22 reviews
You might wonder why the opening text of Miracle Landing lets you know the outcome and that the film is based on a true story, but the reason is soon revealed. If you weren't told it was a true story, you would never believe it. In this airplane drama, the roof of the passenger compartment flies off mid-flight. Without any communication between the stewardesses and the cockpit, and very little between the pilots and airflight control, they have to land the plane. It really is unbelievable; but then again, it really did happen.
As in the classic formula, the main characters have a bit of a backstory in the set-up before takeoff. The pilot (Wayne Rogers) is an ex-flyboy from the Vietnam War, the co-pilot (Connie Sellecca) is a woman in training, and one of the stewardesses (Ana Alicia) is a single mom who wants to set a good example for her daughter. The head stewardess is Nancy Kwan, although she unfortunately has a very small part. Other passengers include a honeymoon couple, a kid coming back from vacation, old folks who are nervous about flying, and the other usual tropes you'll usually find in a disaster movie. There's some "intense" music, some low-budget special effects, and an obvious "disaster-flick" script, but somehow this tv movie gives you an emotional experience.
The opening text told me what to expect, but I was at the edge of my seat with a lump in my throat the entire time. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and I didn't know how anyone would make it out alive. And how did Ana Alicia get up the courage to keep throwing herself up and down the aisles to help people, knowing that if she let go for a second, she'd be sucked out of the plane and killed? Truly inspiring, and although cheesy, a must-see for disaster movie fans.
As in the classic formula, the main characters have a bit of a backstory in the set-up before takeoff. The pilot (Wayne Rogers) is an ex-flyboy from the Vietnam War, the co-pilot (Connie Sellecca) is a woman in training, and one of the stewardesses (Ana Alicia) is a single mom who wants to set a good example for her daughter. The head stewardess is Nancy Kwan, although she unfortunately has a very small part. Other passengers include a honeymoon couple, a kid coming back from vacation, old folks who are nervous about flying, and the other usual tropes you'll usually find in a disaster movie. There's some "intense" music, some low-budget special effects, and an obvious "disaster-flick" script, but somehow this tv movie gives you an emotional experience.
The opening text told me what to expect, but I was at the edge of my seat with a lump in my throat the entire time. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and I didn't know how anyone would make it out alive. And how did Ana Alicia get up the courage to keep throwing herself up and down the aisles to help people, knowing that if she let go for a second, she'd be sucked out of the plane and killed? Truly inspiring, and although cheesy, a must-see for disaster movie fans.
- HotToastyRag
- Apr 16, 2022
- Permalink
- rmax304823
- Aug 8, 2014
- Permalink
I have to admit that I actually never watched the movie, but I wanted to add some facts to franzi775's post, since it's some sort of misinformation.
Miracle Landing is based on a true accident, like already said by other comments, and covers the story of flight 243 of Aloha Airlines.
Indeed, sudden explosive decompression CAN lead to a complete loss of an aircraft, but it MUST not! Besides Aloha 243 there are some similar accidents that did end up *quite* fortunately, e.g. United flight 801, 10 months later.
Thus... the movie is realistic, rather than stupid! Sorry, but had to set things right.
Miracle Landing is based on a true accident, like already said by other comments, and covers the story of flight 243 of Aloha Airlines.
Indeed, sudden explosive decompression CAN lead to a complete loss of an aircraft, but it MUST not! Besides Aloha 243 there are some similar accidents that did end up *quite* fortunately, e.g. United flight 801, 10 months later.
Thus... the movie is realistic, rather than stupid! Sorry, but had to set things right.
- alex_grease
- Oct 9, 2003
- Permalink
If you read the actual history, there was a lot of "Hollywood" in this movie. Also, you couldn't find Asian actors and actresses for the role? This wasn't a flight from Boise, Idaho.
- bcollierbooks
- Oct 17, 2021
- Permalink
Miracle Landing is a very well done film. It's a miracle that more people were not killed when the front section of the plane (roof section) tore away, sucking out one of the flight attendants. This is a true story, which made viewing it all the more enjoyable. My heart really went out to all the crew & passengers. What an ordeal to go through.Trust me, this is a great film to see. Mark Snows music adds that much more to it...
- uniqueabba
- Nov 24, 2009
- Permalink
This movie is by far one of the best in the field of the air disaster made-for-TV movies. Great visual quality, great soundtrack, excellent special effects (it isn't easy to show a 737 with portion of the roof out). It really is to wonder how that plane made it.
- airodyssey
- Jul 27, 1999
- Permalink
It is truly the ignorant that would condemn this film for lack of action and climax, or having the heroine spend too much time having her hair blown in her face......... somehow, one wonder if people do read the little words on the screen saying..... Based On A True Story.
All I can say is, it paid respect to a very harrowing experience.
One must commend the real pilots and the stewardesses who handled such a critical situation with such mettle.
Especially a case where you loose hydraulics, communications and depressurisation..... not easy as those who fly will tell you.
So to the producers and Director who tried their best to re-enact a moment of true heroism........Bravo!
