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To Fly!

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To Fly!
An American hot-air balloon flying alongside a hang-glider and rocket, above a forested rocky landscape. The film's tagline is "Go where dreams have wings."
Modern theatrical release poster
Directed byGreg MacGillivray
Jim Freeman
Written byGreg MacGillivray
Jim Freeman
Thomas McGrath
Francis Thompson
Robert M. Young
Arthur Zegart
Produced byGreg MacGillivray
Jim Freeman
CinematographyGreg MacGillivray
Jim Freeman
Edited byGreg MacGillivray
Jim Freeman
Music byBernardo Segall
Production
companies
MacGillivray Freeman Films
Francis Thompson, Inc.
Distributed byConoco Inc. (1976-2002)
MacGillivray Freeman Films
Release date
  • July 1, 1976 (1976-07-01)
Running time
27 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$750,000
Box officeUS$150 million+

To Fly![a] is a 1976 American short docudrama film by Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman of MacGillivray Freeman Films as the premiere film of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) IMAX theater, which opened for the museum's current building to celebrate the United States Bicentennial. The film chronicles the history of aviation in the US and its effects on humanity. Its narration was written by Thomas McGrath. The film explores the search for national identity and humanity's innate relationship with aviation.

The idea of the film was mooted in 1970, and was revisited four years later following then-NASM director Michael Collins' interest in an IMAX theater. MacGillivray and Freeman expanded the story of To Fly!'s treatment given by the Smithsonian Institution and Francis Thompson, Inc. from Thompson's draft by adding humor to tell audiences the film is not littered with technical jargon. Due to the nature of IMAX's giant screen, the filmmakers aimed for immersion and clarity. Three cameras were modified to meet MacGillivray and Freeman's needs. Creation of the closing space sequence prompted experiments due to the limits of the IMAX cameras and format. The film was edited by MacGillivray and Freeman while the score was composed by Bernardo Segall. The film took more than a year to make and with production was rough but it had a relatively low budget and was finished on schedule.

To Fly! was released on July 1, 1976. Like other bicentennial films, it was scheduled for a year of screening but due to public demand, it was screened indefinitely, and was later released in other formats. A 20th-anniversary special edition was released in 1996. The film was deemed significant for introducing audiences to the then-new format, with IMAX filmmakers acknowledging its influence, and was inducted into the National Film Registry as well as the IMAX Hall of Fame. It also cast MacGillivray as a major IMAX filmmaker. Amassing a large following and a notable role in the growing popularity of museum IMAX theaters, To Fly! remained the highest-grossing giant-screen documentary for a long period and broke other records. It received universal critical and audience acclaim for its cinematography, editing, and narrative; it was hailed as a Washingtonian icon and received multiple accolades.

Summary

To Fly! is a short film that runs for 26 minutes and 51 seconds.[b] It begins on July 4, 1831, in Craftsbury, Vermont, where fictional hot-air balloonist Ezekiel, after reciting a patriotic quatrain declaring himself a pioneer, ascends on a voyage around New England. Spectators below looks at the hot-air balloon in awe and surprise. Ezekiel sees a canoeist heading for whitewater at Horseshoe Falls and yells "Get to shore!"; the canoeist immediately obliges before he can reach the rapid.

Ezekiel's quatrain

Until today, what birds alone were meant to take the sky
But now, because of men like me, all men of Earth shall fly
Beyond the clouds, twixt thunder and the Sun!
Today, a new age has begun

The film then chronicles the history of aviation, beginning with hot-air balloons. It says the dawn of aviation "was like the opening of a new eye", allowing humans to reach untouched places and extend the human limits, an act once considered "godlike". The desire to fly also inspired the creation of skyscrapers. Although hot-air balloons were revolutionary, the majority of Americans still used horses; faster trains were invented, then the more-accessible cars. Mechanical aircraft have more controls than balloons. The Roaring Twenties saw the invention of barnstorming, expanding access to aviation among Americans. Military aviation formed flight demonstration squadrons like the Blue Angels. With airlines, flying became a common mode of travel and access to the American territory expanded westward beyond the Contiguous United States. After wide-body aircraft, ultralight aviation was invented.

To Fly! ends with the launch of the Saturn IB rocket that launched the Apollo–Soyuz mission.[14] at the Kennedy Space Center on July 15, 1975.[15] After dubbing spaceflight a historical feat, the narrator suggests it can be used to discover extraterrestrial life, and uses it to describe human imagination as limitless, which is credited to the philosophical awakening caused by the vertical view of the world. The film ends with a view of Earth, and the narration:

We have come a long way from a time when people gazed enviously upon the birds in-flight. Today, we look upon our planet from afar, and feel a new tenderness for the tiny and fragile Earth. For we know now, that even as we walk upon the ground, we are ever in-flight through the universe. And so, we begin to realize that human destiny has ever been, and always must be, to fly!

