kijii Even though this movie does not live up to the Frankenheimer standards that I enjoyed in his early 60s movies, I found it enjoyable enough. The sky diving was interesting, and the back story was OK in this last of a long series of Frankenheimer-Lancaster collaborations. Wow, my heart was in my throat during many of the sky diving scenes. And, who would have thought that we would see Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in another illicit love affair--16 years after From Here to Eternity (1953). To the classical film fan, it is hard to imagine seeing them in THIS movie without thinking of them at THAT movie.

Armand a beautiful film.for the unique science of a great director to explore each possibility of story. for the art to discover the essence of a special sport. for acting- Deborah Kerr - Burt Lancaster is a splendid couple - , for the Scott Wilson performance, for Gene Hackman use of his character nuances. a film about passion made in admirable manner, with high precision.because it represents a gallery of portraits, decisions and opportunities, with the South melancholic spirit, with the force of a dangerous passion. one of films who preserves the flavor of lost age. and who propose a touching, profound story, a delicate view about life , duty and sacrifice.

ma-cortes On a 4th of July weekend , three air stunt parachutists (Burt Lancaster, Gene Hackman and Scott Wilson as Malcolm though John Phillip Law was first cast but had to be replaced because of an injury to his wrist) arrive to carry out their skills at a small Kansas town located in Midwest . The trio of barnstorming skydivers are hosted at house ownership a dysfunctional and unhappy marriage (Deborah Kerr , William Windom) . The inhabitants of the small town feel both attracted and threatened to the skydivers . Meanwhile , they go to a top-less club (according to director the dancers in the go-go club were local Kansas girls, not city girls, because they looked authentic) where meet a sexy woman (Sheree North) . At the end takes place a dangerous fall to death, as when jumping is not only a way to live, but a way to die, too . This dramatic picture is packed with skydiving , romance , love story and the drama is maintained throughout. The picture relies heavily on the doomed romance that flares up between Elizabeth well played by Deborah Kerr and Rettig magnificently performed by Burt Lancaster until a surprising final when tension explodes with an impressive skydiving show . Interesting screenplay which manages to catch the growing ambivalent and disillusionment of travellers in search of money and the quiet desperation of a marriage ; it was written by Willian Hanley , based on the novel by James Drought . There aren't special effects but ¨stunts¨ who make it astounding . Experienced but amateur skydivers, most with several thousand jumps to their credit , were brought in from California to double for the actors . During the filming at the airfield in Benton, Kansas, the director , wanted to get a real, horrified reaction from the extras playing the audience, so he had a Mannequin dressed like a skydiver and tied it under a helicopter which ascended a couple of hundred feet, then released the dummy . The skydiving equipment the Gypsy Moths use in the film was sport parachuting state-of-the-art for the late 1960's . The picture collaborated to create the ¨ skydiving genre film ¨ , thus many years later were shot various movies about this sport : ¨Break Point¨ (Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves) , ¨Terminal velocity¨ (with Charlie Sheen and Natassja Kinski) and ¨Cutaway¨ (Tom Berenger and Stephen Baldwin) . Appropriate cinematography by Philip Lathrop with good aerial scenes though is necessary a perfect remastering . Adequate musical score fitting to tension by the master Elmer Bernstein .The motion picture was compellingly directed by John Frankenheimer , though being slow-pace, and some moments boring . It is considered to be one of Frankenheimer's less satisfying works and failed at box office ; however being one of John Frankenheimer's two favorites of the films he has directed . In the beginning he worked for TV and turned to the cinema industry with The Young Stranger (1957) . Disappointed his with first feature film experience he came back to his successful television career directing a total of 152 live television shows in the 50s. He took another opportunity to change to the big screen , collaborating with Burt Lancaster in The Young Savages (1961) and Birdman of Alcatraz(62) ending up becoming a successful director well-known by his skills with actors and expressing on movies his views on important social deeds and philosophical events and film-making some classics as ¨The Manchurian candidate , Seven days of May and The Train¨. Rating : 6 , well worth seeing. The flick will appeal to Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr fans .

ozthegreatat42330 Directed by John Frankenheimer, best known for his political thrillers, this is one of the few films to take a serious look at the increasingly popular thrill sport of sky diving. Burt Lancaster, Gene Hackman and Scott Wilson represent three different points of view of sport parachuting. For Hackman it is a business, for Wilson it is about escape and acceptance, for Lancaster it is something more personal. Seven gifted amateur sky divers did over 2000 jumps to create the stunt work in this film. Between uncooperative winds and rain and with settings in parts of seven different Kansas locations they managed to pull together this film, which will have you on the edge of your seat all the way through. Excellent supporting turns are put in my Debra Kerr and William Windom