Sky Pirates

Sky Pirates
Directed by Colin Eggleston
Produced by
Written by John D. Lamond
Starring
Music by Brian May
Cinematography Garry Wapshott
Edited by
  • Michael Hirsh
  • John D. Lamond
Production
company
John Lamond Motion Pictures
Distributed by Roadshow Entertainment
Release date
  • 16 January 1986 (1986-01-16)
Running time
 89 minutes
Country
  • Australia
  • United States
Language English
Budget AU$4.2 million[1]
Box office AU $76,170 (Australia)[2]

Sky Pirates (also known as Dakota Harris) is a 1986 Australian adventure film written and produced by John D. Lamond, and directed by Colin Eggleston. It was inspired by Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), as well as borrowing liberally from The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), The Deer Hunter (1978), Dirty Harry (1971) and Mad Max (1979).[3]

Plot

In 1945, the Second World War is about to come to an end. Meanwhile, the Australian military has come across that an ancient device which can be used to travel through time. It is imperative that the Allies have it and the Axis powers do not.

The experienced aviator Lt. Harris (John Hargreaves) gets assigned to transport the precious item to Washington, D.C.. Reverend Mitchell (Simon Chilvers), Mitchell's lovely daughter Melanie (Meredith Phillips), General Hackett (Alex Scott) and Major Savage (Max Phipps) are aboard the Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport. During the flight the power of the magic cargo makes the laws of nature fade, hereby causing a tremendous tempest which leaves Harris no other choice than to ditch the aircraft.

In rescue boats they discover a weird and misty area full of wrecked ships of different eras. Rev. Mitchell claims there was a connection to the so-called Philadelphia Experiment. Harris remains unimpressed and concentrates on the survival of Melanie and his crew, even for the price of immolating the arcane freight against Savage's explicit orders.

Back home Savage has Harris sentenced for insubordination by a military court. Harris escapes and seeks to unveil the background of these occurrences. He beseeches Rev. Mitchell's daughter Melanie to team up with him. Together they strive to retrieve the lost magic item. They disclose and confound Savage's hidden agenda before they become a happy couple.

Cast

Production

Sky Pirates was able to utilize a number of war birds that were found in Australia including CAC Mustangs, Douglas C-47 Skytrain, Grumman Mallard and North American B-25 Mitchell. Principal photography took place in Australia from May to June 1984.[4]

Soundtrack

The music in Sky Pirates was composed by Brian May, who also scored the first two Mad Max films. The soundtrack was produced, edited and mastered by Philip Powers four years later as part of his Australian film music archive project, four years later, on the label oneMone Records. Sky Pirates: Original Soundtrack Recording was released on CD in 1989.

Reception

Aviation film historian Simon Beck described Sky Pirates as "... influenced by every Spielberg production made up to the mid-'80s."[4]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Interview with John Lamond." Mondo Stumpo, 2002. Retrieved: 14 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "Australian Films at the Australian Box Office." Film Victoria. Retrieved: 24 October 2012.
  3. ↑ Stratton 1990 p. 80.
  4. 1 2 Beck 2016, p. 176.

Bibliography

  • Beck, Simon D. The Aircraft Spotter's Film and Television Companion. Jefferson, North Carolina, 2016. ISBN 978-1-476-66349-4.
  • Stratton, David. The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry. London: Pan MacMillan, 1990. ISBN 978-0-7329-0250-6.
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