Production

Background

A film theater with a giant screen. A man is talking at a stage in front of audiences.
Interior of Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater (pictured 2010)

The 1960s and 1970s saw increasing numbers of museum theaters as part of the effort to modernize museums with audiovisual content. The idea of a giant-screen theater at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) was mooted in 1970 in a 153-page report by the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) curator team, which argues the NASM needs a "contemporary medium of communications" that will resonate intellectually and psychologically. The report suggested a giant-screen experiential film that would showcase the American landscape and the country's introduction to technology, ending with predictions of the country's future. The NMNH later proposed a panoramic, curved IMAX screen at the NMNH's rotunda but the idea was later discarded.[16]

In 1974, when hearing the Smithsonian Institution was to open a new building of the NASM at the National Mall in Washington D.C. as part of the United States (US) Bicentennial, filmmaker and IMAX Corporation founder Graeme Ferguson proposed to the museum's director former astronaut Michael Collins to open an IMAX theater, which Ferguson believed would be a big contribution to the museum. Collins had not seen an IMAX film and was not persuaded but when he visited Expo '74, an IMAX representative "coaxed" him to attend the event's own IMAX theater and see Man Belongs to the Earth, a 23-minute environmentalist documentary film. Collins immediately expressed interest in building an IMAX theater, convinced the experience would provide a sense of realism to visitors.[17][18] This would make the NASM the first museum to have an IMAX theater. It was supported by then-deputy director Melvin B. Zisfein, who made two film treatments, both of which were later discarded. The first treatment, "The Beautiful Mysteries of Flight" would have been an aesthetics-centric film about the nature of aviation with the hope audiences would leave the theater and look at the exhibits, creating an amplified sense of wonder. Despite being discarded, the first two treatments had major influences on the third.[16]

Development and writing

On July 1, giant-screen filmmaker Francis Thompson proposed to them a film about the history of flight to play as part of the Bicentennial and as their theater's premiere film. With a US$750,000 budget from Conoco Inc., they set the project's deadline for 1976. Conoco helped fund the project "as a Bicentennial gift" to the NASM.[16][19][20][21][22] After writing the third treatment with production and consultation company Francis Thompson, Inc.,[23] the Smithsonian commissioned filmmakers Greg MacGillivray and James Freeman[24] to make the film. Collins told MacGillivray and Freeman he did not want the film to be too history-oriented: "I have plenty of historical plaques on the wall of my museum; please give me a film that entertains, and allows the audience to be amazed by flight".[25] MacGillivray praised Collins for giving him full creative freedom.[26]

Man Belongs to the Earth (1974), which convinced Collins to build an IMAX theater. It was also the first IMAX documentary MacGillivray and Freeman saw while writing To Fly!.

Collins and Zisfein also gave a list of suggestions, 20 of which were fulfilled.[27] MacGillivray and Freeman thought the treatment was imperfect and expanded it into "a chronological story that contained humor, comical fictitious characters, and [...] a little bit of flight history". They took inspiration from their earlier surf films[25] and their experience with aerial filmmaking.[23] They analyzed 12 IMAX films for inspiration and reference,[28] the first being Man Belongs to the Earth, whose opening aerial shot of the Grand Canyon made them "really pumped".[22] They noted the 12 films vary in genre from fiction, documentary and comedy, and wrote To Fly! as a a mix of them, giving audiences a compact definition of IMAX.[29] The opening scene is humorous so audiences can relax and laugh, arguing the purely factual nature of the NASM would be perceived as "a dry, historical drama" on film.[25] Thompson agreed with this decision, saying there were enough fact-based Bicentennial films and that people needed more entertainment.[29] MacGillivray said IMAX is perfect for the film because it "allow[s] myself as a filmmaker to impact the audience in a greater way";[30] he also called it a coincidence because the film depicts aviation as though it was new, and that IMAX was a new product.[14]

While there is no extensive cast list, actor Ellen Bry played an unnamed role,[31] and real-life balloonist Peter Walker was chosen to play the role of Ezekiel.[32]

The film's writers include Thompson, Robert M. Young and Arthur Zegart. Thomas McGrath wrote the narration.[33] Research was done during pre-production; it took around seven months.[30] Collins, physicist Jeffrey Kirsch, astronomer Paul Knappenberger, and aviators Walter J. Boyne and Donald S. Lopez Sr. helped with the process.[34] The camera assistant was Freeman's girlfriend Cindy Huston; MacGillivray's then-girlfriend (now-wife) Barbara Smith was the production assistant, craft service specialist, still photographer and behind-the-scenes cinematographer; Bill Bennett and Jeff Blyth were the production managers; Brad Ohlund was the second assistant camera, and Phil Schwartz was the first.[25] Other credits include Byron McKinney as executive producer, Elizabeth Howell as secretary and bookkeeper, Rae Troutman as grip, Brad Ohlund as assistant grip, and John Divers as storyboard developer.[14] Television documentarian and historian Jon Wilkman was also "briefly" involved in pre-production.[35] NASA, the Office of Naval Research, and California Institute of Technology were also involved in the production.[33] According to MacGillivray, To Fly! is the best film for 11 years he and Freeman worked on together.[25]

Filming

MacGillivray and Freeman directed and filmed To Fly!, frequently switching roles. Principal photography occurred throughout 1975 and lasted five months,[14] with a pause in June to film the action sequences of Sky Riders (1976).[36] They worked seven days a week and 14 hours a day[11] from 5am to 9pm. Their filming budget, US$590,000,[14] was relatively small but this did not disturb the production and prompted the use of a storyboard and the script, he and Freeman thought up methods (self-coined "IMAX moments") to thrill IMAX audiences and to rely on visuals more than narration.[25] Each scene was planned to fit the IMAX format. A version of the storyboard was colored to avoid miscommunications among clients post-filming. As firm believers of filmmaking as a collaboration, MacGillivray and Freeman were open with the crew, allowing them to make creative suggestions.[14]

