Flight of the Phoenix is a 2004 American survival drama film and a remake of a 1965 film of the same name, both based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix, by Elleston Trevor, about a group of people who survive an aircraft crash in the Gobi Desert and must build a new aircraft out of the old one to escape. Follow/Fav Return of the Phoenix Lord By: Lord-Phoenix1 Harry was betrayed by his friends before his fifth year and he goes missing after two years Harry teaches at Hogwarts as Brian, no one knows who he really is.
| Flight of the Phoenix | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | John Moore |
| Produced by | John Davis William Aldrich Wyck Godfrey T. Alex Blum |
| Written by | Luke Heller Scott Frank Edward Burns (screenplay) |
| Based on | The Flight of the Phoenix 1964 novel by Elleston Trevor |
| Starring | Dennis Quaid Giovanni Ribisi Tyrese Gibson Miranda Otto Hugh Laurie Kirk Jones Tony Curran Scott Michael Campbell Jacob Vargas Kevork Malikyan Jared Padalecki |
| Music by | Marco Beltrami |
| Cinematography | Brendan Galvin |
| Edited by | Don Zimmerman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date | |
Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $45 million[1] |
| Box office | $34,586,268[1] |
Flight of the Phoenix is a 2004 American survivaldrama film and a remake of a 1965 film of the same name, both based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix, by Elleston Trevor, about a group of people who survive an aircraft crash in the Gobi Desert and must build a new aircraft out of the old one to escape. The film stars Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi. Flight of the Phoenix opened in the U.S. on December 17, 2004. The film was a box-office failure, and received generally mixed reviews; criticism was geared toward its similarity to the 1965 film, while praise related to the acting, direction and visuals.
- 7References
Plot[edit]
When an Amacore oil rig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia proves unproductive, Captain Frank Towns (Dennis Quaid) and co-pilot A.J. (Tyrese Gibson) are sent to shut down the operation and transport the crew (Amacore executive Ian, rig supervisor Kelly, Rodney, Davis, Liddle, Jeremy, Sammi, Rady, Kyle, Newman, and Dr. Gerber) out of the desert, along with a load of cargo from the site to be liquidated or redistributed to another site, causing the plane to be overweight. However, en route to Beijing, a major dust storm disables one engine when Towns attempts a vertical climb with the overweight plane, forcing them to crash land their C-119 Flying Boxcar in an uncharted area of the Gobi Desert. Kyle (Bob Brown) falls to his death and the crash kills Dr. Gerber (Paul Ditchfield) and Newman (Martin Hindy). Their cargo consists of used parts and tools from the rig, the rig's crew, and Elliot (Giovanni Ribisi), a hitchhiker. When the dust storm ends, it becomes apparent that they are 200 miles off course with only a month's supply of water. Jeremy (Kirk Jones) thinks about walking to get help, but Rady (Kevork Malikyan) explains that July is the hottest month in the Gobi, and that he would not make it.
In the middle of the night, Davis (Jared Padalecki) goes out to urinate without informing anybody, trips, gets lost in a sandstorm, and dies. The group panics after a failed search for him, and Kelly (Miranda Otto) argues with Frank, who says that walking out of the desert would fail and that their only option is to await rescue. The group initially agrees but reconsiders after Elliot, claiming to be an aeronautical engineer, pitches a radical idea: rebuild the wreckage of their C-119 into a functional aircraft. Frank initially refuses, which causes Liddle (Scott Michael Campbell) to wander off on his own in protest. Frank attempts to find him. He comes across a valley littered with debris, cargo from the aircraft, which dropped out when the tail was torn open. Among the debris he discovers the bullet-ridden and stripped body of Kyle, after which Liddle appears saying he came to retrieve his watch which he lost to Kyle in a poker game; Towns then deduces that either nomads or smugglers used Kyle's corpse for target practice. Liddle says he will only go back with him if they build the plane, and Frank agrees.
