Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25221 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-07-01
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English
• Running time: 115 minutes

From 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

On the DVD
ccWidescreen version enhanced for 16:9 TVs
English subtitles
Dolby Digital: English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Stereo Surround

Synopsis
Two pilots go against the rule book in a bid to win the war in Viet Nam in this speculative military drama. Lieutenant Jake Grafton (Brad Johnson) is a U.S. Navy pilot stationed aboard an aircraft carrier after the death of his one-time flying partner Morgan McPherson (Christopher Rich), who perished during a recent, ill-advised mission. Lt. Grafton, who has become cynical about the current state of military affairs, is convinced that if the war were left to the soldiers rather than the politicians overseeing the Pentagon, United States victory would be swift and assured. Grafton shares this opinion with Virgil Cole (Willem Dafoe), a supremely confident new pilot under his command, and together they commandeer an A-6 Bomber, known as The Intruder, for an unauthorized bombing raid against Hanoi. The city had been declared off-limits because it was believed that it would have a negative impact on the Paris peace talks, so the raid lands Grafton and Cole in hot water. However, when the talks break down, President Richard Nixon authorizes the pilots to lead a new strike against Hanoi with everything they've got. Ving Rhames and David Schwimmer both appear in small roles that predated their respective rises to fame (in fact, this was Schwimmer's first movie). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

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!

Better then Top Gun
This movie should have been better then Top Gun.
In everyones mind though we all want the speed and cockyness of
a fighter pilot.
But, as the line states,"Fighter pukes make movies, bomber pilots make history."
I believe that because this movie wasn't as big as Top Gun is
because there was a little love story in Intruder, that was not
as big Top Guns steamy love scenes.
This movie to me was better then Top Gun because of the absence
of a steamy romance, just a hint.
This movie, should be considered a classic.

Good Action, Some Truth
Because my dad was a A-6 Bombadier/Navigator in Vietnam, I have a bias regarding this movie. It is highly entertaining and action-packed, however, the truth of the story lies somewhere in the middle and there's not much of it in this screenplay.
I'm sure that many of the Navy's aviators in Vietnam grew weary of hitting "suspected" truck parks, oil refineries and missle sites, but I have yet to hear tales from my dad or his buddies about anyone who decided to fight their own war and fly through downtown Hanoi in order to destroy a SAM (surface-to-air missle) storage area all on their own.
Guys got shot down alot during the war, yes, but they were mostly Air Force guys (that's meant to be a dig!), and rarely a Navy A-6. In this movie, we see several from one squadron on the same cruise go down. Not too realistic. The quickly referred to "Operation Linebacker" was a real mission (proud to say that my dad was in the first plane over N Vietnam on that mission) and followed up by Linebacker II later on. It was not, however, inspired because of what the two lead characters in this movie did.
The flying is pretty realistic though and it is nice to see the not-as-sexy-as-a-fighter-jet Grumman A-6 Intruder in a movie; I give it three stars for that. Still...I would rather listen to real bomber pilots and b/n's relate their adventures in 'Nam and aboard ship.
If you want a real Vietnam movie, stick with "Apocalypse Now", "Full Metal Jacket" and "Platoon".