At the time, IMAX cameras weighed 80 lb (36 kg) and had basic specifications, dismaying the filmmakers, who wanted To Fly! to be an IMAX game-changer.[28] They were worried about damaging the only camera available to them, and wanted to minimize the need for retakes. Ferguson and fellow IMAX co-founders Bill Shaw and Robert Kerr proposed the building of three new cameras with better specifications.[25] MacGillivray said the cameras would also be used for American Years, a 50-minute epic IMAX film for the temporary Philadelphia '76 theater, also a Bicentennial celebration. Ferguson granted the proposal.[37] While filming To Fly!, one scene required use of a second camera that was attached to a parachute. The parachute failed to deploy and the camera was destroyed.[38]

Because of the nature of IMAX, a new set of filming rules were devised and many conventional rules ignored. It took three months to test the cameras and other equipment. To make the film bright, colorful, and naturalistic, they used the 65mm film stock Eastman Color Negative 5254 and a standard Tiffen 85 filter. The short duration was blamed on the high cost of the film stock. To have give the film a dramatic look, they used cross and cross-back lighting. The new O'Connor 150 tripod head was used. Because the IMAX screen is enormous, audiences sits relatively close to the screen and "the new center lies approximately one-third up from the bottom of the screen". Extreme long shots were treated as wide-angle shots while the latter was treated as normal shots. Condensed movement was used to switch between an extreme long shot to medium close-up, and a wide-angle lens was used to further expand the film's view. According to MacGillivray, "Plenty of headroom is needed in all closeups (in IMAX, the medium closeup) so the audience can establish comfortable eye-contact". Camera lenses were carefully chosen. A scene with a vertical view of New York City used a 30mm fisheye lens, giving it edge curvature and image distortion. Some lenses specifically built for Hasselblad cameras; the shutters were removed from these and the mounts were modified to fit IMAX cameras, and the focal lengths were changed from 30mm to 60mm.[14] Amid filming, the film crew wished they had a zoom lens that would make some of the filming easier; they used the first IMAX zoom lens in their later film Behold Hawaii (1983).[39]

Grayscale photo of a monoplane.
Art Scholl's "Super Chipmunk" (pictured 2010), used as a camera plane for the filming of To Fly!

Many shots in the film took a long time to prepare: for example, a 35-second shot of the Blue Angels flying over the Colorado River and Yuma Desert[14] took over four months to choreograph. MacGillivray described it as time consuming.[30] Camera mounts were designed by the United States Navy (USN) for a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II used to film the scene. Despite doubting it would work, Nelson Tyler spent two months developing two mounts for the camera helicopters, one to film forward-moving shots and another equipped with a camera dolly to film from the side, allowing smooth aerial shots. Remote-controlled devices were built to move the second mount. The helicopters were piloted by George Nolan, Chuck Phillips, and Adrian Brooks. Mounts were also made by Boeing for the Boeing 747,[14][20][29][40] and on Art Scholl's "Super Chipmunk" aircraft, which was used to film front point-of-views.[25] The mounts took weeks to test so the camera could stay intact without vibrating.[14] The hot-air-balloon aerial scenes were filmed from a helicopter.[41] Because early hot-air balloons were powered by helium, the USN donated helium to the project because of the Blue Angels' presence in the film.[32]

Aerial work platforms were used to support the balloon basket and the camera; two platforms supported the basket as it "moved in opposing directions to heighten the illusion of actual in-flight motion". To create a scene in which a 1891 locomotive hits a screen, the film crew placed a mirror at the end of the track then pointed the wide-angle camera sideways to image the mirror for a symmetrical view of the rail as the locomotive approached and shattered it. For close-ups of the pilots "flying" the aircraft, the illusion was made by filming with the sky in the background while the aircraft's engines rev and the camera moves in and out of a "rough" dolly. Bob Wills flew a hang glider along the coastline of Kauai,[14][42] one of the scenes Collins and Zisfein suggested.[27][43]

In one scene, a stagecoach races with the locomotive; the previous scene includes a Conestoga wagon. The airborne Boeing 747 scene was filmed from a 737 that Boeing donated. Frank Tallman flew a Curtiss Model D airplane for the mechanical flight sequence. A Ford Flivver was used in a segue between the car and the mechanical flight scene; this was filmed using a low shot accelerating; audiences assumed this is the car but it takes off and flies above Coastal California. Other filming locations include the Gateway Arch, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, and Yosemite Falls.[6][14][44] The barnstorming scene was filmed in California.[21] In a scene that was removed from the opening sequence, a crowd witnesses Ezekiel's ascent and performs a barn raising.[14]

Despite the technical challenges, filming ended on schedule, which MacGillivray largely credited to the extensive pre-production preparation.[14]

Space sequence

A rocket lifts off to clear blue skies.
The film showcases the Saturn IB launch on July 15, 1975

To Fly! includes a space sequence that begins with the launch of a Saturn IB rocket. The filmmakers were given special permission to film it, marking the first time a rocket launch was filmed on IMAX.[14] The film crew took this part of the production more seriously because it could not be repeated, unlike the other scenes, despite their equal level of difficulty.[21] They left their camera outside for a day, allowing condensation to form inside it; this was exacerbated by seasonal thunderstorms. The camera was found wet and jammed, and they immediately cleaned and lubricated it for around three hours. Despite these problems, they managed to film the launch.[45]

With such a low budget, the film crew initially conceived the space sequence as merely a compilation of astronomical images but realized they needed some kind of movement for a giant-screen film and thus saved money on the live-action filming so a better space sequence could be created. They expected To Fly! to be compared with the Cinerama classic 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and, despite their limited resources, tried to make the space sequence as reminiscent of that film as possible. When reading about the film's production, they learned something small like stars on an IMAX presentation is nothing on a traditional presentation; after some difficulty, they created stars on a Kodalith sheet-film negative. They also learned from 2001: A Space Odyssey the importance of movement. Because of the nature of IMAX, they could only film the space sequence at six and twelve frames per second and the use of stop motion is impossible. Additional limitations prompted detailed communication with the NASM to help assist the production. George Casey and Lester Novros of Graphic Films provided planetary models and studio facilities, and used their expertise to ease production.[45]

