Air Force One (film)

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Air Force One
Directed byWolfgang Petersen
Written byAndrew W. Marlowe
Produced byArmyan Bernstein
Gail Katz
Wolfgang Petersen
Jonathan Shestack
StarringHarrison Ford
Gary Oldman
Glenn Close
Wendy Crewson
William H. Macy
Music byJerry Goldsmith
Distributed byBeacon Pictures
- U.S. -
Columbia Pictures
- non-USA -
Buena Vista International (except Australia)
- Australia -
Village Roadshow Pictures
Release dates
July 25, 1997
Running time
124 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$85,000,000 (estimated)
File:3b90005ece28f.jpg
Terrorist Egor Korshunov (Gary Oldman) confronts the President of the United States (Harrison Ford).

Air Force One is a 1997 action film starring Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and released on June 25, 1997.

Synopsis

President James Marshall (Ford), on a visit to Moscow, announces in a speech that the United States will not negotiate with terrorists, after an operation by U.S. and Russian Federation special forces captured the tyrannical leader of Kazakhstan, General Ivan Radek (Jürgen Prochnow). With his visit to Moscow complete, the President is now on his way home to Washington, D.C. aboard Air Force One. However, Soviet neo-nationalists posing as a news crew have infiltrated the plane.

One of President's Secret Service detail, Gibbs (Xander Berkeley), works alongside the terrorists; once the plane is aloft, he kills three fellow agents before opening the on-board weapons locker. The terrorists - led by Egor Korshunov (Gary Oldman) - storm the plane and take hostages, including Chief of Staff Lloyd Shepard (Paul Guilfoyle), Military Advisor Major Caldwell (William H. Macy), National Security Advisor Jack Doherty (Tom Everett), and Marshall's wife and daughter. Several others are killed during the shootout, including the military officer charged with carrying and protecting the nuclear launch codes of the United States Strategic Command (carried in a briefcase known as the football). The flight crew declare an emergency and prepare to land at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The President is evacuated to an escape pod by numerous Secret Service agents, who are killed defending him. At the last moment, Marshall flees the escape pod and retreats to the baggage deck. The terrorists kill the pilots and take control of the plane, which takes off again, to the surprise of standby Ramstein crew.

In Washington, D.C, Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close) arrives at the White House, assessing the situation alongside the Secretary of Defense Walter Dean (Dean Stockwell) and other officials; they soon learn that Marshall did not board the escape pod. The terrorists call the Vice President, demand the release of General Radek, and threaten to begin executing hostages. This threat is soon realized -- National Security Advisor Doherty is shot and killed when Bennett calls to report that Russian President Petrov will not release Radek (he tells Bennett he would only do so to save President Marshall).

Still on the baggage deck, having already killed one terrorist, Marshall finds a satellite phone. While attempting to call the White House, a second terrorist finds Marshall and detains him; nevertheless, the call reaches the Situation Room. Marshall manages to covertly order an attack on Air Force One so he can subdue the terrorist. The plan works, and Marshall attempts a fuel dump to land the plane. Recognizing the presence of someone on the baggage deck (the terrorists assume him to be a Secret Service agent), Korshunov executes Deputy Press Secretary Melanie Mitchell in an effort to force Marshall's surrender. While two of the terrorists attempt to restore the fuel controls, Marshall slips by and takes another terrorist hostage, using his keys to free the hostages. Major Caldwell proposes a ruse whereby an air-to-air tanker will force Air Force One to an altitude that permits parachuting from the rear of the plane. Many of the hostages escape with parachutes, but then the tanker explodes, stranding the President and his family, Caldwell, Shepard, and Gibbs, all of which are captured and taken to Korshunov.

Korshunov forces the President to call Petrov to secure Radek's release. In Washington, Dean persuades the Cabinet to sign a Presidential Incapacitation Document, but Bennett refuses to sign it. As Radek's release is prepared, Marshall and the hostages free themselves and kill the remaining terrorists, but Korshunov captures Grace. Also Shots Chief of Staff Shepard and flees to the parachute ramp. In a vicious fight, Marshall manages to eject Korshunov from the aircraft by deploying the latter's parachute while it is wound around his neck. Marshall calls Petrov before Radek's release, and prison guards kill the former general as he flees.

Kazakh MiG fighter jets loyal to Radek reach Air Force One and inflict serious damage on its engines and maneuvering mechanisms. U.S. fighters intercept and fend off the hostile aircraft just in time to save the President's plane. With Air Force One unable to land, an air-to-air ropeline rescue is arranged. Before the evacuation can be completed, the plane begins a rapid descent with Marshall, Gibbs, Major Caldwell, and a rescuer. Marshall insists on rescuing his family and then a wounded staff member before he evacuates the plane. Once it is the President's turn to leave, Gibbs drops all pretense, killing two of the others. Marshall fights with Gibbs, and escapes on the ropeline, leaving Gibbs aboard the 747, which crashes into the sea. The C-130 rescue aircraft announces that it is now "Air Force One", and the film ends with the plane flying toward safety with the F-15s flying and the First Family aboard.

Cast

Reception

Air Force One received a generally positive reaction from critics[1]. It was one of Ford's last notable box office successes, earning $172,650,002 (54.9%) at the U.S and $142,200,000 (45.1%) in foreign countries. It grossed a total of $315,156,409 worldwide in the box office.


