Like many of you, I’ve been doing a lot of movie-watching lately. It got me thinking: what are my favorite travel flicks? I’m talking about movies that focus on the act of travel, as opposed to films set in a foreign place.
Here is my less-than-comprehensive, non-scientific, not-really-in-order, tilting-heavily-toward-planes-and-airports (hey, I’m a pilot!) list of 25 favorite travel movies. Note: Critical acclaim was not a factor!
Up in the Air. I channel George Clooney every time I go through security, visit an airport lounge, or tally my points and miles. Even though the movie makes a mistake re: rental cars (you didn’t have to give your Hertz number to the attendant if you were a Hertz #1 Club Gold member), the airport, flight, and hotel check-in scenes are spot-on. “To know me is to fly with me.” Yep.
Die Hard 2. Bruce Willis repeats as John McClane battling terrorists, this time at Washington Dulles airport. Even though I don’t know why planes running out of fuel were put into a holding pattern instead of diverting to Baltimore, Bruce trying to wave off a plane about to crash land is a phenomenal scene. And Fred Thompson ordering all inbound aircraft into a holding pattern by declaring “Pack ’em, stack ’em, and rack ’em”? Beyond cool. Ignore the plot holes.
Top Gun. Decades later, the aerial footage of high-flying Navy pilots is still extraordinary. “You can be my wingman any time.”
Airplane!. If you’re over Macho Grande and would rather watch Airplane as a drama, check out Zero Hour! online. (The Zero Hour! script was bought by the Airplane! writers; many scenes are a comedic version of the 1957 film.)
Catch Me If You Can. Leonardo DiCaprio plays fraudster Frank Abagnale Jr. One of Abagnale’s clever ways of getting away from FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) is impersonating a Pan-Am pilot (despite being only 17 years old and having no flight experience). For AvGeeks, the film is full of aviation details from the ‘60s.
National Lampoon’s Vacation. The classic family road trip, starring Chevy Chase.
The Terminal. Tom Hanks can’t leave JFK airport because his passport is invalidated by a coup in his home country. (It’s based on the true story of an 18-year stay at Paris Charles de Gaulle.)
United 93. This film recounts how the passengers of United 93 fought back against the terrorists who hijacked their plane, preventing them from executing their mission by rushing the cockpit. A supremely intelligent and moving account of a terrible moment in American history.
The Right Stuff. This story of America’s first astronauts includes stirring flight sequences, including Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) breaking the sound barrier in a plane so tiny it looks as though it’s going to break apart at any second.
Flight. Denzel Washington is an alcoholic pilot who avoids a crash via terrifying, physics-defying maneuvers. Makes the list for that scene alone.
Lost in Translation. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson explore Tokyo together as outsiders. The story revolves as much around the Park Hyatt Tokyo as it does Japanese karaoke.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The most extreme holiday travel delay in history—plane to train to cross-country drive.
Airport. This 1970 film, first in a series, is a classic disaster flick; people try to keep an airport open during a major weather event while a bomber plots to blow up a plane.
Sully. If only for the harrowing recreation of the crash of US Airways 1549, in which both engines were knocked out and doom seemed assured.
Pushing Tin. John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton are air traffic controllers. The scenes at New York TRACON are SO tense.
Snakes on a Plane. Over-the-top dopey with swear words galore, but the B-movie nonsense comes with redemptive cheeky self-awareness. And don’t think a snake falling from an overhead bin can’t happen; check this out.
Red Eye. A hotel manager with a fear of flying befriends a fellow passenger who then holds her hostage and makes her an accomplice to his terrorist plot. Scary!
The Aviator. Leonardo DiCaprio again, this time as Howard Hughes, aviation pioneer. Scenes include him flying a very cool vintage plane.
Air Force One. Who doesn’t love watching Harrison Ford as POTUS taking down bad guys on Air Force One?
Flightplan. An aircraft designer’s daughter goes missing on a flight to New York. The twist? The sky marshal and captain claim her child never boarded the plane. Jodie Foster plays the aircraft designer; reason alone to watch.
Con Air. Nicolas Cage plays an innocent man who’s on a doomed plane full of convicts. The movie is so bad, it’s good; bonus: there are a lot of explosions. “Put the bunny back in the box.”
Non-Stop. Liam Neeson is an alcoholic U.S. Marshal who must identify a killer on a flight after receiving text messages another passenger will die if the killer’s demands are not met. If you liked Taken, this one’s for you.
Millennium. Kris Kristofferson plays an NTSB investigator looking into the collision of a Boeing 747 and a DC-10 where all the passengers of the 747 appear to have been dead prior to ground impact, even though the plane caught fire only after it crashed. Because, you know, time travel. Even though it was critically panned, Kris was an terrific crash investigator.
Airport. This parody of ‘70s disaster movies centers on a flight and ground crew figuring out how to safely land their plane after a bomb is detonated onboard. The film takes everything that’s irritating and nerve-wracking about flying (chipper stewardesses, annoying seatmates, terrible airline food, oddly self-serious pilots) and turns it into some of the most brilliantly stupid gags to ever grace the silver screen. “Assume crash positions!”
Boeing Boeing. Tony Curtis is an American in Paris dating three different flight attendants—from Air France, Lufthansa, and British United Airways—whose international route schedules mean they are never in town at the same time. They all live with him whenever they’re in Paris (none of them know about the others); he swaps out photos and personal items between one leaving and the next arriving. Then planes get faster, resulting in the FAs’ schedules overlapping, and trouble ensues.
Happy watching!
P.S. Movie that didn’t make the list? Soul Plane. I can’t. I just can’t.
