Top 5 aviation movies

Flight of the Intruder (book really was better)

And ...

Bat 21

Need to be in the list, also.
 
denverpilot said:
Flight of the Intruder (book really was better)

And ...

Bat 21

Need to be in the list, also.
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Yeah I like the book better than the movie as well. I saw Flight of the Intruder in the theater and I wasn't impressed. Years later having watched it a few times on DVD, I actually like it now for some reason.
Still could've been a really great movie with a little better acting and writing.
 
L.Adamson said:
There are just too many! I'm a movie collector, and have most all of them. VHS, Laser Disc, DVD, and BlueRay. My favorite aviation scene is still the B-36 takeoff in Strategic Air Command.

By the way, another one that I haven't seen listed is "Mother Lode". Excellent flying scenes, including an unplanned float plane crash into a mountain lake, which was re-written into the story. After sitting in a vault for many years due to legal reasons, it was released on DVD last year.

L.Adamson
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Only thing I have on Laser Disc are the IMAX movies Flyers and To Fly. Horrible acting but that's what you get with IMAX movies.

Now I didn't list it but if we are talking best aviation scene i gotta go with Empire of the Sun where the pilots salute Christian Bale. Second best is the P-51 flyby scene later in the movie. I guess that movie could be in my top 5 but I'm not sure it would be considered an aviation movie.
 
1. The Great Waldo Pepper
2. Top Gun
3. Air America
4. Firefox
5. The Blue Max
 
If we're going to add books I'd like to nominate:

'North Star Over My Shoulder' by Bob Buck

and,

'FlyBoys' by James Bradley
 
SCCutler said:
"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" was an aviation movie for Captain, because every time he watches the pool scene with Phoebe Cates, he gets ... Ummm... Elevated.

:D
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It is a very nice scene.
 
Piece of Cake was a great BoB series on PBS. My five:

(1) The Blue Max
(2) The Great Waldo Pepper
(3) 12 O'Clock High
(4) High Road to China
(5) Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
 
1. The Aviator
2. Spirit of St. Louis
3. Wings for this Man
4. Air America
5. Flying Padre
 
Howard the Duck (We have a saying on our Planet: If god had wanted us to fly, he wouldn't have taken away our wings).

Swan Song (Johnny Cash on Columbo) - Features a staged aviation accident and Columbo stepping out of a Navion.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - Famous "No Ticket" scene on the Hindenburg and the Jr./Sr. escape in the military fighter.

Seven days, Six nights

(the original) Airport - Great PAR approach at the end.
 
Velocity173 said:
Now I didn't list it but if we are talking best aviation scene i gotta go with Empire of the Sun where the pilots salute Christian Bale. Second best is the P-51 flyby scene later in the movie. I guess that movie could be in my top 5 but I'm not sure it would be considered an aviation movie.
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I just received my 25th anniversary BluRay disc of Empire of the Sun last week. Cranked up the volume, just as the P-51's got in to the picture. It was GREAT!

L.Adamson
 
My top five favorite movies fall into three different categories.

Drama, Chick Flick and Documentaries.

In the Drama category...
8277911094_153ab1566a_d.jpg


Chick Flick nominations go to... (Note that Top Gun is also in this category)
8276852649_1089e63fed_d.jpg


Documentary Aviation Films
8276852929_d8a6120fd7_d.jpg

 
Silvaire said:
The Great Waldo Pepper is one of the best because it's most likely the last actual Curtiss JN-4 air to air we're ever going to get. Frank Tallman was responsible for most of that stuff and if he hadn't been killed in the filming of Flight of the Phoenix we'd probably have been blessed with much more of that kind of stuff.
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It was the great pilot Paul Mantz that was killed in Flight of the Phoenix.

My top five:

Twelve O'clock High
Battle of Britain
Bridges at Toko Ri
Waldo Pepper
Dawn Patol (Errol Flynn, David Niven, Basil Rathbone)
 
L.Adamson said:
I just received my 25th anniversary BluRay disc of Empire of the Sun last week. Cranked up the volume, just as the P-51's got in to the picture. It was GREAT!

L.Adamson
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I just found out last night my DVD skips. Didn't even know it was on BluRay yet. I'll order it today. Thanks.:)
 
flav8r said:
My top five favorite movies fall into three different categories.

Drama, Chick Flick and Documentaries.

