![]() At times, it just seemed to make the man too super-human and swell-and that is a bit of a problem because the real life Lindburgh was a very, very flawed man. This is a film that practically deifies Charles Lindburgh because of his amazing solo flight across the Atlantic (from New York to Paris). Photographed in CinemaScope and WarnerColor and backed by Franz Waxman's beautiful music, the film effectively captures the pioneering spirit of the era and the hero's ultimate achievement since he takes off, that day, from Roosevelt wet field, and clears telephone wires at the end of the runway. Stewart gives an able portrait of a brave pilot who attains legendary status, emphasizing the intention and dominant resolution to fly nonstop 5,810 kilometers (3,610 miles) across the Atlantic. Still, he managed to stay conscious enough to keep the monoplane from crashing and landed at Le Bourget Aerodrome, near Paris, 33 hours and 30 minutes after leaving New York. A busy schedule and an active mind kept Lindbergh up all of the previous night. The record-setting flight proved not only to be a fight with the elements and a test of navigation, but also a long battle against fatigue. In his efforts to cut off the plane's weight, any item considered too heavy or unnecessary was left behind. ![]() From it there, emerges an awareness of a clever, firm but truly humble man who tackles a task with resolution, plans as much about it as he can, makes his decisions with courageous finality and then awaits with only one thought in mind, to get to Paris. But it is James Stewart's performance (controlled to the last detail) that gives life and strong, heroic stature to the principal figure in the film. Even though Wilder has bravely put it upon the screen in a calm, unhurried fashion, it comes out as biography of intense restraint and power. ![]() Lindbergh's claim to fame was doing something that many had tried and failed. His equation is simple: less weight (one engine, one pilot) would increase fuel efficiency and allow for a longer flying range, but with so much risk. But there is superb determination of the ordeal of a brave and talented pilot decided to fly alone. No action is depicted in the trip, only some flashbacks to break up the monotony of the long flight. Stewart dignified the portrait of one of the greatest adventurers in the air the world has ever know, departing, in a highly modified single engine monoplane, from Long Island, New York to Paris, France. ![]() Louis." Although the lengthy internal monologue employed during the journey may be disappointing to an audience, the truth is that it helps keep the picture focused tightly on its essential point. As a tribute it is eloquent enough and, although a few nice liberties may have been taken with historical fact, the motion picture describing the detailed odyssey before and after the Paris flight on May 20-21 in the monoplane "Spirit of St. Louis" is Billy Wilder's film tribute to one of the best figures in aeronautical history, remembered for the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in May 1927 with James Stewart (a little too old for the part) playing Charles Lindbergh.
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