who is your favourite character?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Flight of the Phoenix
crawfrordboon — 20 years ago(October 03, 2005 09:11 AM)
When I watched TFOTP, I loved it straight away, and I thought everyone was great, even th eguys in the smaller roles such as Ronald Fraser and George Kennedy. It's hard to fault in many ways, but if you had to pick a best performance by an actor, who would you choose?
I usually love Ernest Borgnine in anything he is in, and this is no exception, he does a great job of portrayed aa character consumed by paranoi, rejection, and ultimately utter despair.
I doubt if I've ever seen Richard Attenbrough act any better than he does here. Come to think of it, its hard to think of anyone who has acted any better than this. Whilst his character is brilliantly written, Dicky is brilliant in bringing Lou to the screen as a go-between, foppish, closet drunk, self-doubting man with a good heart, who'll do anything to keep the group together.
Obviously James Stewart in the lead is as good here as he ever was, full of growling agression and resentment, a man who starts off the film with the rest of the people are under his command, they are litterly 'his' people, and he has to watch as not only does his control over them evaporate, but it is done in such a way that it seems everything he represents as a man means less to people than it used to, or that he thought it did.
And finally Hardy Kruger as Dorfman, it really is hard to say but if anything I probably would have to give the acting homours in this great film to Hardy. His performance as a cold, clinical, angry young man, a loner trapped with a bunch of people who regard him as a kind of enemy, matches only with his growing familiarity and leadership as he gets to know the men better during the course of the film, becoming less of an outsider bit by bit, until the treble-whammy occurs: he has stolen water but because he is so crucial to the project he cannot be punished, he then uses the acceptance of his limportance to impose his leadership on the group, and finally he is regarded so much as the leader that even the shock he only designs "toy planes" cannot undermine his position.
Really well writen, but even better acted.
"He's a bit of a rough diamond but his heart's in the right place." -
mufreighter — 19 years ago(October 13, 2006 02:54 AM)
Without question, my favorite character is Kruger's Dorfmann.
Not for his acting, which, though good, isn't up to the caliber of a Stwerart or an Attenborough; no, the question is who's my FAVORITE, and it's Dorfmann, hands down.
I'm a model aircraft junkie, and if we aeromodellers have a patron saint, it'd be Dorfmann's characternot only does he include a bit of modelling history into the story (Stringfellow, Henson, etc.) but his demeanor captures the fierce defensiveness of those of us who've taken crap most of our lives for 'playing with toy airplanes.'
His crowning moment comes when he's confronted by Stewart and Attenborough about his lack of experience with the 'real stuff;' his sneering reply to their doubt is my favorite point in the whole movie:
"Mr. Towns a toy plane is something you wind up and it rolls along the floor. A model airplane is something totally different"
O HELL yes! -
Thusnelda — 19 years ago(January 17, 2007 04:26 AM)
Without question, my favorite character is Kruger's Dorfmann.
Not for his acting, which, though good, isn't up to the caliber of a Stwerart or an Attenborough; no, the question is who's my FAVORITE, and it's Dorfmann, hands down.
I'm a model aircraft junkie, and if we aeromodellers have a patron saint, it'd be Dorfmann's characternot only does he include a bit of modelling history into the story (Stringfellow, Henson, etc.) but his demeanor captures the fierce defensiveness of those of us who've taken crap most of our lives for 'playing with toy airplanes.'
Although not being a model aircraft junkieI
wholeheartedly
agree! :-)))
His crowning moment comes when he's confronted by Stewart and Attenborough about his lack of experience with the 'real stuff;' his sneering reply to their doubt is my favorite point in the whole movie:
"Mr. Towns a toy plane is something you wind up and it rolls along the floor. A model airplane is something totally different"
O HELL yes!
My most favourite scene in movie history!
Yours, Thusnelda -
DBloodnok — 19 years ago(January 20, 2007 11:52 AM)
My favourite is Peter Finch's Captain Harris. Yes, he's stupidly British, yes he observes rank - but he is an officer in the British Army, so what would one expect? He offers himself in sacrifice for the others not once - but twice.
Aberstein - you belong in the glasshouse, mate - that sort of bolshy talk!
"Someone has been tampering with Hank's memories." -
Viv-1 — 19 years ago(October 18, 2006 02:35 PM)
This question's a toughie ! My favourite actor,of all time, is James Stewart.
However, I don't think I could say any actor in this film does less than a brilliant job. Having just viewed the re-make starring Dennis Quaid I realise just how great the James Stewart version is. Every character's 3D. The re-make's terrible, made for kids with loads of computer graphics, just a waste of money.
Now if you were to ask me who is my favourite character in the film, then I'd have to say Heinrich Dorfmann as played by Hardy Kruger. He is brilliant in the role. Frank Towns is the regular tortured hero but Heinrich Dorfmann now he's something different. Just compare Hardy Kruger's performance with Giovanni Ribissi's in the re-make. No contest. -
Adam60z — 19 years ago(December 15, 2006 09:53 PM)
Being one of my favorite films I wouldn't pick a single one as my favorite. I can tell you my least favorite: Captain Harris (Peter Finch)how'd you like to be Watson being ordered around by that bastard?
But it's really an ensemble film and the best parts are the interplay between Jimmy Stewart, Richard Attenborough, and Hardy Kruger (nominated for Golden Globe but refused it). The point is that all characters are essential to the success of the plane. The doctor represents humanitarianism. I do think Ernest Borgnine was too over the top though.
Attenborough mastered stuttering speach here. It's a film of it's time when creativity was in the air. Please don't waste your time and money on the remakeor any remakes for that matter.
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