''Wings of Courage'' is a 1995 American-French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for directing ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), '' The Bear'' (1988), '' The Lover'' (1992), '' Seven Years in ...

and starring

Craig Sheffer Craig Eric Sheffer (born April 23, 1960) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his leading roles as Norman Maclean in the film '' A River Runs Through It, ''Aaron Boone in the film ''Nightbreed'', Joe Kane in the film '' The ...

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

Elizabeth McGovern Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress and musician. She has received many awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination. Born in Evanston, Ill ...

and

Tom Hulce Thomas Edward Hulce (; born December 6, 1953) is an American actor and theater producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Academy Award-winning film ''Amadeus'' (1984), as well as the roles of Larry "Pinto" Kr ...

. The 40-minute film was written by Annaud with Alain Godard. It was the first dramatic film shot in the

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

format. ''Wings of Courage'' is an account of the real-life story of early

airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

operations in South America.James, Caryn
"Film Review: 'Wings of Courage' (1995)."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 21 April 1995. Retrieved: 28 September 2012.

Plot

In 1930 South America, a small group of French pilots led by aviation pioneer

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ; 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of s ...

(

) struggle to prove they can offer a reliable airmail service over the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. When one of the young airmail pilots,

Henri Guillaumet Henri Guillaumet (29 May 1902 – 27 November 1940) was a French aviator. Guillaumet was born in Bouy, Marne. He was a pioneer of French aviation in the Andes, the South Atlantic and the North Atlantic. He contributed to the opening up o ...

(

), 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 (

) and colleagues start to fear the worst.

Cast

as Noelle Guillaumet *

Jean Mermoz Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

Ken Pogue Kenneth Pogue (July 26, 1934 – December 15, 2015) was a Canadian actor. Career His first motion picture role in 1973 was in '' The Neptune Factor''. He almost drowned in scuba gear. He worked on stage at the Crest Theatre, Stratford Shakespe ...

Pierre Deley Pierre Deley (1 November 1893 – 27 February 1981), was one of the pioneering pilots for the Aéropostale company. He was born in Marseillan, Hérault, the grand nephew and godson of another Marseillan native, Pierre Roques, the founder of ...

* Ron Sauvé as Jean-René Lefebvre *

Molly Parker Molly Parker (born 30 June 1972) is a Canadian actress, writer, and director. She has had roles in independent films as well as television. Her accolades include two Genie Awards, one Canadian Screen Award, one Independent Spirit Awards nomina ...

as Jean's Dance Partner (uncredited) * Ron Sauvé as Lefebvre (credited as Ron Sauve) * Freddy Andreiuci as Young Pilot

Production

''Wings of Courage'' was the first IMAX 3-D

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

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.Ebert, Roger
"Review: 'Wings of Courage'."
'' RogerEbert.com'', 22 March 1996. Retrieved: 6 March 2017.

Reception

For

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

', ''Wings of Courage'' is "... a technical, rather than an artistic achievement." In the review in ''

'', Caryn James had a similar evaluation: "'Wings of Courage' is a swooping, old-fashioned adventure tale that uses flashy newfangled technology. The first fiction movie made for IMAX 3-D (the format that makes everyone wear oversized, goofy-looking goggles), this 40-minute film plays to the strengths of its 3-D technique. It's a winning ploy. Film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

considered ''Wings of Courage'', "Beautiful scenery aside, this is a lumbering, boring true-life adventure ... Dramatically speaking, it's about as lively as a 1930s Monogram programmer.Maltin 2011, p. 1562.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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

External links

* * {{Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 1995 films 1995 short films American short films Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Films set in 1930 French aviation films 1990s English-language films Films scored by Gabriel Yared Films directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud French short films IMAX short films Sony Pictures Classics films American aviation films Biographical films about aviators 1990s American films 1990s French films