Shootdown (1988)
Nan Moore is a U.S. government employee whose son is killed when Korean Air Flight 007 is shot down by Soviets on September 1, 1983. While the "official" story maintains that the flight accidentally veered too far into Soviet territory, was mistaken as a spy plane and shot down when it failed to identify itself, Ms. Moore suspects otherwise. However, in the course of her struggles to get to the bottom of what actually happened, she finds herself constantly stonewalled. Facing a conspiracy of silence and the increasing hostility of the authorities, Ms. Moore attempts to find out exactly what occurred, but with every answer she discovers, new questions arise...
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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Awesome Movie
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Contrary to the comment of rps-2, flight 007 DID indeed originate from JFK. I don't know where RPs-2 got the idea it was Toronto.I happen to have been on that flight both in-bound (to United States) and out-bound (to Soeul, then Hong Kong) many times. My last time was just 2 flights before that incident.I cannot yet comment on the overall factual accuracy of the movie, as I still am unable to obtain it in DVD. However, I am absolutely sure that it does not "...deliberately falsifies a key fact."The rest of this is just plain padding. This site would not allow comments less than "10 lines of text."
Having read several books on this subject (Shootdown of Korean Air Lines flight 007) I have to admit that the facts and points about this sad story extremely accurate. I was surprised to see some comments about this movie stating that the facts cannot be true. All those believing that should pick up a book on the topic from your local library, read it and then judge the facts. I have to admit that since the movie was made (1988) there were several key facts revealed that do not match the movie (example: the name of the Soviet pilot that shot it down), but keeping in mind that the movie is over 16 years old, I have to say that the facts presented in the movie are as close as you'd get back then (I will try and add some interesting facts about this to the "trivia" section).On the other hand, the movie acting-wise and script-wise is poor. It is on a level of a network movie (just as this movie actually is), so my expectations before watching it were set lower than usual. But the movie raises interesting points on whether the US intelligence agencies had anything to do with this plane straying off course. I suggest reading a book on this topic before watching the movie. It may be confusing to those exposed to the story for the first time.
I enjoy Angela Lansbury, and I think she did an excellent job. The other actors, although mostly unknown to me, also were fine.The movie is thoughtfully done. I found myself getting caught up in the characters' frustrations, so it was consequently somewhat frustrating to watch. Despite the title, this is definitely not an "action" movie. Low-key in tone, it plays more like a mystery. I am still a fan of "Murder, She Wrote", and watched the movie to see Angela Lansbury. I'm not sure if I would watch it again, because the tone and mood convey sadness. Definitely some "get your Kleenex out" moments, but it was good to see some range in her acting.
This movie was obviously made to compel viewers to search for the truth to the event, and this it achieves by showing the viewer exactly why the truth needs to be found. It attempts to present the human side of the tragedy, and compels you to feel sympathy for the victims. This it does, but that is all. Nan Moore is the main character, and she is played by Angela Lansbury in a remotely realistic, and occasionally believable way. In the first hour, this is because of her over acting, but in the end because of the script. The last two scenes, which are meant to provide a strong anti-war theme, sounds so pathetic that I was compelled to laugh as Nan Moore preached about how we as a race must strive to achieve peace and to stop shooting down aircraft over eachothers territory. because of this, the solemn message is lost, and the climax of the whole long, boring film is rendered pointless by the shocking way it is done. Over-all, the movie is not worth seeing under any circumstances- not for entertainment, not for information, and not for drama.