Communist radicals hijack Air Force One with the U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a veteran, fights to rescue ... Read allCommunist radicals hijack Air Force One with the U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a veteran, fights to rescue the hostages on board.Communist radicals hijack Air Force One with the U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a veteran, fights to rescue the hostages on board.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 7 wins & 13 nominations total
- General Alexander Radek
- (as Jurgen Prochnow)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
The Life and Times of Harrison Ford
The Life and Times of Harrison Ford
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaInitially, director/co-producer Wolfgang Petersen was denied access to the real-life Air Force One. A telephone call from Harrison Ford to the White House soon changed that.
- GoofsDuring the refueling scene when AF1 breaks away fuel is seen spraying out of the boom of the KC-10. The fuel ignites and the flame travels up the boom and blows up the KC-10. Onboard the KC-10 there is a Boom Operator who monitors and has full control of the fuel that the tanker is receiving or giving at all times and also flies the boom. The Boom Operator would have raised the boom as soon as AF1 broke away and cut off the fuel supply long before the fuel could ignite.
- Quotes
Liberty 24 Pilot: Blue Star... Air Force One is down!
Control Room [Blue Star]: Liberty 24 have you got the president?
[static]
Control Room [Blue Star]: Liberty, do you have the president?
Liberty 24 Pilot: Standby...
Liberty 24 crew member: [President Marshal is grabbed off the line and taken on board, a watching crew member on his ear set] ... Liberty 24 is changing call sign, Liberty 24 is now Air Force One!
- Crazy creditsPer Marshall's comment to her, the aide who helps him with the fax machine (portrayed by Messiri Freeman) is listed in the credits as "Future Postmaster General".
- Alternate versionsTo attract more viewers the German distributor (Buena Vista International) cut out some violent scenes to receive a "Not under 12" rating. The German video release contains the full version and is rated "Not under 16".
- ConnectionsEdited into Command Performance (2009)
In the movie, a group of terrorists hijack Air Force One, which is the official call sign of the aircraft carrying the President of the United States of America. Luckily, the President just happens to be a tough-as-nails Medal of Honor recipient (rather than, say, a blowhard with a combover). Obviously, these terrorists are about to experience some major turbulence.
Starring as the President is Harrison Ford. There aren't too many actors that could pull off this role but Ford is one of them. His pedigree as an action hero is unquestionable but he's also convincing as a stalwart leader and a loving husband & father. His worthy adversary is played by the always captivating Gary Oldman, who contributes a deliciously villainous performance. The supporting cast is headed by the formidable Glenn Close as the Vice President and is otherwise studded with the likes of Dean Stockwell, William H. Macy & Philip Baker Hall.
As I alluded to above, the story borrows heavily from other (better) action movies, particularly "Die Hard". In fact, there are so many parallels that you could say that this movie is basically "Die Hard" on a plane, with the President in place of John McClane. That being said, the "Die Hard" template translates very well to the setting of "Air Force One". Unfortunately, in the later stages the action gets somewhat ludicrous, possibly in an attempt to distinguish the movie from other similar excursions.
The sometimes over-the-top action isn't the only problem with the narrative, though. The catalyst for the story is a betrayal by one of the American Secret Service agents. However, director Wolfgang Peterson felt that it was unnecessary to provide a glimpse into this character's motivation, so he ended up leaving an explanatory scene on the cutting room floor. This is particularly baffling since the character figures into the action fairly significantly but he basically remains a mystery.
Generally, though, from a directorial standpoint, Wolfgang Peterson did a fine job. Before eventually going overboard, the movie is quite suspenseful. Unfortunately, another drawback of the excesses in the action department is that the special effects aren't quite convincing. At least the Jerry Goldsmith score provides a rousing backdrop even when the story goes off the rails.
Ultimately, "Air Force One" is a decent action movie but one that loses its way in the late stages. Apart from the aforementioned misguided action sequences, the final showdown with the terrorists also leaves something to be desired. Even so, the movie's still worth watching since Ford & Oldman going head to head makes for compelling viewing for a large chunk of the movie's runtime.
- sme_no_densetsu
- Feb 24, 2017
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Không Lực Một
- Filming locations
- Mansfield Reformatory - 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield, Ohio, USA(Russian prison scene)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $85,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $172,956,409
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $37,132,505
- Jul 27, 1997
- Gross worldwide
- $315,156,409
- Runtime2 hours 4 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1