Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Flight of the Phoenix Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 11, 2016

Nominated for Oscar Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Editing, Robert Aldrich's "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and exclusive new video interview with film historian Sheldon Hall. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Neil Sinyard and archival imagery. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Somewhere in the desert

Robert Aldrich gathered an excellent cast of international stars for this ambitious adaptation of Elleston Trevor’s popular novel The Flight of the Phoenix. Despite a strong promotional campaign, however, the film did not meet studio expectations and was considered a flop. But since its release in 1965 it has evolved into something of a minor genre classic, and in 2004 John Moore even directed a loose remake for Twentieth Century Fox.

Jimmy Stewart plays the veteran pilot Frank Towns who is forced to crash land an old plane transporting oil rig workers deep into the heart of the Libyan Desert. A few of the passengers die when the plane hits the sand dunes, but the rest survive. After they bury the dead, they figure out that they have enough water for a little over ten days.

Towns takes full responsibility for the accident and tries to keep the morale up, but eventually some of the men begin questioning his authority. The first to do so is Captain Harris (Peter Finch, Sunday Bloody Sunday), who thinks that waiting for a rescue mission with a limited supply of water means certain death. But the nearest oasis is more than hundred miles away and reaching it seems impossible. Nevertheless, Harris leaves the camp, and is soon after followed by Trucker Cobb (Ernest Borgnine, Hannie Caulder). Meanwhile, another survivor, Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Kruger, Sundays and Cybèle), announces that he is an aircraft designer and knows how to use parts of the broken plane to build a new one. Towns immediately confronts Dorfmann and declares that his plan is ridiculous, but when he describes exactly what he intends to do it becomes obvious that he could in fact succeed. However, for his plan to work Dorfmann needs everyone to get involved and follow his instructions. This immensely complicates the situation, and even after the interference of his loyal assistant, Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough, 10 Rillington Place), Towns refuses to see Dorfmann as anything else but an egoistic challenger who should not be trusted. While the two men openly clash and question their technical knowledge and credibility, the water supply continues to shrink.

The film is loosely broken into three uneven segments, the longest being the second one. It is in this segment that Aldrich gives each actor a chance to shine and introduces a couple of interesting what-if scenarios.

The visuals are quite wonderful and, more importantly, feel authentic. The construction of the new plane certainly looks like a very challenging project, but it is not difficult to accept that it can be made to function exactly as described by Dorfmann. The only questionable element of the project is the final phase, where the exhausted men must drag the new plane to the chosen by Dorfmann location and then test it.

Despite using the same material Aldrich and Moore’s films have very different identities. Aldrich's film has a quasi-documentary appearance and its characters certainly emerge as mortals who must roll the dice and hope that they get a chance to survive. So, there is some real drama and tension in it. Moore's film is more of a show-off piece with all the whistles and bells big-budget Hollywood productions are known for.

*If you enjoy Aldrich’s film, you should consider seeing Cy Endfield’s Sands of the Kalahari, Denys de La Patellière's Taxi for Tobruk, and J. Lee Thompson's Ice Cold in Alex. All three films offer a similar type of entertainment.

The Flight of the Phoenix Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1,85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert Aldrich's The Flight of the Phoenix arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an older master which was likely used for multiple purposes during and after the DVD era. Nevertheless, the basic qualities we examine in our reviews are quite good. During the daylight footage depth is typically very pleasing. Clarity also does not disappoint, though it is easy to see that during select wider panoramic shots definition isn't optimal. The darker/nighttime footage can be a bit inconsistent as well. In select segments light black crush emerges and depth becomes a bit problematic. As a result, fluidity drops a notch below that from the daylight footage. There are no traces of recent degraining and sharpening corrections. However, ideally grain should be better defined and resolved. Also, some light halo effects emerge in select areas, though they are not introduced by digital tools (you can see examples in screencaptures #9 and 10). The color scheme is very good. The primaries appear healthy and there is a nice range of nuances. Saturation should be better, but I personally am quite pleased with the color temperature of the current primaries. (It is certainly preferable to the odd color temperature conveyed in the color schemes that a lot of new Fox remasters have). Image stability is very good. Finally, a few tiny specks and dirt spots can be seen, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, stains, or torn frames to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Flight of the Phoenix Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio has not been recently remastered, but there are no technical anomalies to report. The dialog is very clean, stable, nicely rounded, and easy to follow. The music breathes quite easily, though there are no big shifts in terms of dynamic intensity. Also, there are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report.

The Flight of the Phoenix Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The Flight of the Phoenix. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Sheldon Hall - in this featurette, film historian Sheldon Hall discusses the professional career of dierctor Robert Aldrich,the history and structure of The Flight of the Phoenix, and the work and legacy of some of its stars. The featurette was produced exclusively for Eureka Entertainment. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Isolated Score - presented as LPCM 2.0 track.

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Neil Sinyard and archival imagery.

The Flight of the Phoenix Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have a soft spot for 'desert films' and Robert Aldrich's The Flight of the Phoenix is an old favorite of mine. Obviously, I could not be more pleased that it is now available on Blu-ray. Eureka Entertainment's upcoming release is sourced from an older master, but I actually quite like how the film looks in high-definition. I think that you will as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.