For a scene in which the spaceship passes Jupiter and Io, they filmed separate elements in separate film rolls, each shot "required four separate passes of the negative through the camera, each time being rewound to heads and rethreaded to a common start frame". The camera was placed on a motorized dolly. They filmed Io first, then Jupiter, then the spaceship. According to Blyth, "The [space]ship was a two-inch (5.1 cm) transparency of a three-foot (0.91 m) starship model rear-lighted on a stationary glass frame"; MacGillivray and Freeman constructed it, and Blyth designed it to have the same color palette as the 747. The starship's components were based on ideas about propulsion systems like advanced ion thrusters, and magnetically confined fusions like deuterium-3 and helium-3. The models took 150 hours to create. A dolly was used for a scene featuring the dark Earth and a horizon at sunrise. Some scenes, including one at Saturn, was filmed at a homemade animation stand; others used a version of the slit-scan photography kit used for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Models were attached to a modified, auxiliary, peg bar, near which the glass sheet with the starship was suspended. To film extremely slow scenes, several motors and control devices were tried out; zoom motors were determined to work the best. To add movement to the shots, a geared head and a custom gear operated by the zoom motor were used, creating a slight pan. They filmed all of these scenes on 16mm film first to check they could be replicated on IMAX. Collins assisted this segment of production to ensure realism.[45]

Bellows and Hasselblad close-up lenses were used for the penultimate set of shots of nebulae; the camera was facing a water-filled tray. The nebulae were a mixture of black ink and white enamel paint, with color coming from gelled lighting. The materials' temperature, thickness, size, and type had to be precise to achieve the reaction. Because the crew had to film at 96 fps, mineral oil and paint thinner were poured into the tray the slow down movement; the latter was favored because it created more-interesting movements akin to three-dimensional effect. Often, a small wire was shaped and dipped into the tray to create specific patterns.[45] Special effects designers Jim Palmer and Barney Kaelin created the laser beam effects; they had |experimented with various types of patterns pre-production.[14]

The space sequence took four-and-a-half months to prepare, test, and film.[45]

Post-production

A rocket flying above Earth; the image is split to six
One of the many multi-screen scenes in the film; this in particular is in the space sequence

To Fly! was edited by MacGillivray and Freeman, with Alexander Hammid supervising, on a Moviola. Knowing they would experiment with editing styles, the film's shots were directed beforehand to allow them to do so. Pacing is normal so audiences have enough time to explore the entirety of the shots. In the opening, the part where Ezekiel is still grounded uses 1⁄6th of the IMAX surface; as he ascends, all of the screen is used; this is to give a dramatic sense to the film and as a reference to aviation, which the film calls "like the opening of a new eye".[14] The goal of giving audiences a good impression of IMAX was taken from the similarly styled opening sequence of This is Cinerama (1952).[29] Multi-screen images—the placing of duplicate images on the same screen— were occasionally used; these were inspired by the multi-projector film Labyrinth (1967) and the first IMAX film Tiger Child (1970). In one scene of the Blue Angels, the screen divides into 36 segments, all of which show the same shot. After learning an inconsiderately-placed multi-screen scene would create a confusing experience for audiences, Jim Liles of the Optical Department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and filmmaker Dennis Earl Moore designed new mattes in which the bottom row is 15% larger than the top, allowing for clearer focus of attention. Smith supervised research for the stock footage to be incorporated into the multi-screen scenes, and chose footage filmed by MacGillivray. After editing, a Cinemeccanica Norelco AAII 35mm-70mm projector was installed at their studio; they sat close to the screen to get a feeling of the way To Fly! would look on IMAX. The film took four months to edit.[14]

According to MacGillivray, To Fly! is "an audiovisual voyage through time", and he wanted the most-suitable person to compose the film score. It was composed and conducted by Bernardo Segall, and performed by "the most professional and experienced symphonic" 49-piece orchestra in California at The Burbank Studios. Segall was chosen because he was considered a great classical composer whose works have "an air of sophistication and elegance, which would maintain the steady rhythm and pulse of the film".[14] The score was the first in history to use a keyed bugle, which is also depicted in the film's opening sequence: during the gathering for Ezekiel's ascent, a small fanfare team plays a fife, drum, clarinet, and B♭ keyed bugle.[46] The score was edited by Richard R. McCurdy and mixed by Dan Wallin, the latter of whom was assisted by Paul Martin. The score was recorded on a 16-track recorder and was mixed down to three of the six channels of the 35mm full-coat, sprocketed, magnetic film. It was mixed "authentically" to create a quadrophonic surround sound experience.[14]

Some post-production work was done at Todd-AO's mixing facility in Hollywood;[25] Joseph Ellison, later the creator of Don't Go in the House (1980), participated in this segment.[47] For the sound effects, Sam Shaw was the editor while Ray West and Jack Woltz were mixers. Because of IMAX's advanced sound technology, some scenes in the film were made just for the audio experience. For example, a multi-screen scene in which two jet airplanes cross each other, which uses the surround nature of the sound system; MacGillivray expected audience to "shiver" due to the dramatic shift of attention. In a scene in which a locomotive hits the screen, the engine noises pan from the center to circle the audience.[14]

Clients applauded the film's rough cut; two of the biggest, the Smithsonian and Conoco, gave input for the final cut. Conoco later became the film's sponsor. The post-production process, combined with production of the space sequence, took six months.[14]

Themes and style

A man runs as he sees an airplane chasing him.
The crop duster chase scene in North by Northwest (1959). A scene in To Fly! where villagers watch a low-flying barnstormer is said to be reminiscent of it, and is probably set in the same field as the former.

