The Flight of the Phoenix Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

The Flight of the Phoenix Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 16, 2022

Robert Aldrich's "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new program with filmmaker Walter Hill and film scholar Alain Silver; exclusive new program with biographer Donald Dewey on actor James Stewart; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

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 Denys de La Patellière's Taxi for Tobruk and J. Lee Thompson's Ice Cold in Alex. Both offer very similar type of entertainment.

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

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Flight of the Phoenix arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text is included inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This 2K digital restoration was created from the 35mm original camera negative. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm original magnetic tracks by Post Haste Sound (now Post Haste Digital) in Los Angeles.

Restoration: MTI Film, Los Angeles."

The release is sourced from a recent 2K master, which isn't the same master British label Eureka Entertainment used to produce this Region-B release in 2016. (For what it's worth, this master is even older, and was used for a couple of different domestic and international DVD releases).

Unfortunately, this recent 2K master is quite disappointing. Why? Because it is graded in a way that gives the entire film a brand new, completely unnatural color temperature, and as a result alters its identity. Indeed, because of the awkward color values virtually all of the desert footage looks like it takes place during a very nice and cool autumn, rather than during a hot summer with a dangerously unforgiving sun. Many of the yellows, browns, and blues are dramatically desaturated in favor of cool whites and very pale greens that never give the desert yellows a chance to make their presence felt. Needless to say, the damaged by the sun faces, the hot sands, and even the scorching sun can look very, very strange with the current color settings. (For what it's worth, even the final credits have a very strange creamy complexion). There is some nighttime footage that can look rather decent, but even there it is easy to see that balance is off. The good news is that there are no traces of problematic digital work, so grain exposure looks quite wonderful. Yes, density level can be better, but for this type of makeover they look good. Image stability is excellent, too. Finally, the entire film is spotless. So, even though the Region-B release I referenced above is sourced from a pretty old master with other limitations, some of which affect its color balance as well, I much prefer how The Flight of the Phoenix looks on it. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A 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 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio must have been redone because it is very sharp and clean. The upper register in particular feels very healthy, so even if you turn up your volume a tad more than usual the audio remains very nicely rounded and 'thick'. I think that for a film from the 1960s this is about as good of a presentation as you can get.

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).

• Walter Hill and Alain Silver - in this new program, director Walter Hill (The Driver) and Robert Aldrich biographer Alain Silver address the production and stylistic appearance of The Flight of the Phoenix. Also, the two gentlemen share their thoughts on Aldrich's unique style and personality, and discuss the undeniable impact his films had on the evolution of American Cinema. It is a terrific program that was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2021. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• James Maitland Stewart: The Actor and the Bomber Pilot - in this new program, James Stewart biographer Donald Dewey discusses the actor's service in the United States Air Force, his film career and how his past experiences shaped up his choices and performances. Mr. Dewer specifically addresses the character of Frank Towns which Stewart plays in The Flight of the Phoenix as well. The program was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2021. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Paper Airplane - see the packaging photos at the very bottom of our review.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Gina Telaroli and technical credits.

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

I wholeheartedly agree with Walter Hill and Alain Silver that Robert Aldrich is one of the all-time greatest American directors, so The Flight of the Phoenix and a few more of his films should have entered the Criterion Collection a long time ago. Unfortunately, this upcoming Blu-ray release of The Flight of the Phoenix is sourced from a recent 2K master that I don't find particularly convincing. It should have been graded better, because as it is, it clearly alters the native identity of the film. On the other hand, the release offers two outstanding new programs that were produced exclusively for it.