Reviews

The skeptical reviewers miss the point. In fact, they take the position of Lizzie herself before she begins to believe in herself.

That some of this movie appears hokey, over-the-top and unbelievable is perfect. It requires the same leap of faith for the movie viewer as the characters must take in the story.

The script for this movie is brilliantly written and as timely today as it ever was. The casting and acting are wonderful.

This movie makes a very valuable point: It's not a con when you help someone believe in herself. You do something wonderful when you help another find hope, faith and love.

When I read the comments of others who say this movie "does not wear well," I have to laugh at much of the trash Hollywood has made the last few years. Much of what is made today doesn't even stand up against today's low standards.

The High and the Mighty actually has a STORY and characters who have conflicts, hopes, fears and loves.

I was a young boy of about six when our family flew the first United Airlines DC-7 flight from Honolulu to San Francisco. I can remember what it was like to hang high above the Pacific for many hours with four massive radial engines roaring outside the cabin. This movie captures the realism of such a flight.

This movie also brings back memories of how passengers DRESSED UP to fly in those days. The sloppy appearance of today's airline passengers is in marked contrast to the class exhibited by airline passengers of the fifties.

I even remember the Honolulu Airport of the early fifties and the look of the counters and can remember the fragrance of fresh flower leis as we walked through the airport. I remember how we walked out into the sunshine to board the plane by climbing steps to the cabin door.

Yes, this movie is a different world. It's Hawaii as a U.S. Territory, as when I lived there. It's a throwback to a time when pilots were fresh from a World War. Men acted more like gentlemen then, as they do in this movie, and ladies had a lot more class before our modern age made it acceptable for both sexes to be so crass.

The writing may seem archaic by modern Hollywood standards but it fit perfectly the era in which it was made and gives us a wonderful glimpse of the beginning of the golden age of commercial aviation.

This movie captures all of this brilliantly and provides a complex mix of characters living an ominous threat to their survival.

I loved it as a boy and love it now. I bought the Special Edition DVD just recently and love it immensely.

It has a lengthy series of featurettes and will surely please lovers of John Wayne and the rest of the cast and of this movie in particular.

As an additional footnote, I want to add the following: In the late 1970's, after I received my own private pilot's license, and after reading one of Ernest K. Gann's other books, I wrote a fan letter to Mr. Gann, with my comments about sharing his love of flying. It was simply addressed to him at San Juan Island, Washington. I was overjoyed to receive a very nice personal reply from this talented writer of the book and screenplay, "The High and the Mighty." He was a brilliant writer and his writing really captured the essence of flying in those golden years.

I saw this movie last night at the Nashville Film Festival. It was a surprisingly good movie. Young Lakota actor, Eddie Spears, does an excellent job with the lead as "Black Cloud." Russell Means, his boxing mentor "Bud", is wonderful. This movie evokes obvious parallels to the original "Rocky" but has a lot more depth regarding the young man's personal demons and his place within his Native American heritage and the problems of the modern reservation.

The movie is romantic, inspiring, funny and sad and delivers many truths about reservation life and the challenges of Indians who want to rise above the difficulties they face. Rick Schroder's screenplay is very good.

Steve Gainer's cinematography is stunning. There are some wonderful scenes of horses and the outdoor beauty of the Navajo Reservation.

Julia Jones, as Sammi, is convincing and a real cutie.

Country singer Tim McGraw debuts in this film as the Sheriff. He is good in the role.

Some of McGraw's songs are in the movie and, one is delivered very humorously in a Karaoke scene. The end credits roll behind Pat Green's "Wave on Wave."

Schroder is a "bad guy" in this movie and did a convincing job. He revealed he stepped into that role at the last minute because the original choice for the part was a rodeo cowboy with no experience who apparently "froze" when they were trying to shoot his parts.

The acting is quite good even though many of the actors are young and unknown to most audiences.

Rick Schroder was present at the screening I saw. He and Eddie Spears, Julia Jones and Director of Photography Steve Gainer graciously answered questions from the audience following the screening. They all showed considerable class and humility. I was very glad to have been to see the movie and heard the principals discuss their roles more in depth.

Schroder mentioned this movie was made for about a million dollars which is ridiculously low by Hollywood standards. The high quality of the finished movie does not reflect its modest budget and Schroder says that is because it was a labor of love by the participants. It is obvious he is right.

I highly recommend this movie.