They struggle for several weeks building the new aircraft, during which they experience losing their fuel reserves in a spark fire, an electrical storm, lack of water, and fighting amongst the group. Rady christens it Phoenix after the legendary bird. A problem evolves when they notice a group of smugglers camping nearby. When Ian, A.J., and Rodney attempt to communicate, the bandits mortally wound Rodney (Tony Curran) after Liddle notices that one of them is wearing his watch . A fierce, but short skirmish takes place when Frank (who is with Liddle) ambushes the bandits. Most of the bandits are killed, one is wounded, and one escapes. When going through the smugglers encampment, they find a wounded smuggler and argue about what to do until Elliot walks over and executes him with a pistol. Towns accuses him of murder, but Elliot states that Towns murdered him by deciding to go investigate the smugglers after being advised against it. He also states that he caused Rodney's death as well, therefore wasting a whole days work as well as manpower. Towns, in anger, punches Elliot which causes the project to stall due to Elliot's no longer being interested in the project. In desperation, the remaining group agree to give Elliot complete control of the project, and the project resumes. After it is finished, it is revealed that Elliot's aircraft design experience has been restricted to the design of model aircraft, much to the anger of everyone, especially Ian (Hugh Laurie), who threatens to shoot Elliot. However, as a storm is brewing, the high force winds causes the plane to lift off temporarily, making the group realize that Elliot's plane will indeed fly. Forced to take shelter in the old plane's hull during the sandstorm, they later dig out the plane from beneath the sand and take off, barely in time to escape a larger group of bandits seeking revenge for the murdered smugglers.
Through a series of photos, we see what becomes of the survivors when they make it back to civilization. All have been revitalized by the experience: Frank and A.J. start their own airline (appropriately named Phoenix Aviation), Sammi (Jacob Vargas) and his wife start their own restaurant (Jeremy and Rady are there to celebrate), Liddle is reunited with his wife and kids, Ian becomes a professional golfer, Kelly is working at an ocean oil rig, and Elliot is wearing a flight suit on a Flight International magazine cover with the headline: 'NASA's New Hope?'
Cast[edit]
- Dennis Quaid as Captain Frank Towns
- Giovanni Ribisi as Elliot
- Tyrese Gibson as A.J.
- Miranda Otto as Kelly Johnson
- Tony Curran as Alex Rodney
- Hugh Laurie as Ian
- Scott Michael Campbell as James Liddle
- Sticky Fingaz as Jeremy
- Jacob Vargas as Sammi
- Kevork Malikyan as Rady
- Jared Padalecki as John Davis
- Paul Ditchfield as Dr. Gerber
- Martin Hindy as Newman
- Bob Brown as Kyle
- Anthony Wong as Lead Smuggler
Production[edit]
Co-writer Edward Burns was personally asked by Tom Rothman, who at the time was the president of Fox and had discovered Burns when he bought The Brothers McMullen as Fox Searchlight's first acquisition, to rewrite the film's dialogue. Burns said, 'I probably did three drafts of it, and that was it. I never met Scott (Scott Frank, the other credited co-writer).'[2] This is the only film Burns has writing credit on that he did not also direct.
Director John Moore scouted locations in Morocco and Australia before looking at, and quickly choosing, Namibia as the crash site. 'Where most of the film takes place, was only a 20 minute-drive from the coastal town of Swakopmund.'[3] The Namib Desert location caused problems: cameras and other equipment had to be constantly cleaned of sand, and a 'couple of hundred people were employed as 'dune groomers' so that visual continuity could be maintained.[3]
The set was the site of several mishaps:
- A ferry sank during transportation of a major set piece across a river, forcing the river bottom salvage of the aircraft fuselage.[citation needed]
- Jared Padalecki flipped his vehicle.[4]
- Concluding the aerial filming sequences, the flying C-119G N15501 suffered a long gash under the right wing when a film truck backed under it and its driver misjudged the truck's height. A repair crew was flown in, the damaged segment re-skinned and the aircraft flown back across the Atlantic.[5]
- On June 3, 2004, camera operator and second unit cinematographer Ciaran Barry was 'filming behind a plywood barrier intended to protect his equipment' when an 800-pound 'fiberglass model plane propelled down an elevated track, bounced off a sand dune in the Namibian desert and crashed into his hut.'[6]
For the latter, in October 2009 a Los Angeles jury awarded Barry $3.95 million in damages for broken legs and neurological damage he received during the accident; $1.3 million of the amount was awarded for lost future income.[6]
A behind-the-scenes documentary, 'The Phoenix Diaries,' was included on the DVD. In it, director John Moore can be seen screaming at the crew. Fox executives are also not shown in a flattering light.[7] The documentary was not included in the 2006 Blu-ray release.[8]
Aircraft[edit]
Four aircraft were used during the film:
- Fairchild C-119G, N15501 - flying shots. (still flying as of 2007, now part of the Lauridsen Collection at the Buckeye Municipal Airport, February 2010.[9])
- Fairchild C-119F, BuNo.131700 / N3267U - desert wreck.
