Top 5 aviation movies

Fearless Tower said:
That's the problem....hard to limit the list to only 5!
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Well I thought about top 10 but I didn't think we had enough aviation buffs out there to even come up with 10. I can't believe I'm the only one who listed The Right Stuff. C'mon people, it's how the future began! Classic. Also only one other listed The Final Countdown? Now I admit the acting sucks but what a storyline. The Tomcat aerials on BluRay are priceless. Also just the behind the scenes stuff with pilot interviews alone is worth the price of admission.

After reading other recommendations I ordered The Great Waldo Pepper, Piece of Cake and Highway in the Sky. Never seen them.
 
Velocity173 said:
Well I thought about top 10 but I didn't think we had enough aviation buffs out there to even come up with 10. I can't believe I'm the only one who listed The Right Stuff. C'mon people, it's how the future began! Classic. Also only one other listed The Final Countdown? Now I admit the acting sucks but what a storyline. The Tomcat aerials on BluRay are priceless. Also just the behind the scenes stuff with pilot interviews alone is worth the price of admission.

After reading other recommendations I ordered The Great Waldo Pepper, Piece of Cake and Highway in the Sky. Never seen them.
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Right Stuff was my number 6.

Final Countdown is indeed a great movie....while the story line is obviously pure fiction, they did an outstanding job of capturing Navy life at sea.
 
Space Camp?

Flight of the Navigator?

Am I the only child of the 80s?

:D
 
CJones said:
Space Camp?

Flight of the Navigator?

Am I the only child of the 80s?

:D
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I attended Space Camp (didn't know there was a movie), and the year following I attended Aviation Challenge where we flew F16s against each other. I found my "gradebook" from Aviatoin Challenge shortly after I stareted training for my PPL and showed it to my instructor "Look how good I was in an F16 sim when I was 13!!" :lol:

Downloaded Flight of the Navigator a few weeks back. Need to watch that soon. I found myself talking to a "kid" (college grad) who didn't know what Flight of the Navigator was....man this growing up stuff sucks.

1. Top Gun
2. The Aviator
3. One Six Right
....don't know many more but this thread has inspired me to "obtain" some.
 
numl0ck said:
I attended Space Camp (didn't know there was a movie), and the year following I attended Aviation Challenge where we flew F16s against each other. I found my "gradebook" from Aviatoin Challenge shortly after I stareted training for my PPL and showed it to my instructor "Look how good I was in an F16 sim when I was 13!!" :lol:

Downloaded Flight of the Navigator a few weeks back. Need to watch that soon. I found myself talking to a "kid" (college grad) who didn't know what Flight of the Navigator was....man this growing up stuff sucks.

1. Top Gun
2. The Aviator
3. One Six Right
....don't know many more but this thread has inspired me to "obtain" some.
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I grew up an hour away from Huntsville, AL, so we went to the Space and Rocket Center fairly frequently for field trips in elementary school. I was always jealous of the kids that were doing 'Mission Control' or performing 'missions' in the big water tank, etc., but I never thought "Hey, I should see if I can go to Space Camp myself!" :(
 
CJones said:
Space Camp?

Flight of the Navigator?

Am I the only child of the 80s?

:D
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Lol @ Space Camp. Kelly Preston was hot! The rest of the movie? Cccrraaapp! I actually own it but I don't know why. Growing up in the 80's I guess.
 
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Came here to chime in about Blue Thunder but see someone already got in a mention for it. Whisper mode!
 
Jim Logajan said:
Looks like Wikipedia has a web page with a list of aviation-related films; it currently lists 674 such movies:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Aviation_films
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That list is hardly a complete one. I had to add an "Aviation films" category entry to the Wikipedia page for the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. I don't have a top list of anything, but that movie does come readily to mind when I think of aviation films that left a pleasant memory.
 
