“‘AIR FORCE ONE’ features all-out action and a thriller that is literally a wild ride. Harrison Ford absolutely shines in this film! Blu-ray fans will be happy to know that ‘AIR FORCE ONE’ has one of the best sounding lossless soundtracks that I have heard from a film from the 90’s in High Definition. Audiophiles will definitely be pleased! This Blu-ray release is definitely the definitive version of ‘AIR FORCE ONE’ to own!”
TITLE: AIR FORCE ONE
DURATION: 124 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:40:1), English and French Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
RATED: R (for Violence)
COMPANY: Columbia Pictures/Sony Home Pictures Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2009
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Screenplay by Andrew W. Marlowe
Executive Producer: Marc Abraham, Thomas A. Bliss, David V. Lester
Produced by: Armyan Bernstein, Gail Katz, Wolfgang Petersen and Jonathan Shestack
Associated Producer: Peter Kohn, Mary Montiforte
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Director of Photography: Michael Ballhaus
Edited by Richard Francis-Bruce
Casting by Janet Hirshenson, Jane Jenkins
Production Design by William Sandell
Art Direction by Carl Aldana, Nancy Patton, Carl J. Stensel
Set Decoration by Ernie Bishop
Costume Design by Erica Edell Phillips
Xander Berkeley as Secret Service Agent Gibbs
Starring:
Harrison Ford as President James Marshall
Gary Oldman as Ivan Korshunov
Glenn Close as Vice President Kathryn Bennett
Wendy Crewson as Grace Marshall
Liesel Matthews as Alice Marshall
Paul Guilfoyle as Chief of Staff Lloyd ‘Shep’ Shepherd
William H. Macy as Major Caldwell
Donna Bullock as Deputy Press Secretary Melanie Mitchel
Jurgen Prochnow as General Ivan Radek
The fate of the nation rests on the courage of one man. Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman star in two-time Oscar(r) nominee Wolfgang Petersen’s gripping thriller about an uncompromising U.S. President who has just told the world he will not negotiate with terrorists. 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.
In the Summer of 1997, audiences were treated with another action film from Harrison Ford. During the 1990’s, Ford has made quite a number of successful action films but his performance in “AIR FORCE ONE” was truly an example that this Hollywood veteran still had what it takes to be an action star.
The film was directed by well-known action director Wolfgang Petersen (“The Perfect Storm”, “Troy”, “Outbreak”, “Das Boot”), music by well-known composer Jerry Goldsmith (“Rambo”, “Star Trek: First Contact”, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, “Basic Instinct”) and Director of Photography by Michael Ballhaus (“Gangs of New York”, “The Departed”, “Wild Wild West”).
The film was received positively by critics and a success in the box office as it brought in over $315 million worldwide.  “AIR FORCE ONE” even received attention from President Bill Clinton who enjoyed the film and watched it twice.  The film would go on to receive two Academy Award nominations for “Best Film Editing” and “Best Sound”.
“AIR FORCE ONE” kicks off with the US and Russian forces capturing the Kazakhstan leader, General Ivan Radek (Jurgen Prochnow). A leader known for committing genocide and terrorism.
After the successful operation, American President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) is being celebrated for his work in capturing General Radek in Moscow. Marshall vows to continue his fight against terrorism.
As he and his family and staff prepare to leave on the Air Force One back to the United States, a group of Soviet neo-nationalists led by Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman) disguised as a Soviet news crew have some inside help by Secret Service Agent Gibbs and shoot and kill many of the Secret Service agents.
The President is evacuated to an escape pod on Air Force One and the terrorists decide to use President Marshall’s wife and daughter and his crew as hostages (or people to kill to make a point of the US government needing to meet their demands). But President Marshall didn’t escape on the escape pod as thought, he’s hiding in the Air Force One and secretly trying to relay information back to the United States to get help.
Meanwhile in Washington, Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close), Secretary of Defense Walter Dean and military officials meet to find out how they can rescue the President. Also, being the main person who has to deal with Koshunov. Koshunov wants General Radek freed from prison and the President’s family and crew will be safe.
While President Marshall fights to stay alive and to remain stealth enough to free his staff, Vice President Bennett receives pressure from her colleagues to sign a letter in order declaring Marshall being incapacitated according to the Constitution’s 25th amendment and that she calls the shots and not the President who is fighting for his life.