- Fairchild C-119F, BuNo.131691 - Phoenix film prop.
- Fairchild C-119F, BuNo.131706 - Phoenix film prop.
A Phoenix that could be taxied but not flown was built for closeups. The Phoenix in flying scenes were done using a radio-controlled model and computer graphics.
Reception[edit]
Flight of the Phoenix has received generally mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 'rotten' score of 30%, with an average rating of 4.8/10. On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 47 out of 100, indicating 'mixed or average reviews.'[10] The main criticism for the film was its similarity to the original; John Anderson from Newsday said, 'if you've seen the original, there's absolutely no difference in what happens. And very little reason to check it out.' Aerofiles, a non-commercial website focusing on North American aviation history, called the film 'perhaps the worst remake ever of a classic film.'[11]Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film is a 'rickety update of the far superior 1965 movie' that 'throws in every cheap trick in the manual to pump up your heartbeat [and] is so manipulative that the involuntary jolts of adrenaline it produces make you feel like a fool.'[12]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars, writing 'I'm not recommending it for those who know the original, but it might work nicely enough for those who have not (seen it).'[13]
The film did receive some praise. Scott Brown from Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B grade, saying 'refreshingly, it's actually about action, albeit arbitrary action, and how it defines us and keeps us alive.'[14] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film four stars out of five, calling it 'a worthy remake.'[15]
See also[edit]
Return Of The Phoenix Movie
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ ab'Box office: 'Flight Of The Phoenix' (2004)'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved: November 17, 2015.
- ^McKittrick, Christopher. 'Ed Burns: An Independent Force'.Creative Screenwriting, August 25, 2015. Retrieved: August 25, 2015.
- ^ abLovgren, Stefan. 'Africa Desert Is Bad Guy in 'Flight of the Phoenix.'National Geographic, December 17, 2004. Retrieved: October 3, 2010.
- ^'Jared Padalecki on Ellen.'Youtube. Retrieved: November 18, 2015.
- ^Air Classics magazine, June 2004, p. 8.
- ^ abXianzhi, Li. 'Cameraman of 'The Flight of the Phoenix' wins lawsuit against 20th Century Fox .'xinhuanet.com, October 14, 2009. Retrieved: October 3, 2010.
- ^Flight of the Phoenix DVD 2005
- ^Flight of the Phoenix Blu-ray review
- ^'Lauridsen Collection , Buckeye Municipal Airport.'air-and-space.com, February 19, 2010. Retrieved: October 9, 2010.
- ^'Flight of the Phoenix.'Metacritic. Retrieved: August 16, 2012.
- ^'Aerofiles Reviews Aviation Films: (F) Flight of the Phoenix (Fox 2004, 113 min).'Aerofiles.com, August 9, 2009. Retrieved: October 3, 2010.
- ^Holden, Stephen. 'Stuck in the Desert, Out on a Limb.'The New York Times, December 17, 2004. Retrieved: October 3, 2010.
- ^Ebert, Roger. 'Flight of the Phoenix.'Chicago Sun-Times, December 17, 2004.
- ^Brown, Scott. 'Movie Reviews and News: Flight of the Phoenix Review.'Entertainment Weekly, December 15, 2004.
- ^Thomas, Kevin. 'Movie Reviews: Flight of the Phoenix.'Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2004.
Bibliography[edit]
- Flight of the Phoenix (2004) DVD. Beverley Hills, California: 20th Century Fox (Release date: March 1, 2005).
- O'Leary, Michael. 'By Box to Darkest Africa.' Air Classics Volume 40, No. 3, March 2004.
External links[edit]
- Flight of the Phoenix at the TCM Movie Database
- Flight of the Phoenix (2004) at AllMovie
- Flight of the Phoenix (2004) on IMDb
- Flight of the Phoenix at AllMovie
- Flight of the Phoenix at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Flight of the Phoenix at Box Office Mojo
- Flight of the Phoenix (2004) at Rotten Tomatoes
The Phoenix Mercury appeared on the brink of a championship at the end of the 2018 season.
A year later, after their worst regular season record (15-19) since 2012 and earliest WNBA playoff exit (first round) since 2013, it's difficult to gauge where the aging team stands.
Only five players are under contract for 2020 including 37-year-old guard Diana Taurasi, who missed 29 games because of injury including a 105-76 playoff loss to Chicago on Wednesday.
