The Movie "Firefox"

[Michel Van]

if you NEVER see that movie

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5W4MiBuEnY



here more info
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1602.0.html

 

[Hammer Birchgrove]

Great if somewhat dated techno thriller but not my favourite Clint Eastwood movie - he did a great job making the character believable but you could with some ease replace Eastwood with any decent action actor. Chuck Norris perhaps?

My favourite Eastwood movies are "Dirty Harry" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".

 

[F-14D]

Great if somewhat dated techno thriller but not my favourite Clint Eastwood movie - he did a great job making the character believable but you could with some ease replace Eastwood with any decent action actor. Chuck Norris perhaps?

My favourite Eastwood movies are "Dirty Harry" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".

No. Chuck Norris would have climbed back out of the Firefox in the hangar so he could take on every soldier on the base unarmed and then break into a chorus of, "In the eyes of a Ranger".

 

[Stargazer2006]

If it had been fashionable at the time, like it is now, for TV actors to go Hollywood and do feature films, I'm sure Lee Majors would have been great in that role. But back then it was a heresy for a movie star to do TV material, and extremely pretentious for a TV star to even dare to consider the silver screen as his next playground...

 

[McColm]

The visual effects are very limited, compaired to todays standard. Although the plot is still relevant. Clint's character Grant tries his best to make the audience believe that the aircraft is real. The chase scene at the end is the best part as it has the viewer cheering Grant onto victory.

 

[Hammer Birchgrove]

Great if somewhat dated techno thriller but not my favourite Clint Eastwood movie - he did a great job making the character believable but you could with some ease replace Eastwood with any decent action actor. Chuck Norris perhaps?

My favourite Eastwood movies are "Dirty Harry" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".

No. Chuck Norris would have climbed back out of the Firefox in the hangar so he could take on every soldier on the base unarmed and then break into a chorus of, "In the eyes of a Ranger".

 

[shockonlip]

Believe it or not, I actually have an RCS engineering book that
discusses the Firefox design.

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

I think the SFX need to be remastered.

 

[saturncanuck]

I think the SFX need to be remastered.

Ironically, when produced in 1984, the SFX were state-of-the-art.

I still think that the "Firefox" design was excellent.

However, the story is a rip-off the the "Joe 90" pilot.

 

[Michel Van]

However, the story is a rip-off the the "Joe 90" pilot.

for those who don't know Joe90

is Gerry Anderson Marionett Series
the Pilot is about Boy who steals a Soviet super fighter

[flash=200,200]http://www.veoh.com/collection/joe90/watch/v838613XPbaZYwa[/flash]

 

[SOC]

Believe it or not, I actually have an RCS engineering book that
discusses the Firefox design.

The faceted nose was actually not too bad for pure speculation.

And Joe 90? No idea what that it, but Firefox was a Craig Thomas novel.

And Clint Eastwood's best movie was Kelly's Heroes, come on.

 

[Stargazer2006]

It was Honky-Tonk Man as far as I'm concerned... :

 

[saturncanuck]

However, the story is a rip-off the the "Joe 90" pilot.

for those who don't know Joe90

is Gerry Anderson Marionett Series
the Pilot is about Boy who steals a Soviet super fighter

[flash=200,200]http://www.veoh.com/collection/joe90/watch/v838613XPbaZYwa[/flash]

Yes, sorry, being a Gerry Anderson fan I assume everyone is.

Ok, so, the plot of the Joe 90 episode concerns the most advanced Soviet fighter, the MiG-242. It is the fastest fighter and nothing like it in the West. Joe is smuggled in to the testing facility where he steals the jet. Then, other MiG-242s are sent after him and he destroys them. He also destroys a Soviet missile base that has fired on him. He successfully takes the aircraft back to England.

