FilmSkool — a free film school
Air Force One
When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.
1997 · Directed by Wolfgang Petersen · 124 min · Action · Thriller · Screenplay in the scene database · 17 frames
Tagline
The fate of the nation rests on the courage of one man.
Plot
A joint operation between American and Russian special forces captures General Ivan Radek, the dictator of a rogue neo-Soviet regime in Kazakhstan that retained its nuclear weapons, threatening war. Three weeks later, U.S. president James Marshall attends a diplomatic dinner in Moscow, during which he praises the operation and warns the United States will not negotiate with terrorists. Marshall and his entourage, including his wife Grace and daughter Alice, and several of his cabinet and advisers, prepare to return home on Air Force One. Six Radek loyalists disguised as journalists, led by Egor Korshunov, board the plane.
After takeoff, Secret Service agent Gibbs, a mole, enables Korshunov and his men to obtain weapons and hijack the plane, killing multiple security and military personnel before taking the passengers hostage, including Grace and Alice. Marshall is raced to an escape pod in the cargo hold and seemingly escapes as the pod is ejected. Korshunov breaches the cockpit, aborting the plane from making an emergency landing at Ramstein Air Base. A squadron of F-15s escort Air Force One as Korshunov has it piloted towards Kazakhstan.
However, Marshall, a veteran of the Vietnam War and a Medal of Honor recipient, had hidden himself in the cargo hold instead of using the pod. He covertly kills two of Korshunov's men and obtains a satellite phone to communicate with vice president Kathryn Bennett, letting his staff know he is still alive and aboard the plane. Korshunov, assuming that it is merely a Secret Service agent in the cargo hold, contacts Bennett and demands Radek's release, threatening to kill a hostage every half-hour. Separating Alice and Grace from the group, he kills National Security Advisor Jack Doherty and Deputy Press Secretary Melanie Mitchell. Marshall unsuccessfully tries to force Korshunov to land by dumping some fuel after rewiring the plane's circuitry.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Andrew W. Marlowe
- Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
- Edited by: Richard Francis-Bruce
- Music: Jerry Goldsmith
- Production design: William Sandell
- Produced by: Jonathan Shestack, Gail Katz, Wolfgang Petersen, Armyan Bernstein
Cast
- Harrison Ford as James Marshall
- Gary Oldman as Ivan Korshunov
- Glenn Close as Kathryn Bennett
- Wendy Crewson as Grace Marshall
- Liesel Matthews as Alice Marshall
- Paul Guilfoyle as Lloyd Shepherd
- Xander Berkeley as Agent Gibbs
- William H. Macy as Major Caldwell
- Dean Stockwell as Walter Dean
- Tom Everett as Jack Doherty
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: Russian, English
- Studios: Radiant Productions
- Budget: $85,000,000
- Box office: $315,200,000
- Themes: vietnam veteran, journalist, usa president, washington dc, usa, airplane, ultimatum, kazakhstan, heroism, air force one, fighter jet
Own the film
FilmSkool earns a small commission from qualifying Amazon purchases, at no cost to you.
More by Wolfgang Petersen
On this film
This is the plain index, shown because JavaScript is off. Every lesson here is a free video published by the channel credited on it and plays through that channel's own embed — FilmSkool hosts nothing.