Will President Marshall be able to free his family and staff? Will he be captured by the terrorists? “AIR FORCE ONE” is a magnificent action-packed thriller from start to finish!
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“AIR FORCE ONE” features a pretty solid transfer on Blu-ray. Video is presented in 1080p High Definition (aspect ration of 2:40:1) and one thing that I will make clear is that while many films featured in the 90’s tend to have a DNR, clean, waxy or soft effect in terms of picture quality, the good news is that “AIR FORCE ONE” does not.
In fact, there are scenes where the detail comes out quite nicely. But if there was one thing that the Blu-ray High Definition transfer does happen to bring out is the amount of grain. But I would rather take a transfer full of grain than the soft, waxy DNR look any day. And I am so happy that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment decided to feature “AIR FORCE ONE” with a good HD transfer of the film.
As for the audio, I have one word and that is “magnificent”.
“AIR FORCE ONE” has one of the most impressive soundtracks that I have heard from a 1990’s film. The soundtrack just sounds absolutely wonderful on English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (the film is also featured in French Dolby TrueHD 5.1).
The film features a high number of action scenes and gunfire, music, mechanical sounds from the vehicles, jet engines flying, helicopter rotors spinning, it would seem that so much was put into the emphasis of having a wonderful soundtrack that “AIR FORCE ONE” truly delivers. And these are not short bursts of audio, there are plenty of scenes that utilize this explosive audio throughout the film.
I was absolutely in awe of how all the speakers were being utilized, especially my surround channels and I also noticed a few times where my subwoofer would utilize low frequency sounds. “AIR FORCE ONE” is an action thriller that truly delivers with its audio that I can say that this is one of the better sounding action thrillers from the 1990’s that just shines on Blu-ray. And just to think that this film is 12 years old. I was absolutely thrilled by the audio quality of the film.
As for subtitles, the film is presented in English, English SDH and French.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“AIR FORCE ONE” features a commentary track by Director Wolfgang Petersen and Michael Coleman. This is the same commentary from the DVD release but there is good information from Petersen on scenes that were actual aerial shots and not CG and which parts were shot on a set and were CG’d. Also, learning about his feelings towards his cast members, Harrison Ford especially and how Ford did his own stunt work.
BD Live is also enabled and there are commercials in 1080p for upcoming releases from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
I am a big Harrison Ford fan and I watched this film immediately when it came out on theaters. My first impression was that Harrison Ford should definitely be President because it was like a combination of a President meets DIE HARD’s John McClane. Well, not really but Harrison Ford’s role as a President who fights back was definitely a highlight throughout the film.
One thing that I know is when a film is being directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the viewer is definitely going to be treated with an exceptional, action-packed film and “AIR FORCE ONE” is just that. Even 12 years later and this film still holds up quite well. Petersen and everyone involved in this film did a wonderful job and I have to say that this is my favorite Harrison Ford action thriller to come out in the 1990’s. He manages to have the suave, charisma and that look and feel of an action star but in this case, he’s the President of the United States.
But for those who own the DVD of “AIR FORCE ONE”, you may be wondering if its worth the double dip? I have to answer with an extreme “YES!!!”. The soundtrack of “AIR FORCE ONE” is top notch and I will say that its one of the most immersive soundtracks I have heard on Blu-ray. Also, bare in mind, this is not a new action film, this was a film released in the Summer of 1997 and it can compete with some of the recent, bigger releases on Blu-ray. That is how magnificent this film sounds on Blu-ray.
If there were faults in the Blu-ray transfer, its the fact that there are not many special features included. Just the audio commentary but no HD trailer and no making of featurette. The other thing is that although the film looks better than many 1990’s film on Blu-ray and avoids the waxy, DNR look but with its HD transfer, grain is elevated. Though not too bad, it is noticeable and this may be a slight issue for some viewers but I tend to be on side of grain is part of film and high definition elevates the look of grain. And personally, I would rather take the grain than a transfer with a lot of DNR or edge enhancement.
Overall, “AIR FORCE ONE” is a magnificent action-packed thriller and a film that Harrison Ford truly shines in. And as for the Blu-ray, this is the definitive version of “AIR FORCE ONE” to own!