Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

UPC: 024543112044

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Excellent For Children]

Summary: Ken Annakin's large-canvas comedy Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines is set in 1910. In order to boost circulation of his newspaper, Lord Rawnsley (Robert Morley) offers 10,000 pounds to the first person who can fly across the English Channel. A huge number of hopefuls enter the contest, including the scheming Sir Percy Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas), who, with the help of his henchman Courtney (Eric Sykes), attempts to sabotage the other entries. There is also a love triangle featuring Orvil Newton (Stuart Whitman) and Richard Mays (James Fox) competing for the heart of Patricia Rawnsley (Sarah Miles). ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Awards: Best Costume Design in Color [British] – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Costume Design in Color [British] – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – null New Star of the Year - Male – null Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences New Star of the Year - Male – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: ccAudio commentary by director Ken Annakin
"Making Of" featurette
Still photo galleries...and more!

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 03/16/2004

Audio: DD5.0 Dolby Digital 5.0, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 137 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Ever Hopeful/ Main Titles [6:17]
2. Just Like a Girl [1:11]
3. To Rule the Sky [2:45]
4. The Whole World [5:11]
5. Improper Introduction [:17]
6. No Time [7:46]
7. The Field [1:02]
8. Extra Load [2:48]
9. A Monkey Wrench [1:53]
10. Runaway Plane [1:57]
11. Sweet Talk [2:54]
12. The White Cliffs [5:52]
13. Old-Fashioned Challenge [1:16]
14. First Flight [5:27]
15. Scratched [4:03]
16. Innovations [3:36]
17. The Duel [2:21]
18. Intermission [2:31]
19. Rivalries [4:46]
20. The Big Day [2:06]
21. They're Off! [1:03]
22. A Couple of Snags [3:53]
23. First Check Point [3:13]
24. Crossing the Channel [1:02]
25. The Third Leg [:38]
26. Gay Paree [3:05]
27. Fifty-Fifty [6:25]
28. Full Circle/ End Titles [4:28]

Craig Butler

A number of comedies assumed epic proportions in the 1960s, such as the amusingly titled Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. The problem with many of these "super-comedies" was that the scope of the undertaking -- big casts, big sets, big screen -- has a tendency to dwarf the humor. There's a little of this in Magnificent, but it fortunately doesn't do much damage. The film maintains a zany, happy-go-lucky, freewheeling spirit that makes the whole event a very pleasant, if titanically lightweight, affair. Matters are helped by screenwriter Jack Davies' engaging, sharp dialogue and by the loving if ironic tone he brings to the story and the characters. Ken Annakin's direction is appropriately broad yet finds time for subtlety when possible; most importantly, he keeps all the many pieces of the big affair from coming apart and manages to make sure that what is essentially an episodic, one bit-after-another film feels cohesive. Annakin, working with the very fine cinematographer Christopher G. Challis, also knows how to make the big screen work to its best advantage, and does a very fine job of finding the lighthearted drama in the race itself, while still building appropriate tension in the long build-up to the event. He is aided enormously by his gifted cast. If Stuart Whitman is perhaps a bit dull, the rest of the cast more than makes up for it, especially the delicious Terry-Thomas, who has never been more amusingly oily. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast and Crew: James Robertson Justice  Actor 
Maurice Denham  Actor 
Steve Plytas  Actor 
Ronnie Stevens  Actor 
Ferdinand "Ferdy" Mayne  Actor 
Dame Cicely Courtneidge  Actor 
Gerald Campion  Actor 
Bill Nagy  Actor 
Ken Annakin  Director 
Ken Annakin  Screenwriter 
Jack Davies  Screenwriter 
Ron Goodwin  Composer (Music Score) 
Stan Margulies  Producer 
Stuart Whitman  Actor 
Sarah Miles  Actor 
James Fox  Actor 
Alberto Sordi  Actor 
Robert Morley  Actor 
Gert Fröbe  Actor 
Jean-Pierre Cassel  Actor 
Eric Sykes  Actor 
Terry-Thomas  Actor 
Irina Demick  Actor 
Irina Demick  Actor 
Irina Demick  Actor 
Irina Demick  Actor 
Irina Demick  Actor 
Irina Demick  Actor 
Benny Hill  Actor 
Yujiro Ishihara  Actor 
Flora Robson  Actor 
Karl Michael Vogler  Actor 
Sam Wanamaker  Actor 
Red Skelton  Actor 
Eric Barker  Actor 
Fred Emney  Actor 
Gordon Jackson  Actor 
Davy Kaye  Actor 
John Le Mesurier  Actor 
Jeremy Lloyd  Actor 
Zena Marshall  Actor 
Millicent Martin  Actor 
Eric Pohlmann  Actor 
Marjorie Rhodes  Actor 
Norman Rossington  Actor 
William Rushton  Actor 
Graham Stark  Actor 
Jimmy Thompson  Actor 
Michael Trubshawe  Actor 
Tony Hancock  Actor 

Country: UK,USA