Best movies like The Flight of the Phoenix
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies similar to The Flight of the Phoenix? Offer your familiarity to steer others to tv shows and movies you've already seen that might appeal to them as well. Support expanding the community of people introducing videos to one another. We encourage your participation!
Plot Summary:
A cargo plane goes down in a sandstorm in the Sahara with less than a dozen men on board. One of the passengers is an airplane designer who comes up with the idea of ripping off the undamaged wing and using it as the basis for an airplane they will build to escape before their food and water run out.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: suspense, harsh, serious, captivating, exciting, bleak, suspenseful, psychological, retro, action adventure
Best tv shows and movies like The Flight of the Phoenix (1965):
Similar in 79%
Airspeed (1999)
Plot Summary:
When wealthy executive Raymond Stone sends out his private plane to pick up his spoiled teenage daughter, Nicole, and a pair of his top-ranking employees, disaster strikes. While the jet flies through an electrical storm, the pilot and other passengers are incapacitated, and Nicole is left on her own to keep the plane in the air, guided by an air traffic controller. Can the irresponsible and panic-stricken teen find a way to land the jet?.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disaster movie
Similar in 87%
Collision Course (2012)
Plot Summary:
Kate Parks has spent the past year on tour promoting her book, an in-depth look at the attempted cover up of her husband's death in a plane crash. Now all she wants is to return home to her daughter, 15-year-old Samantha. But when a powerful solar flare strikes her flight home, killing the pilot, knocking out the co-pilot and frying all the electronic systems on the plane, it looks like she may not get there. As panic sets in among the passengers, Kate works with flight attendant Jake to manage the growing chaos and tension on the plane as she tries to keep 30,000 tons of steel hurtling through the air at 500 miles per hour. Flying blind, Kate tries to find a way to communicate with air traffic control - one way or another, this plane is coming down. With the passengers' lives on the line, Kate will have to find a way to land safely... or never see her daughter again.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 605
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, serious, captivating, suspense, scary, disaster movie
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 80%
Cabin Pressure (2002)
Plot Summary:
A fully automated commercial jetliner is prepared to make its maiden voyage. Without an on-flight pilot, the craft relies on satellite linking for its course. But when the plane suddenly deviates from its determined route and establishes a circular pattern over Seattle, it becomes evident that the craft has been hijacked by a disgruntled former airline employee who has hacked into the flight's computer system from his apartment, somewhere in the United States. Now, a former discredited Navy pilot and an oddball technician must race against the clock to find where the angry employee is, and regain control of the plane before it crashes into the city.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 274
Genere: Drama, Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, tense, captivating, disaster movie
Similar in 78%
Airline Disaster (2010)
Plot Summary:
When the President learns that domestic terrorists have skyjacked the passenger jet her brother is flying, she must choose between family and the safety of the people in the cities below.
IMDB Rating: 2.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, tense, suspense, rough, realistic, fast, computer animated, disaster movie
Similar in 78%
Crash Point Zero (2001)
Plot Summary:
When a plane carrying a legendary and recently found death ray machine from Siberia to Canada is hijacked and crashes in the remote mountains of Alaska, only a fearless government agent (Treat Williams) will risk his life to save the world. A modern B movie, reusing lots of footage from other films.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 529
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense, cliffhanger
Similar in 86%
The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
Plot Summary:
A biplane pilot who had missed flying in WWI takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory he had missed.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, feel good, serious, captivating, realistic, cult film
Similar in 89%
Air Marshal (2003)
Plot Summary:
A commercial jet plane has been hijacked by a group of terrorists who don't realize that a U.S. Air Marshal, Brett Prescott (Dean Cochran), is among the passengers. The fate of dozens of people lies in the hands of Prescott, who must forge a one-man war against the hijackers destructive plans.
IMDB Rating: 2.9
IMDB Votes: 566
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, realistic, independent film
Similar in 81%
Turbulent Skies (2010)
Plot Summary:
When a new airplane that's equipped with a new computer that can fly the plane on its own, is about to have its first flight. But the son of the owner decides to upload more software, he doesn't bother to check if there are any viruses with it. And he also invites some potential investors to try it. So the plane appears to be working well but suddenly it veers off course and it can't be shut down. When the military learns of this and fears what if something happens if it's over a populated area; decides to shoot it down along with everyone on board. The man who built the computer whose wife is among the passengers thinks if he can get on board he might be able to shut it down and regain control of the plane. So the military using a new plane gets him on board. But what he didn't know is that both pilots are incapacitated so there's no one who can fly the plane.
