Robert Aldrich

The Flight of the Phoenix

The Flight of the Phoenix

A downed airplane is a motley group of men’s only protection from the relentless desert sun, in this psychologically charged disaster epic, one of the all-time great survival movies. James Stewart is the veteran pilot whose Benghazi-bound plane—carrying passengers played by an unshaven ensemble of screen icons including Richard Attenborough, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Dan Duryea, Peter Finch, and George Kennedy—crash-lands in the remote Sahara. As tensions simmer among the survivors, they find themselves forced to trust a coldly logical engineer (Hardy Krüger) whose plan to get them out may just be crazy enough to work—or could kill them all. Directed with characteristic punch by Hollywood iconoclast Robert Aldrich, The Flight of the Phoenix balances adventure with human drama as it conducts a surprising and complex examination of authority, honor, and camaraderie among desperate men.

The Flight of the Phoenix

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1965
  • 142 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #1116

Special Features

  • 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • New conversation between filmmaker Walter Hill and film scholar Alain Silver
  • New interview with biographer Donald Dewey on actor James Stewart and his service as a bomber pilot
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by filmmaker and critic Gina Telaroli

    New cover by Sean Phillips

Purchase Options

Special Features

  • 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • New conversation between filmmaker Walter Hill and film scholar Alain Silver
  • New interview with biographer Donald Dewey on actor James Stewart and his service as a bomber pilot
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by filmmaker and critic Gina Telaroli

    New cover by Sean Phillips
The Flight of the Phoenix
Cast
James Stewart
Frank Towns
Richard Attenborough
Lew Moran
Peter Finch
Captain Harris
Hardy Krüger
Heinrich Dorfmann
Ernest Borgnine
Trucker Cobb
Ian Bannen
Crow
Ronald Fraser
Sergeant Watson
Christian Marquand
Dr. Renaud
Dan Duryea
Standish
George Kennedy
Bellamy
Gabriele Tinti
Gabriele
Alex Montoya
Carlos
Peter Bravos
Tasso
William Aldrich
Bill
Barrie Chase
Farida
Credits
Director
Robert Aldrich
Produced by
Robert Aldrich
Screenplay by
Lukas Heller
Based on the novel by
Elleston Trevor
Director of photography
Joseph Biroc
Art director
William Glasgow
Editor
Michael Luciano
Second unit director
Oscar Rudolph
Aerial sequences
Paul Mantz
Special photographic effects
L. B. Abbott
Howard Lydecker
Script supervisor
Robert Gary
Script apprentice
Adell Aldrich Bravos
Music by
DeVol
Set decorator
Lucien Hafley
Costumes
Norma Koch
Makeup supervision
Ben Nye
Makeup
Jack Stone
William Turner
Terry Miles
Ed Butterworth
Frank Westmore
“Senza Fine” sung by
Connie Francis
Orchestrations
Al Woodbury
Main Title
Don Niehaus

Current

The Flight of the Phoenix: Flight or Fight
The Flight of the Phoenix: Flight or Fight

In Robert Aldrich’s epic disaster film, James Stewart leads a pack of temperamentally different men as they struggle to survive in the face of the unknown—a template that would go on to influence Hollywood blockbusters for decades to come.

By Gina Telaroli