Wings of Courage is a 1995 drama film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and starring Craig Sheffer, Val Kilmer, Elizabeth McGovern and Tom Hulce. The 40-minute film was written by Annaud with Alain Godard. It was the first dramatic film shot in the IMAX format.

Wings of Courage is an account of the real-life story of early airmail operations in South America.

Plot

In 1930 South America, a small group of French pilots led by aviation pioneer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Tom Hulce) struggle to prove they can offer a reliable airmail service over the Andes. When one of the young airmail pilots, Henri Guillaumet (Craig Sheffer), crashes on such a flight in the Andes, a search is started. Henri has to try and get back to civilization on foot. Back home, his wife Noelle (Elizabeth McGovern) and colleagues start to fear the worst.

Cast

  • Craig Sheffer as Henri Guillaumet
  • Elizabeth McGovern as Noelle Guillaumet
  • Tom Hulce as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
  • Val Kilmer as Jean Mermoz
  • Ken Pogue as Pierre Deley
  • Ron Sauvé as Jean-René Lefebvre
  • Freddy Andreiuci as Young Pilot
  • Molly Parker as Jean's Dance Partner (uncredited)

Production

Wings of Courage was the first IMAX 3-D short film created to be projected on the world's largest screens, with a process that uses a wider film gauge, more intense light and a brighter screen (covered with five coats of silver). The 3-D glasses were also a new type, liquid crystal lenses that are controlled by radio waves with each lens blinking 48 times a second, in sync with the projected image. The film was shot on location over 50 days in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada with an additional 10 days of photography in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Reception

For Roger Ebert', Wings of Courage is "... a technical, rather than an artistic achievement."

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin's 2012 Movie Guide. New York: Signet, 2011. .