The Flight of the Phoenix
A downed airplane is a motley group of men’s only protection from the relentless desert sun, in this psychologically charged disaster epic, one of the all-time great survival movies. James Stewart is the veteran pilot whose Benghazi-bound plane—carrying passengers played by an unshaven ensemble of screen icons including Richard Attenborough, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Dan Duryea, Peter Finch, and George Kennedy—crash-lands in the remote Sahara. As tensions simmer among the survivors, they find themselves forced to trust a coldly logical engineer (Hardy Krüger) whose plan to get them out may just be crazy enough to work—or could kill them all. Directed with characteristic punch by Hollywood iconoclast Robert Aldrich, The Flight of the Phoenix balances adventure with human drama as it conducts a surprising and complex examination of authority, honor, and camaraderie among desperate men.
Special Features
- 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- New conversation between filmmaker Walter Hill and film scholar Alain Silver
- New interview with biographer Donald Dewey on actor James Stewart and his service as a bomber pilot
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by filmmaker and critic Gina Telaroli
New cover by Sean Phillips
Special Features
- 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- New conversation between filmmaker Walter Hill and film scholar Alain Silver
- New interview with biographer Donald Dewey on actor James Stewart and his service as a bomber pilot
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by filmmaker and critic Gina Telaroli
New cover by Sean Phillips
Cast
- James Stewart
- Frank Towns
- Richard Attenborough
- Lew Moran
- Peter Finch
- Captain Harris
- Hardy Krüger
- Heinrich Dorfmann
- Ernest Borgnine
- Trucker Cobb
- Ian Bannen
- Crow
- Ronald Fraser
- Sergeant Watson
- Christian Marquand
- Dr. Renaud
- Dan Duryea
- Standish
- George Kennedy
- Bellamy
- Gabriele Tinti
- Gabriele
- Alex Montoya
- Carlos
- Peter Bravos
- Tasso
- William Aldrich
- Bill
- Barrie Chase
- Farida
Credits
- Director
- Robert Aldrich
- Produced by
- Robert Aldrich
- Screenplay by
- Lukas Heller
- Based on the novel by
- Elleston Trevor
- Director of photography
- Joseph Biroc
- Art director
- William Glasgow
- Editor
- Michael Luciano
- Second unit director
- Oscar Rudolph
- Aerial sequences
- Paul Mantz
- Special photographic effects
- L. B. Abbott
- Howard Lydecker
- Script supervisor
- Robert Gary
- Script apprentice
- Adell Aldrich Bravos
- Music by
- DeVol
- Set decorator
- Lucien Hafley
- Costumes
- Norma Koch
- Makeup supervision
- Ben Nye
- Makeup
- Jack Stone
- William Turner
- Terry Miles
- Ed Butterworth
- Frank Westmore
- “Senza Fine” sung by
- Connie Francis
- Orchestrations
- Al Woodbury
- Main Title
- Don Niehaus
A scene from The Flight of the Phoenix
