Air Force One

"The fate of the nation rests on the courage of one man."

1997 2h 4m EN

😐

6.5

MID

★6.5TMDB · 3,448

ActionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.

“The fate of the nation rests on the courage of one man.”

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Cast

Harrison Ford
James Marshall
Gary Oldman
Ivan Korshunov
Glenn Close
Kathryn Bennett
Wendy Crewson
Grace Marshall
Liesel Matthews
Alice Marshall
Paul Guilfoyle
Lloyd Shepherd
Xander Berkeley
Agent Gibbs
William H. Macy
Major Caldwell

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Writers: Andrew W. Marlowe, Matt Golden
Languages: Russian, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $85M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

238+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Francis-Bruce shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Wolfgang Petersen directs. Michael Ballhaus behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. Richard Francis-Bruce cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Russian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $85M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Made its money back 3.7× over at the box office.
329 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.
5238+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Richard Francis-Bruce shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman and Glenn Close carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The fate of the nation rests on the courage of one man.".
11IMDB entry: tt0118571 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 23 themes, including "vietnam veteran", "journalist", "usa president", "washington dc, usa".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Original score: Jerry Goldsmith
Editing: Richard Francis-Bruce
Production design: William Sandell
Makeup / hair: Laura Connolly
VFX supervisor: Richard Edlund
Sound: Paul Massey
Stunt coordinator: Doug Coleman
Runtime: 124 min · 2h 4m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $85,000,000
Box office: $315,200,000
Return: 371% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Air Force One (1997)

Also by

Wolfgang Petersen

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Dark Jedi2017-06-15
★ 8/10
It’s a quite nice action flick. Some people on Rotten Tomatoes and other sites have been moaning that it was too much American patriotism. Well, that’s a load of bullshit! Sure it was very American but given the name and the cast, what the hell did these morons expect? If one cannot enjoy a good American action movie because of some patriotism in it, well then do not watch them! Incidentally there are some countries in Europe, no names mentioned cough cough, that could do with some more patriotism in the first place. Anyway, for us it was two enjoyable hours and hey, it's Harrison Ford after all! It is a decent enough transfer to Blu-ray although the choice of sound codecs is a bit unusual in that it has a Linear PCM 5.1 English track on it.
The Movie Mob2022-08-20
★ 7/10
Harrison Ford for President! Is this a typical action flick with the only significant differentiation being the hero's name is led by the word President? Yes indeed. But with the great Harrison Ford playing the hero and the always brilliant Gary Oldman as the antagonist, this impressive cast raises this movie from an action rehash to a classic. If you love 80s/90s action, then Air Force One is for you.
Rob2023-05-10
★ 6/10
Ok, this is a pretty ridiculous movie, but aren't all action movies? It's Harrison Ford doing what Harrison Ford does but in the confines of a plane in midair against a bunch of gun-toting terrorists. So just switch off your brain and enjoy.