Flight through hell
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Flight through hell |
| Original title | Flight of the Intruder |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1991 |
| length | 115 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Milius |
| script |
Robert Dillon David Shaber |
| production |
Mace Neufeld Brian Frankish |
| music | Basil Poledouris |
| camera | Fred J. Koenekamp |
| cut |
Steve Mirkovich Peck Prior Carroll Timothy O'Meara |
| occupation | |
| |
Flight through Hell (Original title: Flight of the Intruder ) is an American war film from 1991 directed by John Milius . The film is based on the novel Flight of the Intruder by Stephen Coonts .
action
Lt. Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton (Brad Johnson) flies the two-seat attack aircraft Grumman A-6 Intruder in the Vietnam War . Often he receives orders to drop his bombs on targets selected by politicians, where military transshipment points, so-called suspected truck parks , are suspected. All too often, however, when the attack aircraft arrive there is nothing left that would justify a life-threatening mission. Bombing military targets in the capital of Vietnam and the port city of Haiphong is prohibited for fear of the war escalating.
His B / N and good friend Morgan "Morg" McPherson was hit in the neck by a rifle shot by a Vietnamese farmer on such a mission over Vietnam in September 1972 and bleeding to death while they were flying back to the aircraft carrier . Grafton is badly hit by the senseless death of his comrade and questions his role and that of his country in this war.
After going ashore in the Philippines, Grafton is assigned a new B / N: the experienced Commander Virgil "Tiger" Cole (Willem Dafoe). Together they fly the further developed version of the A-6, which is armed with the AGM-45 Shrike to destroy radar systems . This dangerous task, which exposes the pilot and the B / N directly to anti-aircraft missiles (SAM), welds the two comrades together.
Grafton persuades Cole to prepare a secret mission. The legendary SAM City , a missile dump in the middle of Hanoi, should be the target. The two use another mission to destroy their target with the remaining bombs. The hit in SAM City is denied by the North Vietnamese government. Instead, a children's hospital would have been hit. However, the military leadership on both sides knows exactly what was hit. This unauthorized mission brings Grafton and Cole before a court-martial investigative committee.
At the same time, due to the breakup of the peace negotiations by North Vietnam, the American president decides on Operation Linebacker II , the unrestricted bombing of Vietnam. The Commission of Inquiry cannot convict Grafton and Cole for something the President has just ordered. Commander Camparelli (Danny Glover), however, no longer wants the two of them under his command and bans them from flying.
During a mission over Vietnam, Camparelli's plane is hit and he has to make an emergency landing. Grafton and Cole receive the emergency call over the radio and start to come to the Commander's aid. But they too are shot down by the air defense and have to catapult themselves out of the aircraft. There is a defensive battle on the ground against North Vietnamese soldiers, in which Cole is killed. Grafton and Camparelli can be evacuated in time by a rescue helicopter.
Reviews
Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times , January 18 1991, the action would be in some places smart ( smart ), in other places dumb ( dumb ). He also criticized that the characters were inconsistent . Ebert wrote that he had the impression that a different concept of the film was being pursued during post-production than during the shooting.
"Smooth action piece with good special effects and convincing actors."
" Apocalypse Now " screenwriter and director John Milius ("The Red Flood") ventures into a great Vietnam hero epic for the first time since " The Green Devils " pleaded for the boys on the front lines in 1968. The political dubiousness and one-dimensionality of the undertaking is compensated for by extremely strong actors: Danny Glover (' Predator 2 '), Willem Dafoe (' Platoon ') and Brad Johnson (' Always ') give the smooth action piece rough edges. Excellent special effects and action scenes do the rest. "
"Action spectacle glorifying violence"
Historical background
In fact, the American government had closed the area around Hanoi , Haiphong , and the northern border area of Vietnam to attack missions. Vietnam was supplied with material and personnel by the Soviet Union. Fear that the USSR would join the war by the accidental death of a Soviet soldier made the US maintain these no-fly zones until 1972. North Vietnam took advantage of this political decision and stationed militarily important objects in these regions.
The guerrilla warfare in the dense jungle of Vietnam also drove the pilots of the attack aircraft to despair. The goals were set based on evaluated aerial photographs and other information. It was necessary to prevent the enemy from getting supplies. In fact, they often received suspected truckpark as a destination description . It was an open secret that mostly only empty jungle areas were bombed. During these missions, however, the crews exposed themselves to the constant risk of being shot down by anti-aircraft fire and missiles.
The secret attack mission on Hanoi as it is described in the film is probably fictional and has not yet been proven.
The A-6 Squadron VA-196 “Main Battery” shown in the film suffered the highest lamentable losses of all Navy squadrons during Operation “Linebacker II”.
Web links
- Flight of the Intruder in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Flight of the Intruder atRotten Tomatoes(English)