There are at least 4 instances of Paul Frees stepping in as the voice actor overlaying the on screen performance of a minor character. It was a lot of fun for a fan of Paul Frees. It made it seem like an Orson Welles movie. With all the lips not quite matching the dialog and the rich voice of Welles replacing the original actor. I wonder if it was just a gun and shoot issue for this movie. Knowing that sound would have to be cleaned up later and that Frees just got handed a copious load. He's also the narrator. It's interesting that this is an aircraft lover movie and that I'm writing about Paul frees being used so much. The Steve Canyon TV series, out on DVD, also has Frees popping up everywhere. And Steve Canyon is aircraft porno.

Flight from Ashiya is a melancholy adventure story about 3 valiant military aviators, starring Yul Brynner, Richard Widmark, and George Chakiris in the United States Airforce Air/Sea Rescue Service. Set in post World War II 1950's Japan at the US Airforce base at Ashiya, the men of the Air/Sea Rescue Service repeatedly risked their lives, and sometimes gave their lives, "So That Others May Live". The US Airforce vehicle of choice to perform these rescues was a seaplane made by Grumann aircraft named the Albatross. This airplane was designed to make open ocean landings, even during inclement weather conditions. Flying these missions was considered very hazardous peace time duty. In fact this was so dangerous that the US military no longer performs fixed wing open ocean rescue landings. This movie is one of the few films ever to feature the Grumann Albatross in action.Flight From Ashiya is a character study of what motivates these three individuals to risk their lives daily in the service of humanity. Through the cinematic technique of "flashback", the viewer is able to see the individual stories of TechSgt Mike Takashima(Yul Brynner), LtCol Glen Stevenson (Richard Widmark), and 2ndLt John Gregg(George Chakiris) and the dark secrets that both whittle away at their collective confidences, yet simultaneously spur them on to conquer their fears en route to a very difficult and deadly mid-ocean rescue mission.Seaplane buffs will enjoy the Albatross footage, and the special effects were just good enough to show how difficult open-ocean landings were without overwhelming this story of human courage, and coming to terms with "personal demons" in the face of implacable odds.

If you want to see this film it helps being not too attentive. This film has a nice surface which promises an entertaining, adventurous film but unfortunately "Flight from Ashiya" instead is full of clichés, stereotypical characters and of often unintentionally funny story lines. "Highlight" is the story of Yul Brynner which takes part in Africa and which involves a super-exotic woman and a doll's house's Africa. The end of this part of the film is ridiculous and at the same time disgusting and a perfect example of the exploitation of a character for a very cheap effect. The most funny is the pathetic narrative voice-over commentary which claims that everything in this film really happened - which indeed would surprise me... All in all "Flight from Ashiya" unfortunately is a perfect argument for all the people who despises classic Hollywood films for being stereotypical and false, which this film surely is.

This is, despite a fairly epic attempt at storytelling and a heavyweight cast, a snoozefest. The pacing is very dry and ultimately predictable and the storyline is trite, contrived and pat. Widmark, Chakiris and Brynner are on a rescue mission and as their plane approaches it's destination, each of them has a flashback to another dramatic time for them. Chakiris' is the most believable as he recalls a tragic rescue attempt of some villagers caught in an icy mountain range. Widmark recalls meeting a photojournalist (Knight) and falling in love against a war-torn backdrop. Brynner remembers meeting a foreign girl (Gaubert) who he can only communicate with visually since they don't speak each others' language. Parker gets the film's most pointless & thankless role as a woman who pines for Brynner back at the base. The film ranges from stodgy to overwrought with many unintentionally amusing moments and some really ripe dialogue. Made at a time when studios were still getting used to a little more freedom with immorality, it wants desperately to be cutting edge and racy, yet is hopelessly old-fashioned and silly. There is NO attempt at period flavor. Knight's story is set in 1941, yet her hair and clothing are early sixties (she even wears a skirt almost identical to Parker's, whose story takes place in 1964!) Her awesome mane of hair could easily have been styled into a neato '40's 'do, but alas, no one did. Widmark and Knight's story tries to cram a two-hour-movie's worth of clichés and dramatics into about 20 minutes. They literally fall hopelessly in love after one plane ride! The same can be said of Brynner's affair. He gives his seat to a girl on a bus and then can't live without her. This whole section of the film is ludicrous, but Gaubert is quite lovely. The ending of this sequence is surreal and jaw-dropping! It must be seen to be believed and is almost worth sitting through the film for. There are worse ways to spend two hours, but this is hardly rewarding entertainment. There is also a hilarious before and after narration by a man who sounds like he did voice-over for army recruitment shorts.