Plane and the Most Dangerous Movie Crash Landings

The plot of a plane crash has been used time and time again in movies and television to create a suspenseful atmosphere. The storylines can range from the miraculous to the tragic, but all have in common the harrowing experience of surviving a crash. One of the newest examples of this genre is the movie Plane, where pilot Brodie Torrance (played by Gerard Butler) is forced to land on a war-torn island after a lightning strike, only to have most of his passengers taken hostage. With the help of a convicted murderer, Louis Gaspare (played by Mike Colter), Torrance must rescue everyone from the dangerous rebels.

To celebrate the release of Plane, let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable aviation disaster movies that have been created throughout the years.

THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX (1965)

One of the classic survival films is The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), directed by Robert Aldrich, which tells the story of a group of men who have to come together after a plane crash in the Sahara desert to try and survive. Led by veteran pilot Captain Frank Towns, the group has to battle the brutal heat, dwindling supplies and personal conflict in order to build a new plane to escape the desert. The film starred James Stewart, who was at home behind the controls of a plane, having flown many missions in WWII.

ALIVE (1993)

Based on a true story, Alive (1993) is a biographical survival film about a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashes in the Andes Mountains in 1972. The team finds themselves stranded in the harsh, icy wilderness, and after initially thinking they will be rescued quickly, they realize they will be stranded for a long time and have to resort to cannibalism in order to survive. Frank Marshall’s film handles the moral complexity of the survivors’ plight well, making Alive both a thought-provoking and thrilling watch.

CAST AWAY (2000)

Cast Away (2000) is a cultural phenomenon that stars Tom Hanks in a tour-de-force performance as Chuck Noland, a Fed-Ex executive who is stranded on a deserted island in the South Pacific after a plane crash. Despite the solitary nature of his character’s plight, Tom Hanks delivers a masterful portrayal that earned him a Best Actor win at the Golden Globes as well as a Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards. The movie was filmed on the island of Monuriki in Fiji, and prior to the shoot, some of the crew members were left on the island to learn to survive. The film has stunning on-location cinematography and an unforgettable performance from Hanks.

FINAL APPROACH (2007)

Final Approach is a made-for-TV movie that tells the story of a veteran pilot, Jack Bender (Dean Cain), who must take control of a passenger plane after the original pilot and co-pilot fall ill due to food poisoning. However, Jack soon discovers that the real danger comes not from the plane’s technical issues, but from a terrorist plot to detonate a bomb on board. With the help of his ex-wife, an air traffic controller played by Lea Thompson, Jack races against the clock to foil the terrorists and save the lives of everyone on board. While Final Approach may not have the same cultural cachet as some of the other entries on this list, it’s a thrilling and suspenseful aviation disaster film that delivers plenty of pulse-pounding action and tense thrills.

LOST (2004 – 2010)

There are few television shows that had a greater impact in the 2000s than J.J. Abrams’s Lost, a series that followed the journey of a group of passengers who survived a plane crash on a mysterious island in the South Pacific. Over the course of six seasons, Lost introduced viewers to an intricate web of characters, plotlines, and mysteries, as the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 struggled to survive on the island while grappling with the bizarre and otherworldly forces that seemed to surround them. From the enigmatic Smoke Monster to the mysterious Dharma Initiative, Lost offered up a dense, complex mythology that kept viewers guessing until the very end. While the show’s final season was divisive, there’s no denying that Lost left an indelible mark on popular culture and helped pave the way for the era of prestige television that would follow.

SULLY (2016)

Clint Eastwood’s Sully tells the true story of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who famously landed a commercial airplane on the Hudson River in 2009, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crew members aboard. While the emergency landing was hailed as a miracle, Sully faced intense scrutiny and criticism in the aftermath, as investigators questioned whether he made the right decision and whether the crash could have been avoided altogether. Tom Hanks delivers another powerful performance as Sully, capturing the captain’s steely resolve and unwavering commitment to his passengers. With its gripping portrayal of a real-life aviation disaster and its exploration of the human toll of heroism, Sully is a deeply affecting drama that pays tribute to the courage and resilience of those who face unimaginable crises.

THE GREY (2011)

Directed by Joe Carnahan, The Grey follows a group of oil workers who are stranded in the Alaskan wilderness after their plane crashes. Starring action legends Liam Neeson and Frank Grillo, the film follows the oil workers’ fight for survival, as they battle sub-zero temperatures and fend off attacks from a fierce wolf pack. Shooting on-location in British Columbia, temperatures reached -40 degrees Celsius, which adds a layer of realism to this already grizzled thriller – the actors all had to wear thermals under their costumes to stop them from freezing. The Grey is a thrilling and emotionally charged film that portrays the physical challenges of surviving in the wild but also delves into the deeper, existential questions that arise in the face of adversity. Liam Neeson’s powerful performance as Ottway, combined with the film’s stunning visuals and gripping action sequences, make it a must-see. And in a fun twist of fate, the plane that crashes at the beginning of the film is an MD-80, the same model of aircraft that Gerard Butler flies in Plane!

Whether exploring the resilience of the human spirit in the face of insurmountable odds or delving into the complex moral dilemmas that arise in the aftermath of a disaster, aviation disaster films offer a unique blend of action, drama, and heart. As Plane takes to the skies, we look forward to seeing how this latest entry in the genre.

Plane is on digital, 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD now