The Flight of the Eagle (1982) User Reviews (4)

Riveting. On several levels.

[anthonyjlangford · 8/10 · 22 October 2021]

There's nothing I can really add that hasn't been said by the other two insightful descriptive reviews already other than to reinforce that this is a captivating film, both haunting knowing that is a true story and also as a piece of art from the wonderful director Jan Troell. He truly captures the fallibility and the ingenuity of the human spirit with such high idealism and continued hopes in the face of extreme adversity only to steadily accept the biting reality that the three explorers find themselves in. It's difficult to watch, as we never know more than the characters do. Their dawning is ours too.

What I really wanted to say is how magnificent of an actor Max von Sydow is. Surely one of the world's greatest of all time, certainly between the years 1960 to 2020. There's no one performance that would be a strong standout such a say Al Pacino or De Niro in their hey day; Dog Day Afternoon or Taxi Driver. Simply a consistent workmanlike and yet always totally convincing representation in every single thing he did. Truly a superb body of work over such a long time. And in this film he once again demonstrates just how good he is through subtle expressions. He doesn't ACT. He simply is the character. There's a comparable few.

Up, up and away

[shanayneigh · 8/10 · 1 September 2022]

I generally don't like Swedish movies because of their stilted and theatrical acting. There is some of this in this movie as well (why is it almost impossible for a Swedish actor to deliver a line reading that's natural, not "acted") but not as much as I feared. The direction is good and I really like the cinematography.

Of course it's not a documentary but there are some curious and entertaining (in a morbid way) details which didn't make it into the movie. Like the last words heard from the men in the balloon sailing away, Andree exclaiming "What the hell was that??" Or how they knew beforehand that the sleds wouldn't work as intended due to their faulty construction, but chose to do nothing about it since they were never intended to be used. Or how they chose to load up a sled with useless things like cravats and encyclopedias instead of vital supplies as they set foot on their trek after crash landing the balloon. The book " The Expedition: Solving the Mystery of a Polar Tragedy" by Bea Uusma is great if you want to read more about this crazy venture.

Still, a good movie. It was a wise choice not to show off too much of the polar bears. Kind of like the shark in Jaws.

one of the two most extraordinary movies of Man's relationship to "space (area)."

[boywonder_4 · 5 December 1999]

Seen in America as "The Flight of the Eagle," this is one of the two most extraordinary movies of Man's relationship to "space (area)." Where "Das Boot" best captured a world of confined spaces, this movie dramatically arrests the viewer in an terrifying environment of "too much space." Beginning as a beautiful period-piece, this story follows our three adventurers as they pitch and win the argument, to be the first humans to reach the North Pole. As an accomplished balloonist, Max Von Sydow as the real life Swedish Engineer, S. A. Andrée, meets and collects two hardy companions and embarks the `great adventure' via what else ? …a balloon! The film brilliantly captures the three travelers' descent from excitement into stark realization that `blueprints' do not always describe reality. The remainder of the film which runs about 3 hours, is an incredible story of how intellect, will always be limited against the harsh reality of God. Tremendous performances by Von Sydow and company, and significantly inter-cut with actual photos from the expedition, this movie won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. One of the most psychologically-terrifying, emotional films (and a true story), this is a must see for fans of great film-making.

Cheers.

One of the best movies made in Sweden

[martinpersson97 · 10/10 · 1 September 2020]

My home country of Sweden have a rich history of revolutionary movie making, providing great artists such as Ingmar Bergman, Suzanne Osten, Lukas Moodyson, Bo Wideberg, and, of course, Jan Troell.

A movie nominated for the Best Foreign language Oscar is bound to be great, but what Troell gave us here is something unlike anything seen before.

It is a movie consisting of deep allegories, sometimes sparse in dialogue and camerawork and cinematography that is absolutely outstanding, making it a good mix of art and technological achivements.

The actors do a fantastic job, especially Max Von Sydow, who delivers a captivating performance as always - and you can really feel with the main protagonists in their darkest hours.

Overall, a fantastic achivement in what Sweden can produce, both in terms of visuals, but also in writing and in terms of pure art!