bnpahunt-26948 After living in the U.S.A. now for 30 years I still delight in explaining the origin of Black Friday for Canadians not a big shopping day like it is here. After showing the movie to many friends including U.S.A.F. personnel I finally came across someone who knew all about the Arrow. In response to the final scenes that suggest the fueled-and- ready-to-go was flown out over the lake he said that the plane still exists and is housed in a hanger near Area "51". This ex-pilot says he had not seen the plane but knew of it's existence through an uncle involved with Air Force experiments of all kinds. Wherever the truth lies it is still a wonderful movie and the mystique of that plane still out there somewhere keeps me coming back.

Canvoodoo For those that don't know the history, the Avro Arrow project was a Canadian interceptor project from the late 1950s. It was cancelled due to excessive cost, and to a perception that interceptor aircraft were obsolete in the wake of Sputnik and the development of ICBMs. Subsequently, the Arrow program has become the basis of a Canadian cottage industry of book publishing and conspiracy theory about why the cancellation occurred, the involvement of the *dastardly Americans*, the downfall of the Canadian aircraft industry, etc.This program is interesting in many respects -- most particularly the use of CGI to show what a flying Arrow would have looked like, and the use of a near-full scale mock up of an Arrow as set dressing in many scenes. (The Arrow was a *very* large aircraft, and building a mock up was a major proposition). Genuine archive footage of the original Arrow is also used. The set design does a good job of setting the scene for the story.Where the program falls down is in the story itself. Some posters here have suggested that history needs to be mythologized a bit to make it palatable/interesting. I don't agree with this as a general rule, and certainly not in this case, as the story is every bit as interesting just as it occurred. I understand the need to compress characters and keep a story simple enough to fit in a reasonable duration, but there's no need to generate a whole pile of total fiction to fill out the story. The important issue is that many people who watch this program will think that it's 100% historically accurate -- An impression that the program doesn't try very hard to correct. The story is very heavily fictionalized, and diverges significantly from the established history.The one good part of all this is that one of the extras on the DVD release of "The Arrow" is the one hour CBC documentary "Dateline -- There Never was an Arrow" from 1980. This is probably the most informative and balanced examination of the Arrow program, and was unavailable for many years. If you want some light entertainment, watch "The Arrow" -- It's not bad, just don't take the story seriously. If you want to know the true history, see the "Dateline" documentary, or the Avro Arrow book by Ron Page et. al. from Boston Mills Press.

cinemabitch I really enjoyed the movie! Given, I am a sucker for films about aviation, space, and engineering. About an all-Canadian interceptor/fighter built in the late '50's, that was years (if not decades) ahead of its time. The true story shows the development of The Arrow, a plane capable of Mach 2, but also the politics that ultimately doom the project. I am glad that it was not ALL "blame the Americans" as it showed Canadian internal politics, personality conflicts, personal flaws..... and ........ yes....... The Americans (who didn't want the competition in aviation from North of the border).This ranks right up there with space and aviation films like THE RIGHT STUFF, and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON. It is also a great story of concepts ahead of their time getting squashed, like the film TUCKER: A Man and His Dream. A similar story might be (though not yet on film to my knowledge) about Jack Northrop and his flying wing which had a similar development and fate in the US. Of course, Northrop's concept was validated with the B-2...... But, I digress........Though the budget was low (a Canadian Mini-series, after all), they did the most with what they had. The choice of R/C models for most of the flying scenes was a good choice! It gave the look of the film an organic feel, as opposed to the CG effects, which were so-so. I hope they donated the full-size mock-ups to a museum!If you love stories about aviation, space, engineering, or cold war history, this is one to find on tape or DVD, or search for on cable! A must see!

william_t This is one of the best mini-series I have ever watched. It's portrayal of Crawford Gordon as a man who, as the Arrow project descends into chaos, becomes a heavy drinker, is amazing. Dan Aykroyd plays this part brilliantly.It is the most accurate picture of the 1950's political climate and shows how much sway the President of the United States had over Canada at the time.If you have the chance, you should watch this series, because it will change your view of the Cold War.