Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1983


Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land

Buy Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land' (also known as 'Starflight One' or 'Airport 85')Rigg, Thomas (2007) 'Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television' is a 1983 television film (for the 'ABC Sunday Night Movie') directed by Jerry Jameson and starring Lee Majors, Hal Linden, Lauren Hutton, Ray Milland, Gail Strickland, George DiCenzo, Tess Harper, and Terry Kiser. The film also features an all-star ensemble television cast in supporting roles.

Jameson had become known for his work on "... movie-of-the-week phenomenon and group-jeopardy suspense and terror." His work with Lee Majors had begun with the television series 'The Six Million Dollar Man' in 1973, with the actor starring in three of Jameson's later films.Roberts 2009, p. 279.

Plot



'Starflight', the first hypersonic transport, is being prepared for its maiden flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia. On board are the pilot, Cody Briggs, cheating on his wife Janet with Erica Hansen, media-relations representative for Thornwell Aviation. Passengers include designer Josh Gilliam, who is apprehensive about the engines not being under ground control, and satellite TV baron Freddie Barrett. Takeoff is delayed so that the body of the deceased Australian ambassador and his wife, Mrs. Winfield, can be taken aboard; something that Del, the first officer, considers a bad omen.

Bud Culver, Freddie's partner in Australia, tells Freddie he must scrub that day's launch of a TV satellite because weather is closing in; Freddie orders an immediate launch without NASA approval. Cleared by NASA for liftoff, 'Starflight' climbs to 23 miles using its scramjet engines, then levels off. Freddie's rocket runs into trouble with the second stage and has to be destroyed. NASA reports that destruction of the rocket produces debris, heading for 'Starflight'. Cody's lets NASA guide their maneuvers. Engineer Chris Lucas recommends 'Starflight' climb out of danger. Cody engages the scramjet engines again, but rocket debris hits the underside of the aircraft. When NASA says they are clear, Cody orders the jets shut off, but they keep firing because debris has severed the engine controls.

Their hydrogen fuel runs out just as 'Starflight' reaches orbit. NASA dispatches the 'Columbia' Space Shuttle to refuel 'Starflight', while bringing Josh Gilliam back to Earth to work on the problem. Flight engineer Pete tests the airlock transfer but is killed when the hatch malfunctions and breaks free. Improvising, Cody sends Josh to 'Columbia' inside the ambassador's coffin. 'Columbia' returns to Earth with Josh aboard. He discovers Thornwell's universal docking tunnel, a flexible conduit that could be attached between 'Starflight' and 'Columbia'. Cody has power restored, electrifying the conduit damaged by rocket debris.

'Columbia' and six astronauts arrive with the tunnel, intending to rescue 20 passengers. Five passengers, including Hal, are successfully brought through. The next five people, including Freddie Barrett, are lost when the flexible tunnel swings too close to the sparking electric line on the damaged underside of the airliner and ignites. Forty-seven passengers remain aboard. Josh is frustrated but an exchange with his wife Nancy reminds him of a fuel tank built by Culver Aviation that can be repurposed to carry people. 'Columbia' with the container and takes 38 more passengers, leaving only nine aboard.

Cody sends electrical engineer Joe Pedowski on EVA to repair the damaged conduit. Josh suggests 'Starflight' follow a shuttle on re-entry, believing the shuttle's heat shield would offer protection. 'Columbia' cannot make a launch in time, but another shuttle, 'XU-5', in orbit on a military mission, arrives to assist just as 'Starflight' is to hit the atmosphere. The two craft ride in together, and once into the atmosphere, 'XU-5' veers off, while Cody manages to land 'Starflight' after a harrowing steep descent through the upper atmosphere.

Cast



Production



The film's visual effects were supervised by veteran effects guru John Dykstra's Apogee effects house. 'Starflight: The Plane That Couldnt Land' made use of stock footage of launches by the space shuttle 'Columbia' and an 'Apollo'-era 'Saturn V' on the launch pad. 'Columbia' makes three launches in 24 hours to help 'Starflight' (something completely impossible given turnaround times for shuttle launches). The 'Saturn V' shown at the Kennedy Space Center was depicted as carrying the communications satellite from a fictitious launch site near Sydney. Each time 'Columbia' lands, the touchdown footage is from the early shuttle days when they landed on the dirt runway at Edwards AFB, rather than the concrete runway that Thornwell would be expected to have. Footage of the approach and landing tests with the shuttle prototype 'Enterprise' was used. A chase plane is also visible.

Strong similarities are seen to the novel 'Orbit' by Thomas Block (1982), whose "Star Streak" aircraft was jet-and-rocket powered and intended for high-atmospheric flight, only to end up in space, but important differences also are seen. In 'Orbit', the failure to shut down engines, requiring entry into space lest it burn up, was deliberate sabotage rather than accident; the aircraft returns without shuttle assistance "ploughing" the way; and the shuttle mission sent to bring the passengers oxygen fails to launch at all.Block, Thomas [https://www.amazon.com/ORBIT-Thomas-Block-ebook/dp/B004FGLOUU/ref=asap_B001HP90ZS_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418088449&sr=1-3 'Orbit (Kindle edition)'.] 'amazon.com', 2010. Retrieved: December 8, 2014.

Reception



'The New York Times' said 'Starflight: The Plane That Couldnt Land' was "... still another reworking of the escapist adventure stuff that proved so popular in the film 'Airport'."O'Connor, John J. [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/25/arts/a-big-night-for-movies.html?&pagewanted=1 ""A big night for movies".] 'The New York Times', February 25, 1983. A later review by Dave Sindelar noted that the film was a cross between 'Marooned' (1969) and the 'Airport' movies. It also relied heavily on stock NASA footage to its detriment. Also, 'Starflight: The Plane That Couldnt Land' was "... slow-moving, mired by disaster-movie style cliches, implausible, and has plenty of dead spots."Sindelar, Dave. [http://www.scifilm.org/musing3304.html "Starflight One (1083)."] 'Fantastic Movie Musings & Ramblings', August 31, 2013. Retrieved: December 8, 2014.

Notes



References



Further reading



* Roberts, Jerry. 'Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors'. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009. .


Buy Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 1983



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1107928385.