FIREFOX (1982)

MORGAN'S RATING

When the Russians develop a Mach 5 jet with thought-controlled weaponry, the free world needs someone to go and steal it from them in order to maintain the balance of power. Mitch Gang was once a hotshot pilot and speaks fluent Russian, so despite his mental instability, he's the man for the job. Along the way, he's aided by some Jewish dissidents who are really a lot more heroic than Gant.

Clint Eastwood (Maj. Mitchell Gant / Leon Sprague / Michael Lewis), Freddie Jones (Kenneth Aubrey, SIS), David Huffman (Capt. Arthur Buckholz), Warren Clarke (Pavel Upenskoy), Ronald Lacey (Semelovsky), Kenneth Colley (Col. Kontarsky), Klaus Lowitsch (Gen. Vladimirov), Nigel Hawthorne (Pyotr Baranovich), Stefan Schnabel (First Secretary), Thomas Hill (Gen. Brown), Clive Merrison (Maj. Lanyev), Kai Wulff (Lt. Col. Voskov), Dimitra Arliss (Natalia), Austin Willis (Walters), Michael Currie (Capt. Seerbacker), James Staley (Lt. Cmdr. Fleischer), Ward Costello (Gen. Rogers), Alan Tivern (Air Marshal Kutuzov), Oliver Cotton (Dmitri Priabin), Bernard Behrens (William Saltonstall), Richard Derr (Adm. Curtin), Woody Eney (Maj. Dietz), Bernard Erhard (KGB Guard), Hugh Fraser (Police Insp. Tortyev), David Gant (KGB Official), John Grillo (Customs Officer), Czelslaw Grocholski (Old Man), Barrie Hougton (Boris Glazunov), Neil Hunt (Richard Cunningham), Fritz Manes (Captain), John Ratzenberger (Chief Peck), Alex Rodine (Captain of the Riga).

HIS JOB...STEAL IT.

FACTS

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

RELEASE DATE: June 18th, 1982 (USA) DVD RELEASE DATE: November 11th, 2002 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $8.1 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $46.7 million (USA) - A total of nine models of the Firefox were built. Six were used as miniatures for filming, two actually flew, and one was built to full scale specifications. Several flying shots were later re-used in Back to the Future Part II (1989). - The story is losely based on an actual event where a Soviet fighter pilot defected to Japan in the mid-1970s.

DIRECTOR: Clint Eastwood (Absolute Power). WRITERS: Alex Lasker and Wendell Wellman, and based on the novel by Craig Thomas. PRODUCER: Clint Eastwood. ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Paul Hitchcock. EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Fritz Manes. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Maurice Jarre. DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros.

QUOTES

Upenskoy: Gant, can you fly that plane? Really fly it? Gant: Yeah, I can fly it. I'm the best there is.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"Once the chases kick in and the invisible jet shows up, you'll have already withstood a healthy amount of yawns for your troubles." -- Scott Weinberg, Daily-Reviews

Dr. Baronovich: You must think in Russian.

Upenskoy: Don't say anything. Your words would be useless, maybe even insulting. Just fly the damn plane.

"Firefox is still a fun ride, flaws notwithstanding..." -- Nicholas Sylvain, DVD Verdict

Gant: Punching in the coordinates...I'm coming home.

Dr. Baronovich: Mr. Gant, you are an American. You are a free man. I am not. If i resent the men in Washington who are ordering my death, then it is a small thing when compared with my resentment of the KGB.

General Vladimirov: How can I be calm in your ... stupidity, stupidity?!