CJones said:
I grew up an hour away from Huntsville, AL, so we went to the Space and Rocket Center fairly frequently for field trips in elementary school. I was always jealous of the kids that were doing 'Mission Control' or performing 'missions' in the big water tank, etc., but I never thought "Hey, I should see if I can go to Space Camp myself!" :(
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Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt (literally).

http://www.avweb.com/news/places/183074-1.html

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt (literally).

http://www.avweb.com/news/places/183074-1.html

Ron Wanttaja
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Awesome!

Doesn't look like they do the week-long Adult Space Camp anymore, though. :(

Oh well.. Once my son is old enough to appreciate it (maybe a little before that, even), we'll be making the trip up there to visit the USSRC as much as my wife will allow, so hopefully Jr. will get the Space Camp bug as well...
 
12 O'clock High
Stragetic Air Command
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995 HBO)
Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
The Aviator (1985)

If I could only keep 5 aviation movies, those are the ones I'd keep. I have many other aviation-related movies, but the those are the top 5.
 
My favorite scene in The Right Stuff was when the pilots had to give sperm samples and he distracted the others by whistling. Classic.. (I had friends like that in college)
 
Up until a few weeks ago, my stuff has been in storage for many months. I plugged in my DVD player for the first time last night and inside was a copy of Dark Blue World. First PM gets it if anyone is interested.
 
I just finished Piece of Cake yesterday. Great series. Thanks for the recommendation guys.
 
Forgot all about that one. It's GREAT! Are you offering to loan it?



Wingsofglass said:
Up until a few weeks ago, my stuff has been in storage for many months. I plugged in my DVD player for the first time last night and inside was a copy of Dark Blue World. First PM gets it if anyone is interested.
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Lot's of good flicks listed here.
Haven't seen a vote for one of the original flying classics. Before
"Hells Angels" There was ......."Wings" A silent movie from 1927. Got to see it in 1970 at a national college fly-in. They bussed us to one of the old theaters in town that still had it's original Wurlitzer and had the guy that had played at the premier of the movie do the musical score including the sound effects. Didn't know they could make machine gun noises...
Evidently it's been remastered and out on DVD and Blueray.

Other favorites with great aerial shots:
Blue Max
Always
Waldo Pepper
Magnificent Men
 
Some of the replies for an aviation movie... WTF?

Anyway, how about 633 Squadron. This is the movie that inspired George Lucas to write the trench run scene in Star Wars.

Or, 12 O'Clock High that has already been mentioned. Parallels real life closely in the characters. Used by the service academies as training on leadership. Another must see.

Hell's Angels is interesting in the lengths that Howard Huges went to to film the dog fight scenes on a cloudy day in LA. Also, interesting in that several pilots actually died in the making of the movie. None of the CGI crap with frosted hair metro-sexuals at the "controls".
 
Alexb2000 said:
Some of the replies for an aviation movie... WTF?

Anyway, how about 633 Squadron. This is the movie that inspired George Lucas to write the trench run scene in Star Wars.

Or, 12 O'Clock High that has already been mentioned. Parallels real life closely in the characters. Used by the service academies as training on leadership. Another must see.

Hell's Angels is interesting in the lengths that Howard Huges went to to film the dog fight scenes on a cloudy day in LA. Also, interesting in that several pilots actually died in the making of the movie. None of the CGI crap with frosted hair metro-sexuals at the "controls".
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I have 633 and love the Mosquito. Problem is the flying and acting isn't the best. I'd put in my top 10 though. Never seen Hell's Angels. Perhaps I'll buy that one.
 
Alexb2000 said:
Hell's Angels is interesting in the lengths that Howard Huges went to to film the dog fight scenes on a cloudy day in LA.
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There is a documentary, I think it's on the DVD, Hughes had filmed quite a lot of material but wasn't satisfied with it. Then one day someone said there were clouds at Oakland so they flew the whole entourage from LA up to Oakland where the majority of what ended up in the movie was filmed. The original movie was also silent so when Hughes decided it needed to be a "talkie" they had to re-shoot most of the ground scenes all over again. At the time of it's release it was the most expensive Hollywood film ever produced.
 