All I can say is, it paid respect to a very harrowing experience.
One must commend the real pilots and the stewardesses who handled such a critical situation with such mettle.
Especially a case where you loose hydraulics, communications and depressurisation..... not easy as those who fly will tell you.
So to the producers and Director who tried their best to re-enact a moment of true heroism........Bravo!
- tazioratnayeke
- Jun 7, 2006
- Permalink
I wish people would stop writing comments about how stupid or unbelievable the endings to movies like this are. This movie was about a REAL EVENT, and people are writing reviews about how the title gave away the ending, or how there were too many scenes of the pilot getting her hair mussed in the wind. This movie tried, to the best of their ability, to recreate a real disaster. I think that they did an excellent job with this movie. No small detail was left out. They even tried to use, word for word, what was said between the pilots and the air traffic controllers.
Miracle Landing, in my opinion, is a superb show involving everyday people caught up in a terrible potential disaster. It is very realistic and I couldn't help but feel for all those people on that flight. The heroism of the crew shows the spirit that each of us have inside to overcome adversity and work toward a common good. Very well done.
- johnnied01
- Feb 24, 2000
- Permalink
This is one of our favorite movies. We have been to Hawaii many times and used to ride on both Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.
We would sincerely like to own a dvd or blu Rey of this movie.
Please re-issue it so we can buy a copy. Also like to buy a gift copy.
Thank you.
- sakliegel-1
- May 31, 2019
- Permalink
- cammers-29156
- Oct 13, 2023
- Permalink
Based on a true story, took place in Hawaii..I saw this film on TV and fell in love.. Starring Wayne Rogers (Mash) Connie Selleca (Knight Rider) and Ana Alicia (Falcon Crest) Took a long time to find, so glad I did...
I find myself in the unusual position of agreeing with all the previous commentators! Unlike "airport"-style movies, this one is not overly dramatic. And for that reason it is interesting and realistic, and (possibly paradoxically) slightly "undramatic".
Compare this with "Apollo 13" (err, the movie, not the event), where certain events were "dramatized". What - an accident in space that could result in the deaths of all on board, for the first time ever, in space, on TV, is not dramatic enough????? I wonder whether "Apollo 13" would have been "better" or "worse" without this "dramatisation"? This movie certainly opens that question. This movie shows that the understated approach _can_ work.
I also agree with the comments about the "flying hair", not only of Connie Seleca, as mentioned, but of all the women involved. My recollection of stewardesses in the 1980s is that they were somewhat more professional in appearance; those who had long hair wore it up and back. Certainly in Australian airlines of the day the flowing hair was not tolerated. This is distracting from the drama. It gives a slight soft-core porn feel to the movie, which is unnecessary and inappropriate, and spoils the whole effect.
I too could think only of Trapper when looking at the pilot. He did seem to stretch the definition of "nonchalance" to the limit:-).
In summary, I agree with the sense of this group of guidelines. A very good movie. Realistic. As to the lack of surprise ending: it doesn't harm "Titanic", it doesn't harm this one, either.
Compare this with "Apollo 13" (err, the movie, not the event), where certain events were "dramatized". What - an accident in space that could result in the deaths of all on board, for the first time ever, in space, on TV, is not dramatic enough????? I wonder whether "Apollo 13" would have been "better" or "worse" without this "dramatisation"? This movie certainly opens that question. This movie shows that the understated approach _can_ work.
I also agree with the comments about the "flying hair", not only of Connie Seleca, as mentioned, but of all the women involved. My recollection of stewardesses in the 1980s is that they were somewhat more professional in appearance; those who had long hair wore it up and back. Certainly in Australian airlines of the day the flowing hair was not tolerated. This is distracting from the drama. It gives a slight soft-core porn feel to the movie, which is unnecessary and inappropriate, and spoils the whole effect.
I too could think only of Trapper when looking at the pilot. He did seem to stretch the definition of "nonchalance" to the limit:-).
In summary, I agree with the sense of this group of guidelines. A very good movie. Realistic. As to the lack of surprise ending: it doesn't harm "Titanic", it doesn't harm this one, either.
- shelbythuylinh
- Nov 26, 2021
- Permalink
Let me just say as one reviewer stated, made for TV movies all have a low budget and time constraints to film leading to a less than quality project. But with that said, I think that those who worked on this film, made a terrific film. That was my father's impression when he saw it on TV because he had actually lived through the event. My father was on Aloha Airlines flight 243 in seat 7A, on the left side of the aircraft.
I was also present on set for one day while they were filming here in Oahu at HNL International Airport.
I wasn't there in any capacity, other than that I worked at the airport at the time production was filming.
I was able to meet the actual captain and first officer, and convey our thanks to them for being our dad back home. I was also able to meet both actors, portraying the pilots, Wayne Rogers and Connie Sellecca.
As cheesy as some of the shots looked, my father told us as we watched it, that that's what it pretty much looked like. Other than it was ALOT windier and extremely noiser.
