767 en détresse

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

From the grabber opening in a flight simulator, till the electrifying landing, William Devane and his flight crew are trying the impossible. Never before had a jumbo commercial aircraft been landed from a free fall. While the passenger's personal dramas may seem overdone, everything about the impending disaster is tense and realistic. There are even a few moments of sharp humor to interrupt the extreme anxiety. William Devane carries "Freefall : Flight 174" to greatness with a terrific performance as the cool headed captain. If you enjoy realistic disaster films, this is a must see, and I guarantee you will be cheering at the end. - MERK

I saw a dramatised 1 hour documentary of this accident on the Canadian Air Crash Invetsigations series "Mayday". The dramatised bits and interviews with passengers did a much better job of entertaining than this movie does, with the added bonus of conveying what really happened.

Instead of focusing on facts this film opts to go for 1970s disaster movie approach with casting, acting, set design, music and the invitable padding out with irrelevant sub-plots. The only thing that is missing is here Charton Heston but I guess he was too old by 1995 to pass as an airline Captain! Much of the dialogue between the crew in this movie is invented and they simply don't cut it as professional airmen. There is too much sighing and emotion, and too little professionalism. Most of the time they don't look like they are sitting a real cockpit, but a large wooden room in a studio.

Many of the events are exaggerated for sensational effect, and some events invented. This would be alright but it's poorly done and it just cheapens the movie. As do the invented dramatisations with passengers and crew.

I supposed it's a watchable film in is own right...I mean, I did watch it!

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.

I happened along this movie quite by accident. William Devane does an excellent job portraying an airline captain in charge of a doomed flight. The film was exhausting to watch. I felt like I was there in the cockpit helping Mr. Devane myself. I have tried for years to find a copy of this tape. Not until late last year was it available on VHS in the UK. I ordered the tape immediately. When the tape arrived, I was devastated to find out the VHS tapes sold in England and many other European countries are made on a different standard than ours here in the USA. I have the film on VHS in PAL standard but need it in NTSC or SECAM standard, whichever works in the US. I have been unable to get any help on this. I would very much like a copy of this film if anyone has any ideas.