The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

Aside all mismatches in the plot this picture is plenty enjoyable for Disney patten, Elliott Gould was in the peak of his career, however starts running down the hill in slowing process, he was not in great shape anymore, a little fat for the role, the Canadian French ancestry Genèvieve Bujold was a little bit aged, in fact both around de forty years old, the highlight certainly is the child-star Rick Schroder that had a resounding success as T. J. Flynn at "The Champ" previously one year before, also the duo-comic Japanese Soldiers stranded in the island for 35 years long.

Elliott Gould plays a single pilot Noah Dugan that was in bit of a pickle for gambling on a wrong horse, pursuit by mobster for five grants, further there no jobs at sight, in a forlorn hope he looking for his old pal Stoney (Vincent Gardenia) who needs frantically a crazy pilot for a scrapyard of a cargo plane from WWII's era, Noah needs money but tries to flight this outdated giant plane to transport to south seas a load of living animals including a huge pair of bull & cow, chickens, ducks, pigs among others specimens, the crazy idea coming for a Reverend lady Bernadette Lafleur (Bujold) who is intent settle a small missionary in a isolate pagan island to help the natives.

He just accepts the job because have two mobster (Dana Elcar & John P. Ryan) at your neck, stealtily a couple of children come on board (Schroder & Tamin Laurie), Noah takes off the hunk of junk cargo, nonetheless Mrs. Lafleur tries help fly the airplane, unwittingly she puts a radio near the compass, through the radio's magnetism the route is change for a unknown south area, Noah got landing in a deserted island for lack of fuel, there they face two older Japanese soldiers from WWII, they stay there without known that the war is over, aided by the skillful craftsmen Japanese soldiers they made a raft using the old cargo upside-down trying reach somewhere or cross path with some ship around.

As I said early the premise is silly driven to family audience, let it see so easily, nostalgic picture for any age, I'd never watched this one before the DVD's advent, whereby I bought my original copy.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2010 / Source: DVD / How many: 2 / Rating: 7.

this is the best feel-good movie of all time. nothing too bad happens but it's not boring. nothing too surprising happens but it's not predictable. nothing too funny happens but it's not stupid. it's corny but perfectly so. Elliott Gould is good. he is a better actor when it comes to serious/comedies, like Robert Altman's "The Long Goodbye" and/or "California Split", but he's having fun here and so does the audience. the woman in the movie is cute. she is a missionary and Gould flies her to an island but they go the wrong way and end up on the wrong island, this one seemingly deserted. tagging along, as it were, are two kids played by Ricky Shroder (now Rick) and Tammy Lauren, who would grow up to be very gorgeous. also there is a bull and a duck, as the kids pets, and two Japanese men on the island who've been there for 35 years and don't know that the war is over. they are gungho with the rising flag, but then they turn good when the missionary lady goes and meets them. and then they put the rising star flag on the plane that crashed that they all transform into a boat. here i had my only problem. the Japanese, during the war, sided with the Nazis. wouldn't Elliott Gould or the missionary lady have a problem with having that flag as the main mast on the ship? and wouldn't the two men, upon learning that America nuked three of their cities to win the war, get sort of angry? but oh well, it doesn't matter. there is a shark in the movie too and it's very scary, even though it's only stock footage, and the ending is almost sad but then gets happy and you will smile during the end credits. oh and another funny thing is that the credits in the beginning happen twenty minutes into the movie after a couple of thugs, who are after Gould for owing them money, are chasing the airplane that is taking off. and the two thugs are played by Dana Elcar of "Baretta" fame, and John Ryan ("Runaway Train"), usually a heavy in movies. here he's bumbling. Vincent Gardenia makes an important cameo. he played the chief inspector in "Death Wish" who was always sneezing.

Unemployed pilot must pay 5G's in 24 hours to his bookmaker or else his goons will work him over; he reluctantly accepts a job flying a feisty missionary and her farm animals to an island in the South Pacific in a rickety B-29 bomber, but the plan goes awry. First, the couple is joined by two stowaway orphans who are worried about the animals, then the plane goes off-course and the pilot is forced to crash land the aircraft on the beach of an uncharted island--inhabited by two Japanese soldiers who are unaware that WWII is over. In the first half of the 1970s, Elliott Gould made film after film, mostly counterculture comedies which established him as an anti-hero; he appealed to the young people of the era who hoped to shout down the Establishment. However, by 1980, Gould had become part of the Establishment, a working stiff in Hollywood, and the industry's middle ground (Disney) was eager to turn him into a grouchy sweetiepuss, a Bogart father-figure for marriage-minded women and wet-eyed youngsters. Gould doesn't embarrass himself here--he's firm with both the kids and the missionary (a forthright but not stubborn Genevieve Bujold)--but he's coasting, his energy at half-mast. The film, adapted from Ernest K. Gann's story "The Gremlin's Castle", has elements of "Swiss Family Robinson", "The African Queen" and even (God help us) "Jaws", but director Charles Jarrott blessedly keeps it moving instead of stopping to preach. There are things Jarrott probably had no control over, such as the kids fussing and crying over the animals or Maurice Jarre's cloying music, which tugs at the tear ducts. It doesn't quite work, but there are compensations: Gould and Bujold manage to develop a faintly warm rapport, and Charles F. Wheeler's cinematography is excellent. The island location is lovely, and the Japanese men (John Fujioka and Yuki Shimoda) are handled with respect. As for the bookmaker, we are to assume he got his money, and also that the seasick bull made a speedy recovery. This is Disney, after all. **1/2 from ****

'The Last Flight of Noah's Ark' is average.

One of the reasons for that is the lacklustre plot, which is one we've practically already seen before from Disney in years prior - like 1960's 'Swiss Family Robinson' and 1966's 'Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N.'. This isn't incredibly similar to those two, but they are certainly in the same ballpark.

The premise doesn't have much about it in terms of action or heart, the ending threatens to finish with a highly meaningful moment but instead bottles it in favour of a more happier conclusion. Elsewhere, you have a forgettable cast. Elliott Gould (Dugan) and Geneviève Bujold (Bernadette) are alright, though they lack the necessary chemistry together.

Close to being a good'un, but just misses out in my books.

I remember it being very good. Christians won't be offended. A missionary brings a man to Christ, and they do not make Christians appear to be idiots. A good adventure movie, with a tinge of action and adventure, though not violent.