To Fly! contains themes of the imagination of the American people and its role in pioneer aviation, and how aerial scenes inspired improvements to aviation.[14] This is illustrated with scenes of aircraft flying over American landscapes.[48] Critic Daniel Eagan said most of the views depicted in the film's opening sequence are "stately, processional, celebrating the American landscape while remaining distant from it". From there, the film explores the US, "igniting patriotic empathy".[20] It was also viewed as a nationalist film, linking the American quest for national identity to the development of aviation through metanarratives, as well as the linear, westward progress of aviation, though its visual rhetoric shines only in the space sequence.[16][49][50] The Smithsonian, in reference to the film's final narration, said its theme is; "Flight, in all its forms, is part of the Human condition, part of our Destiny".[44]

Collins said To Fly!'s style makes it "a break from the learning going on in the rest of the museum",[11] and NASM former assistant LeRoy London, alongside Chief of Presentations and Education Von Del Chamberlain, said it is an amplification of visitors' fascination of flying after seeing the museum's exhibits.[30][10] Film author Alison Griffiths said the film is an add-on to a museum admission: whereas the exhibits give visitors information and interest, the film gives them a sense of wonder exhibits may fail to provide.[16] Steve McKerrow of The Baltimore Sun noted certain scenes are tributes to cinematic history: the scene in which a train hits the camera is similar to one from The Great Train Robbery (1903); the hot-air balloon scenes are reminiscent of Around the World in 80 Days (1956); and the barnstorming scene is probably set in the same field as North by Northwest (1959), in a crop duster chase scene.[51] To Fly! has been categorized a travelogue of the US,[50] which is compared to the closing section of This is Cinerama, which has a similar narrative.[20]

Release

The first press announcements of To Fly! were issued on May 16, 1976,[12] and on June 24, a preview of the film was screened at the NASM's Samuel P. Langley IMAX Theater (renamed for Lockheed Martin in 2002).[52][53] It was premiered to "packed audiences" at Langley Theater on July 1, 1976.[13][23][c] Conoco labeled the film a public service,[54] and was also distributor.[21][d] Lawrence Associates was co-distributor.[20] MacGillivray assisted the inexperienced projectionists and frequently visited the projection booth to ensure the film roll was in good condition.[14] Pachelbel's Canon in D was played as audiences entering the theater; a decision praised as memorable, relaxing, religiously experiential, and meaningful.[55] The music has been interpreted as being about human's quest to fly, aligning with the film it accompanied.[56] All earnings of the film were used for theater maintenance and financing future IMAX productions. After September 6 (Labor Day), Conoco began distributing the film to schools, organizations, and non-IMAX theaters.[21] Like other Bicentennial films, To Fly! was scheduled for a one-year run but this was met with public outcry and the NASM decided to keep the film.[11] In the 1990s, they upgraded the theater's sound system to digital, "rejuvenating" the film's glory, and also released the film for digital projection.[52] At times, there were 14 shows daily.[25]

Two days prior to the film's release, Freeman, aged 32, was killed in a helicpter crash while looking for locations for a Kodak commercial at the Sierra Nevada. Grief-stricken, MacGillivray, who was close friends with Freeman, doubted he could continue filmmaking but he coped with it, keeping the production company's name MacGillivray Freeman Filmswhile finding locations for a Kodak commercial (MFF) as a tribute.[57][58] Freeman's death made To Fly! his final film.[25] A 20th-anniversary special edition of To Fly! was screened in 1996,[13] using a new version of the score. The theme music, in which a masculine chant of the melody was added,[30] and a shot of a vast forest with a score including a feminine sigh as the expanse is revealed were added.[13] To mark the film's 35th anniversary, screenings were charged at 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children, the same price used until the 1980s;[54][59] this often switched with US$1 for adults and 50 cents for children.[21] The Airbus IMAX Theater of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center has screened screens it since its opening.[16][1]

A large film theater located against the backdrop of a theme park.
To Fly! was the first film played at Six Flags Great America's now-defunct[60] Pictorium IMAX Theater (pictured 2009) in 1979

From 1980, To Fly! started a trend of IMAX theaters being constructed in the US, Canada, and 22 other countries.[28] Prior to this, there were five in the US.[17] The Smithsonian later also built an IMAX theater, named after Samuel C. Johnson, at the NMNH.[16] Museums "went crazy" over the film, specifically the transformative opening sequence.[29] Michael Kernan of The Washington Post credited word of mouth to the film's popularity because marketing was limited to brochures, newspaper advertising,[6] and television spots booked by theaters.[2][61] MacGillivray did not expect the film to be so popular,[11] and credited Freeman's talent to its success.[30] The film was screened in formats including 16mm, 15 perforations/70mm, 8/70mm, Omnimax-customized 15/70mm,[25][13] and IMAX 4K Laser. For the first 15 months after it opened in April 1983, To Fly! was the only film shone at the IMAX theater at the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford, England;[62] the museum stated its "breathtaking" and "beautiful" visuals reflect their mission to showcase giant-screen films.[63] It was screened in 2013 for the museum's 30th anniversary.[62]