Silvaire said:
There is a documentary, I think it's on the DVD, Hughes had filmed quite a lot of material but wasn't satisfied with it. Then one day someone said there were clouds at Oakland so they flew the whole entourage from LA up to Oakland where the majority of what ended up in the movie was filmed. The original movie was also silent so when Hughes decided it needed to be a "talkie" they had to re-shoot most of the ground scenes all over again. At the time of it's release it was the most expensive Hollywood film ever produced.
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I'll look for it. Thanks.
 
I liked End of the Spear. The recreation of the landing on the river was done by Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint who died. Nate also developed the method of lowering objects from a Cub that was flyingin a tight circle.
 
Here is a summary:

First number is number of “likes”

10 Top Gun
8 The Great Waldo Pepper
6 Stragetic Air Command
5 Memphis Bell
5 Airplane
4 Twelve O'Clock High
4 The Spirit of St Louis
4 The Blue Max
4 Battle of Britain
4 12 Oclock High
3 One Six Right
3 The Right Stuff
3 Island in the Sky
3 Flight of the Phoenix
3 Flight of the Intruder
3 Always
3 Air America
2 The Aviator
2 Speed & Angels
2 Pushing Tin
2 Hot Shots
2 Hell’s Angels

One like each
1941
30 Seconds Over Tokyo
633 Squadron
Air Force One
Airport
Bat 21
Blue Max
Blue Thunder
Bombers B-52
Bridges at Toko Ri
Captains of the Clouds
ConAir
Dark Blue World
Dawn Patrol
Die hard 2
Dr. Strangelove
Empire of the Sun
Final Descent
Firefox
Flight of the Navigator
Fly Boys
Flyers
Flying Padre
Great Waldo Pepper
Ground Control
High Road to China
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Iron Eagle
Magnificent Men
Mother Lode
MST3K: The Starfighters
No Highway in the Sky
Passenger57
Piece of Cake Series on BBC
Point of the Spear
Red Tails
Right Stuff
Seven days, Six nights
Snakes On A Plane
Space Camp
StarWars
The "Piece of Cake" miniseries.
The Aviator (1985)
The Battle of Britain
The Bridges at Toko Ri
The Final Countdown
The High and the Mighty
The Joe McConnell Story
The Pilot
The Rocketeer
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995 HBO)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
To Fly
To Fly, To Serve
Tora Tora Tora
Wings
Wings for this Man
Zero Hour

Added:
Into The Unkown
Bombers B-52
Fight Plan
Mercy Mission
Romeo Zulu
Cloud Dancer
 
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One honorable mention I forgot about is "Into The Unkown." Good old movie about test pilots in the 50's. Kinda reminds me of "Bombers B-52" where the acting isn't that great but has great footage of the old jets.
 
tinerj said:
Here is a summary:

First number is number of “likes”

10 Top Gun
8 The Great Waldo Pepper
6 Stragetic Air Command
5 Memphis Bell
5 Airplane
4 Twelve O'Clock High
4 The Spirit of St Louis
4 The Blue Max
4 Battle of Britain
4 12 Oclock High
3 One Six Right
3 The Right Stuff
3 Island in the Sky
3 Flight of the Phoenix
3 Flight of the Intruder
3 Always
3 Air America
2 The Aviator
2 Speed & Angels
2 Pushing Tin
2 Hot Shots
2 Hell’s Angels

One like each
1941
30 Seconds Over Tokyo
633 Squadron
Air Force One
Airport
Bat 21
Blue Max
Blue Thunder
Bombers B-52
Bridges at Toko Ri
Captains of the Clouds
ConAir
Dark Blue World
Dawn Patrol
Die hard 2
Dr. Strangelove
Empire of the Sun
Final Descent
Firefox
Flight of the Navigator
Fly Boys
Flyers
Flying Padre
Great Waldo Pepper
Ground Control
High Road to China
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Iron Eagle
Magnificent Men
Mother Lode
MST3K: The Starfighters
No Highway in the Sky
Passenger57
Piece of Cake Series on BBC
Point of the Spear
Red Tails
Right Stuff
Seven days, Six nights
Snakes On A Plane
Space Camp
StarWars
The "Piece of Cake" miniseries.
The Aviator (1985)
The Battle of Britain
The Bridges at Toko Ri
The Final Countdown
The High and the Mighty
The Joe McConnell Story
The Pilot
The Rocketeer
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995 HBO)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
To Fly
To Fly, To Serve
Tora Tora Tora
Wings
Wings for this Man
Zero Hour