The plot is very similar to that later used by Craig Thomas (Joe 90 came out in 1968 and the novel was published in 1977). Many elements are the same -- advanced Soviet MiG, the same aircraft sent after it which are destroyed, destroying a missile base (in the novel a russian ship). Although the Novel is more "adult" than a children's show, the basic plot elements remain.

Anyway, there it is.

Oh, although not mentioned in the script, the MiG-242 was named "Figment".

 

[Stargazer2006]

Thanks for the update on Joe 90. Although a Gerry Anderson fan from an early age, we only got to see TWO of his shows here in France when I was a kid: Thunderbirds (variously translated as "Les Sentinelles de l'Air" or "Lady Penelope"!) and Space 1999. I was a huge fan of both! UFO ended up being shown once in 1987 I think (I was abroad at the time), but I'm not aware of any re-runs other than maybe specialized channels.

 

[robunos]

If it's not too OT,
here's the 'MiG-242',

from 'ITC SF Mecha Graffiti', a japanese language book about the Gerry Anderson shows, that I picked up 20-odd years ago...
I think the 'MiG-242', looks really good, and very 'russian', considering it's just a re-built 'Angel Interceptor', from 'Captain Scarlet',

cheers,
Robin.

 

[saturncanuck]

Thanks for the update on Joe 90. Although a Gerry Anderson fan from an early age, we only got to see TWO of his shows here in France when I was a kid: Thunderbirds (variously translated as "Les Sentinelles de l'Air" or "Lady Penelope"!) and Space 1999. I was a huge fan of both! UFO ended up being shown once in 1987 I think (I was abroad at the time), but I'm not aware of any re-runs other than maybe specialized channels.

The first Gerry Anderson show I saw was Thunderbirds, but I have seen them all now -- except Fireball XL5 and Supercar.

If you are a fan, check out this site. You can watch the shows again.

http://www.andersontv.co.uk/

 

[Stargazer2006]

Will do... Thanks!

 

[saturncanuck]

If it's not too OT,
here's the 'MiG-242',

from 'ITC SF Mecha Graffiti', a japanese language book about the Gerry Anderson shows, that I picked up 20-odd years ago...
I think the 'MiG-242', looks really good, and very 'russian', considering it's just a re-built 'Angel Interceptor', from 'Captain Scarlet',

cheers,
Robin.

OMG I have this book too!

I got it at a Comic Store here in Toronto back in the early 80s.

Yes, the MiG-242 was a rebuilt Angel, but looks very Russian. The MiG was designed by Mike Trim and used the Angel Interceptor as they had spent a lot of money making a detailed cockpit for the Angel, and then used this (re-dressed) for many other aircraft over the years, which explains the re-use.

Check out, "The Future Was FAB -- The Art of Mike Trim" from Hermes Press. It has a lot of designs from Gerry Anderson and beyond.

 

[Triton]

Fans of Gerry Anderson television programs might also be interested in the website of special effects model maker Martin Bower, Martin Bower's Model World.
http://www.martinbowersmodelworld.com/

 

[saturncanuck]

Wow!

Did this thread change topics or what?

 

[Hammer Birchgrove]

Thanks for the update on Joe 90. Although a Gerry Anderson fan from an early age, we only got to see TWO of his shows here in France when I was a kid: Thunderbirds (variously translated as "Les Sentinelles de l'Air" or "Lady Penelope"!) and Space 1999. I was a huge fan of both! UFO ended up being shown once in 1987 I think (I was abroad at the time), but I'm not aware of any re-runs other than maybe specialized channels.

I've only seen those two shows as well. Bought the first season of Space:1999 half a year ago, and re-seen those episodes.

 

[saturncanuck]

Thanks for the update on Joe 90. Although a Gerry Anderson fan from an early age, we only got to see TWO of his shows here in France when I was a kid: Thunderbirds (variously translated as "Les Sentinelles de l'Air" or "Lady Penelope"!) and Space 1999. I was a huge fan of both! UFO ended up being shown once in 1987 I think (I was abroad at the time), but I'm not aware of any re-runs other than maybe specialized channels.

