Tag: plane crash

Action/Adventure/Heist · Classic Films

The Flight of the Phoenix

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: The Flight of the Phoenix 1965

Completing my month of “Desert Movies” (a theme I never imagined I’d tackle, but stumbled into and embraced): a Jimmy Stewart classic that was new to me, The Flight of the Phoenix (Disc/Download). Featuring a terrific opening credits sequence that’s equal parts cheesy and thrilling, this movie’s tone is all over the place. But like that busted old plane, it comes together in the end.

Serving as a bridge between ensemble war dramas of the 1950s and the disaster flicks of the 1970s, The Flight of the Phoenix features a seemingly incongruous cast but takes itself seriously enough that you wouldn’t put it in the same category as say, The Towering Inferno. It’s Classic Hollywood (Jimmy Stewart, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Attenborough)-meets-New Hollywood (Peter Finch, Ian Bannen, etc.). It’s a pilot from an analog era crash-landing with an engineer from the emerging digital age. Through these contradictions, the film stays interesting and engaging, even when the scenery doesn’t change a whole lot. We’re there for the acting and the script, not the desert vistas and sunburns. Admittedly, things drag a bit in the middle as the crash survivors attempt to turn the scraps of their old plane into something flyable (before dying of dehydration or getting killed by Libyans), but the exciting climax makes the wait worthwhile. That, and the terrific Connie Francis song “Senza Fine” that’s so out of place, yet incredibly welcome.

Before the plane crashes, the passengers and crew are both getting a little wild with the booze. Ouzo is the drink of choice in the main cabin, while Dickie Attenborough is imbibing something else on the flight deck. I found a great recipe for a classic cocktail that uses Old Tom gin, which very well could have been in his bottle, and my garnish is a Medjool date because that’s all the food these poor men had. Just… dates. While watching The Flight of the Phoenix, I recommend drinking a Phoenix cocktail.

Phoenix

1 1/2 oz Old Tom Gin

1/8 oz Bénédictine

2-3 dashes Orange Bitters

Orange Twist

Medjool Date

Combine gin, Bénédictine, and bitters in a shaker filled with ice. Stir to combine and chill, then strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with a twist of orange, and a skewered date.

It’s thrilling to watch Jimmy Stewart in the cockpit, given his decorated career as a military pilot during WWII. You get the sense that he truly loved filming these scenes, and he looks totally at home even when flying a scabbed together piece of fuselage. Yes, Jimmy’s a great actor, but he’s even better when the real hero inside of him shines through. Cheers!

Dramas

Cast Away

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Cast Away, 2000

Isolation, survival—these are words we’ve heard a lot over the past several years. They’re words that echo in my head as the summer blues set in, and I start to forget what it’s like to walk outdoors in the middle of the day, meet a friend for a drink, or even talk to anyone outside of my immediate household. My dog may as well be named Wilson. Thus it seems appropriate to revisit the Tom Hanks classic Cast Away (Disc/Download), the movie that always reminds me that no matter how lonely or frustrated I may feel about spending June-September trapped indoors, things could be worse.

When FedEx employee Chuck Noland washes up on a remote beach in the South Pacific after a harrowing plane crash, he’s still sporting a fuzzy Fair Isle Christmas sweater and a little holiday weight. He must use whatever was in his pockets to stay alive until he’s rescued, which it turns out consists of nothing more than an antique watch, a flashlight, and one sock. Eventually some FedEx packages from the crash wash up, giving him a few more marginally useful items (VHS tapes—who knew???), as well as volleyball BFF, Wilson. The audience thinks this will be just a short stay on the isle of loneliness, until the film jumps four years into the future and Hanks is… still there. He’s slim, he’s blonde, he’s learned to catch fish and make fire, and he’s made a little cave home. He’s adapted, as we all did in the spring of 2020. The struggle is still there, but now it’s a constant buzzing in the background, instead of an intermittent roar.

Speaking of struggle, this guy has it rough. Making fire is a battle waged with calloused, bleeding hands, and don’t even get me started on the coconuts. Piña Coladas will never look the same to me. Let’s toast this castaway’s ingenuity and perseverance with a tasty Tiki cocktail, the Suffering Bastard.

Suffering Bastard

1 oz Brandy

1 oz Gin

½ oz Lime Juice

¼ oz Simple Syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

4 oz Ginger Beer

Fill a glass with ice and set aside. Add more ice to a shaker, along with Brandy, Gin, lime juice, simple syrup and bitters. Shake until chilled and combined, then strain into prepared glass. Top with ginger beer and stir gently.

To look at still frames of this movie, one would think Noland has landed in paradise. But what that picture doesn’t show is the yearning he feels for his loved ones, the sadness from feeling forgotten and stuck, and the desperation that would drive a man to head into the vast ocean with nothing more than a few logs and half a Porta Potty. And of course, Wilson. Because like the Bette Midler song says, you gotta have friends. Cheers!