At the NASM and American Museum of Natural History's Naturemax Theater, also part of the Smithsonian, the film preceded the world travelogue Living Planet (1979) in a double feature.[6][64] The NASM later replaced Living Planet with MFF's Speed (1984), a decision given a B- grade by The Fresno Bee.[65] To Fly! was translated to French and formed part of another double feature with Blue Planet (1990) at the Montreal Science Centre IMAX theater to "relive the greatest moments of man's conquest to the skies".[7] The film was the premiere film for three theme park IMAX theaters; Six Flags Great America's Pictorium IMAX Theater (1979), Dreamworld IMAX Theater in Gold Coast, Australia, (1981), and the Speelland Beekse Bergen's IMAX theater at Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands (June 19, 1981). Dreamworld's founder John Longhurst was inspired to build the IMAX theater after seeing the "exciting" To Fly!.[61][66][67] It has also been show at IMAX theaters in Germany, Japan, Mexico,[6] Indonesia (Keong Emas IMAX Theater, Jakarta), and other countries.[68] The film has been translated to 10 languages as of 2012, when nearly 150 theaters had screened it,[11] with MFF reporting more than 200 in 2021.[69] It has also been screened at film festivals,[11] including the 2019 IMAX Victoria Film Festival, combined with North of Superior (1971), the second IMAX film, in a double feature dubbed "The Dawn of IMAX Filmmaking".[70]

In 1985, To Fly! was released on videocassette formats Betamax and VHS,[71] and on an NTSC LaserDisc on December 12, 1991, which was manufactured by Pioneer USA and released by Lumivision.[4] On March 20, 2011, the VHS release was preserved at the Hagley Museum and Library and is freely available at the Hagley Digital Archives. The VHS version is distinct in that the original, square opening sequence was edited to fill the entire screen, and that a large portion of the opening drum roll was cut.[72] The LaserDisc release of the film is divided into 12 chapters and presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio[4] rather than the original 1.43:1 IMAX aspect ratio.[73] The title color was changed to light gray.[74] The film was later released on Amazon Prime Video.[75] On October 7, 2021, MFF launched a streaming service called Movies For Families[76] and included To Fly!'s anniversary edition, which is presented in the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1.[13]

Reception

Box office

To Fly! is regarded as the first IMAX film to be distributed on a large scale.[77] Over one million people watched it during its first year at Langley Theater with approximately 80% of its 485 seats occupied.[25][10] The Elyria Chronicle Telegram claimed a first-year audience of eight million.[8] As of 1980, Langley Theater amassed more than 6.3 million viewers, with an average seat occupation of 77%.[16] It is likely more than 100 million people have watched it in theaters; over 15 million of those at the NASM;[13] 4.5 million of which were in the first four years,[6] and reaching 13 million in 1996. On the day of its 20th anniversary, a CBS This Morning report dubbed it "the longest-running ticketed film in one location in history". As of 1996, the film accumulated over 300 million views worldwide.[30] Initially, Collins had only projected three-and-a-half of NASM visitors would view the film during its initial one-year run.[21] The Lodi News-Sentinel reported in 1991 over 100 million people have viewed To Fly! at schools and on television.[78]

The film's earnings grew from US$20 million in 1993[79][e] to US$100 million in 1999.[80][f] To Fly! was the third-highest-grossing IMAX documentary as of 2002, earning US$113 million,[g] behind The Dream is Alive (1985, US$150 million) and MFF's Everest (1998, US$114 million).[81] The Numbers reported it grossed over US$86.6 million within the US and Canada, and US$34.1 million elsewhere for a worldwide total of US$120.7 million.[82] According to a 2003 Duke University Press publication, however, it grossed more than US$150 million worldwide.[83][h] On the other hand, MFF reported US$135 million as of April 2015.[84]: 3 [i] It was the highest-grossing documentary of all time before Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) and remains the second-highest-grossing giant-screen documentary film after Everest.[13] The film is the longest-exhibited documentary in the world,[3] the longest-running sponsored Washington, D.C. film, as well as the highest grossing sponsored film.[13] It also set several other box-office records.[25] To Fly! has seldom been screened in non-IMAX theaters, making it unpopular among filmgoers.[54] According to The Numbers, it is, in the US and Canada, the second-highest-grossing 1976 film behind Rocky—which grossed US$117,235,147—and above A Star is Born, which grossed US$63,129,898.[82]

Reviews

Can you really call yourself a Washingtonian if you haven't seen To Fly?

—John Kelly, The Washington Post[3]

To Fly! was well-received by many film critics.[85] John Alderson of the Chicago Sun-Times summarized his and other critics' reviews with; "The subject [of To Fly!] charms its imagination, while the IMAX format goes right to the brink of [audiovisual] sensory overload".[40] The Washington Post called it a Washingtonian icon[6] and a must-watch to all Washingtonians.[3] The film was cited as an example of the role of screen size in amplifying cinematic thrills,[86][87] the power of aerial photography,[88][89] and IMAX as a form of cinematic travel;[30][49] as well as a pioneer of cinematic kinesthetic responses, and coverage of science and technology.[16][90][91] Multiple reviewers called To Fly! one of the best IMAX films;[54][51][48][92] with David Handler of the Newspaper Enterprise Association called it "the ultimate film trip".[93] It was listed among the best films[94] and documentaries of the 1970s.[95] BioScience and the Michelin Green Guide called it a must for NASM visitors.[96][97] In the early 21st century, reviewers hailed it as the most-underrated, electric, cinematic spectacle.[13][49][54]

