| |
Nabaza.net-The MarketPlace - Flight of the Intruder
|
List Price: $9.98
Our Price: $32.59
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Paramount
Starring: Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Brad Johnson (II), Rosanna Arquette, Tom Sizemore
Directed By: John Milius
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792184263
Format: Anamorphic
ISBN: 0792184262
Label: Paramount
Manufacturer: Paramount
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2003-07-01
Running Time: 114
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: 1991-01-18
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
Time has been kind to Flight of the Intruder, a rousing aviation-action adventure that looks better now than it did to critics who panned it in 1991. Perhaps they were expecting a Tom Clancy-ish blockbuster (producer Mace Neufeld oversaw the Jack Ryan franchise), but director John (Conan the Barbarian) Milius had something potentially more substantial in mind. The first 75 minutes are pure Milius: Macho bluster, male bonding among ill-fated pilots and Naval bombardiers, and a Big Wednesday-like passion for dangerous fun. But Milius's favorite topics have sharper teeth here: He's made a scathing anti-Vietnam film that still honors the bravery of soldiers who do their job even when the job itself seems pointless. That's why ace Brad Johnson (why didn't he become a huge star?) and maverick bombardier Willem Dafoe plot a renegade mission, bombing a Hanoi arms depot with their low-altitude A-6 Intruder in the movie's pyrotechnical climax. Fringe benefits abound, including early roles for Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames, and David Schwimmer in his big-screen debut, three years before Friends and looking like the dweeby grandchild of his Band of Brothers martinet. --Jeff Shannon
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good movie, watched it several times with the kids.
Comment: Great movie. Not a block buster but a good one and the kids enjoyed it too.
Stephen
Customer Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Aviation Movie
Comment: During the Vietnam war, A-6 Intruder aircraft were used to bomb targets in North Vietnam. Unfortunately, many of these targets had little or no military value, and the only destruction caused by these raids was to trees or staging areas. No large targets were hit. However, many American crewmen were killed during these missions. This movie tells the story of the A-6 and how one crew took matters into their own hands.
Brad Johnson stars as Jake Grafton, a brash Intruder pilot. He and his bombardier are on a mission against enemy targets. Jake drops his bombs and heads for home. The target is destroyed, but Jake's bombardier was mortally wounded. Back on his ship, Jake learns that his bombardier has died and all he succeeded in hitting was a group of trees. Commander Frank Camparelli (Danny Glover), the squadron commander, tries to calm Jake down, but to little avail.
Meanwhile, Virgil Cole (Willem Dafoe) has joined the squadron as Jake's new bombardier. After serving three tours, Cole has become cynical of the war, but he still loves to fight.
Soon, Jake, Cole, and other members of the squadron are sent off on another raid. Once again, the results are the same; another worthless target destroyed and more crewmen killed. Jake and Cole have become incensed at these missions and they have decided to take matters into their own hands.
Jake and Cole decide to fly a mission into Hanoi to destroy a SAM base. Although the mission is a success, Jake and Cole now face court-martial charges. Will they be convicted, or will they somehow beat the charges and remain in the Navy?
This is a top-notch movie. It does a good job of showcasing the A-6 Intruder. This aircraft carried no defensive armament, yet it served as the Navy's primary carrier-based bomber for much of the Vietnam War. Brad Johnson and Willem Dafoe are very good in their roles. Danny Glover is excellent as Commander Camparelli. The combat scenes and air battles are exciting to watch as well.
I highly recommend this movie. The action is non-stop and thrilling to watch. Watch and see how two bomber crewmen take matter into their own hands and deal a lethal blow to the enemy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Low octane
Comment: John Milius with an aircraft carrier to play with - he must have thought he'd died and gone to Valhalla, or at least until Flight of the Intruder got trapped in release date hell and proved his last theatrical release to date. Originally scheduled for Summer 1990, but put back to avoid a clash with Air America, its Autumn release was then postponed so that Paramount could use it as a standby for the cinemas that had booked Godfather III just in case Coppola didn't finish editing in time. He did. Then, to cap it all, three days after finally opening in the States in a re-edited version, the first Gulf War started, rendering it almost unpromotable because of his gung ho reputation.
Yet in actuality, hawkish sentiments confined to a great one-line riposte to Jane Fonda's Sixties politicking, Intruder continued the mellowing of Milius and is rather more aware than Top Gun of the moral implications and complications of its tale of Navy pilots during the Vietnam war. It's not without its problems: Willem Dafoe gives an uneasy performance and is prone to a VERY odd giggle even by his standards while Danny Glover doesn't actually appear to have anything to do until the last reel (Rosanna Arquette has even less reason to be there), with Basil Poledouris' score far from the standards of his previous collaborations with the director (the composer shared in the bad luck, dropping out of Dances With Wolves to score his friend's film, with disastrous consequences for his career at the time) - but it was none the less a qualified return to form for the director.
It also shows how his strengths and weaknesses had become reversed, his interest in quieter moments now taking precedence over the pyrotechnics and plotting. Extremely well filmed but with a go-nowhere narrative and the kind of curiously passionless action scenes that marred the thematically more interesting Farewell to the King, his heart just doesn't seem to be in them anymore. The finale, which owes more than a little to The Bridges at Toko-Ri, is distinctly underwhelming, and the aerial scenes are particularly disappointing, with the pivotal raid on 'Sam City' coming over more as a video game than cinema (ironically, the video game had better graphics despite coming out before the film). However, there are still a fewstunning shots, including an amazing slow motion shot of rescue planes passing a downed jet, and Milius is fully at home with the Scope screen.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An very good book and a good movie...
Comment: I am not qualified to discuss the politics of the Vietnam War and about 40 something other people have commented upon the story. Having said that the book was one of those that was hard to put down. The movie was pretty good but arguable not quite to the same level of excitment as the book. One thing that the movie really does a terrific job of doing is showing people just how formidible a weapon system the now retired A6 Intruder realy was. Not supersonic and not the prettiest thing in the air but certainly agile. The flying segments are well worth watching if you are a fan of US Naval Aviation. Sadly like the A7 and few others it never seemed to capture the media's attention like the F4 Phantom and the F14 Tomcat did. Which brings up another interesting question I have that resulted in the 3 star rating I gave. Wasn't there any other aircraft on Grafton's ship? All we see are the A6 intruders and in the end we also get to see some Sandy's go into action. But that is about it...
If you are a fan of flying movies see this...
If you are fan of Vietnam War movies see this...
If you are fan of Steven Coonts books see this...
If you are fan of any of the stars see this...
If you looking for a pretty good action movie see this...
It is not a boring film but the story could have been a little better written.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Flight of the Intruder
Comment: Great military movie. It shows what airmen during the Vietnam War (or American War, if you're reading this in Vietnam) wanted to do - take the fight to the enemy. A great wish for the airmen that did come true on the big screen.
As a retired Air Force member, I can laugh at all the Naval antics on shore leave because today's military makes them VERBOTEN. Carrier Landings in bars in Angeles City or Olongapo no longer exist since the US military was ordered out of there. Still, the guys had great fun letting loose in this movie and then faced death when the time came.
In the scene where Willem Dafoe and his pilot have an avionics failure, it made me sit on the edge of my seat, because as a former avionics technician who worked on F-16s, I could feel the fear and subtle panic they were facing during battle. I always ensured my avionics components worked so our aircrews would not experience that sensation.
Note: the captain, who was trying the aircrew for disobeying orders, was Fred Dalton Thompson; he wasn't mentioned in the credits for some reason.
Great movie and storyline, superb antics by the troops on shore leave, and really cool aerial footage. A must add to your war film collection.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
