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Posted: |
Apr 21, 2013 - 3:10 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In late 1976 and early 1977, two U.S. television films, airing within 4 weeks of one another, told the story of the hijacking of Air France Flight 139 on 27 June 1976 from Athens, and the subsequent Israeli mission to rescue the hostages from the airport terminal at Entebbe in Uganda. Each of the films played in a 3-hour slot.
The first of these films was the David L. Wolper production of VICTORY AT ENTEBBE. The film boasted an all-star cast, which included Helmut Berger, Theodore Bikel, Linda Blair, Kirk Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Helen Hayes, Anthony Hopkins, Burt Lancaster, and Elizabeth Taylor. Julius Harris played Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, replacing Godfrey Cambridge, who had died during production. The film aired on ABC on 13 December 1976. In order to beat its competition on air, VICTORY AT ENTEBBE was rushed through production, being videotaped instead of filmed. It was later converted to film by Warner Bros. for subsequent theatrical showings overseas.
The second telefilm was titled RAID ON ENTEBBE, and it had stars of its own—Peter Finch (in his last screen role), Martin Balsam, Horst Bucholtz, John Saxon, Charles Bronson, Jack Warden, Yaphet Kotto, James Woods, and Robert Loggia. David Shire provided the score. The film aired on NBC on 9 January 1977 and was subsequently released theatrically by 20th Century Fox.
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Posted: |
Apr 21, 2013 - 4:13 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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The Rankin/Bass production of THE LAST DINOSAUR was a film about the world's richest man, who is trapped in a pocket of time without weapons, and is pursued by a primitive tribe while searching for the last living dinosaur. The film starred Richard Boone and Joan Van Ark, and had special effects done in Japan. Maury Laws scored the film, which was originally scheduled for theatrical release in the United States. These plans were cancelled however, and an edited 95-minute version of the film aired on ABC on 11 February 1977. When the film was subsequently put into theatrical release overseas, it ran its original length of 106 minutes. Although earlier video releases were at 95 minutes, the most recent U.S. video release, as a MOD DVD from the Warner Archive, has restored the film to its original 106-minute length.
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Posted: |
Apr 21, 2013 - 5:54 PM
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By: |
filmusicnow
(Member)
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In late 1976 and early 1977, two U.S. television films, airing within 4 weeks of one another, told the story of the hijacking of Air France Flight 139 on 27 June 1976 from Athens, and the subsequent Israeli mission to rescue the hostages from the airport terminal at Entebbe in Uganda. Each of the films played in a 3-hour slot.
The first of these films was the David L. Wolper production of VICTORY AT ENTEBBE. The film boasted an all-star cast, which included Helmut Berger, Theodore Bikel, Linda Blair, Kirk Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Helen Hayes, Anthony Hopkins, Burt Lancaster, and Elizabeth Taylor. Julius Harris played Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, replacing Godfrey Cambridge, who had died during production. The film aired on ABC on 13 December 1976. In order to beat its competition on air, VICTORY AT ENTEBBE was rushed through production, being videotaped instead of filmed. It was later converted to film by Warner Bros. for subsequent theatrical showings overseas.
The second telefilm was titled RAID ON ENTEBBE, and it had stars of its own—Peter Finch (in his last screen role), Martin Balsam, Horst Bucholtz, John Saxon, Charles Bronson, Jack Warden, Yaphet Kotto, James Woods, and Robert Loggia. David Shire provided the score. The film aired on NBC on 9 January 1977 and was subsequently released theatrically by 20th Century Fox.
Don't bother getting the version on D.V.D., which is cut, while the version that aired on the Plex cable channel had an hour's worth of footage (which I taped off the channel and I still have on V.H.S..).
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Posted: |
Apr 22, 2013 - 12:35 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Filmed under the working title of "Flight of the Maiden," SST--DEATH FLIGHT told the story of a disaster aboard a supersonic transport. The ABC Circle Films production aired on ABC on 25 February 1977, nearly 2 1/2 years before the theatrical film THE CONCORDE--AIRPORT '79 hit the big screen. SST--DEATH FLIGHT had the usual complement of TV stars on board, including Robert Reed, Peter Graves, Lorne Greene, Doug McClure, and Martin Milner. John Cacavas, who scored AIRPORT 1975 and AIRPORT '77, provided the score for this film as well. When the film was rerun on television, the name was changed to "SST: Disaster In the Sky." In its overseas theatrical showings, the film went by numerous titles. On the Italian poster below, it is called "New York - Paris Air Sabotage 78." Notice that the Italian poster lists actor Brock Peters as "Peters Brock."
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Posted: |
Apr 23, 2013 - 11:13 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In a situation reminiscent of the dualing TV movies about the Israeli attack on Entebbe, 1978 saw the premiere of two TV films that covered another airline-related event. In December 1972, an airliner crashed in the Florida Everglades, killing 103 passengers. Another 73 passengers were rescued, and over the years a legend grew up over the causes and aftermath of the crash.
The first film to address the subject was Paramount’s THE GHOST OF FLIGHT 401, which starred Ernest Borgnine, Gary Lockwood, and Kim Basinger. That film aired on NBC on 19 February 1978, and later won an Emmy award for its cinematography.
The second film was CRASH, from Charles Fries Productions. CRASH starred William Shatner, Adrienne Barbeau, and Brooke Bundy, and aired eight months later on ABC on 29 October 1978. Also appearing in the film was famed bandleader Artie Shaw, making his TV-movie debut. Bob Crane (“Hogan's Heroes”) was originally cast in this movie, but was murdered before filming commenced.
Although THE GHOST OF FLIGHT 401 is considered by some to be the better film, it was CRASH that received a theatrical release overseas, re-titled in English-speaking markets as “The Crash of Flight 401.”
The Italian poster below, under the title “S.O.S. Miami Airport,” is headlined as the “Story of a Plane Crash That Actually Happened!”
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