The cinematography received universal acclaim for its thrills;[40][56] To Fly! has been compared to amusement park rides. Its immersive nature, which provides the viewers with vicarious participation, is said to trigger an appreciation of the exhibits inside the NASM.[16] Donna Whitehead of Norwalk News praised the use of IMAX to the best advantage, with soaring shots galore, and said the score amplifies its illusion of reality.[48] Tom Chernitsky of the Elyria Chronicle Telegram agreed with the latter point and credited the use of "unusual" camera angles and novel filming techniques to the film's mastery.[8] It also received positive reviews from teachers, who said the immersive cinematography alone makes it educational because it teaches children how it feels to fly.[29] This has also led to polarization because it "makes you wish you were wearing a seat belt".[98] The squared segment of the opening sequence was praised for disappointing audiences because it does not fill the entire IMAX screen.[6][20][40] John Russell of The New York Times credited the cinematography to the audiences' immersion in the story despite its short duration, with the plot improving as the film progresses. Chernitsky and John Gelmis of Newsday called it a poetry film, citing its lyrical, wonderous look of nature.[50][54] Dan Moran of the Lake County News-Sun said the film is one of the few Pictorium films not like the rest which were meant to make visitors asleep after a long day playing.[60] Nathan Southern of AllMovie gave the film four-and-a-half stars out of five, stating its aerial shots help it be the vivid insight to American transportation as it should, calling the film historically significant and "One of the greatest unsung landmarks of American documentary".[99] Jim Clash of Forbes called it an epic film, citing its "vertiginous" cinematography.[100] The space sequence's goal of resembling 2001: A Space Odyssey was said to succeed.[40] Major film companies were urged to "watch out", predicting To Fly! would set IMAX as a leading cinematic format.[13]

To Fly!, especially its story, was well-received by contemporaneous critics. Carl Sagan, in his book The Demon-Haunted World (1995), said the film still astonished him after having it more than five times at the NASM.[101] The Tampa Tribune rated the film three stars out for four, calling it a "fun parade" of aviation history and a "treat", saying the Horseshoe Falls and barnstorming scenes are the best.[102] To Fly! was described as a paean for its poetic mood.[56] Whitehead called the opening scene intimate yet magical, and the ending uplifting.[48] Russell praised the narration and narrator as personal and meditative.[54] The film's combination of vintage and contemporaneous settings was said to add to its emotional and nostalgic weight.[85] Filmmaker Mark R. Hasan of KQEK.com criticized some of the film's "rough" editing and said Ezekiel's dialogue is "quite awful", and is exacerbated by "rudimentary" sound mixing, though he also said these shortcomings fade after the opening, with sweeping cinematography, thematically ambient score, and "elaborate" and "directional" sound mixing during the spaceflight scene.[71] Stuart Heritage of The Guardian put the film in the "dreary, educational" category of IMAX documentaries.[103] Jeremy Smith of Yardbarker praised the film's effective motivation but said its use of IMAX is a gimmick, albeit a good one.[104] According to Eagan, the film's scenes are still breathtaking, even in small formats.[20] Documentarian Ross Anthony of Hollywood Report Card gave the film a B+ grade, equivalent to two-and-a-half stars out of four, noting he would have graded it A in a contemporaneous review. According to Anthony, Ezekiel is a banal caricature and the hot-air balloon scenes were inconsistently edited, also noting it does not move at all. He also lamented the omissions of real-life aviation pioneers. Anthony concluded To Fly! is "amusing and informative (on a basic level)", and recommended the short IMAX experimental film Silent Sky (1977) for aviation enthusiasts.[5][105]

Audience response

An American hot-air balloon ascends from a countryside to a clear sky.
As the squared scene fades to this one, audiences can be heard exclaiming in awe

Audiences, regardless of demographics,[30] were "astonished" by To Fly!'s IMAX vertiginous shots.[106] Sighs, gasps, "ooh"-s, and cries were heard in most of the audiences.[13][40] During the balloon opening sequence, "ahhh"-s can be heard;[6] and some viewers screamed during the Blue Angels and hang-gliding scenes.[107] Others, however, screamed in jolt and "hastily" left the theater during its vertiginous scenes,[16] and for some, uncontrollable dizziness lingered long after the film had finished.[107] Sickness bags were also unavailable.[98] Later, the NASM added pre-entry warnings about potential dizziness and motion sickness.[90]

The audience reactions also prompted them to describe the film on their website with; "Feel the Earth Drop Away Beneath You".[16] In 2016, "Feel" was changed to "Watch" as part of a longer synopsis; a 40th-anniversary, one-minute trailer was also released.[1] Expert hang-gliders were surprised at the hang-gliding stunt: "[42] years later, Bob Wills and To Fly! can blow even these guys away". Wills died in 1977 while hang-gliding for a commercial.[43] People with fear of flying said they were able to watch To Fly! without getting scared. Those who watched it returned with their children to watch the film, akin to a generational tradition.[11] Audiences found the film to be memorable.[29] The 2011 Virginia earthquake coincided with the screening of To Fly!'s Horseshoe Falls at Lockheed Martin; audiences assumed the shaking they felt came from the theater's subwoofers rather than an earthquake.[108] Responding to the film's popularity, Bill McCabe of DuPont Aerospace Enterprise said because humans have an innate interest in flying, the film has an appeal to everyone.[109] MacGillivray said that the film's "unpretentiousness and lightheartedness" makes it a form of escapism, and that its unconventional ending makes it "more profound and in a way, more lasting".[11]

Accolades

As of October 8, 1992, To Fly! had received 11 awards.[48] The following table only lists the accolades as listed at the MFF website.

Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
CINE Golden Eagle Golden Eagle Award To Fly! Won [13]
Chicago International Film Festival Best Film Award Won
Special Jury Award (Cinematography) Won
Berlin Inforfilm Festival None First
Bicentennial Festival of Films on Aeronautics and Space Grand
Festival of the Americas Special Jury Award Won
Columbus International Film Festival Chris Bronze Plaque Award Won
Information Film Producers Association Best Documentary of the Decade Won

Legacy

Critics hailed To Fly! as a contemporary and classic blockbuster.[16][54] In 2020, Wilkman, writing for Literary Hub, listed the film as one of "21 Documentaries That Redefined the Genre".[110] It was also listed as one of the top-three reasons people visit Washington, D.C.[6] The film has a significant history with political figures; it was viewed by government officials of the Soviet Union, Spain, United Kingdom, Egypt, Indonesia, US, and Greece. During his first inauguration (1981), US President Ronald Reagan handed a copy of it to Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev; Reagan later attended the film's Soviet premiere at Moscow. When George H. W. Bush met Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir on April 6, 1989, they went to the NASM and watched To Fly!.[13][102][111]

A middle-aged man holding a certificate from afar.
Christopher Nolan amid the filming of The Dark Knight Rises (2012), whose IMAX aerial scenes were inspired by To Fly!; MacGillivray was also consulted for the cinematography.

Contrary to popular belief, To Fly! is not the first in IMAX, though was instrumental to introducing a larger audience of the then-new format.[106] IMAX filmmaker Kieth Merrill credited To Fly! with the success of IMAX.[25] Ron Fricke made the art film Chronos (1985) in IMAX after seeing To Fly!, and regretted not filming his more-popular film Koyaanisqatsi (1982) in IMAX;[112] MacGillivray was the latter's Second Unit aerial photographer.[84]: 39  Brian J. Terwilliger, maker of the IMAX documentary Living in the Age of Airplanes (2015). chose to theatrically premiere it at Lockheed Martin as a tribute to To Fly! which he watched when he was in eighth grade.[113] Christopher Nolan was inspired to make visually immersive films after watching To Fly! at the age of 14 and noticing the audience tilted their heads during the flying sequences; MacGillivray consulted Nolan on the IMAX cameras for The Dark Knight Rises (2012),[114] whose aerial scenes were inspired by To Fly!.[115]

Astronaut Terry W. Virts, who starred in the IMAX documentary A Beautiful Planet (2016), called To Fly! one of his most-memorable childhood IMAX films.[116] It was also cited as a great influence on the legitimization of IMAX and the use of multi-screen scenes in IMAX films, which has been common practice ever since.[20] In 1995, the Library of Congress called To Fly! a pioneer of the IMAX format,[95] thus "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" enough to be preserved by the National Film Registry (NFR).[106] Voters at the Giant Screen Cinema Association[j] inducted it into the IMAX Hall of Fame on September 24, 2001, a decision praised by then-co-chief executive officers Richard Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler, stating the film deserves such recognition.[118] It was also preserved at the National Archives and Records Administration[31] and the Smithsonian Institution Archives.[119]

In 1980, upon To Fly!'s popularity, the NASM requested[34] Conoco to collaborate with MacGillivray and Moore on another short IMAX film called Flyers (1982),[19] a coming-of-age drama film about a teenager who aspires to be a pilot.[120] Flyers is MacGillivray's second IMAX film and also became an instant success, though at a slower rate than To Fly!, and on March 4, 1982, Random House launched an eponymous companion picture book for children.[19][84]: 3, 38–42  Flyers was shown in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following To Fly! as part of a double feature.[121] MFF continued making IMAX documentaries, incuding The Living Sea (1995), which was inducted into the IMAX Hall of Fame and nominated for Best Short Documentary at the 68th Academy Awards; and Dolphins (2000). which was highest-grossing documentary of that year and was also nominated for Best Short Documentary at the 73rd Academy Awards.[84]: 25, 26, 30, 31  Still active, the production was credited for the success of IMAX, and one of the most influential and notable IMAX figures with over US$1 billion at the box office;[11] Lea Silver of IMAX Victoria called him "a big deal".[122] In 1984, the making of a film using outtakes from To Fly! and Flyers was proposed but this never happened.[123] Instead, MacGillivray released The Magic of Flight (1996), a sequel that was inspired by To Fly!'s Blue Angels sequence.[124]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Stylizations of the title vary. In the film and trailer by the Smithsonian Institution, "Fly!" is stylized in capital letters.[1] In a Cinesphere television spot, all of it is in capitals.[2] Some sources also exclude the exclamation mark.[3][4][5]
  2. ^ More precisely 26 minutes and 51 seconds (48 seconds for the anniversary edition). Several sources mis-stated the running time by a few minutes.[6][7][8][9][10] While others stated it runs 26 minutes,[11][12] MacGillivray Freeman Films uses the approximate 27 minutes.[13]
  3. ^ Some sources misstated the release year by a few years.[16][38]
  4. ^ Until the company merged with the Phillips Petroleum Company in 2002
  5. ^ Equivalent to US$42.2 million in 2023
  6. ^ Equivalent to US$183 million in 2023
  7. ^ Equivalent to US$191 million in 2023
  8. ^ Equivalent to US$316 million in 2023
  9. ^ Equivalent to US$174 million in 2023
  10. ^ Later merged with the Large Format Cinema Association, forming the Giant Screen Cinema Association[117]

References

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