THE PILOT

The Pilot is a little known film from 1980 directed by and starring Cliff Robertson. This was a pet project of the actor's as he is a pilot himself, having owned several vintage aircraft over the years including two WW2 Supermarine 'Spitfires'.

I caught this film one weekend afternoon (on CFTO, Channel 9, Toronto) back in the summer of 1991. I enjoyed it, as I like flying machines myself. Robertson plays airline pilot and alchoholic, Mike Hagan. This pilot continues to fly while hiding his habit... quite literally in fact. While not a crushing downer in the end, as was the excellent 1977 made-for-tv movie, A Sensitive, Passionate Man (starring David Janssen and Angie Dickinson), The Pilot effectively tells the story of a man and the career he loves, being ruined, slowly but surely, by the bottle.

Director Robertson illustrates his love of flying through his use of the camera and actor Robertson tells a story verbally about how he first fell in love with flying and his subsequent training by an old Canadian WW1 fighter pilot.

The flying scenes featuring the famed four-engine passenger airliner, the DC-8, are emphasized. Robertson has no problem as director showcasing this beautiful machine. And that includes a well staged set piece of a landing aircraft with one of its turbofans flaming.

One memorable scene in The Pilot depicts a DC-8 (named the "Toronto" in this case) flying over the desert as Hagan gives a tour for the passengers' edification; this is accompanied by composer John Addison's glorious 'Americana' music done in the tradition of Aaron Copeland or Elmer Bernstein, conveying the thrill of flying for Robertson and his Hagan.

Such a scene does not a great movie make, but it does remind me that you don't see this done much anymore... many films today lack any sort of grace. Such is the power of cinema that you can have a moment which on the surface might seem almost throwaway but really amounts to more in the grand statement.

The Pilot is nice to look at -- if you like flying machines -- but at its core is a heartfelt story of a man and his love for his chosen profession.

I would recommend checking this one out; if it can even be found!