IMDB Rating: 3.1
IMDB Votes: 741
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, tense, captivating, rough, disaster movie
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 81%
Flight from Ashiya (1964)
Plot Summary:
Featuring an all-star cast and on-location shooting in Japan, where the story is set, three US Air Force rescue pilots must overcome their personal problems and differences to embark upon a dangerous mission to save raft-bound Japanese survivors from a murderous storm-tossed sea. As they head for their location, the film flashes back to chronicle the pasts of each pilot to make clear their mixed feelings about their upcoming assignment.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 706
Genere: Adventure, Romance, Drama, War
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, sentimental, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, disaster movie
Similar in 77%
The Aviator (1985)
Plot Summary:
A 1920s mail pilot and a rich man's daughter crash-land on a mountain full of hungry wolves.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: melancholic, inspirational, serious, realistic, clever, feel good, unusual plot structure, humorous, visually appealing, weird
Similar in 85%
The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story (1988)
Plot Summary:
This made-for-television film documents the takeover of the TWA airliner in flight from Athens to Rome in 1985. The focus is on the flight attendant, Uli Derickson, whose courage and hope helped save all but one of the passengers on the plane. The movie chronicles the first 2 days and the aftermath.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 374
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 75%
Freefall: Flight 174 (1995)
Plot Summary:
True story of a brand-new Canadian airliner running out of fuel in-flight and forced to glide to the nearest airfield.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 960
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, disaster movie
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 76%
Bat*21 (1988)
Plot Summary:
Lt. Col. Iceal "Ham" Hambleton is a weapons countermeasures expert and when his aircraft is shot over enemy territory the Air Force very much wants to get him back. Hambleton knows the area he's in is going to be carpet-bombed but a temporary shortage of helicopters causes a delay. Working with an Air Force reconnaissance pilot, Capt. Bartholomew Clark, he maps out an escape route.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspense, harsh, exciting, serious, suspenseful, rough, tense, sentimental, light
Similar in 77%
Airplane vs Volcano (2014)
Plot Summary:
When a commercial airliner is trapped within a ring of erupting volcanoes, the passengers and crew must find a way to survive - without landing.
IMDB Rating: 2.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, serious, realistic, mockbuster, exciting, disaster movie
Similar in 81%
Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
Plot Summary:
When an Amacor oil rig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia proves unproductive, Captain Frank Towns and copilot "A.J." are sent to shut the operation down. However, on their way to Beijing, a major dust storm forces them to ditch their C-119 Flying Boxcar in an uncharted area of the desert.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: suspense, intense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, entertaining, minimal cast, action adventure, exciting, road movie
Similar in 87%
Vertical Limit (2000)
Plot Summary:
Trapped near the summit of K2, the world's second-highest mountain, Annie Garrett radios to base camp for help. Brother Peter hears Annie's message and assembles a team to save her and her group before they succumb to K2's unforgiving elements. But, as Annie lays injured in an icy cavern, the rescuers face several terrifying events that could end the rescue attempt -- and their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 65000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sport, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, tense, suspenseful, rough, intense, serious, realistic, entertaining, action adventure
Similar in 82%
The Whale (2013)
Plot Summary:
Dramatic retelling of the fateful last voyage of the Nantucket whaleship Essex. When the Essex is attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in November 1820, her crew take to three fragile whalers. Alone in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the men must decide whether to head for the nearest islands - a thousand miles downwind to the west - or set out on an epic journey of almost three thousand miles to reach the South American mainland. Fear of cannibals forces them to choose South America. Almost three months later, the first whaler is rescued by another whaleship. Only three men are still alive. A week later the captain's whaler is also rescued, with just two men aboard. The third whaler is never found. This is a story of human endurance and what men in extremis will do to survive.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 531
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, suspense, scenic, intense, factual, realistic, stylized
Similar in 89%
The Red Tent (1969)
Plot Summary:
Torn by personal guilt Italian General Umberto Nobile reminisces about his 1928 failed Arctic expedition aboard the airship Italia.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Italy, Soviet Union
Duration: 158 min
Plot tags: historical drama, exciting, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, epic
Similar in 89%
Wolf Totem (2015)
Plot Summary:
In 1969, a young Beijing student, Chen Zhen, is sent to live among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia. Caught between the advance of civilization from the south and the nomads' traditional enemies - the marauding wolves - to the north; humans and animals, residents and invaders alike, struggle to find their true place in the world.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: China, France