In the Drama category...
8277911094_153ab1566a_d.jpg


Chick Flick nominations go to... (Note that Top Gun is also in this category)
8276852649_1089e63fed_d.jpg


Documentary Aviation Films
8276852929_d8a6120fd7_d.jpg

Click to expand...


Wait, TopGun didn't make the 'Documentary Aviation Films' too???
:wink2:
 
flav8r said:
My top five favorite movies fall into three different categories.

Drama, Chick Flick and Documentaries.

In the Drama category...
8277911094_153ab1566a_d.jpg


Chick Flick nominations go to... (Note that Top Gun is also in this category)
8276852649_1089e63fed_d.jpg


Documentary Aviation Films
8276852929_d8a6120fd7_d.jpg

Click to expand...

I think Speed & Angels has the best air to air footage of any documentary. Besides Top Gun, it gives the best perspective of what dogfighting feels like.
 
Die hard 2 must get a mention.
 
Velocity173 said:
"Piece of Cake" twice now? Never heard of it.
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Piece Of Cake was an early 1990s BBC series of six episodes based on the book by Derek Robinson of the same name. It's about a group of RAF pilots in Hornet Squadron from the beginning of WWII and flying on France against the Huns up to the start of the Battle of Brittan.

Some very nice aerial scenes and the story line is very good.

Lots of clips on YouTube.

Cheers
 
The P40 scenes with John Belushi in 1941 are priceless.

Also, there was a USAF propaganda sort of film released to theaters in the late 80s or early 90s about the SR71 that had amazingly good scenes of that monster in flight. I think it was right before they phased them out
 
Anthony said:
It was the great pilot Paul Mantz that was killed in Flight of the Phoenix.
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You're right, Tallman injured his leg in a go-kart accident so Mantz took his place on the Phoenix. Tallman was killed later when he flew his Aztec into a mountain.
 
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roncachamp said:
A mention for what? Being absolute crap as an aviation movie?
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C'mon, you know it has some of the greatest ATC footage ever! Only Pushing Tin portrays your job more accurately. :D
 
david0tey said:
1. Top Gun
2. Top Gun
3. Top Gun
4. Top Gun
5. Top Gun
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Yeah Buddy! Agreed!

If I cant list the same one 5 times I'd have to say:

1: Top Gun
2: Flight of the Intruder
3: Iron Eagle
4: Hot Shots!
5: Speed and Angels

(I cant believe nobody has mentioned Hot Shots yet haha)
 
Apache123 said:
doo doooo doooo do do do do dooo dooo doo do dooooo do do dooooo do do doooo doooo dooooo. doo doooo doooo do do do do dooo dooo do do dooo do do doooo do do doooooooooo
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Only tune I can play on a guitar! :D
 
Top Gun
Battle of Britian
Bombers B-52
The Blue Max
The Joe McConnell Story


Chris
 
I thought of another one: Final Descent

I used to watch it a lot as a young teenager, but haven't seen it for many years now. Anyone else remember it? I might have to find it and watch it again
 
Spirit Of St Louis
12 Oclock High
Hot Shots
Great Waldo Pepper
Hell's Angels

5 is way too few.... Good to see that Wikipedia list!
 
wanttaja said:
Another good site is the Internet Movie Plane Database:

http://www.impdb.org/index.php?title=The_Internet_Movie_Plane_Database

Ron Wanttaja
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The site appears to be more of a plane spotter versus movies about aviation.
Looks like it would be a great place to settle an argument about which type of aircraft appears in which movie by searching their data base.



I found it interesting that while almost every conceivable type of modern aircraft is listed, there was not a single Rockwell Commander in any movie.:nonod:
 
flav8r said:
I found it interesting that while almost every conceivable type of modern aircraft is listed, there was not a single Rockwell Commander in any movie.:nonod:
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FWIW, it is obscure, but there was a documentary about the 1971 fatal hijacking of 58N (Aero Commander 681).
 
I'm surprised Tora! Tora! Tora! hasn't been mentioned...
 
CJones said:
I'm surprised Tora! Tora! Tora! hasn't been mentioned...
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It has, it has, it has, but not in the direct context of a list (Discussion of the preference for real airplanes vs. CGI).

After seeing other folks' lists, I was reminded of a number of good flying movies that might bump my own entries around a bit....

Ron Wanttaja
 
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