Taurasi said Thursday she plans to return for a 16th season in 2020 and to compete for a fifth Olympics appearance with USA Basketball. But if this season proved anything, it's that the difference for Taurasi at this age between All-WNBA first team (2018) and 10.3% shooting (2019) is a slow-to-heal hamstring.
WNBA seasons 'fragile'
'These WNBA seasons are really fragile,' said Taurasi, who will train in the offseason with the USA Basketball national team heading into the Tokyo Olympics. 'We always say that's usually the healthiest that's played the longest together is the team that's going to have the best chance of winning. There's no reason if we don't come back physically, mentally ready to accept that challenge why we're not contending.
'Saying that, we're going to have to change our approach a little bit. We've relied a little bit too much on the postseason, kind of skipped over the details. Got to take care of the details. Those are the things that get you through and make the foundation of a team. I don't think the details were handled as well as we usually do, and it showed in games in the second half when other teams cranked it up and we just crumbled a lot of times.'
That happened twice recently against Chicago, on Sept. 1 when a 54-53 game at halftime ended 105-78 for the Sky and again Wednesday when the Mercury trailed 44-41 at halftime.
Taurasi played in the first of those — one of six all season — but not Wednesday when she could only help by assisting center Brittney Griner off the court following a left knee injury early in the second quarter.
Griner injury not major
Griner, who led the WNBA in scoring for the second time in three seasons, said the training staff does not think she suffered any structural damage even after returning briefly with a knee brace on to attempt playing in the third quarter.
She will have an MRI to make sure before going overseas for another season in Russia.
'It's the playoffs, man,' Griner said. 'I don't care even if I would have tore something, I would have still tried to put a brace and got out there. That's when you push it. You've got to give it a go. But I just couldn't ... it was painful.'
Griner said that she plans to re-sign with the Mercury for an eighth season once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached between the WNBA and its players.
In August, after a three-game suspension following an on-court alternation, she cast some doubt on her WNBA future because of frustration with salary and officiating.
'You will see me next year,' Griner said. 'They want me back, I plan on signing back. If I don't play here, I won't play anywhere (in the WNBA). I mean that. I'm not playing for any other organization. I'm a Phoenix Mercury until I'm done.'
Five under contract for 2020
The other third of the Mercury Big Three, forward DeWanna Bonner, also is unsigned for 2020 and no longer eligible for core-player designation (when a team retains exclusive negotiating rights to a player in return for a max salary contract). Bonner was not available for comment Thursday.
Griner and Bonner will be the first priorities for Mercury general manager Jim Pitman, who has only five players under contract going into 2020 (Taurasi, Briann January and 2019 rookies Alanna Smith, Brianna Turner and Sophie Cunningham).
Others unsigned for next year are guards Leilani Mitchell and Yvonne Turner and forwards Essence Carson and Sancho Lyttle.
Mitchell was named AP WNBA Most Improved Player this week and is a leading candidate to win that league award. Brianna Turner made the AP rookie team.
88 player games missed
Mercury players missed a cumulative 88 games because of injury, suspension or not being with the team for another reason.
The entire roster was together for one game, on July 12 when Taurasi further injured her hamstring and Lyttle suffered a knee bruise.
Return Of The Phoenix Houston
'Without the injuries, you wouldn't have seen Breezy's development and how she blossomed into a dynamic player,' Taurasi said. 'You wouldn't have seen Sophie's strength, Lei to come back the way she did and have her best year. That just says how mentally strong was in a lot of ways. We'll take those things forward.'
The Mercury need to continue getting younger and more athletic through the draft (they will have the No. 5 pick in the first round) or free agency.
'I have no doubt in my mind if we keep working and growing every year, we will be the (next) Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, DeWanna Bonner,' Cunningham said. 'Those are huge, huge shoes to fill, but I'm saying we're going to hopefully be the future if we keep working and put our minds to it.'
The Mercury will play their 2020 season at Veterans Memorial Coliseum while Talking Stick Resort Arena is undergoes renovations.
They have been in the top three in WNBA attendance for six straight seasons and were second this year (9,950 per home game).
Mercury player games missed
- Diana Taurasi 29
- Alanna Smith 15
- Sancho Lyttle 14
- Essence Carson 11
- Camille Little/Yvonne Turner 5
- Brittney Griner 3
- Briann January/Leilani Mitchell/Sophie Cunningham 2
Reach the reporter at jeff.metcalfe@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8053. Follow him on Twitter @jeffmetcalfe.
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