It has its share of problems (contrary to what the ads are showing you, it spends most of its running time being yet another addiction melodrama), but Robert Zemeckis’ Flight does have one major draw: its opening in-flight sequences are among the most gripping, terrifying flying scenes ever put to film. And that’s not an easy boast to make — over the past several years, many filmmakers have brought the air traveler’s biggest fear to harrowing life on screen. After the jump, we’ve put together a dozen of the most harrowing flying sequences into this exclusive supercut.
“Fasten Your Seat Belts”: Film’s Scariest Flights from Flavorwire on Vimeo.
CREDITS Edited by Jason Bailey Music Performed by Michelle Featherstone Composed by John Denver
FILMS: Alive (Frank Marshall, 1993) Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000) Cast Away (Robert Zemeckis, 2000) Die Hard 2 (Renny Harlin, 1990) The Edge (Lee Tamahori, 1997) Fearless (Peter Weir, 1993) Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999) Final Destination (James Wong, 2000) Flight of the Phoenix (John Moore, 2004) The Grey (Joe Carnahan, 2012) Knowing (Alex Proyas, 2009) Passengers (Rodrigo Garcia, 2008)
Check out our previous supercuts and video essays: “Big Stars in their Early Horror Roles” “The Goofiest Villains and Monsters in Horror Movie History” “How Time Travel Works” “The 75 Coolest-Looking Prohibition-Era Movie Characters” “The Trippiest Movies Ever Made” “Faces: 105 of Cinema’s Most Beautiful Close-Ups” “135 Shots That Will Restore Your Faith in Cinema” “All of Woody’s Surrogates” “Wes Anderson’s Favorite New York Movies” “Threequel: Even More Famous Faces in their Film Debuts” “The Semi-Obligatory Lyrical Interlude (A Case Study)” “Encore: More Famous Faces in their Film Debuts” “Watching the Detectives: Our Favorite Movie Private Eyes” “And Introducing…: Famous Faces in their Film Debuts” “The Martin Scoresese Film School” “How to Pull the Perfect Movie Heist” “Being Denzel Washington”