Aircraft

Rating

R - for violence (United States)

15 - Moderate violence and strong language - (United Kingdom)

M - for moderate violence, moderate coarse language, and moderate sexual references.

Goofs

  • Viewers are given a detailed tour of the aircraft and its systems; both real and fictional. Most notable among the departures from reality include the fact that the real Air Force One has no parachute ramp and does not carry a known escape capsule (Former US President Bill Clinton has stated that Air Force One contains no such escape capsule after viewing the movie[2]), and that automatic weapon fire in the corridors of the aircraft would quickly shred its aluminum skin and ruin its aerodynamics (although in the commentary Wolfgang Peterson states that it is bulletproof, therefore firing weapons could happen on board). Contrary to popular belief, however, it would not necessarily result in instant death for all aboard; it would merely force a quick landing. Given that it has been said Air Force One could withstand the electromagnetic pulse of a thermonuclear explosion, the aircraft may very well have bulletproof skin and therefore be able to withstand at least small-arms fire. However, it must be noted that an electromagnetic pulse does no real physical damage to any objects aside from damaging sensitive electronic circuits and components. The skin of the aircraft acts as a huge Faraday cage and diverts the pulse from damaging anything inside. Franglible bullets have also been developed for use aboard aeroplanes, especially by air marshals; these shatter when they impact surfaces such as the interior walls of aircraft. Although the producers were allowed access to the real Air Force One for research purposes, the Secret Service insisted that changes be made to the layout of the film aircraft, for security reasons.
  • On the first landing attempt by the pilots, the Captain had stated "flaps 30" when the plane was almost about to land. In reality, the flaps would have already been lowered to full before the runway would be seen that clearly
  • In a dogfight scene, an F-15 that had been hit by a missile shed debris from the explosion, which hit and damaged the tail plane and the tail fins of Air Force One. Although in the movie the plane could still have vertical control, the damage should have punctured hydraulic pipes, so the plane would have lost hydraulic fluids, meaning there would be no control of the major aircraft systems except for the engines.
  • The producers leased an actual Boeing 747 (originally built for Japan Airlines JA8103) from Kalitta Air, an international cargo airline and painted it in the Air Force One livery. During filming at several airports, the aircraft was mistaken for an actual Air Force VC-25. The most obvious difference between the aircraft used for filming and the actual VC-25 was the lack of a hump in front of the cockpit that, in the real thing, contains the aerial refueling receptacle. Also the aircraft has Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines, while the real VC-25 has General Electric CF6 with the newer style cowlings, similar to the ones on the Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 747-300.
  • In the film, Ford offers a member of the White House domestic staff the job of Postmaster General for making a key suggestion concerning the escape from Air Force One; the character (played by Messiri Freeman) even appeared in the credits as "Future Postmaster General". However, although the United States Postmaster General was once a Presidential appointee, it had not been so for more than 25 years before the film was made; that appointment is now made by the Board of Governors of the legally-independent U.S. Postal Service.
  • After Marshall kills the first terrorist, he attempts to open the door to the hostage holding area, however the door is shot up by other terrorists before he can open it. In a later scene when Korshunov kills the first hostage, the door has no visible signs of the bullet holes from before.
  • When the Secretary of Defense presents the declaration of presidential incapacity for the VP to sign, it contains a list of names of all the cabinet members with their signatures, with a blank space for the VP. Several names of Cabinet members had been mentioned up to this point. Other than the VP, however, none of these names are listed on the sheet.
  • When an F-15 destroys the third MiG, he does so with a missile. In reality, given how close the two fighters were to one another, it's more likely he would have done so with cannons.

Trivia

  • The Secret Service Agent who is a double agent is called Agent Gibbs. In NCIS the lead characters name is Agent Gibbs. The first episode was based around a death on Air Force One and made numerous references to the film.
  • According to the Cabinet Incapacitation Document, the film takes place on September 22nd to 23rd 1997.
  • Randy Newman was initially hired to write the film score; however, his version was considered by Peterson to be almost a parody, and Jerry Goldsmith was commissioned to write and record a more sombre and patriotic score in just twelve days (with an assist from Joel McNeely).[3][4] After the harried experience, Goldsmith vowed never to again take on such a last-minute task.[5]
  • The song being sang at the prison release sequence near the end of the movie is called L'Internationale, a famous socialist, anarchist, communist, and social democratic anthem.
  • Several castmembers of this film would later appear in the television show 24, including Wendy Crewson, Xander Berkely, Glenn Morshower, and Timothy Carhart.

References

  1. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/air_force_one/
  2. ^ Baker, Peter. According to a statement on www.moviemistakes.com, however, the American government neither confirms nor deny the existence of one, while engineers on Air Force One have said there might be one. The Plane Truth: Reality Can't Beat A Blockbuster; [FINAL Edition]. Washington Post. July 25th, 1997.
  3. ^ Jonathan Broxton, "Air Force One (rejected score)" (review) from Movie Music U.K., 1998.
  4. ^ "Air Force One (rejected score)" (review) from Soundtrack Express, 1998.
  5. ^ Christian Clemmensen, "Air Force One (review) from Film Tracks, 1997.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Air Force One.

Analysis

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