Rating: 
Summary: GREAT "GUY" MOVIE!
Review: A MOVING AND EXCITING FILM. NOT A "CHICK FLICK". MY GIRLFRIEND COULDN'T HANDLE A FEW INTENSE SCENES. A GREAT TRIUMPHAL ENDING!
Rating: 
Summary: You can almost feel the heat, and taste the sand!
Review: This has got to be one of the first of the, so-called, "Group Jeopardy" films, that morphed into a seemingly endless cycle of "Disaster Movies" in the 70's and early 80's... but that is certainly NO criticism of this wonderful film! "Phoenix" boast's a superbly straightforward and claustrophobic plot line, and a clutch of excellent actors, some of whom give career best performances.The film starts in an economical no-nonsense fashion; we see an "Aramco" cargo plane flying over the Sahara, which is soon forced off course by an unexpected sandstorm. The plane contains a motley collection of passengers, mostly oil workers, with a doctor, and two terribly British army types, a by-the-book, spit-and-polish officer, and his work-shy weasel of a Sergeant, thrown into the mix for good measure. Also on the plane is Hardy Kruger, as the engineer "Heinrich Dorfmann." The personification of Teutonic efficiency and cold-hearted calculation, Dorfmann spends almost the entire film butting heads with Jimmy Stewart's pilot, "Frank Towns." Frank is proudly old school, and we see an example of this in an early scene as he bemoans the passing of the old days and ways to his co-pilot "Lew Moran," "You took pride in just, GETTING there!" "Moran," is a washed-up alcoholic, played to absolute perfection by Richard Attenborough, who sports a stutter so natural and unforced that you hardly notice it at all! Other notable characters are "'Ratbags' Crow," a cynical and abrasive Scot, played with delicious dark humor by the late, and greatly missed, Ian Bannen. Also on the flight, a fastidious Aramco accountant, "Standish," played by Dan Duryea, and a rig foreman "'Trucker' Cobb," superbly played by Ernest Borgnine, who's being sent home after suffering some kind of mental breakdown. The plane is soon caught in the grip of the storm, loses both engines in rapid succession, and crash lands in the inhospitable environment of the Sahara, more than, as far as they can tell, 100 miles off the expected flight path. The aircraft is totaled in the crash, two passengers are killed outright, and one is severely injured, something Towns takes full responsibility for, writing in his log the cause of the crash being, "Pilot Error." Once the dead have been buried, and the injured man made comfortable, although there's no real hope for him, they take stock of their situation. "Captain Harris," played with a rather splendid stiff upper lip by Peter Finch, informs them that water is in very short supply, they have about 1 pint per man for 10 or so days, but they do have an almost limitless supply of pressed dates, so they won't starve to death! Towns reassures them all that help will be with them shortly, although you can see that he doesn't believe it himself, they're too far off their original course. Captain Harris decides that he and his Sergeant will march out of the desert to find help, explaining that they won't get lost, nor march in circles, the way "civilians" would, because British soldiers are trained to march with, "absolute precision!" "Sergeant Watson," once he hears that he's been volunteered, feigns a leg injury; you can tell he's not one for heroics. This is a great performance by Ronald Fraser, he makes his character completely unsympathetic, a work-shy whiner, always complaining about his superior, and his life in the army, for which he blames his own father. With Harris and another volunteer gone, the remainder hunker down to await help, either in the shape of a search plane, as they're now seriously overdue, or from Captain Harris leading a party back to them. It's here that the central struggle of the film, between Towns, the grizzled veteran, and Dorfmann, the brash and arrogant engineering whizkid, develops. You see, Dorfmann is not only an engineer, as previously stated, he's an AIRCRAFT engineer, and has been working feverishly to create the plans to build a new aircraft - the "Phoenix," as named by Standish - from the wreckage of the old, that will allow them to fly out to safety. Towns thinks the whole thing is insane, but he also knows that there's no chance at all that a search party will find them, and very little chance that Harris will succeed. Towns and Dorfmann can barely stand to be in each others presence, so Moran becomes the go-between, doing his best to smooth things out between them. A classic leadership struggle develops between the two men, with the rest of the survivors caught in the middle. But Dorfmann has a secret regarding his background, or to be more precise, something that he simply doesn't see as a problem as far as the success of the "project" is concerned. When this secret is revealed, in a beautifully played out scene between Stewart, Attenborough, and Kruger, it leads to one of the most extraordinary performances of Richard Attenboroughs career, as he finally breaks down and laughs hysterically at the insanity of the situation they now find themselves in. This is a wonderful film, and at 149 minutes, it takes its time to develop the characters and the situation they find themselves in; I'm afraid to say that they really, "don't make 'em like that any more!" Each actor gives his all, but especially Stewart, Attenborough, and Kruger, give finely honed character studies under the lean and spare direction of Robert Aldrich. This is an unusual and riveting film, and deserves a place in any serious film lover's collection.
