The Flight of the Phoenix

"The Flight of the Phoenix" is Robert Aldrich's classic survival story about a group of men who crash land a plane in the desert and must find a way out or die. James Stewart is the pilot and de facto leader of the group; they look to him initially as the most experienced and authoritative. But he eventually butts heads with a young German (Hardy Kruger) who claims to be a designer of airplanes and decides that the only way to survive is to construct a new plane from the undamaged parts of the old one and fly to safety. In Aldrich's hands, this plot becomes a study in generational conflict, with a younger, fresher attitude about things proving to be more valuable than the traditional. The film itself is very traditional in many respects, but it's this attitude about the younger generation that exposes its roots in the counter culture that was only just beginning to make its presence felt in the films of the time. If it had been made a decade earlier, Stewart would have been our hero, no questions asked, just because he was Jimmy Stewart. In the film as it plays out, Stewart's stubborn adherence to an old way of doing things would have resulted in everyone dying if they had followed his advice.

Out of a terrific ensemble of male actors, Ian Bannen was inexplicably singled out with an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He's by no means bad, but if I was going to single out anyone, it would certainly be either Kruger or Richard Attenborough as Stewart's long-time friend and confidante.

The film also received an Oscar nomination for Michael Luciano's editing. Luciano was a frequent Aldrich collaborator and received nominations for three other Aldrich films: "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte," "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Longest Yard."

This is a fun, exciting movie.

Grade: A