condition, complete with all markings. I mean, they look brand new sir!
Captain Yelland: Have you been spotted?
Pilot: Negative, we’re right in the sun at their 6 o’clock high.
Captain Yelland: Stay in visual contact, take no action without clearance.
Pilot: Wilco Eagle 1, out.
Thankfully, they did eventually take action…
Fade to Black…
Oh man, how could I have overlooked that one! That was a great movie in its own right. Loved the part you quoted. And when I saw it, I was just hitting puberty or thereabouts, so there’s a scene where there is an in-flight refueling with some suggestive overtones. As a kid that was downright hilarious.
Two I haven’t seen mentioned, and I don’t recall the title of either: 1. The movie about the creation of the Spitfire. It had some great shots of prototype and early Spitfires in flight. I believe David Niven starred. 2. There was a great film about Douglas Bader that included some good footage of 1930s Brit biplane fighters - Gloster Gladiators, Hawker Harts, etc
A couple of tiny details on films already mentioned -
I remember reading when “Catch-22” was filmed that the aircraft gathered for as “players” and photo aircraft constituted the 4th largest air force in the world.
Battle of Britain is a great movie, and I’m sure almost all of you know this, but for the few uninitiated, the Heinkels and Messerschmitts are all Spanish versions, built under license by CASA in Spain. The Spanish kept those aircraft in service until they were bought by the producers for Battle of Britain in the '60s. You’ll note the odd noses - the Daimler DB-601 engines originally fitted were unavailable after WWII, and the Spanish eventually modified them to take the R-R Merlin. So all the combat aircraft on both sides (Hurricanes, Spitfires, Heinkels, and Messerschmitts) in the movie are powered by the same engine! The German/Spanish aircraft are still around - I saw one of the CASA Heinkels at an air show a few years ago. By the way, the same Heinkels were used in “Patton”
Dan H.
12 O’Clock High - no doubt about it - got to be the best film ever made about flying. The footage is (I think) fairly stock but the acting is first rate. I have to say that for me the supporting characters are the best - Dean Jagger as Squadron Adjutant and later Group Ground Exec Harvey Stovall, Gary Merrill as Colonel Keith Davenport,Hugh Marlowe as Colonel Ben Gateley and John Kellogg as Major Joe Cobb. I thought Peck was a bit over the top.
Dive Bomber - forget the acting great pre-war US Navy shots in colour of Devastators, Vindicators, Helldivers and a Buffalo (at one point) - plus Alexis Smith looking gorgeous in an evening gown.
Wing and a Prayer - don’t know whether anyone mentioned this - a wartime US Navy film focusing on an Avenger Squadron - the acting is wooden but some good carrier flying shots.
The Sound Barrier - an English film and a fictional story of the breaking of the sound barrier - it is built around a family. Father is a self made man who has built his aircraft company up from nothing, daughter takes after father and marries RAF pilot, son doesn’t want to fly but is bullied into it by his father. Son-in-law tests new jet fighter but is killed in an attempt on the sound barrier. The family is clearly based on the de Havillands - the new jet fighter was the prototype Supermarine Swift. Lots of good footage of post war British aviationn - DH Comet, DH Vampire, Supermarine Swift and Attacker.
“The Final Countdown” …I love the part where the Tomcat pilots are taking fire, and allowed to return fire…[:D]…“Splash one Zero!”
(what would a WWII era Japanese pilot, [ or any pilot from then], be thinking when a pair of F-14s zip by?)
Okay, now to my submission…Yes I know that this is not the Whirly-bird forum…but what about “Firebirds” (with Nicholas Cage)? I know as a movie it was far from the Oscar winning, but some of the AH-64 footage in there was good.
Dave
I believe that was “Reach For The Sky” starring Kenneth More. (More also appeared in The Battle of Britain)
EDIT: A quick search suggests the first movie mentioned, starring David Niven, is most likely titled “Spitfire”, (alternate title “The First of The Few”), surprisingly, released in 1942
Thats the one! I got a tape from my Scottish friend [:D] - nice movie but not much airplane picts, focusing mostly on showing Mitchell’s struggling throught the development.