Rating:
Summary: Share the memories...
Review: My dad and I used to watch this film in the '60s on TV. This became the film that bonded our relationship. James Stewart was a common denomiator that led to our watching other JS films. To this day I cannot change the channel when this movie is on no matter where it is in the movie. It could be the final scene of their walking to the "mirage" of escape or the opening scene of their flying into death. It doesn't matter, I have to see this movie. It's kind of like listening to your favorite song on the radio even though you have it in the CD player. There's something special about listening to it on the radio... There's something special about watching this movie on free* TV. It's a great film, and I'm finally glad to see it on DVD after searching/waiting all these years! Thank you to who ever made the decision to finally publish it on DVD. You made a small crowd of devoted fans very happy...
Rating:
Summary: Great Character Study
Review: this one is certainly one of James Stewart's best in the twilight years of his career. the cast includes many great actors and character actors. the way the opening credits and cast is presented is very impressive. a small crew of men crash land in the desert, and the interaction of the crew members is a great character study. great dialogue throughout. the clash between Stewart's character of the captain and Hardy Kruger's character of the engineer is very interesting to watch. definitely worth adding to one's personal library of film.
Rating:
Summary: A remarkable film now available on DVD
Review: I remember seeing this movie on late-night TV as a kid, and was happy to discover it had at last been re-issued on DVD and VHS. It's an exciting and unusual survival story set in the 1950s about a group of men whose unscheduled airplane goes down in the desert. At the urging of one of their members, they take on an impossible task: they must build a new plane from the pieces of the old one before they run out of water. The drama of the situation is what propels the movie forwards, and this has stood the test of time very well. The style of movie-making, however, seems a bit old-fashioned: the characters are stereotyped (the German is the bad guy, the Irishman is cantankerous, the Brit is stoic and arrogant, etc). The actors breath some real life into the parts despite this; Jimmy Stewart in particular is outstanding. The soundtrack is overbearing, and the whole thing plays out slowly. It's probably 50 minutes into the movie before they decide to build a new plane, and the plane doesn't take off until 2 hours and 20 minutes into the film. If you were raised on newer films you will wish they sliced half an hour out of it. But I didn't mind it at all: it's a classic story, a unique and gripping film. Also, if you are looking for an inspiring story appropriate for the whole family, it's a great choice It's a little too spooky for the very young, but no real swearing, nothing too adult, and only one bit of (off-screen) violence. The message of the power of human resolve and ingenuity is great for all ages.
Rating:
Summary: Great survival-adventure!
Review: A diverse group of men brought to a precarious situation, far from aid, no hope in sight, mental faculties failing along with their bodies . . . irresistable stuff! DVD has no extras other than a theatrical trailer, but that's OK - this is entertainment, not egghead material. Great to see it in widescreen finally, plus a clear, sharp print, clean sound. Read the book if you can find it - it does a fantastic job of putting you out there in the middle of nowhere, feeling the mounting desparation and dwindling reserves, even moreso than the film.
Rating:
Summary: This is a widescreen presentation
Review: Contrary to what is being stated below, The Flight of the Phoenix is released in its original theatrical aspect ratio.
The DVD transfer is sharp with fine details and the original monaural soundtract is clear and dynamic.
Rating:
Summary: Great fiilm, looks like the DVD will be as well.
Review: An excellent film, full of suspense with a superb cast and script. I can reassure the reviewer below that this DVD looks like it will be anamorphic widescreen, not 4:3 framed as some sites have incorrectly said.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie but...
Review: 5 star movie but this movie should be presented in the way it was intended to be shown-Widescreen. Period! 5 star movie, 1 star dvd.
Rating: 
Summary: Engine Misfire
Review: Here is a film project that should have been a lot better than it is. The plot about a small group of plane crash victims trying to cobble together their aircraft again is compelling enough, but director Robert Aldrich, like novelist Ellston Trevor in his original work, clutters it up with a lot of pointless and contrived subplots. There is an especially compelling performance by Ian Bannen that is worthy of note. If everybody had followed his lead and lightened up on the melodrama the result would have been more memorable.
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