Iron Eagle
| Iron Eagle | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for the film | |
| Directed by | Sidney J. Furie |
| Written by | Kevin Elders, Sidney J. Furie |
| Produced by | Ron Samuels, Joe Wizan, Lou Lenart, Kevin Elders |
| Starring | Louis Gossett, Jr. and Jason Gedrick |
| Cinematography | Adam Greenberg |
| Edited by | George Grenville |
| Music by | Basil Poledouris |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
Release dates | January 17, 1986 |
Running time | 117 Minutes |
| Country | USA / Canada |
| Language | English |
Iron Eagle is a 1986 action film about a teenage boy named Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick) who commandeered two American F-16 fighter jets, embarking on a heroic rescue mission to save his father (Tim Thomerson), a prisoner of war being held in a hostile, unnamed Middle-Eastern nation. The film also stars Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr. as Col. Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair and features the hit songs "One Vision" (by Queen) and "We're Not Gonna Take It" (by Twisted Sister) as part of its soundtrack.
Iron Eagle was released in the same year as another popular aviation-based action film, Top Gun, thus forcing a shift in release dates as to avoid competition at the box office with each other. The film was followed by three sequels: Iron Eagle II, Aces: Iron Eagle III and Iron Eagle IV.
Trivia / Movie Mistakes
- The hostile nation Doug flies against is never named ("Bilyad" is the name of the enemy airbase, not the nation itself). However, it is most likely Libya; it is shown on a map as occupying the same terrain, and Doug's father is originally shot down while on a Freedom of Navigation exercise, which were held throughout the eighties off the Libyan coast and were a constant source of tension. Also, while it would be highly unusual for most third world countries to attack U.S. aircraft in international airspace, the Libyan air force did so twice during this decade just as they do at the start of the movie. (see Gulf of Sidra incidents)
- There are various scenes of people wearing hats, and saluting on the flight line. The Air Force prohibits wearing hats on the flight line for safety concerns.
- The delta-winged hostile aircraft featured in the movie are identified as MiG-23s, but are actually IAI Kfirs, a Dassault Mirage variant flown by the Israeli Air Force (The US Navy and US Marine Corps used to use Kfirs as adverasry aircraft, simulating Soviet aircraft).
- The US Air Force has a long-standing policy about not cooperating on any film involving the theft of an aircraft. Consequently, the film-makers turned to the Israeli Air Force for the necessary aerial sequences.
- The "BA" tail markings on the F-16's are the base designator for Beecher Air Force base; a fictitious name created for the sake of the movie. Coincidentally this designation was also used on the F-4 Phantoms stationed at the former Bergstrom Air Force Base, Austin, Texas.
- Explosion comments: When the enemy Kfirs explode, wooden parts of a mock-up model splintering may be seen. When an F-16 explodes, it is rumored to be explosion footage of the Kfirs instead.
- Air Force bases in the film are mispronounced and/or misspelled. Torrejon Air Base, Spain (pronounced, "Tore-uh-hone"), is pronounced "Tree-jon". Hellenikon Air Base, Greece (prounounced, "Hell-in-uh-con") is pronounced "Hell-i-con", and is spelled "Helicon" on Doug's fictional aircraft display. Ramstein Air Base, Germany (West Germany at the time of the film, and pronounced, "Ram-STY-ne"), is pronounced, "Ram-STEEn", and is referred to as Ramstein Air Force Base. This is also incorrect. Only stateside USAF bases are designated as Air Force Bases. Overseas allied bases are designated as Air Bases.
- The movie holds cult classic status among action movie and aerial-combat fans.
- The film was referenced on an episode of Family Guy In Movin' Out (Brian's Song), Brian reveals the plot for his novel (entitled "Faster Than the Speed of Love") which turns out to be identical to the plot of this film, which Brian had never heard of.
- Both fighter aviation movies released in 1986, Top Gun and Iron Eagle, feature an actor from Revenge of the Nerds. Anthony Edwards, who played Goose in Top Gun, played Gilbert Lowe in Revenge of the Nerds, and Larry B. Scott, who played Doug's friend Reggie in Iron Eagle, played Lamar Lattrelle in Revenge of the Nerds.
External links
- Iron Eagle at IMDb