Air America

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

31K

YOUR RATING

A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt C.I.A. airlift organization operating in Vietnam War-era Laos.

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A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift operation in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift operation in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift operation in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

31K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Jack Neely
(as Art La Fleur)

Ned Eisenberg

Pirelli

Marshall Bell

O.V.

David Bowe

Saunders

Burt Kwouk

General Lu Soong

Tim Thomerson

Babo

Harvey Jason

Nino

Sinjai Plengpanich

Gene's Wife
(as Sinjai Hongthai)

Natta Nantatanti

Gene's Daughter

Purin Panichpan

Gene's Son

Yanee Tramoth

Gene's Brother-in-Law
(as Yani Tramod)

Chanarona Suwanpa

Kwahn
(as Chanarong Suwanapa)

Director
- Roger Spottiswoode
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The sequence where Robert Downey, Jr. is seen hanging from a rope flying across the skies above Thailand, including a Buddhist temple, was done for real, with Downey performing the stunt himself after director Roger Spottiswoode had rejected doing it using such alternative techniques as blue screen or back projection.

Goofs
When Kwuan is pushing the cargo out, he clearly has a safety line attached. As he and the cargo go over the edge, there is no line present. The safety line is back in the next cut.

Quotes
Billy Covington: [Gene is loading a machine gun] Excuse me, is that an Uzi?
Gene Ryack: [glances at Babo and Billy] You know, that would make a great TV commercial? 'Excuse me, is that an Uzi?' 'Why, yes it is. Hey, self-defense is no laughing matter! That why when I want number one I pack an Uzi... accept no substitutes.'

Alternate versions
UK television screenings are usually missing the translation subtitles of Gene's conversation with the 'Hillbilly's' when he and Billy are captured shortly after the helicopter crash. The subtitles are present on both the R2 Optimum Home Entertainment DVD and Guild Home Video VHS releases.

Connections
Edited into Soldier Boyz (1995)

Soundtracks
Free Ride
Performed and Produced by Edgar Winter & Rick Derringer
Written by Dan Hartman
Published by Multi-Level Music Inc. and Silver Steed Music Inc.
Administered by EMI Blackwood Music Inc.

User reviews64

Featured review

7/10

Some pilots are willing to work anywhere to "slip the surly bonds of earth" ...

This film rendition of Christopher Robbin's "Air America", the story of CIA's secret airforce in Laos during the Vietnam War has been fluffed up a tad too much. I would have hoped they would have kept the tone of the book which was a bit edgier; more like the film version of MASH. This version makes the "non-war" in Laos seem like a Disney World Ride. However Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr make it worth the price of admission. After you watch the flick track down the book for the REAL story.