Volo 174: caduta libera

Free Fall from the Sky: Flight 174 is the true story of a Boeing 767 near-disaster in Canada when the plane runs out of fuel. It stars William Devane, Scott Hylands, Shelley Hack, Marietta Hartley, and Winston Reckert.

The Canadian government changed the way fuel was measured to kilos, I guess, and some duffess on the ground measured wrong and sent this thing up with not enough fuel to get where it was going. The highlight for me was seeing copilot Scott Hylands with a pencil and paper doing calculations.

Made in 1995, the move has that cheap Canadian feel to it, which movies did back then. For a disaster film, it drags. There was not enough script for 93 minutes.

There was a lot of inner monologuing which I could have done without.

The landing was good, mostly due to the excellent acting of William Devane. Look for lovely Molly Porter at 23 in a small role.

What an adventure. Based on a true story. If you don't like to fly, though, I wouldn't recommend you watching it! I agree with the reviewer below, you feel like you're part of the action. The acting is all good, especially William Devane as the brave pilot. I also enjoyed Shelley Hack as a stewardess, who has the best line: she snarks to a rude passenger, "Sir, shut your stupid mouth!"

This is a good movie for made-for-TV. A true story about Canada World Airways' Boeing 767 that runs out of fuel, due to a miscalculation by the ground staff in Montreal. The Captain Bob Pearson (William Devane) and First Officer Maurice Quintal (Scott Hylands) must think of something fast before the plane and its 60 passengers fall from the sky.

The acting is great, as each main character's live stories are depicted in the movie, as his/her own personal issues are worsened by the plane's untimely misfortune. The movie is fast pace, leaving little room for mundane scenes and plot lines that drag. We see a movie where people turn from despair to hope as they struggle to find their will to help each other to survive as their plane comes falling. Again, a great TV movie that is worth your time watching.

Grade A

If you ever feel downhearted or depressed, consider watching this uplifting film (no pun intended)! Based upon an actual event, it demonstrates the ability of people to contend against seemingly impossible odds. This movie, originally produced for TV, offers talented performances by William Devane, Scott Hylands, Winston Rekert, Shelly Hack, Mariette Hartley, and many others. It benefits from a superbly crafted script and talented direction and filmography. Unlike many air disaster epics, this movie reports about an event which- amazingly- actually occurred in Canada's airways several decades ago. (Anyone who suffers from a phobia about air travel may find the content difficult to watch.) However, the film does pay tribute to the capabilities of talented pilots and airline attendants. Captain Bob Pearson makes a cameo appearance in this film portraying an airline test simulator examiner. This inspiring film reinforces the importance of studying aviation in comprehensive terms. It offer riveting entertainment value, too. Not for the faint of heart!

This is a surprisingly gripping made-for-TV movie for two reasons: (1) It's based on a true story so you're not guaranteed a happy "Hollywood" ending; you're compelled to sit on the edge of your seat to find out what eventually happens, and (2) Unlike the "Airport" movies that spend most of their time on the soap opera aspects of the passenger's lives, for the bulk of "Falling from the Sky," you're in the cockpit - sweating it out with the pilot (the excellent William Devane) and his crew attempting to keep aloft this jet airliner with no fuel. How did this ordinarily routine flight wind up in such peril? At the outset of the movie, we see the ground crew obviously having trouble with gallon-to-liter conversion. As we find out later, their math was a little off.