Firefox (1982)

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Craig Thomas (novel)
Alex Lasker (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 June 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

His job...Steal it.

Plot:

A pilot is sent into the Soviet Union on a mission to steal a prototype jet fighter that can be partially controlled by a neuralink

Plot Keywords:

Hyper Speed | Mind Control | Underground | U Boat | Nordenfelt Gun

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Mitchell Gant
Freddie Jones	...	Kenneth Aubrey
David Huffman	...	Captain Buckholz
Warren Clarke	...	Pavel Upenskoy
Ronald Lacey	...	Semelovsky
Kenneth Colley	...	Colonel Kontarsky
Klaus Löwitsch	...	General Vladimirov
Nigel Hawthorne	...	Pyotr Baranovich
Stefan Schnabel	...	First Secretary
Thomas Hill	...	General Brown
Clive Merrison	...	Major Lanyev
Kai Wulff	...	Lt. Colonel Voskov
Dimitra Arliss	...	Natalia
Austin Willis	...	Walters
Michael Currie	...	Captain Seerbacker

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

West Germany:16 | USA:PG (certificate #26725) | Spain:T | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1982) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Cut Bank, Montana, USA

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

Because his role in the movie required him to speak some Russian, Clint Eastwood prepared by studying the language with resources provided by the US military's Defense Language Institute in the Presidio of Monterey, California (which is just north of Carmel, where Eastwood lives).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When taking off from the ice floe, the Firefox has its air brakes fully extended, a highly inefficient way to take off.

Quotes:

Maj. Gant: Aren't you gonna threaten me or something?
First Secretary: I will do so, if that is what you wish. But first I will merely ask you to return what does not belong to you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (2007) (V)

Re-Make With Faster Start Would Be Nice

This was so-so, one of those films that could have been much better had the editing been tighter, in this case in the first 90 minutes. About 20 of that could have been cut. As it was, it took too long for the action to kick in, and was a bit confusing in parts.

Once Clint Eastwood started getting near the plane he was going to hijack the film picked up immensely.

Even though the movie was made 25 years ago, the fighter plane still looks pretty awesome: a combination of a Stealth and Concorde. Too bad this wasn't made today with some great DTS sound. Perhaps a re-make of this would be the answer.