Added:
Into The Unkown
Bombers B-52
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Great list I might add:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo3VT3aZQv8

Do your self a favor and start at 13:15 , I'm sure you will know when to quit. Features a Mooney newer than mine. Great flying sequence and great acting. :D
 
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tinerj said:
Here is a summary:

First number is number of “likes”

10 Top Gun
8 The Great Waldo Pepper
6 Stragetic Air Command
5 Memphis Bell
5 Airplane
4 Twelve O'Clock High
4 The Spirit of St Louis
4 The Blue Max
4 Battle of Britain
4 12 Oclock High
3 One Six Right
3 The Right Stuff
3 Island in the Sky
3 Flight of the Phoenix
3 Flight of the Intruder
3 Always
3 Air America
2 The Aviator
2 Speed & Angels
2 Pushing Tin
2 Hot Shots
2 Hell’s Angels

One like each
1941
30 Seconds Over Tokyo
633 Squadron
Air Force One
Airport
Bat 21
Blue Max
Blue Thunder
Bombers B-52
Bridges at Toko Ri
Captains of the Clouds
ConAir
Dark Blue World
Dawn Patrol
Die hard 2
Dr. Strangelove
Empire of the Sun
Final Descent
Firefox
Flight of the Navigator
Fly Boys
Flyers
Flying Padre
Great Waldo Pepper
Ground Control
High Road to China
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Iron Eagle
Magnificent Men
Mother Lode
MST3K: The Starfighters
No Highway in the Sky
Passenger57
Piece of Cake Series on BBC
Point of the Spear
Red Tails
Right Stuff
Seven days, Six nights
Snakes On A Plane
Space Camp
StarWars
The "Piece of Cake" miniseries.
The Aviator (1985)
The Battle of Britain
The Bridges at Toko Ri
The Final Countdown
The High and the Mighty
The Joe McConnell Story
The Pilot
The Rocketeer
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995 HBO)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
To Fly
To Fly, To Serve
Tora Tora Tora
Wings
Wings for this Man
Zero Hour

Added:
Into The Unkown
Bombers B-52
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Pretty extensive list, I'm kind of surprised that you have Passenger 57 but you don't have Flight Plan with Jodie Foster.

 
Has anybody watched Mercy Mission? It is based on a true story. Also whisky Romeo Zulu.. I highly recommend those
 
Am I the only one who's seen The Rocketeer?
 
Speaking of Top Gun... I heard on the radio that it's being released in IMAX theaters for 1 week in February in 3D! I asked my wife if she'd go with me- she agreed after rolling her eyes at me.
 
steingar said:
Nope, and a truly awesome aviation movie in every sense. Many, if not most of these appeal most avidly to fossils.
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BAHAHAHA! I'm 24, fossil yourself dude...:rofl:


...but I did just grow a beard, and my girlfriend says I'm an old man...hmmm
 
Since Piece of Cake was one on my list I feel absolutely compelled to note it is listed twice in the "also mentioned in dispatches" section instead of the more than once section. :D

Cheers
 
Old Geek said:
Although not properly a movie, the British Airways commercial "To Fly, To Serve" deserves a mention...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XozHLoqwp_4

Best minute and half of airplanes I've ever seen.
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That is very good. The first 50 year's of Aviators will never be surpassed in qualities, the rest of us just followed them. The 4 blade prop early on in video, is it CGI?
 
Just saw "The Bridges at Toko Ri" this weekend. Can't quite see what's so great about it, other than Mickey Rooney in a leprechaun hat.
 
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