I've only seen those two shows as well. Bought the first season of Space:1999 half a year ago, and re-seen those episodes.

Another good one is Doppelganger (Journey to the Far Side of the Sun). They travel to a planet on the other side of the sun and its a duplicate, mirror image of Earth. Not a great movie overall, but awesome aircraft/spacecraft.

 

[robunos]

We,ve got some more 'Doppelganger' stuff here :-

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2250.msg60421/highlight,doppelganger.html#msg60421


http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,7459.msg65003/highlight,doppelganger.html#msg65003


cheers,
Robin.

 

[Hammer Birchgrove]

Thanks for the update on Joe 90. Although a Gerry Anderson fan from an early age, we only got to see TWO of his shows here in France when I was a kid: Thunderbirds (variously translated as "Les Sentinelles de l'Air" or "Lady Penelope"!) and Space 1999. I was a huge fan of both! UFO ended up being shown once in 1987 I think (I was abroad at the time), but I'm not aware of any re-runs other than maybe specialized channels.

I've only seen those two shows as well. Bought the first season of Space:1999 half a year ago, and re-seen those episodes.

Another good one is Doppelganger (Journey to the Far Side of the Sun). They travel to a planet on the other side of the sun and its a duplicate, mirror image of Earth. Not a great movie overall, but awesome aircraft/spacecraft.

A plot that seems to be relatively common. There's a Canadian novel, a Swedish "pulp" style series of novels (by Olof Möller) and an adventure strip that, respectively, deals with a twin Earth, which is more or less similar to "our" Earth. Was there some serious thoughts among astronomers that a twin Earth would be possible, or at least a pseudo-science theory like "The Hollow Earth" concept?

 

[Stargazer2006]

Not to mention the whole counter-earth plot in Marvel Comics, which has been going on since the late 1960s... with interesting stuff like the early Warlock series and lots of cameo stories with the High Evolutionary, an earthman who has elected the counter-earth to make animals evolve into superior beings to rule over humans...
At DC there was no counter-earth, but a series of parallel Earths that existed in the same place of the universe but vibrating in a slightly different time/space continuum (if that means anything!). I grew up with these concepts of parallel earths and they are a great way to fictionize alternate realities and "what ifs" of our existing world.

 

[saturncanuck]

Wow, this thread is now way off topic!

Recap -- The movie Firefox; comparing the novel and movie; comparing Firefox to Joe 90; Joe 90 and other Gerry Anderson shows, like Thunderbirds; Doppelganger; mirror Earths.

Wow.

It's like playing "telephone".

 

[elmayerle]

However, the story is a rip-off the the "Joe 90" pilot.

for those who don't know Joe90

is Gerry Anderson Marionett Series
the Pilot is about Boy who steals a Soviet super fighter

[flash=200,200]http://www.veoh.com/collection/joe90/watch/v838613XPbaZYwa[/flash]

As SOC said, Firefos was based on a novel by Craig Thomas of the same name and, surprisingly for Hollywood, was fairly close to the book. I've heard, but can't prove, that Northrop's Bob Sandusky was involved in drawing up the Firefox configuration used in the movie.

 

[quellish]

As SOC said, Firefos was based on a novel by Craig Thomas of the same name and, surprisingly for Hollywood, was fairly close to the book. I've heard, but can't prove, that Northrop's Bob Sandusky was involved in drawing up the Firefox configuration used in the movie.

The Fuhs Radar Cross Section Lectures actually take a look at Firefox:
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a125576.pdf

 

[Archibald]

What did happened to Elmayerle, anyway ? it's a long time he didn't posted anywhere (here, the whatif modelers board)... :-[

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

He's still around, posting on "Beyond The Sprues" forum. He still logs on here but hasn't posted in ages.

 

[AeroFranz]

Too bad. His contributions have always been most informative.