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Air Force One is a 1997 action movie starring Harrison Ford as the President of the United States, and directed by Wolfgang Petersen.

Plot

The movie revolves around the plan of a group of Russian Nationalists to hijack the presidential aircraft (Air Force One) and use the President, his family and other hostages as bargaining chips in the terrorists' demand for the release of their comrade, an imprisoned general named General Radek whom they believe can restore the Soviet Union to glory.

The story develops as the President, largely single-handedly, takes control of the plane back from the terrorists. To make the action story plausible, the President is explained to have had a rigorous military background and thus considerable combat skill.

The film also stars Glenn Close as Vice President Kathryn Bennett and Gary Oldman as Russian terrorist Ivan Korshunov.

Weapons

Aircraft

Trivia

  • Many people believe that "Air Force One" refers to a single airplane. "Air Force One" is actually the call sign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft in which the President rides. In fact, the rescue plane at the end - Liberty 24 - changes its call sign to Air Force One, signaling to the cabinet in Washington that the President is safely on board.
  • Viewers are given a detailed tour of the aircraft and its systems; both real and fictional. Most notable among the departures from reality include that the real Air Force One does not carry a known escape capsule, and that automatic weapon fire in the corridors of the aircraft would quickly shred its aluminum skin and ruin its aerodynamics. Contrary to popular belief, however, it would not necessarily result in instant death for all aboard; it would merely force a quick landing.
  • The prison scenes where General Radek is being held captive were filmed in Mansfield, Ohio at the Ohio State Reformatory, which has been used in other films including The Shawshank Redemption.
  • The opening scene features parachuters landing on the "Presidential Palace" in Kazakhstan. The palace is actually Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra, on the campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. The scene was filmed in late November 1996.
  • The Moscow Airport scenes were shot at Los Angeles International Airport.
  • The producers leased an actual Boeing 747 (originally built for Japan Airlines JA8103) from Kalitta Air, an international cargo airline and painted it in the Air Force One livery. During filming at several airports, the aircraft was mistaken for an actual Air Force VC-25. The most obvious difference between the aircraft used for filming and the actual VC-25 was the lack of a hump in front of the cockpit that in the real thing, contains the aerial refueling receptacle.
  • Air Force One was shot in open matte format.
  • The film features four future stars of 24: Xander Berkeley, and recurring guest stars Glenn Morshower (seasons 1 - 5) (who, coincidentally, plays a Secret Service Agent in both projects), an uncredited Timothy Carhart (season 2), and Wendy Crewson (season 3), who in both projects played the love interest/wife of the President. Also Bill Smitrovich, who played General Northwood in the film, was a guest star for one episode of 24's fourth season as Gene McLennan, the CEO of the fictional defense contracting corporation, McLennan-Forster.

External links

1997 films | Films directed by Wolfgang Petersen | Films set on an airplane | Films shot in Super 35

Air Force One (Film) | Air Force One (película) | אייר פורס 1 (סרט) | エアフォース・ワン (映画) | Air Force One (film) | Air Force One (elokuva) | Air Force One (film) | 空军一号（电影）

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Air Force One (film)".

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