Firefox (film)

Firefox
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Produced by Clint Eastwood
Screenplay by
  • Alex Lasker
  • Wendell Wellman
Based on Firefox
1977 novel
by Craig Thomas
Starring
  • Clint Eastwood
Music by Maurice Jarre
Cinematography Bruce Surtees
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • June 18, 1982 (1982-06-18)
Running time
 136 minutes
Country United States
Austria
Greenland
Language English
Russian
Budget $21 million[1]
Box office $46,708,276

Firefox is a 1982 American DeLuxe Color techno-thriller film produced, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood in Panavision. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name by Craig Thomas.

The film was set in Russia, but Cold War considerations had Eastwood's and Fritz Manes's Malpaso Company using Vienna and other locations in Austria to double for many of the Eurasian story locations. The film was shot on a $21 million budget, the largest production budget ever for Malpaso.[2] Of that amount, over $20 million was spent on special effects.[3]

Plot

MIG-31 Firefox

A joint Anglo-American plot is devised to steal a highly advanced Soviet fighter aircraft (MiG-31, NATO code name "Firefox") which is capable of Mach 6, is invisible to radar, and carries weapons controlled by thought. Former United States Air Force Major Mitchell Gant, a Vietnam veteran and former POW, infiltrates the Soviet Union, aided by his ability to speak Russian (due to his having had a Russian mother) and a network of Soviet dissidents, three of whom are key scientists working on the fighter itself. His goal is to steal the Firefox and fly it back to friendly territory for analysis.

However, the KGB has gotten wind of the operation and is already looking for Gant. It is only through the dissidents that Gant remains one step ahead of the KGB and reaches the air base at Bilyarsk, where the Firefox prototype is under heavy guard. The dissidents working on the Firefox help Gant infiltrate the base. Dr. Pyotr Baranovich, one of the scientists, informs Gant that there is a second prototype in the hangar that must be destroyed. The diversion will allow Gant to enter the hangar and escape with the first Firefox. Gant knocks out Lt. Colonel Yuri Voskov, a Soviet pilot assigned to take the first prototype on its maiden flight during a visit from the Soviet First Secretary. The scientists cause an explosive disruption, but the second prototype is undamaged. As the guards kill the scientists, Gant uses the commotion to enter the Firefox and fly it off the base.

Evading the Soviets' attempts to stop him, Gant barely reaches the Arctic ice pack and lands, making a rendezvous with a US submarine whose crew refuels and rearms the aircraft. However, Gant's last-minute refusal to kill Voskov has consequences; the Soviet pilot flies the second prototype, with orders to intercept him at the North Cape area. Gant completes the rendezvous and is on the way home when Voskov engages him in a dogfight. After a long battle, Gant finally remembers to fire one of his rearward missiles and Voskov's plane is destroyed. Satisfied that there are no other Soviet forces chasing him, Gant begins his flight to safety.

Cast

Production

Full-scale Mig 31 Firefox model used in the film "Firefox" parked at Van Nuys Airport, California in May 1982

The film was based on the creation of a "mythical" super fighter: the MiG-31 Firefox. The original Firefox from the novel was, cosmetically, nearly identical to the MiG-25.[4] The more intimidating version seen in the movie was created specifically for the film, and takes many of its design cues from the North American XB-70 Valkyrie. In the sequel novel, Firefox Down, the Firefox's appearance is described as matching the one in the film.[5] For filming, four large-scale replicas were created, along with one full-size model that had dimensions of 66 feet long, 44 feet wide, and 20 feet high. The full-size model was built from a radio station broadcast-antenna skeleton and was capable of taxiing at 30–40 mph.[6]

Filming occurred in 1981 at a number of locations including Vienna, Austria; Montana; California; London and Greenland's Thule Air Force Base.[1][7] Hollywood aerial cinematographer Clay Lacy flew second unit aerial sequences in a Learjet 23 high-speed aerial platform, for scenes that were later integrated into the film.[8]

Special effects supervisor John Dykstra pioneered a new technique for shooting the complex flying sequences, called reverse blue-screen photography. This involved coating the model with phosphorus paint and photographing it first with strong lighting against a black background and then with ultraviolet light to create the necessary male and female mattes to separate the foreground model and the background footage. This enabled the shiny black model to be photographed flying against a clear blue sky and gleaming white snow; compare this with traditional bluescreen technique used in The Empire Strikes Back.[5] The original scale model made by Gregory Jein used in the bluescreen work is now on display at the Warner Bros. Museum.[9][10]

Reception

Author Howard Hughes gave Firefox a negative review, "Watch the trailer, read the book, play the game — just avoid the film, it's another Eiger Sanction. Less a 'Firefox', it's more of a damp squib, or at best a smoldering turkey."[11] Vincent Canby's review in The New York Times made a similar assessment, zeroing in on Eastwood's lack of control over the plot line. "Firefox is only slightly more suspenseful than it is plausible. It's a James Bond movie without girls, a Superman movie without a sense of humor."[12] However, Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review, describing it as "A slick, muscular thriller that combines espionage with science fiction. The movie works like a well-crafted machine."[13]

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 42% based on reviews from 12 critics.[14]

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Hughes 2009, p. 198.
  2. ↑ "Firefox: Budget." Clint: The Life and Legend. Retrieved: June 2, 2013.
  3. ↑ Schickel 1996, p. 378.
  4. ↑ Schickel 1996, p. 375.
  5. 1 2 Thomas 1982, p. 29.
  6. ↑ Munn 1992, p. 187.
  7. ↑ Munn 1982, p. 185.
  8. ↑ Carlson 2012, p. 257.
  9. ↑ "A Tour of the Warner Bros. Studio Museum." Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tours. Retrieved: June 2, 2013.
  10. ↑ Carlson 2012, p. 249.
  11. ↑ Hughes 2009, p. 200.
  12. ↑ Candby, Vincent. "Firefox (1982), Stealing Firefox." The New York Times, June 18, 1982.
  13. ↑ Ebert, Roger. "Firefox Movie Review & Film Summary (1982)". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  14. ↑ Firefox at Rotten Tomatoes

Bibliography

  • Carlson, Mark. Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 1912–2012. Duncan, Oklahoma: BearManor Media, 2012. ISBN 978-1-59393-219-0.
  • Culhane, John. Special Effects in the Movies: How They Do It. New York: Ballantine Books, 1981. ISBN 0-345-28606-5.
  • Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies." The Making of the Great Aviation Films, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
  • Hughes, Howard. Aim for the Heart. London: I.B. Tauris, 2009. ISBN 978-1-84511-902-7.
  • Munn, Michael. Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner. London: Robson Books, 1992. ISBN 0-86051-790-X.
  • Schickel, Richard. Clint Eastwood: A Biography. New York: Knopf, 1996. ISBN 978-0-679-74991-2.
  • Thomas, Craig. Firefox. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1977. ISBN 0-03-020791-6.
  • Thomas, Walter. "Filming Firefox." Air Classics, Vol. 44, No. 9, September 1982.
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