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: exciting, touching, captivating, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, thought provoking, dramatic, historical drama
Similar in 88%
Robinson Crusoe (1997)
Plot Summary:
Robinson Crusoe flees Britain on a ship after killing his friend over the love of Mary. A fierce ocean storm wrecks his ship and leaves him stranded by himself on an uncharted island. Left to fend for himself, Crusoe seeks out a tentative survival on the island, until he meets Friday, a tribesman whom he saves from being sacrificed. Initially, Crusoe is thrilled to finally have a friend, but he has to defend himself against the tribe who uses the island to sacrifice tribesman to their gods. During time their relationship changes from master-slave to a mutual respected friendship despite their difference in culture and religion.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychotronic, independent film, freeze frame, baroque
Similar in 80%
Lord of the Flies (1990)
Plot Summary:
Stranded on an island, a group of schoolboys degenerate into savagery.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, captivating, brutal, scenic, depressing, apocalyptic, psychological thriller, touching, epic
Similar in 89%
Alive (1993)
Plot Summary:
The amazing, true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's plane that crashed in the middle of the Andes mountains, and their immense will to survive and pull through alive, forced to do anything and everything they could to stay alive on meager rations and through the freezing cold.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: realistic, inspirational, emotional, disturbing, suspense, sad, suspenseful, intense, breathtaking, exciting
Similar in 80%
All Is Lost (2013)
Plot Summary:
During a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, a veteran mariner awakes to find his vessel taking on water after a collision with a stray shipping container. With his radio and navigation equipment disabled, he sails unknowingly into a violent storm and barely escapes with his life. With any luck, the ocean currents may carry him into a shipping lane -- but, with supplies dwindling and the sharks circling, the sailor is forced to face his own mortality.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: harsh, reflective, touching, suspenseful, tense, serious, minimal cast, rough, captivating, philosophical
Similar in 87%
White Squall (1996)
Plot Summary:
Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: emotional, suspense, touching, serious, rough, inspirational, feel good, nautical, anamorphic, profound
Similar in 85%
Cast Away (2000)
Plot Summary:
Chuck, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia ditches at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and he washes up on a tiny island with nothing but some flotsam and jetsam from the aircraft's cargo.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 626000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: suspense, captivating, psychological, serious, scenic, emotional, motivational, sad, inspirational, feel good
Similar in 89%
The Edge (1997)
Plot Summary:
The plane carrying wealthy Charles Morse crashes down in the Alaskan wilderness. Together with the two other passengers, photographer Robert and assistant Stephen, Charles devises a plan to help them reach civilization. However, his biggest obstacle might not be the elements, or even the Kodiak bear stalking them -- it could be Robert, whom Charles suspects is having an affair with his wife and would not mind seeing him dead.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 78000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, suspenseful, serious, compassionate, exciting, entertaining, intense, atmospheric, clever
Similar in 81%
The Way Back (2010)
Plot Summary:
Peter Weir's follow-up to Master & Commander (2003) is the stark & brilliant The Way Back, which takes on the theme of man's struggle for freedom. At the dawn of WWII, several men escape from a Russian gulag. The film details their perilous & uncertain journey to freedom, as they cross deserts, mountains, & several nations.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 121000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History
Country: USA, United Arab Emirates, Poland, India
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: realistic, epic, inspirational, rough, serious, bleak, visually appealing, intense, road movie, dramatic
Similar in 90%
The Grey (2011)
Plot Summary:
An oil drilling team struggles to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wilds of Alaska. Hunting them is a pack of wolves that sees them as intruders.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 261000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, bad ending, harsh, tense, exciting, emotional, psychological, suspense, rough, scenic
Similar in 83%
Apollo 13 (1995)
Plot Summary:
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1971, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 310000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History
Country: USA, UK, Canada, Japan
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: factual, realistic, suspenseful, inspirational, suspense, epic, sentimental, touching, intense, breathtaking
Similar in 89%
The Snow Walker (2003)
Plot Summary:
A bush pilot in nothern Canada who with the aid of modernity thinks he can handle it all & knows it all. After reluctantly agreeing to transport a local indian girl to a medical facility his light plane crashes & they have to survive whilst finding their way back to civilization. Along the journey the man finds a new respect for the native ways as they battle to survive the elements.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, sentimental, breathtaking, realistic, compassionate, touching, heartbreaking, sad, scenic