Les 3 soldats de l'aventure

Relaxed entertainment for plane films fans dealing with three pilots , US Air Force operating in Japan ; they carry out a rescue attempt over Pacific . Exciting flick with overwhelming aircraft scenes , pyrotechnics , some silly and boring romances and including a moving final . This interesting picture packs big stars , intrigue , action , love stories and historic deeds ; however being deliberately narrated and predominates the melodrama . A helicopter rescue team piloted by Lt. Col. Glenn Stevenson (Richard Widmark), TSgt. Mike Takashima (Yul Brynner) and 2nd Lt. John Gregg (George Chakiris) tries to save the survivors of a shipwreck off the coast of Japan during a raging typhoon . As they are plunged into hell with the most fearless breed of men on earth . Later on , there take place various flashbacks about the aviators ; as 1954 Germany where the Air Rescue Service pull off operations piloted by Glen Stevenson and John Gregg ; Manila during WWII where Stevenson (Richard Widmark) falls in love for a beautiful girl (Shirley Knight , though Tuesday Weld originally announced for this role) and Tunisia 1942 where Mike Takashima (Yul Brynner) to win the heart a gorgeous Arabian woman (Daniele Gaubert) with tragical consequences .

Thrilling film in which there are nail-biting action scenes , drama interlaced with breathtaking aerial scenes , love stories , intrigue , suspenseful set pieces and almost overloaded with stars . The movie gets a simple emotional appeal , professionalism , though being regularly shot and slow-moving . Stiff as well as excessively melodramatic screenplay by Waldo Salt based on the novel by Elliott Arnold . Good trio protagonist as Yul Brynner , Richard Widmark , George Chakiris along with the beauties Suzy Parker , Danièle Gaubert and Shirley Knight . Nice special effects interwoven with impressive aerial scenes and excellent production design by expert Eugene Lourie , though including excessive maquette and scale model . Filmed on splashy color and brilliant cinematography in Panavisión by excellent cameramen Burnett Guffey and Joseph MacDonald . Rousing as well as evocative musical score by Frank Cordell.

The motion picture was middlingly directed by Michael Anderson . This is one of various and professional works of his long career as filmmaker . He was a craftsman with reputation for making a variety of commercial and amusing films , it's well demonstrated in ¨Flight from Ashiya¨. Anderson did most of his best work in the thriving British cinema of the 50s . Anderson was quickly a man with a reputation for making a variety of commercial , entertaining movies . As his films from 1953-58 were all quite well received , his cycle ended with the best of them , the suspense/thriller ,¨Chase a crooked shadow¨ . Latterly resident in Canada , he has continued to direct , mainly in lower-profile projects and TV adventure movies . Anderson has filmed all kind of genres as cinema as TV ; such as Adventure : ¨Around the world in 80 days¨ , ¨Doc Savage¨ , ¨The sea Wolf¨ , ¨20.000 leagues under the sea¨ ; Sci-Fi : ¨Logan's run¨, ¨The martian chronicles¨ , ¨Milennium¨ ; Thriller: ¨The Quiller Memorandum , ¨Dominique is dead¨ , ¨The naked edge¨ , ¨The wreck of the Mary Deare¨ , ¨Murder by phone¨ and Wartime : ¨Battle hell¨, ¨Shake hands with the devil¨, ¨Damm Busters¨, and ¨Operation Crossbow¨ . ¨Flight from Ashiya¨ is an interesting as well as tedious film at times , though it will attract to Yul Brynner and Richard Widmark fans .

The screenplay tells the story of three men ,two of whom fought during WW2.Now they all work for Air Rescue Service with a commendable motto.The problem is that the film is far from being commendable.

During a mission,Widmark's dark memories come back to haunt him and ,in the middle of a sea rescue,we're offered a full flashback :he once loved a woman (Shirley Knight),and that is supposed to make us comprehend why he hates Japanese.But if it is bad ,a second flashback (dealing with Yul Brynner's past) is still worse.In a chocolate box North Africa ,he falls in love with an Arab girl -who barely looks Arab anyway.As George Chakiris did not fight during WW2(see above),the director spares us a third flashback,phew! This is a flick where even technical competence is at question and that is very ill-conceived.

In Flight from Ashiya, Richard Widmark, Yul Brynner, and George Chakiris are search and rescue pilots. It's a tough business, one that requires compassion, courage, and logic. Sometimes, not everyone in need gets rescued because there's limited room in the planes. Dick is supposed to be the hardened villain, and we're supposed to be on George's side. But anyone who knows anything about their profession will take Dick's side! They're a search and rescue crew; not guardian angels. By definition, they have to search and rescue those they can. They can't save everyone, and some people will be left behind to die. Yet George gets tears in his eyes and calls Dick and unfeeling monster. It's pretty unfair.

And, as we learn through flashbacks, Dick has had his fair share of heartache in his past to help harden his heart. He fell in love with beautiful, sweet Shirley Knight; but since he's got "pain" written all over his forehead, we can guess it didn't last. Details will be revealed in their own time, and Dick gets a nice big weeping scene out of it. How often does he get to do that?

No matter your type, ladies, you'll get to have some eye candy during this movie. Three tough guys with soft spots in their hearts are pretty irresistible to a female audience. While they each have their distinct roles (Dick is the uncompassionate veteran, George is new and too soft), Yul is the only one with an active love interest with Suzy Parker. We can all hope that he makes it safely back from his missions and into Suzy's loving arms. She didn't make many movies, so it's always a treat to see her.

I had expected lots of action and I got it but it was of the dreary melodramatic romantic type and not of the shooting type. It's no surprise that the release was delayed by two years as the makers must have realised that it was not very good. The few action scenes were impressive and looked expensive to make which perhaps explains why they were so few in number. The large numbers of flashbacks , essential to the plot, further reduced the enjoyment. A waste of acting talent with a way over the top romantic plot and script. Not one for Richard and Yul to be proud of, but it was not their fault of course.

In 1964 at Ashiya Air Force Rescue station in Japan, another Flight From Ashiya is launched when word of survivors on a raft in the North China Sea is heard. Two planes are given the mission.

While on the way in flashback we see the lives of three of the men on the rescue mission with various incidents from their past. The three are Colonel Richard Widmark, Lieutenant George Chakiris, and Sergeant Yul Brynner.

You're supposed to take only essentials, but in this situation all three men are taking a lot of baggage along. Both Widmark and Brynner met and lost their true loves during World War II and Chakiris blames himself for the deaths of several people during another mission ten years earlier that both Widmark and Brynner were on.

There are some very nice flying and rescue sequences in Flight From Ashiya, aviation buffs will love this film.

Best performance in the film has to be Yul Brynner the half Japanese half Polish American sergeant who decided to make a career of the Armed Services even after World War II. My guess is that Brynner probably served in the 443rd Division of Nisei and served in Italy as well as North Africa where his flashback takes place.

Widmark was a civilian pilot who ran an airline in the Phillipines before World War II where he met Shirley Knight. What happens to both of them after Pearl Harbor and the invasion of the Phillipines shapes Widmark's attitudes.

Last year Dennis Quaid and Ashton Kutcher did a film about the Coast Guard Rescue Force called Swimmer. A lot of Flight From Ashiya was incorporated into that film. That was a worthy successor to Flight From Ashiya.