| Cloud Dancer | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Barry Brown |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Travers Hill |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Fred Karlin |
Production company | Modern Film Effects |
| Distributed by | Blossom Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 104 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Cloud Dancer is a 1980 aviation drama film directed by Barry Brown. The film stars David Carradine, Jennifer O'Neill and Joseph Bottoms. Cloud Dancer follows a competition aerobatics pilot throughout his show season. [1]
Brad Randolph is the world champion aerobatics pilot but now, in his early 40s, he faces many challenges to maintain his position. He begins to have nosebleeds during his competitions, is diagnosed with hypertension, and the doctor recommends he not expose himself to strong G-forces anymore.
Intertwined with Brad's professional struggles is his relationship with photojournalist Helen St. Clair, who suddenly reappears after a year. He makes clear to her his intention of not getting married due to his dangerous profession and above all, of not having children, without explaining why. Helen is wary of telling him that while she was away she gave birth to his son. Brad's problems are compounded by the presence of a young competitor, Tom Loomis, whom Brad himself had encouraged to try aerobatics and quit drug smuggling.
So, Brad faces difficult decisions. There are some vicious drug dealers using a fighter airplane to ground down drug-smuggling planes to take their cargo, will he do something about it? Will he continue to compete despite his failing health and the death of a colleague due to G-LOC, something he risks himself? And, what will happen with Helen?
Director Barry Brown met aerobatic pilot Tom Poberezny in England, during the 1970 FAI World Aerobatic Championships, where he had the idea for the plot. It took several years for him to get financing and resolve the technical problems of filming with cameras that could withstand more than 3 g for actual competition-level maneuvers.
The film had a budget reported as of $3.5 million dollars, crediting the cooperation of organizations like the Experimental Aircraft Association, Piper Aircraft, Goodyear, and Narco Avionics. [lower-alpha 1]
Director Barry Brown, who also produced the film, co-wrote the story, and designed the aerial sequences, is a pilot and aeronautic engineer. Therefore, he wanted to ensure a film on aerobatic flying was authentic. Cloud Dancer's stunts were performed in real airplanes by real pilots, without the use of models or the still rare CGI. Two Pitts biplanes were specially built by Aerotek-Pitts in Afton, Wyoming, to include lightweight built-in cameras, able to resist up to 12 g, invented by Brown. The camera mounts were built into the primary structure of the airplanes: a tripod mount on the top wing, another on the handhold of the top wing of the S-2, wing mounts, side fuselage mounts, a tail mount, and one between the cockpits of the S-2 for close-ups of the rear seat occupant. These airplanes alone flew 160 hours for the filming. The shooting of the movie was in April 1978.
The technical advisor and chief pilot for Cloud Dancer was the former world champion aerobatic pilot, Tom Poberezny, who appears in the film as himself; together with Charlie Hillard, also named in the film, they made most of the flying for the film. The third member of the "Red Devils" Aerobatic Team, Gene Soucy, is also named in the film. Crowd scenes were shot at actual air shows in the Phoenix area, specifically, the ones at Falcon Field ("First Annual Arizona Festival of Flight," April 2), Chandler (April 5), and Deer Valley ("Festival of Flight," April 8–9). [3] The film counted with the appearance of famed air show announcer Sonny Everett as himself.
The movie also had the participation of pilots Leo Loudenslager, and Jimmy Leeward, this one piloting his own Mustang P-51. The film is dedicated to pilot Walt Tubb, who cameoed as a chief judge, and died a few months after the filming (coincidentally while performing the same maneuver he did in the movie that causes the death of one of the characters) and to another twelve "fallen airmen whose example made Cloud Dancer possible."
The cast was subjected to actual flying conditions, so their reactions are authentic. The scene in which Brad Randolph takes Helen St. Clair for her first aerobatic ride was the first time actress Jennifer O'Neill had that experience. It is reported that actor Joseph Bottoms became so fascinated with flying that he gained his pilot's license, and went solo during production in a Decathlon. As for David Carradine, he learned to taxi a Pitts, and during the many acrobatic maneuvers in which he flew in the back seat of the airplane to film his acting and facial distortions, he endured severe airsickness. It is also reported he became a proficient pilot. [lower-alpha 2]
It took two years of editions and re-editions for Cloud Dancer to find distribution. [1] [5] [6] [7] : 63–64
The aircraft featured in Cloud Dancer included a single-seat S-1S and a two-seat S-2A Pitts Specials as the airplanes piloted by the leading characters through most of the movie. The three Pitts Specials of the "Red Devils" Aerobatic Team are seen on the ground. Also, a Mustang P-51 is the fighter plane that appears in pursuit of a Piper PA-28R-201T Turbo Arrow III in a climactic scene. Other aircraft included were Christen Eagle, and Piper PA-350 Navajo.
