I'm not a pilot so the fact that so many reviewers appreciated the cockpit scenes is an added plus. I liked the movie because of its accurate depiction of an alcoholic and his recovery. The insidiousness of alcoholism is shown well. The relationships of people close to the alcoholic, to those who want to help and how the alcoholic hides or believes that he hides his problem are also very true to life. Not only is the movie uplifting because it shows that recovery is possible but also there is a strong "follow your heart and your passion" message. Finally, is it just me or is the new movie, Flight, by Zemekis with Denzel a total ripoff of this movie?? Seriously, saw the new movie yesterday which is a good movie but during the movie, I was going, "Wait, I saw this movie already about thirty years ago."

Why, oh why hasn't this great flick made it to DVD yet? It's great and yet totally ignored. Granted I showed it to a couple of co-workers who had never seen it and they thought it was boring but still.Mike Hagan is an ace pilot who can move the heavy metal better than anyone. But he drinks...on the job. He knows he has a problem and tries to deal with it before it gets out of hand. It's never that simple though and he gets caught.One great part is the jet upset scene. It is so convincing that you feel like you are in the plane with them as they plummet out of the sky. Meanwhile our hero is giving his passengers a lovely tour of the Grand Canyon area, maybe even with a snoot full. But he's not falling out of the sky like his sober counterpart, no sir.All the flying stuff is well done, using real planes flying over the Grand Canyon, falling out of the sky, flying through the mountains... after falling out of the sky, taking off, landing. The cockpit shots are also well done, even showing somebody who looks like the actors from the outside while the plane appears convincingly to be in the air. There is one part that bugs me. Towards the end, before the supposed engine explosion, you see the pilot push up the throttles but immediately pull the fuel shut off for number 4, before it is even supposed to have blown up, before it could even spool up for that matter. I can't even think of a scenario that would call for that to be shot. You push up all four and one blows you pull them all back, since you're not even moving yet, not just shut down the one and keep going. It makes no sense. I would cut that part off if it was me.Great movie, in need of a DVD release. I hope they put one out before I wear out my VHS copy.

This movie is a bit different than most, seeing as how it has no big special effects, complex plot, action, or heavy drama. It's just a simple, quiet story about a good pilot with a drinking problem. And because of the simpleness, it's actually pretty riveting. It's an interesting character study of an alcoholic, and, with the good direction (and lead performance) of Cliff Robertson, it manages to keep your attention all the way through. The photography is amazing, and anyone into aviation will definitely enjoy this (I'm not, but my dad is a pilot, and he loved it). In fact, the most memorable parts are just the beautifully shot scenes of flying above the desert. Highly recommended.

This is the most technically accurate aviation movie I have ever seen. I only noticed one mistake (autopilot was disconnected with the fuel shutoff lever). Appears to have been filmed in an actual DC-8. The treatment of alcoholism also seems plausible.