The Flight of the Phoenix
With James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch.
US, 1965, DCP, color, 149 min.
DCP source: 20th Century Fox
Appearing now as a less-brutal test fight before The Dirty Dozen, Aldrich’s screen adaptation of Elleston Trevor’s 1964 novel features another motley, troubled all-male cast thrown together in a desperate situation. Jimmy Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Ian Bannen, and even Aldrich’s son and son-in-law are among the disgruntled passengers of a twin-engine plane that crashes in the middle of the Sahara desert. The survivors waste no time dovetailing into a morass of blame, breakdowns and power struggles while making various attempts to somehow survive. With a focus on the psyche rather than the action, Aldrich carefully paces the suspense and surprises, maintaining a constant, spellbinding tension—even within each frame’s composition. While a complex spectrum of psychological and social structures are tested in this survivalist hell, the ego dynamics—particularly between Stewart’s old-fashioned American pilot and Krüger’s cold, German technician—magnify the personal clashes to their place on the international stage.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Four Star Playhouse: The Squeeze, The Witness and The Hard Way
The Southerner
