I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Blistering performances.

All about an alcoholic airline pilot.I have no sympathy for this jerk of a pilot who cowers in the airplane toilet to retrieve a flask which he has hidden under the wash basin beforehand so he can have a snort while in flight. When he has completed his groggy ritual, he replaces the flask and strides back to the cockpit to strap himself in and fly his passengers to safety as any excellent pilot would with bravery and a clear head-- wait a minute! Cliff Robertson is his usual stoic self, Frank Converse takes up space in the chair he sits in, Diane Baker is wasted as the flier's mistress, Gordon MacRae is a fat executive, Dana Andrews is the company bigwig, and Eddie Binns does what he can with the boring dialogue.It's somewhat humorous to hear Captain Drunkard make the following P.A. announcement: "Folks, we've got a rare treat for you -- we're going to be able to fly A LOT LOWER".... so Captain Boozer can deliver a junior grade SIGHT-SEEING trip! I am of the opinion that the pilot should just fly the plane and get us to where we're going. Of course, 1980 (the year of this film's release) was a different time, in some ways a better one, but in contemporary society, I surely would want to be asked to participate in a vote as to whether or not I wish to be flown LOWER than the recommended safe altitude. The stupid co-pilot suspects (he says he knows for sure) that the captain is drinking while flying, but he says nothing to the authorities. Thanks a lot, 'co-pilot'.Not so great a movie, but better than that similar Denzel Washington flick called 'Flight' (2012). Now that REALLY sucked!

Gordon MacRae who'll be remembered by most for his fluffy roles in musical comedies, always wanted to try his hand at drama and finally got the opportunity with the role of Captain Joe Barnes, the chief of flight operations for Northern American Airlines, who finds out that one of his pilots is an alcoholic and he doesn't want to believe it. They are good friends who share a love for old-fashioned seat-of-the-pants flying, both having been crop dusting pilots in the good old days. It's a problem that can't be swept under the rug, however, and Dana Andrews, as the airline president, must deal with it. Cliff Robertson stars as that pilot who gets away with flying under the influence until he get caught and is forced to face up to his problem. I covered the making of this movie in the April/May, 1979 issue of "On The Set Magazine." Now having seen the final cut, I'm of the opinion that some of its best clips wound up on the cutting room floor. It actually turned out better than anyone ever expected, however, considering its plethora of early problems. The screenplay was co-written between Cliff Robertson and Robert P. Davis who authored the novel on which it was based. Davis started out as the director and found it wasn't as easy as he'd thought it would be. Robertson jumped in to bail him out and save what was left of the project. "The Pilot" was hailed as the return to the silver screen for an old musical star named Gordon MacRae, whose first words to me were, "I'm one helluva good actor, Warren." I guess he did Okay, all things considered. I found it interesting that many of the stars I interviewed over the several weeks of hopping from airport to airport openly discussed their own bout with alcoholism. Robertson, the main star, also directed. Tony Rogers replaced Frank Converse as the co-pilot about halfway into the filming. Rogers is probably best remembered as Sir Dinadan in "Camelot." When the movie wrapped no one seemed very confident that it would make it to the big screen. One of its most exciting scenes was the aborted take-off, which was also one of the toughest to set up due to the logistics involved. While apologizing to us for all the delays Robertson told us at his press conference, "Now you can sit down and write that the engine erupts in a ball of flames, followed by billowing black smoke, followed by people screaming, followed by people jumping out of an airplane and that may take you a couple of hours to write and maybe another thirty minutes to type up, but when you try to execute all that it involves many, many, people and many, many man-hours." We of the press all appreciated that explanation. I'm sure that all who knew and worked with Cliff Robertson will remember him as a fine actor and, perhaps, even a finer gentleman.

Why, oh why hasn't this great flick made it to DVD yet? It's great and yet totally ignored. Granted I showed it to a couple of co-workers who had never seen it and they thought it was boring but still.Mike Hagan is an ace pilot who can move the heavy metal better than anyone. But he drinks...on the job. He knows he has a problem and tries to deal with it before it gets out of hand. It's never that simple though and he gets caught.One great part is the jet upset scene. It is so convincing that you feel like you are in the plane with them as they plummet out of the sky. Meanwhile our hero is giving his passengers a lovely tour of the Grand Canyon area, maybe even with a snoot full. But he's not falling out of the sky like his sober counterpart, no sir.All the flying stuff is well done, using real planes flying over the Grand Canyon, falling out of the sky, flying through the mountains... after falling out of the sky, taking off, landing. The cockpit shots are also well done, even showing somebody who looks like the actors from the outside while the plane appears convincingly to be in the air. There is one part that bugs me. Towards the end, before the supposed engine explosion, you see the pilot push up the throttles but immediately pull the fuel shut off for number 4, before it is even supposed to have blown up, before it could even spool up for that matter. I can't even think of a scenario that would call for that to be shot. You push up all four and one blows you pull them all back, since you're not even moving yet, not just shut down the one and keep going. It makes no sense. I would cut that part off if it was me.Great movie, in need of a DVD release. I hope they put one out before I wear out my VHS copy.

The story line is good. What makes this a must see is the true to life cockpit footage. This is the most real to life cockpit filming including ATC, checklist usage and procedures that I have ever seen. Thanks to Cliff Robertson, who is a pilot, this movie is awesome if you are a pilot-or a fan of aviation. Finding this movie is a difficult task. I found it once in Blockbuster in the mid 80's but nothing since. The whole movie is a struggle for Mike Hagan with drinking and keeping his edge in the cockpit. Good ending, doing what you love is what he turns to. I think this movie is underrated as the story line is a personal struggle and involves his work.