History Main / TheFlightOfThePhoenix

* Its [[Film/TheFlightOfThePhoenix2004 second film adaptation]] from 2004.

* Its [[Film/FlightOfThePhoenix second film adaptation]] from 2004.

* Its [[Film/TheFlightOfThePhoenix2004 second film adaptation]] from 2004.

* The 1964 novel by EllestonTrevor.

* The 1964 novel by Elleston Trevor.

[[quoteright:220:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-The_Flight_of_the_Phoenix_-_1965_-_Poster_2233.png]]
[[caption-width-right:220:Poster for the 1965 film]]

->'''Heinrich Dorfmann:''' I told you there would be no difficulty in building this aeroplane. I also told you it would require an outstanding pilot to fly it. The only thing outstanding about you, Mr. Towns, is your stupidity.

''The Flight of the Phoenix'' is a 1965 TheFilmOfTheBook about the crew and passengers of a downed plane in the Sahara desert who, once realizing that rescue is not coming, [[TheGreatRepair attempt to build a smaller airplane]] out of the remaining parts of their aircraft.

The 1965 film was quite popular, garnering Academy Award nominations for best supporting actor (Ian Bannen) and film editing. The 2004 {{remake}} (listed at the bottom of this page) was not as well received.

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!!Tropes in the 1965 film include:
* TheAlcoholic: Lew is the co-pilot, and has a drink while they are in the air. Later Capt. Towns accuses him of being drunk the night before the flight and skipping the preliminary checklist - which is why they didn't have a working radio.
* AllGermansAreNazis: Subverted in that Dorfmann says he wasn't involved in the war and no one has a problem with that. He does get called a Nazi once in the film, though.
* AndStarring: Includes several levels of this. The opening credits begin as follows: "An Associates and Aldrich Company Production starring / JamesStewart / Richard Attenborough / Peter Finch / Hardy Kruger / ErnestBorgnine as Trucker Cobb / in ''The Flight of the Phoenix''". But Borgnine's credit is just the beginning - they continue with "Co-starring Ian Bannen / Ronald Fraser / Christian Marquand / Dan Duryea as Standish". And they're still not done, moving on to "Also starring George Kennedy / Gabriele Tinti / Alex Montoya". And that's still not the end, as they continue with "Featuring Peter Bravos / William Aldrich / and Barrie Chase as Farida". Worth noting, perhaps, that Bravos and Aldrich die in the crash immediately after the opening credits, and Chase only appears in a flashback/hallucination.
* BedouinRescueService: Subverted - the nomads prove to be hostile.
* BellyDancer: Sgt. Watson Hallucinates about one he saw once.
* ButIReadABookAboutIt: Dorfmann says he has experience building and designing aircraft. He later reveals he works with model aircraft, but it turns out the principles are much the same, just on a smaller scale.
* CaliforniaDoubling: Filmed in California and Nevada, representing the Sahara.
* CloudCuckoolander: Trucker Cobb.
* ConflictBall: As in the page quote, Dorfmann just starts telling Captain Towns that he's stupid for no obvious reason.
* CoversAlwaysLie: Don't knock it, this really is an ''awesome'' movie... just not quite as action-packed as the above poster implies.
* DeadpanSnarker: Ratbags Crow (and how!). He also doubles as a ViolentGlaswegian.
** Although Crow is a pretty unsympathetic character (Less so than Watson, maybe), it should be noted that unlike some of them, Crow worked very hard during the ordeal and never could be accused of cowardice. Or bringing any detriment to the group.
* DirtyCoward: Sgt. Watson. [[spoiler:He [[KarmaHoudini survives,]] too.]]
* FanserviceExtra: The above belly dancing trope. The hallucination is the only woman in the entire movie, and was advertised on the poster despite her one-minute scene.
* FloatingHeadSyndrome: The [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/03/Flight_of_the_Phoenix_%281965%29.jpg DVD release cover]].
* TheGreatRepair: The main plot.
* IdiotBall: Captain Towns and Lew, being ''pilots'' and all, shouldn't have been so shocked that the principles of flying model aircraft and full size aircraft are the same - [[TropesAreTools but the tension needed to be there]].
* {{Jerkass}}: Quite a few have their moments, but Ratbags Crow stands out as the biggest.
* LaughingMad: Lew has a fit of this when he realizes that Dorfmann has no "real airplane" building experience.
* MisplacedNamesPoster: The DVD cover.
* OneBulletLeft: In both versions of The Flight of the Phoenix, they have 5 cartridges to start the rebuilt plane's engine - the first three times it stalls, the fourth cartridge is expended to clean out the cylinders, and the last one works perfectly.
* OnlySaneMan: Lew in his best moments, negotiates the conflicting egoes of Towns and Dorfmann.
* ThePhoenix: The rescue plane is built from the parts of the original.
* SurvivorGuilt: Capt. Towns has this when he loses two people and one is gravely injured in the crash.

