Into the Sun(1992 film)
Into the Sun | |
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Directed by | Fritz Kiersch |
Written by | John Brancato Michael Ferris |
Produced by | Kevin M. Kallberg Oliver G. Hess Jim Begg Mark Amin |
Starring | Michael Paré Anthony Michael Hall Deborah Moore |
Cinematography | Steve Grass |
Edited by | Barry Zetlin |
Music by | Randy Miller |
Production company | Trimark Pictures |
Distributed by | Trimark Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $7 million[1] |
Into the Sunis a 1992action comedy filminvolving a pilot and actor thrown into a dangerous situation. The film starsMichael ParéandAnthony Michael Hall.
Plot
[edit]Paul "Shotgun" Watkins is an American pilot stationed in Sicily who patrols the Middle East. He is taken off his normal duties to orient Tom Slade, a conceited actor, about being a fighter pilot in theUnited States Air Forcefor an upcoming film role. Slade wants to"get the feeling"before he plays the part in a film. When shown fighter aircraft, Tom says dismissively: "F-14,F-16,whatever. I'm not good with numbers. I've got accountants for numbers. "
During one exchange where Slade is discussing his film's script with Paul, he states that his character – facing a dire situation from which he will likely not survive – riffs in aJohn Wayne-ish accent that, upon being shot down and facing the prospect of a crash landing, he has no problem with death and it's akin to "flying right into the sun" (the title of this 1992 film). Paul thinks this bit of dialogue is not very realistic. When Slade asks Paul what he would say in such a dire situation, Paul responds, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe something like OH SHIT!"
Paul is determined to show the cocky Hollywood actor that being a fighter pilot isn't as easy as Slade thinks it is. But after Slade, with no flying experience whatsoever, excels during a flight simulator session, Paul begins to question the value of his own flying ability. When Paul accompanies Slade to an oxygen-deprivation chamber so that the actor can better understand the importance of maintaining composure at high altitudes, Slade appears unaffected while Paul, far more experienced in such an environment, eventually winds up becoming disoriented. He has to have his oxygen mask placed on him by the simulation's proctor.
Ultimately, Watkins takes Slade for a ride in an F-16 fighter and subjects him to extreme aerial maneuvers. Paul is gratified when the actor becomes disoriented and nearly vomits. Soon thereafter, having inadvertently crossed into the airspace of a hostile country, they are shot down and find themselves stranded behind enemy lines. Paul and Slade must then find a way to mend their differences and find a way back to safety.
Cast
[edit]- Anthony Michael Hallas Tom Slade
- Michael Paréas Captain Paul "Shotgun" Watkins
- Deborah Mooreas Major Goode (as Deborah Maria Moore)
- Terry Kiseras Mitchell Burton
- Brian Haleyas Lieutenant DeCarlo
- Michael St. Gerardas Lieutenant Wolf
- Linden Ashbyas "Dragon"
- Melissa Mooreas Female Sergeant
Production
[edit]Into the Sunbegan shooting March 12, 1991 with principal photography completed on April 25, 1991. Most of its aerial footage are taken fromIron Eaglemovie stock (hence itsIsraeli Air Forcecamouflage, butUSAFroundels). The filming inIsraelprovided the aerial sequences choreographed by Jim Gavin, whose earlier works includeBlue Thunder.[2][N 1]
Reception
[edit]Film historian and reviewerLeonard Maltinnoted thatInto the Sunwas very similar to scenario seen inThe Hard Way(1991) starringMichael J. FoxandJames Woods.The two films, however had a "change of milieu and budget. He summarized his appraisal as" aerial stunts aren't bad considering the threadbare production values, but it's only for those who'll try out anything that pops up on the video store shelves. "[4]
Janet Maslin in her review forThe New York Times,noted that the comedy elements dominated. "Mr. Hall, whose earlier performances (in films like" National Lampoon's Vacation "and" Sixteen Candles ") have been much goofier, remains coolly funny and graduates to subtler forms of comedy with this role.... Mr. Pare, who looks like a model and sounds like a wrier version of Sylvester Stallone, makes an appropriately staunch straight man. He andDeborah Maria Moore,as the pert major who attracts both Tom and Shotgun, give the film a decorative luster it might otherwise lack.Terry Kiserhas some amusing moments as the loudmouth talent manager who, asked if the "star" and "sensation" who is his client can be described as "Tom Slade, the actor," pauses nervously. He thinks that may be going too far. "[5]
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^The aircraft used for both the American and the enemy air forces were Israeli jets: single-seat F-16As, two-seat F-16Bs, andF-21/C-2 Kfirssimulating MiG-23s (the latter painted with imaginary national markings).[3]
Citations
[edit]- ^"AFI|Catalog".
- ^Thomas, Kevin"'Iron Eagle': Middle-east rescue mission."The Los Angeles TimesJanuary 17, 1986. Retrieved: May 20, 2019.
- ^"Iron Eagle trivia."IMDb.Retrieved: May 20, 2019.
- ^Maltin 2006, p. 655.
- ^Maslin, Janet."Review/Film: Into the Sun (1992); Spoofing movie stars and a war."The New York Times,January 31, 1992.
Bibliography
[edit]- Maltin, Leonard.Leonard Maltin's 2007 Movie Guide.New York: New American Library, 2006.ISBN978-0-451-21916-9.
External links
[edit]- 1992 films
- American action comedy films
- 1992 action comedy films
- American aviation films
- Trimark Pictures films
- Films directed by Fritz Kiersch
- 1990s English-language films
- 1990s American films
- English-language action comedy films
- Films with screenplays by John Brancato and Michael Ferris
- Films about the United States Air Force
- Films about actors
- Films set in Sicily
- Films shot in Israel
- Films scored by Randy Miller (composer)