Der Flug des Phönix

An excellent adventure drama in which, despite all the strong points you would be surprised that despite considerable footage, not all the characters have the necessary space. Although some are of them are in the spotlight all the time, but they are just a makeweight, have no dialogs and we found out nothing about them. As if the filmmakers were afraid to modify the original and simply ruthlessly delete some characters from the adaptation. In any case, the bigger problem is that the viewer does not feel that he would spend day after day with the heroes in endless scorching sand distances, where during the day any movement means liters of sweat and night are bitterly cold, where you have barely a few sips of water a day and little hope of rescue. The desert was supposed to be the main character present all the time, there isn't even a moment without sand, but it's dull; purely out of duty. Despite the footage and the above mentioned, it never loses pace, Stewart is bursting with charisma perhaps more than ever, the tension especially between him and Krüger is palpable and clearly makes the whole film, a well-captured submarine disease, helping Attenborough, there is no shortage of tension and some memorable scene will take place. It's damn good, but it's obvious it could have been even better. Then it would not have been just a “quality" movie, but a timeless classic. (24.08.2018)

From a practical standpoint, there is perhaps no better option than marooning in the middle of the desert a bunch of sweaty guys who understand technology; from a non-practical, and of course more pleasant standpoint, I would prefer a different sort of people, i.e. women, for whom there was no room aboard the Phoenix (which this time rises from the sand rather than from the ashes), which is actually a good thing. This is pure entertainment for guys, with guyish logic and a complete guyish sense of honour, so it is hard to imagine it without that last look back, to the less fortunate, forever bound to the earth. Among other things, Flight of the Phoenix is proof that the western is not the only genre that can be used as steroids thanks to the massive amount of testosterone that it contains. 75% (18.03.2012)

A classic disaster film about a plane crash in the middle of an empty desert, which brings a group of diverse characters to the screen and portrays their mutual struggle to survive a critical situation. Although somewhat dated in its directorial approach, it is still fully functional and, in comparison to what is commonly seen in the genre today with flaws in the scripts, definitely above average. Overall impression: 65%. (12.10.2010)