Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #128930 in DVD
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Turkish, Arabic, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Slovene, English, Hebrew, Spanish, Bulgarian, Polish, Swedish, Hungarian, Portuguese, Icelandic, Finnish, Romanian, Serbian, German, French, Italian
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

This is the way it was.
This is the way it really was. I used to fly F4s of the Oriskany back in '66. Everyday (and most nights) I'd watch the A6s queueing up for takeoffs and traps. I flew with the best. This movie, even though there are a "few" technical problems, brings me back to those days almost 40 years ago.

I agree with the movie's major premis - we could have won the war if the politicians kept their noses out of the running of the war.

Ignore all these arm-chair warriors and watch the movie. For the most part, it shows how it really was.

Will get your blood pressure higher if you love aviation
Yeah, yeah... I agree with many other viewers. The movie storyline is not as good as in the book in two areas: 1. the in-depth description of its characters -I guess it's just too hard a job to explore the complexity of human personalities within 90mn; 2. the ending which, in the book, is a bit more in line with the actual war in Vietnam.

And also, that's true that the special effects are somewhat dated now...

But boy, being a professional of aviation, living, breathing, dreaming of it every day of my life, I can't applaude enough to the fact of being able to watch a movie that DOES feature combat aircraft! Just count the number of good action movies that actually show these machines, and I bet you'll be able to count them on the fingers of, say, 2 hands. That's just to stay on the optimistic side of things.

Flight of the Intruder is a real cool movie in terms of aircraft footage. You are "behind the wheel", at times you are literally in control of the aircraft. Your heart pumps faster when this ugly looking -and sounding- SAM detection signal flashes to and screams at the crew. And watch these unforgettable scenes with the A-1 Skyraiders, the famous "Sandys" at the end of the film! The shots, the sounds... Everything contributes to raising the hair of your neck with passion!

The movie itself is pretty well documented too, if only a bit too simplified. Looks like the film was technically supported by both the Navy and the Air Force. The pilots' jargon is accurate, and so is the overall A-6 bombing philosophy.

And after viewing it, you'll sit back and start reflecting on it, and I'm pretty sure that you'll end telling yourself: "These fly-boys in Vietnam... They sure had real guts". Hats and heads down, ladies and gentlemen, and respect for courage!

This is an excellent movie about the air war over Vietnam.
This movie is a great depiction of the air war in Vietnam in 1972. It has it's funny moments, it's serious moments, but all in all, it's a great action movie with a great plot and storyline. Also, since Willem Dafoe is one of my favorite actors, that was another plus for this film. Danny Glover put in a hell of a performance as the skipper of the air crew, and Brad Johnson and Willem Dafoe put in excellent performances as the pilot/bombardier team. This is a movie worth five stars.