A few facts about the accident compared to the movie:
-My father was seated in seat 7A. The boy in the film was sitting in my dad's seat/location. For reference, if you look at the picture taken after landing, my father's seat was the first window immediately after the cabin "tear".
-He never saw "a hole" develop in the cabin. It happened "quick". A "pop". And the force of the wind hitting them in their seats.
-Michelle Honda, the FA who was station in position 2, the back of the aircraft, couldn't get pass row 7 due to all the debris in the aisle. And she needed to crawl as the wind wouldn't allow you to stand in the aisles.
-There was an FAA ATC controller sitting in the jumpseat in the cockpit. That cockpit door, is what hit FA Jane Sato-Tomita as it departed the aircraft.
-NO ONE saw 1st FA C. B. Lansing depart the aircraft when the fuselage split open. My father remembers seeing her in the first class section before the accident and didn't know about her status until later that night in Maui, when he was at a hotel watching news reports.
-There was a passenger, as shown in the film, who had a piece of fuselage stuck to his face. No one knows the status of this individual, but my father remembers seeing this man in triage plane side after they were off the aircraft.
-My father said the FBI agent wasn't someone who came onboard immediately after wheel stop and air stairs was hooked up. Crash rescue personnel were the first onboard and was assisting Michelle Honda in getting non able passengers off the aircraft via air stairs or the slide which was deployed at door 2R in the rear of the aircraft.
So, we feel that Director Dick Lowry and the rest of the cast and crew did a superb job with what they had to work with to make a movie that was mainly true to the facts of the real incident. Thank you to them, if they read this, for doing a great job on Miracle Landing.
I was also present on set for one day while they were filming here in Oahu at HNL International Airport.
I wasn't there in any capacity, other than that I worked at the airport at the time production was filming.
I was able to meet the actual captain and first officer, and convey our thanks to them for being our dad back home. I was also able to meet both actors, portraying the pilots, Wayne Rogers and Connie Sellecca.
As cheesy as some of the shots looked, my father told us as we watched it, that that's what it pretty much looked like. Other than it was ALOT windier and extremely noiser.
A few facts about the accident compared to the movie:
-My father was seated in seat 7A. The boy in the film was sitting in my dad's seat/location. For reference, if you look at the picture taken after landing, my father's seat was the first window immediately after the cabin "tear".
-He never saw "a hole" develop in the cabin. It happened "quick". A "pop". And the force of the wind hitting them in their seats.
-Michelle Honda, the FA who was station in position 2, the back of the aircraft, couldn't get pass row 7 due to all the debris in the aisle. And she needed to crawl as the wind wouldn't allow you to stand in the aisles.
-There was an FAA ATC controller sitting in the jumpseat in the cockpit. That cockpit door, is what hit FA Jane Sato-Tomita as it departed the aircraft.
-NO ONE saw 1st FA C. B. Lansing depart the aircraft when the fuselage split open. My father remembers seeing her in the first class section before the accident and didn't know about her status until later that night in Maui, when he was at a hotel watching news reports.
-There was a passenger, as shown in the film, who had a piece of fuselage stuck to his face. No one knows the status of this individual, but my father remembers seeing this man in triage plane side after they were off the aircraft.
-My father said the FBI agent wasn't someone who came onboard immediately after wheel stop and air stairs was hooked up. Crash rescue personnel were the first onboard and was assisting Michelle Honda in getting non able passengers off the aircraft via air stairs or the slide which was deployed at door 2R in the rear of the aircraft.
So, we feel that Director Dick Lowry and the rest of the cast and crew did a superb job with what they had to work with to make a movie that was mainly true to the facts of the real incident. Thank you to them, if they read this, for doing a great job on Miracle Landing.
...now a mistake by myself: It was United 811 rather than 801 that had a quite similar accident like Aloha 243, which is shown in Miracle Landing.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
- alex_grease
- Oct 9, 2003
- Permalink
This is an appalling film. Wayne plays a low-rent Charlton Heston (Airport) while Connie Sellecca spends far too long having wind muss up her hair. The reaction from the FBI at the movie's far-less-than-climactic conclusion - a landing of truly miraculous proportions - is hilariously preposterous. Hawaii never looked so awful. Trapper John MacIntyre, what have you done?
We know the outcome from the title, but as another reviewer has said, that didn't harm Titanic! Unfortunately this awful film is harmed by the appalling acting - or lack of it. The characters are more like caricatures - I was waiting for the singing nun to appear with her guitar! I appreciate that the scriptwriters tried to use as much actual cockpit dialogue as possible, but otherwise this film is a string of cliches. I'm sure the real-life flight attendants were terrific but the actresses who portrayed them were dire, and quite unbelievable. The pilot was so laid back he appeared catatonic, and the co-pilot's hair acted harder than she did. A dreadful portrayal of what must have been a terrifying experience for all those involved, though you'd never know it from this film.
The problem with this film is that all the suspense is given away in the title. However very realistic special effects and the passengers played their parts well including the extras. Unlike the 2 pilots who appeared fairly non-plussed throughout by the fact that half their aeroplane was missing!