Airplanes seen in the background are: Stearman PT-17 Kaydet, Cessna 140, Cessna 172M, Raytheon A 36 Bonanza, Lake LA-4 Buccaneer. Also, there can be seen a Ford Trimotor 5-AT, two Boeing B-17, and the Douglas A-4F Skyhawk of the Blue Angels, the United States Navy's aerobatic team. [5] [7]
Emmy Award winner composer Fred Karlin provided the film score plus three original songs: Sainted Angel, Cloud Dancer, and It's So Easy, the first two with lyrics by Academy Award and Grammy Award winner Norman Gimbel. The songs were performed by Gene Cotton, in duet with Mary MacGregor in It's So Easy.
Singer-songwriter Hoyt Axton, who played the role of Brad's mechanic, wrote and sang You Taught Me How to Cry, and Talkin' Lady Mechanic Blues, the second one co-written with guitar maker and musician S.L. Mossman, who cameoed in the film as Mechanic Nº2. Mark Dawson contributed his song The Heart You Break (May Be Your Own). [lower-alpha 3]
David Carradine wrote and sang Man.
Cloud Dancer was first released on January 1, 1980, but had its worldwide premiere in Milwaukee on May 29, 1980.
Reviews and critiques of the movie address its weak and formulaic plot, while praising the cinematography and realistic depiction of the aerobatics discipline.
Leonard Maltin in his Movie Guide gave the film two and a half stars of four, and wrote: "Uneven tale of aerobatic-obsessed Carradine and his relationship with O'Neill. Nice–if too many–flying sequences, hokey melodramatics." [10] : 264
The TV Guide review says: "Although Carradine's quietly anti-heroic ways are intriguing, the filmmakers' main interest is in the never-ending aerial sequences, which are indeed beautiful to watch but fail to advance the plot or embellish the emotional tension with meaning." [11]
Andy Webb from The Movie Scene gave the film three of five stars, and wrote: "(...) "Cloud Dancer" has some of the most spectacular flying cinematography that you end up forgiving it many of its inadequacies because when we are in a plane it blows you away." [12]
Aviation historian Stephen Pendo wrote: "Although the film featured a number of the world's best aerobatic pilots, including Charlie Hillard and Tom Poberezny, a substantial budget, numerous flying sequences, and planes that included a P-51 and a Pitts S-1, the picture was so bad that it never went into wide distribution. Here is a classic example of how good stunt flying cannot save an otherwise poor film." [13] : 58
Justin B. "Jack" Cox, editor-in-chief of Sport Aviation magazine, wrote: "Movie-goers will, of course, instantly recognize the plot. You saw it a hundred times in the glory days of the Old Westerns… the aging sheriff with a reputation as a fast gun, fighting to keep his job from a sharp young deputy as he battles both the bad guys and his girl who wants him to turn in his badge and accept the job as foreman at the Bar X. Cloud Dancer has its hero strapping on a Pitts instead of a six gun… should be great stuff for those of us who grew up (and old) with John Wayne." [1]
Cloud Dancer is well regarded among aviators. [lower-alpha 4]
Pilot and aviation researcher Simon D. Beck wrote: "A muddled script with a weak narrative is made up for by excellent, innovative aerobatic sequences with a good variety of light aircraft types that capture the art of flying better than most films in this genre." [7]
Executive editor of Flying Magazine Berl Bechner wrote: "There is a movie about to be released that has mediocre acting, a disjointed plot and some of the worst dialogue that you might ever find in a movie theater.
See it anyway.
Cloud Dancer contains flying sequences that are among the most dramatic and exciting you'll ever see on film." [6]
This film continues to inspire people to pursue careers in aerobatics, like Michael Goulian [15] and Elias Corey, [16] and is listed by the specialized public among the films that best depict aviation. [17]
Cloud Dancer was released in VHS tape in 1991 by Starmaker/Anchor Bay, and in Betamax by Prism Entertainment.
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport. Additionally, some helicopters, such as the MBB Bo 105, are capable of limited aerobatic manoeuvres. An example of a fully aerobatic helicopter, capable of performing loops and rolls, is the Westland Lynx.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. It hosts the largest aviation gathering of its kind in the world, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
Paul Howard Poberezny was an American aviator, entrepreneur, and aircraft designer. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1953, and spent the greater part of his life promoting homebuilt aircraft.
Walter Extra is a German award-winning aerobatic pilot and chief aircraft designer who founded the aerobatic aircraft manufacturer Extra Flugzeugbau.
