Falcon Down
Encyclopedia
Falcon Down was an action film
from 2000
directed by Philip J. Roth and starring Dale Midkiff
, William Shatner
, Judd Nelson
, Jennifer Rubin and Cliff Robertson
.
-6 stealth bomber known as the Falcon Project is cancelled following a major disaster during its first test flight
.
Undaunted, a group of ex-military strategist
s continue to develop the stealth in secret, knowing that once complete, a sale to the Chinese
for billions of dollars is assured. A team of experts is assembled to hijack
the plane, including the one man capable of flying the new stealth technology
, Hank Thomas (Midkiff), a staunchly American fighter pilot
who unwittingly becomes involved in the operation
.
Once on board, the hijack begins and the Russia
n-trained commando
s demand that Hank land on an Arctic
icecap
where the real battle of survival begins. The ice is too thin to support the extraordinary weight
of the Falcon. Thousands of feet beneath the surface
, Hank must not only battle the ruthless
commandos, but also escape the icy grave
which threatens the very fabric of national security
.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
from 2000
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
directed by Philip J. Roth and starring Dale Midkiff
Dale Midkiff
Dale Alan Midkiff is an American actor.-Early life:Midkiff was born in Chance, Maryland, the son of Joyce and Thomas Midkiff. He attended Edgewood High School near Baltimore. His first acting experience came playing Jack in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for a local children's theater. His...
, William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, Judd Nelson
Judd Nelson
Judd Asher Nelson is an American actor. He is best known for being a member of the "Brat Pack" in the mid-1980s; and for his roles as John Bender in The Breakfast Club, Alec Newbary in St...
, Jennifer Rubin and Cliff Robertson
Cliff Robertson
Clifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned half of a century. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film PT 109, and won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Charly...
.
Story
DVD synopsis: The biggest U.S. military project in history, the XB-1000 MachMach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
-6 stealth bomber known as the Falcon Project is cancelled following a major disaster during its first test flight
Maiden flight
The maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. This is similar to a ship's maiden voyage....
.
Undaunted, a group of ex-military strategist
Strategist
A design strategist has the ability to combine the innovative, perceptive and holistic insights of a designer with the pragmatic and systemic skills of a planner to guide strategic direction in context of business needs, brand intent, design quality and customer values...
s continue to develop the stealth in secret, knowing that once complete, a sale to the Chinese
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China...
for billions of dollars is assured. A team of experts is assembled to hijack
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
the plane, including the one man capable of flying the new stealth technology
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
, Hank Thomas (Midkiff), a staunchly American fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
who unwittingly becomes involved in the operation
Military operation
Military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state's favor. Operations may be of combat or non-combat types, and are referred to by a code name for the purpose...
.
Once on board, the hijack begins and the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-trained commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
s demand that Hank land on an Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
icecap
Icecap
Icecap my refer to* Ice cap, a geographical feature* Icecap , a blog skeptical of global warming* Raleigh IceCaps, a defunct ECHL Hockey Team...
where the real battle of survival begins. The ice is too thin to support the extraordinary weight
Weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force on the object due to gravity. Its magnitude , often denoted by an italic letter W, is the product of the mass m of the object and the magnitude of the local gravitational acceleration g; thus:...
of the Falcon. Thousands of feet beneath the surface
Surface
In mathematics, specifically in topology, a surface is a two-dimensional topological manifold. The most familiar examples are those that arise as the boundaries of solid objects in ordinary three-dimensional Euclidean space R3 — for example, the surface of a ball...
, Hank must not only battle the ruthless
Ruthless
Ruthless can refer to:* Ruthless * Ruthless * Ruthless , a 1948 film starring Zachary Scot* Ruthless , a race horse* Ruthless!, a 1992 musical-See also:...
commandos, but also escape the icy grave
Grave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
which threatens the very fabric of national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
.
Cast
- Dale MidkiffDale MidkiffDale Alan Midkiff is an American actor.-Early life:Midkiff was born in Chance, Maryland, the son of Joyce and Thomas Midkiff. He attended Edgewood High School near Baltimore. His first acting experience came playing Jack in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for a local children's theater. His...
— Captain Hank Thomas - William ShatnerWilliam ShatnerWilliam Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
— Major Robert Carson - Judd NelsonJudd NelsonJudd Asher Nelson is an American actor. He is best known for being a member of the "Brat Pack" in the mid-1980s; and for his roles as John Bender in The Breakfast Club, Alec Newbary in St...
— Harold Peters - Jennifer Rubin — Sharon Williams
- Cliff RobertsonCliff RobertsonClifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned half of a century. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film PT 109, and won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Charly...
— Buzz Thomas - Mark KielyMark KielyMark Kiely is an American actor, probably best known for his recurring guest appearance as Gil Meyers in Beverly Hills, 90210.-Television:*Beverly Hills, 90210 *Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story...
— Roger the Rat - Dean BiasucciDean BiasucciDean Biasucci was a placekicker in the National Football League for the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams. He is the second all time leading scorer for the Colts, collecting 783 points from 1984 to 1994...
— Roth Jankins - Sandra FergusonSandra FergusonSandra Dee Robinson is an American actress and founder of the media training and consulting firm Charisma On Camera. As an actress she was first credited as Sandra Reinhardt while married to her first husband, John Reinhardt. When they divorced, she changed her name back to Ferguson...
— Barbara Edwards - Natasha Roth — Alisia Edwards
- Allison Dunbar — Connie Eldridge
- Que Kelly — Weapons Specialist
- Donald Li — Captain Chow
- William ZabkaWilliam ZabkaWilliam Michael "Billy" Zabka is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is an Academy Award Nominee for Co-Writing and Producing the film, "MOST." Zabka is best known for his villain roles in several iconic 80s films, such as his role of Johnny Lawrence in 1984's The Karate...
— Security Guard John - Bo EasonBo EasonBo Eason is a former professional American football player who played safety for four seasons for the Houston Oilers. He is currently an actor and playwright. His show "Runt of the Litter" is now being performed in multiple cities. His brother is former NFL quarterback, Tony Eason.-External links:*...
— Security Guard - Jeff Rank — Harmon Yaznah
Allusions
- The design of the Falcon is loosely based on alleged designs of the AuroraAurora aircraftAurora was a rumored mid-1980s American reconnaissance aircraft. There is no substantial evidence that it was ever built or flown and it has been termed a myth.The U.S. government has consistently denied such an aircraft was ever built...
, an alleged top-secret hypersonicHypersonicIn aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above...
spyplane developed by the U.S. Air Force in the late 1980s and early 1990s. - Various parts of the plot (stealth aircraftStealth aircraftStealth aircraft are aircraft that use stealth technology to avoid detection by employing a combination of features to interfere with radar as well as reduce visibility in the infrared, visual, audio, and radio frequency spectrum. Development of stealth technology likely began in Germany during...
equipped with advanced weapons, landing on frozen ice, etc.) are loosely based on the book "Firefox"Firefox (novel)Firefox is a thriller novel written by Craig Thomas and published in 1977. The Cold War plot involves an attempt by the CIA and MI5 to steal a highly advanced experimental Soviet fighter aircraft. The chief protagonist is fighter pilot turned spy Mitchell Gant...
and its movie adaptationFirefox (film)Firefox is a 1982 American action film produced, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name written by Craig Thomas....
.