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| Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines [1965] (REGION 1) (NTSC) | ![Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines [1965] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514Y33GBJEL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Ken Annakin
Actors: Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, James Fox, Alberto Sordi, Robert Morley
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
Buy New: £4.14
New (11) from £4.14
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 35041
Format: Anamorphic, Colour, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Running Time: 137 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: D2221204D
UPC: 024543112044
EAN: 0024543112044
ASIN: B00014NEX0
Theatrical Release Date: June 16, 1965
Release Date: March 16, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: ******BRAND NEW****THE EXPERTS IN RARE MOVIES, ALL MOVIES ARE ONLY IN NTSC FORMAT AND REGION 1 - CHECK OUT OUR THOUSANDS OF MOVIES ON VHS AND DVD IN OUR ZSHOP, SHIPS DIRECT FROM CANADA (4-7 DAYS DELIVERY)~~~
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| Customer Reviews:
They go up tiddily up up up, they go down, diddily down down... December 1, 2007
Set around a fictional 1910 London to Paris air race and the rivalries of the pioneer aviators it attracts from all around the world to risk life, limb and some dodgy back-projection in the Paris sequences, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, or How I Flew From London to Paris in 25 Hours and 11 Minutes began life as a project on pilots Alcock and Brown for Alexander Korda. Director Annakin had already reconstructed many of the vintage aircraft before the producer's death took the project with him.
As with The Longest Day, the story provided 20th Century Fox with a great opportunity to increase its foreign box-office prospects by populating the film with popular actors from around the world, while its episodic structure and the sheer size of the cast meant that many could film their parts in a matter of days, keeping the budget manageable. As a result, many are so brief that blink-and-you'll-miss-them (Red Skelton, Tony Hancock, Benny Hill).
If it is typical of the international co-productions that were to follow it, it is atypical in that it is also quite funny and highly entertaining. This despite studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck wanting to play down the comic aspects of the film, cutting many early scenes from the script and the rough-cut and building up the rather lukewarm romantic triangle with Stuart Whitman and James Fox fighting over Sarah Miles.
The colour in the casting is definitely on the sidelines. Gert Frobe is memorable as the pompous Prussian learning to fly "from ze book of instructions," as is the briefly seen Tony Hancock as a less than successful inventor whose real-life plaster cast on his broken foot was written into the script to provide one of the film's biggest laughs. But, despite the large ensemble, the undisputed star of the show is easily Terry Thomas at his most caddish as the archetypal cheat and rotter Sir Percy Ware Armitage, making a great double act with Eric Sykes as his put-upon chauffeur that was surely the inspiration for Dastardly and Muttley.
Ron Goodwin's catchy score and Ronald Serle's cartoons catch the mood perfectly, and the planes - built to original specifications - are quite wonderful to watch while the spoilsports among you will have fun looking out for the modern cars (such as the Land Rover clearly visible about an hour into the film) and the Sixties ferries in the Dover and Calais sequences.
Although the Movietone newsreel covering the filming is not included, the NTSC Region 1 DVD has both the full and teaser trailers are alongside an on-camera interview with Ken Annakin, whose audio commentary is carried over from the laser disc release. The remainder of the extras take the form of text and production stills, sketches and even technical specifications and blueprints for the original planes and their reconstructions.
Letterboxed throughout, even in the fullframe pretitle sequence, although the print has been taken from a 35mm interpositive, it is closer to 70mm projection ratio (it was shot in Todd-AO) than 2.35. This does not affect the picture greatly, but becomes very noticeable on the end credits, which boast players such as 'm Wanamaker.' That said, aside from a slight milkiness in a few Shots, the clarity of the print is quite superb. However, one joke is lost as the sign on Jeremy Lloyd's co-pilot, 'I am the first dog to fly', is illegible.
Pay attention, now, grandparents June 30, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Buy it. Your grandchildren will thank you for it. And you will fall about laughing too.
PS - The music's great as well.
High Flying Entertainment! March 10, 2004
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
What a marvellous film and certainly one of the wackiest films ever made in film history. A wealthy newspaper proprietor (Robert Morley) decides to sponsor an air-race from London to Paris. The invitation to race attracts competitors from all around the world and the usual villain or two intent on winning by cunning methods and devices.Terry-Thomas is in brilliant form as the villain here.
With an international star-studded cast such as James Fox, Stuart Whitman,Sarah Miles, Gert Frobe, Jean Pierre Cassel and the likes of the late Dame Flora Robson, Tony Hancock and Benny Hill to name but a few this film is unforgettable.It's zany, funny, mad and totally loud. This film has always been one of my favourite films since childhood and every time I see it I'm thoroughly entertained and never disappointed.
A Classic - harmless fun with stereotypes December 9, 2001
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Yes, I am an aviation enthusiast, and so I am a bit biased. But this movie is still fabulous. The race of planes between London and Paris is a setting for a wide group of characters - each a stereotype of the nation he's from. Seeing them is already wacky enough, seeing them attempting to fly planes is just hillarious. You can laugh with all your heart at the Germans, the French, the Italians, the British and the Scottish being exactly as we always imagined them as kids. The only annoying character is the American, the closest thing to a hero in this movie. It's harmless fun for the whole family.
 Nostalgic Sunday Afternoon Movie November 24, 2000
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
As a boy, this was the sort of movie that the whole family would watch, never mind how many times we had seen it before. The jokes are predictable and the characters typecast in a way that would unthinkable in the politaclly correct millenium, but the overall effect is endearing rather than racist, and we would all laugh at the slapstick humour of it all (yes "Benny Hill" makes an appearance) What I love about the movie is the characterisations themselves. Gert Fröbe (The guy who played Goldfinger!) is hysterical as the monocle wearing German Officer decked out in The Kaiser's finest regalia ("Nothing is impossible for a German Officer!") and Terry Thomas plays himself as the classic English Cad. The cinematopgraphy seems a trite slow when watched now, but I think this adds to the charm and the "romantic" element is almost cringeworthy, but it doesnt matter as You know you are watching a period piece, and you wouldnt want it any different
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