The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

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Movie
German title The flight of the phoenix
Original title The Flight of the Phoenix
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1965
length 142 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Robert Aldrich
script Lukas Heller
production Robert Aldrich
music Frank De Vol
camera Joseph F. Biroc
cut Michael Luciano
occupation
synchronization

The Flight of the Phoenix is an American adventure film by Robert Aldrich from 1965. The film with international star cast is about the emergency landing of an airplane in the North African Sahara desert and is based on the novel of the same name by Elleston Trevor .

action

A Fairchild C-82 transport machine from the oil production company ARABCO is on its way from the northern Sahara to Benghazi with a crew of two and twelve passengers . If the radio fails, you are without a current weather report and you are in the middle of a sandstorm . The carburetors of both engines are clogged by the sand and Captain Frank Towns has to make an emergency landing far away from all routes. Two men die as a result of the cargo being torn loose, a third is seriously injured in the leg.

The survivors try to make the best of their situation and hope to be saved soon. After lengthy calculations, the German aircraft designer Heinrich Dorfmann made the proposal to construct a new aircraft from the undamaged parts of the machine, but met with vehement resistance from Captain Towns.

When the water runs out, the soldier Captain Harris and his subordinate Sergeant Watson want to set off on foot; However, Watson feigns a foot injury, and Harris leaves the survivors with Carlos, who also traveled with them. When the mentally unstable Cobb follows the two unnoticed, Towns also sets off to bring the man back without water, but only finds him dead.

Back at the wreck, Towns agrees after being mediated by his navigator Lew Moran and Dr. Renaud (quote: "Better to do something than watch yourself dying of thirst " ) to Dorfmann's plan, and the construction of the new aircraft begins. The seriously injured Gabriele meanwhile takes his own life. The construction is going on laboriously, interrupted again and again by arguments and competence wrangling between Towns and Dorfmann.

One evening, Captain Harris returned to the wreck with the last of his strength. Watson notices him, but leaves him in the dunes; Dorfmann finally finds the totally exhausted officer. Construction continues; the men are slowly finding pleasure and also a little pride in their work, which is why the accountant Standish gives the “airplane” the name Phoenix .

When a caravan encamped Arabs nearby, but without noticing the casualties, Harris and Watson had a scandal when Watson refused to accompany Harris in an attempt to mediate with the Arabs. Harris is eventually led by Dr. Renaud accompanied on the basis of his language skills. The next morning the Arabs moved on; Towns and Moran find Harris and Renaud with their throats cut.

During a lengthy conversation between Dorfmann, Towns and Moran, the two learn that Dorfmann is employed by a company that makes model airplanes . Towns and Moran react in horror. Dorfmann then explains to the two that the principle of operation is exactly the same and that model airplanes differ from large transport machines only in terms of their dimensions. In addition, model aircraft would have to have better flight characteristics than "real aircraft", since the latter can be trimmed by a pilot. In order not to endanger the company further, they decide to keep this fact a secret from the others.

With the last of their strength, the remaining men complete the construction of the Phoenix . In what is probably the most famous sequence of the film, Towns tries to start the engine with the Coffman starter , but has only seven igniter cartridges available. After several unsuccessful attempts, he finally succeeds in starting the engine with the penultimate cartridge, and the remaining seven men begin the saving flight back to civilization.

background

The original plane in 1970 at Long Beach Airport
  • The screenplay is based on the novel The Flight of the Phoenix (Engl. The Flight of the Phoenix (Elleston Trevor, 1964); dt. Phoenix from the sand ). There is the central character of the film, the German engineer Dorfmann, an Englishman. The German part is represented in the novel by a sick young man.
  • The film was shot in the legendary Buttercup Valley near Yuma on the US-Mexico border. The films Return of the Jedi and Stargate were later made at the same location .
  • The stunt pilot Paul Mantz died during the shooting of the Phoenix crashing : The landing gear hit a hard hump of sand, probably the old burrow of a prairie dog . The rickety flying machine immediately broke apart and Mantz was crushed by the engine. This is also indicated in the credits .
  • The music for the film was written, arranged and conducted by Frank De Vol . The song Senza fine , heard in a film scene , was recorded by De Vol with the vocals of Connie Francis . This is the cover version of a recording by Ornella Vanoni .
  • As the cast of the first two victims of the crash landing in the desert, Tasso and Bill, director and producer Robert Aldrich cast his son-in-law Peter Bravos and his own son William Aldrich.

Trivia

  • Dorfmann claims that he works for Becker Flugzeug - the film shows a catalog from the (then existing) manufacturer Hegi Modellbau .

synchronization

The German dubbing was created in 1965 in the studio of Berliner Synchron GmbH in Berlin , directed by Klaus von Wahl, based on a dialogue book by Fritz A. Koeniger .

role actor Voice actor
Frank Towns, pilot James Stewart Siegmar Schneider
Lev Moran, navigator Richard Attenborough Michael Chevalier
Captain Harris Peter Finch Heinz Engelmann
Heinrich Dorfmann Hardy Kruger Hardy Kruger
"Trucker" Cobb Ernest Borgnine Alexander Welbat
"Ratbags" Crow Ian Bannen Peer Schmidt
Sergeant Watson Ronald Fraser Helmut Ahner
Dr. Renaud, doctor Christian Marquand Gert Günther Hoffmann
Standish Dan Duryea Friedrich W. Building School
Mike Bellamy George Kennedy Hans Wiegner
Gabriele Scarnati Gabriele Tinti Claus Jurichs
Carlos Reyes Alex Montoya Hans Walter Clasen

criticism

"Aldrich's men's film, realistic in its milieu and largely psychological, offers a piece of adventurous, exciting cinema entertainment."

- Lexicon of international film

"The film lacks any likelihood, but the direction and acting can to a certain extent satisfy not-too-demanding lovers of the psychological teardrop."

- Protestant film observer

Awards

The film was nominated for several film awards, but could not win any of the awards. In 1966 , Ian Bannen was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category and Michael Luciano in the Best Editing category.

The film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Drama) . Hardy Krüger declined his nomination for Best Supporting Actor . Ian Bannen was also nominated for Best Young Actor.

Michael Luciano was nominated for the Eddie Award of the American Cinema Editors .

See also

The novel of the same name by Elleston Trevor was filmed again in 2004 with Dennis Quaid in the role of the pilot Frank Towns under the same German title .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Flight of the Phoenix. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Evangelical Press Association, Munich, Review No. 126/1966