It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

'The' Flight of the Phoenix (1965) by director Robert Aldrich. A film that should be shown to every child ready for first day of school. This masterpiece shows both the beautiful and horrifying side of human existence - It is a insightful journey of emotions, panic, hope, guilt, vitality, tragedy. A journey to that what life can be. I won't say much about the greatness of this film, no word could possibly do it justice - but, if you are here because you saw the 2004's "push-button" idiotic remake, then you should compare the two pictures... We might make better airplanes today but when it comes to films forget it - we are yet to find something that comes close to the outstanding performances from famous and respected actors. Time was when the audience could take real joy and pride, going to movies - film used to be fun, it really was. Robert Aldrich's The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) show us the obvious non-intelligence and limitations of human conditions. Today, more than ever, it takes quite ingenuity and will to reach civilization...

James Stewart's career in the 1960's was characterised by below average westerns, a contrast to his amazing run of diverse and ambitious films in the 50's. The Flight of the Phoenix and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance are the two films which broke this mould.I'm not an aviation expert so I can only speak as a layman but the method in which the men escape from the desert by building a new plane out of the remains of their downed plane doesn't feel implausible, even if the man who spearheads the project designs toy planes for a living. After Frank Towns (James Stewart) and Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough) learn that Heinrich Dorfmann does not actually design real planes he makes a convincing argument that the principals of model plane design are the same and in many aspects of models require much more exacting designs as there is no pilot to fly them. Hardy Kruger is the big show stealer here as the reserved loner Heinrich Dorfmann. He doesn't conform to the rest of the group often physically separated from them nor does he appear to care what they think of him. He is someone who deals in cold, hard logic and shows little emotion throughout most of the film until he finally warms up towards the end. The intense dislike Towns has for Dorfmann is never explained. OK it is established Dorfmann gets on Towns' nerves but the contempt he has for him is clearly something more than that; in fact on my first viewing of The Flight of the Phoenix I found myself puzzled as to why he was taking such a dislike to him. Although it's never stated the dislike could be due to post war bigotry. Although Dorfmann claims to have not been involved in the war he does hold some Nazi like characteristics such as his lack of compassion for those unnecessary or hindering the survival of the greater good (the greater good!), not to mention the blonde hair and blue eyes wouldn't help Towns' perception of him.It's no secret that James Stewart was an aviation enthusiast, thus no surprise this role would have appealed to him. As a pilot during the war he bring an extra degree of levity to the role, however this is no nice guy Stewart. Frank Towns is a man with a violent temper - nor did Stewart ever appear in a movie with a face so beat up (kudos to the makeup department for all those nasty looking side effects on the character's faces.). The shot in which he threatens to kill the unknown person stealing water if they do it again as his face goes in and out of the light more than once is intimidating stuff. Likewise The Flight of the Phoenix is piloted by a superb international cast with characters whom have different levels of adjustment to surviving the wilderness. It's a surprise seeing Dan Duryea playing a softie as Standish the account; a total contrast to his other roles as a no good weasel."The little men with the slide rules and computers are going to inherit the Earth."

Jimmy Stewart plays a pilot of a cargo plane which flies into trouble when a sand storm hits, and it crashes in the middle of the Sahara desert, stranding the passengers in a life and death struggle for survival as they must deal with a limited water supply(though they have plenty of food...pressed dates!) as some of them succumb to madness or cowardice, all the while trying to make a desperate plan work: to use the one undamaged wing to make a new aircraft.A fine cast that also includes Richard Attenborough, Ian Bannen, Ernest Borgnine, Peter Finch, and Hardy Kruger. Exciting and interesting film is a bit long, but also quite entertaining, and creates a believable atmosphere of desperation that makes the ending all the more satisfying.

It is not just because of Robert Aldrich Directing that this movie is a must see. James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, George Kennedy, and a fine cast have a lot to do with it. The solid material and script the film is based on has a lot to say for the film.This plane crash film tells the story of humans surviving and then trying to pick themselves up after a plane crash in the desert. Stewart plays the pilot and the hero but in an Aldrich type of scenario he is the anti-hero. He admits his error causes the plane to crash. As it is obviously an old plane there is some conjecture to it all being his fault but he takes the blame anyhow.The cast and direction here are excellent. It is great that Turner Classic Movies has started running this as I have to admit this is a film I had not seen. The film is a bit long though when you consider rebuilding a wrecked plane, you have to factor that in. The movie avoids the drag of length with sold performances and a good script.