!!Tropes in the 2004 remake include:
* ArtisticLicensePhysics: When the propeller comes off the engine before the crash, it flies ''forward'' as if under its own power, [[NoArcInArchery while staying level with the plane]].
* ATeamMontage: More so than the original.
* CaliforniaDoubling: Averted in comparison to the original (it wasn't California), but filmed in Nigeria rather than the actual setting of Mongolia.
* TheRemake
* RidingIntoTheSunset: The group flies off into the sunset, and the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue begins. [[NoEnding You never see them land.]] (They ''do'' land in the 1965 film.)
* SettingUpdate: To 2004. Note OutKast's ''Hey Ya!'' playing on the CD player, and Ian's cellphone. Outside of that, few references to time periods are mentioned.
** Also the location has been moved from the Sahara Desert in Libya to the Gobi desert in China/Mongolia.
* ShirtlessScene: You have a good long look at Dennis Quaid's abs right after they finish pulling the plane.
* ShotForShotRemake: It's not exact, but it's pretty close. The new version does not add or subtract much.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The remake added a girl, but deserves a some credit for averting a TokenRomance.
* ToiletHumor: [[HughLaurie Ian]] walking away with a shovel and turning the sign from "vacant" to "occupied"
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: A photo montage shown at the end.
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* CaliforniaDoubling: Averted, but filmed in Nigeria rather than the actual setting of Mongolia.

* Jerkass: Quite a few have their moments, but Ratbags Crow stands out as the biggest.

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The remake added a girl, but deserves a some credit for averting including a TokenRomance.

* PhysicsGoof: When the propeller comes off the engine before the crash, it flies ''forward'' as if under its own power, [[NoArcInArchery while staying level with the plane]].

* SettingUpdate:
** To 2004. Note OutKast's ''Hey Ya!'' playing on the CD player, and Ian's cellphone. Outside of that, few references to time periods are mentioned.

* ShotForShotRemake: It's not exact, but it's pretty close. The new version does not add nor subtract much.

* RidingIntoTheSunset: The group flies off into the sunset, and the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue begins. [[NoEnding You never see them land.]] (They ''do'' land in the 1965 film)

* ShirtlessScene: You have a good long look at Dennis Quaid's abs right after they finish pulling the plane

* AllGermansAreNazis: Subverted in that Dorfmann says he wasn't involved in the war and no one has a problem with that. He does get called a Nazi once in the film, though.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Filed in California and Nevada, representing the Sahara.

* DirtyCoward: Sgt. Watson. [[spoiler:he [[KarmaHoudini survives,]] too.]]

* TheAlcoholic: Lew is the co-pilot, and has a drink while they are in the air. Later Capt. Towns accuses him of being drunk the night before the flight and skipping the preliminary checklist - which is why they didn't have a working radio.
* ThePhoenix: The rescue plane is built from the parts of the original.

** Although Crow is a pretty unsympathetic character (Less so than Watson, maybe), it should be noted that unlike some of them, Crow worked very hard during the ordeal and never could be accused of cowardice... Unlike the fellow right below...

** Although Crow is a pretty unsympathetic character (Less so than Watson, maybe), it should be noted that unlike some of them, Crow worked very hard through the ordeal (IanBannen also got an Oscar nomination for the role).

* Cloudcuckoolander: Trucker Cobb.

* DirtyCoward: Sgt. Watson. [[spoiler:he [[KarmaHoudinisurvives,]] too.]]

* AndStarring: Includes several levels of this. The opening credits begin as follows: "An Associates and Aldrich Company Production starring / JamesStewart / Richard Attenborough / Peter Finch / Hardy Kruger / Ernest Borgnine as Trucker Cobb / in ''The Flight of the Phoenix''". But Borgnine's credit is just the beginning - they continue with "Co-starring Ian Bannen / Ronald Fraser / Christian Marquand / Dan Duryea as Standish". And they're still not done, moving on to "Also starring George Kennedy / Gabriele Tinti / Alex Montoya". And that's still not the end, as they continue with "Featuring Peter Bravos / William Aldrich / and Barrie Chase as Farida". Worth noting, perhaps, that Bravos and Aldrich die in the crash immediately after the opening credits, and Chase only appears in a flashback/hallucination.

* RidingIntoTheSunset: The group flies off into the sunset, and the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue begins. [[NoEnding You never see them land.]]

* RetroactiveRecognition: [[LordOfTheRings Eowyn]], [[HughLaurie House]], [[TheDayAfterTomorrow Jack Hall]], [[DeathRace Machine Gun Joe]], [[DoctorWho Vincent Van Gogh]], [[DeathRace Gunner]], [[PublicEnemies Alvin Karpis]] and [[GilmoreGirls Dean]] crash land in the desert.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: A photo montage shown at the end.

* RetroactiveRecognition: [[LordOfTheRings Eowyn]], [[House House]], [[TheDayAfterTomorrow Jack Hall]] [[DeathRace Machine Gun Joe]], [[DoctorWho Vincent Van Gogh]], [[DeathRace Gunner]], [[Avatar Parker Selfridge]] and [[Supernatural Sam Winchester]] crash land in the desert.

* TheAlcoholic: Lew is the co-pilot, and has a drink while they are in the air. Later Capt. Towns accuses him of being drunk the night before the flight and skipped the preliminary checklist - which is why they didn't have a working radio.

* AndStarring: includes several levels of this. The opening credits begin as follows: "An Associates and Aldrich Company Production starring / JamesStewart / Richard Attenborough / Peter Finch / Hardy Kruger / Ernest Borgnine as Trucker Cobb / in The Flight of the Phoenix". But Borgnine's credit is just the beginning - they continue with "Co-starring Ian Bannen / Ronald Fraser / Christian Marquand / Dan Duryea as Standish". And they're still not done, moving on to "Also starring George Kennedy / Gabriele Tinti / Alex Montoya". And that's still not the end, as they continue with "Featuring Peter Bravos / William Aldrich / and Barrie Chase as Farida". Worth noting, perhaps, that Bravos and Aldrich die in the crash immediately after the opening credits, and Chase only appears in a flashback/hallucination.