Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

There are at least 4 instances of Paul Frees stepping in as the voice actor overlaying the on screen performance of a minor character. It was a lot of fun for a fan of Paul Frees. It made it seem like an Orson Welles movie. With all the lips not quite matching the dialog and the rich voice of Welles replacing the original actor. I wonder if it was just a gun and shoot issue for this movie. Knowing that sound would have to be cleaned up later and that Frees just got handed a copious load. He's also the narrator. It's interesting that this is an aircraft lover movie and that I'm writing about Paul frees being used so much. The Steve Canyon TV series, out on DVD, also has Frees popping up everywhere. And Steve Canyon is aircraft porno.

It is said, during the worse disasters, we see ordinary people, exhibiting extraordinary heroics. Basically that's the core of this film entitled " Flight From Ashiya. " The men of the Air Rescue Service are given a ceremonial tribute and for the most part it's about them. Three men and their lives are personified each offering a segway into their background. The first is Glenn Stevenson (Richard Widmark) the experienced commander who's lingering demons are a deep reminder that his personal bigotry is not only a hindrance to his job, but is itself more of a danger than the black ocean he willingly faces. Next is his second in command, Lt. John Gregg (George Chakiris) who's memories of a mountain accident have become a major obstacle to his courage. Fearing he caused the death of stranded villagers, he doubts he will ever overcome it. The last member of the crew is Tsgt. Mike Takashima. (Yul Brynner) Reaching into his past, he recalls vividly a tragic accident in which a lost love reminds him of his shortcomings and vulnerability. Together the crew receives a summons to fly into raging Pacific storm at night to risk life and limb and rescue a raft load of Japanese survivors on the verge of drowning. The film is a stark reminder of what these courageous men face in their tireless efforts to save lives. Excellent acting from Widmark, Brynner and Chakiris make this a worthy tribute to the profession. Unfortunately the clumsy use of miniatures and models diminishes the visual power of this fine movie. Nevertheless, actual locations and backdrops add to the touching story and contribute to it's success. ****

I concur with the most of the previous comments. The film is silly, the acting is wooden, the story is contrived and mawkish, and the 1941 and 1942 flash back scenes give no real sense of the periods depicted.Most of the scenes filmed using models are ludicrous, especially the water landings and the take off after the rescue, but there are some good shots of real aircraft (Sikorsky UH-19 helicopter, Douglas DC-3, and Grumman HU-16 Albatross amphibian) and a few flying scenes that will appeal to aviation buffs.One previous comment is in error: the air rescue aircraft is a Grumman HU-16 Albatross, not a Martin PBM.

If you want to see this film it helps being not too attentive. This film has a nice surface which promises an entertaining, adventurous film but unfortunately "Flight from Ashiya" instead is full of clichés, stereotypical characters and of often unintentionally funny story lines. "Highlight" is the story of Yul Brynner which takes part in Africa and which involves a super-exotic woman and a doll's house's Africa. The end of this part of the film is ridiculous and at the same time disgusting and a perfect example of the exploitation of a character for a very cheap effect. The most funny is the pathetic narrative voice-over commentary which claims that everything in this film really happened - which indeed would surprise me... All in all "Flight from Ashiya" unfortunately is a perfect argument for all the people who despises classic Hollywood films for being stereotypical and false, which this film surely is.