Curtis Pitts of Stillmore, Georgia, was an American designer of a series of popular aerobatic biplanes, known as the Pitts Special.
Arthur Everett Scholl was an American aerobatic pilot, aerial cameraman, flight instructor and educator based in Riverside, Southern California. He died during the filming of Top Gun when his Pitts S-2 camera plane failed to recover from a spin and plunged into the Pacific Ocean.
Competition aerobatics is an air sport in which ground-based judges rate the skill of pilots performing aerobatic flying. It is practised in both piston-powered single-engine airplanes and also gliders.
Kermit Weeks is an American aviation enthusiast, pilot, and aircraft collector. He has competed in aerobatics, designed aircraft, and promoted aviation and vintage aircraft restoration.
Frank Versteegh is a Dutch aerobatics pilot. He is also an airshow organiser, a flight safety committee member, a FAI judge and a freestyle aerobatics competitor.
Michael George "Mike" Goulian is an American aerobatic national champion aviator who raced in the Red Bull Air Race World Series under the number 99.
Nancy A. Lynn was an aerobatic pilot, flight instructor, and air show performer. She owned and operated Lynn Aviation, an aerobatic flight school located at Bay Bridge Airport in Stevensville, Maryland, with her husband Scott Muntean and son Pete.
Sean Doherty Tucker is an American world champion aerobatic aviator. He was previously sponsored by the Oracle Corporation for many years, performing in air shows worldwide as "Team Oracle". Tucker has won numerous air show championship competitions throughout his career, was named one of the 25 "Living Legends of Flight" by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in 2003, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008. He has led several efforts to assist youth in learning to fly or becoming involved in general aviation, and currently serves as co-chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'s Young Eagles program, a role he has held since 2013.
Leo Loudenslager was an American aviator. He is one of two aviators to have won seven national aerobatic titles and is one of only three Americans to win the World Aerobatics Championship title.
Charlie Hillard was an American aerobatics pilot, and the first American to win the world aerobatics title.
Gene Soucy is an American aerobatics pilot. The son of 2 pilots, he would wash airplanes at a local airport in exchange for flight time while growing up in Kentucky. He soloed in a glider at age 14, and in a regular airplane at 16.
Pete McLeod is a Canadian professional aerobatic pilot whose first competitive flight was in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in 2009.
Thomas Paul Poberezny was an American aerobatic world champion aviator, as well as chairman of the annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Fly-In and Convention from 1977 to 2011 and president of EAA from 1989 to 2010, presiding over a time period of expansive growth for the organization and convention. He succeeded his father, Paul Poberezny, who founded them in 1953.
Betty Skelton Frankman Erde was a land speed record holder and aerobatics pilot who set 17 aviation and automobile records. She was known as "The First Lady of Firsts", and helped create opportunities for women in aviation, auto racing, astronautics, and advertising.
William Lewis "Skip" Stewart, better known as Skip Stewart, is an aerobatic and commercial pilot from the United States. Stewart flies in airshows in the United States and abroad, in his two highly modified Pitts muscle biplanes.
Jimmy Marshall Franklin was an American aerobatic pilot. He performed at airshows, both solo and as part of teams, for over 38 years until his death at an airshow in Moose Jaw. Born and raised in Lovington, New Mexico, Franklin learned to fly at age 8 and bought his first airplane at 19 and flew his first airshow the same year.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Even with its flaws, Cloud Dancer may see moderate success. It has touches of violence, illegitimate children, sex, drug-running, drinking and illegal flying–elements that appeal to the crowd filling the Grade-B circuit. Pilots are bound to love it too–especially if they sleep through all segments excepts those where airplane engines are running.
What did get his attention was seeing the 1980 movie "Cloud Dancer" about a world champion aerobatic pilot played by actor David Carradine.
"As a 17-year-old kid, that looked like an athletic thing in the sky, kind of a little dangerous, it looked cool," he said. "I started to take aerobatic lessons, and I just tell people I was too dumb to quit."
"When I retired from motorcycle road racing, I was looking for the next adventure. My father is a pilot and I had seen the movie Cloud Dancer with him as a kid. I took an aerobatic lesson from Michael Church at Sunrise Aviation. I was hooked. Within three months, I purchased a Pitts S–1S and enrolled in full-time aerobatic and private pilot lessons side by side. It took 10 months to get my license and solo the Pitts," said Corey.
Web Extra. Hollywood Has Always Loved the Airplane. Our listing (by no means complete) of aviation-themed films. (...) Alert readers have suggested still more titles (...) Cloud Dancer (1980)