AAC Movie Playlist

Recovered from the old forum:

I’m compiling a list of movies related to planes, helicopters and the pilot mentality/humour.

• The Dawn Patrol (1938) - One of the best but overlooked because of its age.
• The Dam Busters (1955) - Submitted by Des.
• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
• The Blue Max (1966)
• Battle of Britain (1969)
• Aces High (1976) - Submitted by Pilgrim.
• The Final Countdown (1980) - Excellent F-14 footage. Better than Top Gun.
• Firefox (1982) - Fictional Soviet stealth aircraft but cool as hell.
• The Right Stuff (1983)
• Iron Eagle (1986) - Submitted by Des.
• Top Gun (1986)
• Bat*21 (1988)
• Air America (1990) - Submitted by Des.
• Memphis Belle (1990)
• Wings of the Apache/Fire Birds (1990) - AH-64 Top Gun. Submitted by Jason.
• Flight of the Intruder (1991)
• Hot Shots (1992)
• Black Shark (1993) - Ka-50 footage, starring one of the real test pilots.
• Independence Day (1996)
• Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
• Fly Boys (2006) - Submitted by Des.
• Dunkirk (2017)

Honourable mentions:

• Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) - Crazy Jet Ranger chase near the end of the film. Sad trivia: One of the actors in the helicopter was later killed along with two children in a horrific helicopter accident on the set of another film.
• Apocalypse Now (1979) - Loach and Huey footage.
• Airplane! (1980)
• The Siege On Firebase Gloria (1989) - Hueys.
• True Lies (1994) - AV-8B scenes.
• Courage Under Fire (1996) - Hueys.
• We Were Soldiers (2002) - Hueys plus a mix of fixed wings dropping hot sauce.
• Rescue Dawn (2006)

If you can think of anything I missed post below and I’ll update the list.

I don’t think I’ve ever watched it all the way through. I remember bits from when I was a kid but I was more into comedy when it came to old films: Way Out West, The Square Peg, Some Like It Hot etc.

Doesn’t really fit what the list is about. Most WWII aircraft movies made in the 1940s and 1950s are just westerns in the sky or a drama unconcerned with aviation (12 O’Clock High being a good example), which is why they’re excluded.

Long overdue for an update. Added Pilgrim’s suggestion of Aces High (not sure how that got missed). And added The Dawn Patrol, a classic I discovered recently.