293 Jet Pilot

[MichaelB]

JET PILOT
(Josef von Sternberg, 1957)
Release date: 24 July 2023
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK premiere)

Pre-order here

The only colour film directed by the great Josef von Sternberg (Morocco), Jet Pilot brings together John Wayne (Hellfighters) and Janet Leigh (Psycho) in a Cold War blend of romance and thrills.

When Soviet defector Anna (Leigh) lands her plane on Colonel Shannon’s (Wayne) base, the two soon fall in love and marry. However, after it comes to light that Anna is still spying for her homeland, the couple flee to Russia, putting Shannon in danger from the Soviet authorities. Soon, Anna must choose between her love for her husband and her love for her country.

Written and produced by Jules Furthman (Blonde Venus), and famous for its extended period of post-production at the hands of studio boss Howard Hughes, Jet Pilot highlights the absurdity of the Cold War, and was hailed by critic Andrew Sarris as a precursor to Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove.


INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
• Two presentations of the film: in the original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio; and in the 1.37:1 open matte shooting ratio
• Original mono audio
• Tony Rayns on ‘Jet Pilot’ (2023): in-depth discussion of the film’s protracted production and release
• The Town (1943): Josef von Sternberg’s contribution to the war effort, a short film about a typical small town in the US, made as part of The American Scene film series
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Glenn Kenny, an extract from Joseph von Sternberg’s autobiography, archival interviews with von Sternberg, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK

All extras subject to change

#PHILE293B
BBFC cert: U
REGION B
EAN: 5060697922660

[MichaelB]

Final specs:

[Rayon Vert]

Does anyone here have opinions about this film?

[knives]

I think it’s a great late entry for von Sternberg returning to the Dietrich structure though going back to the male point of view. It’s also a kind of destruction of Wayne the myth while being a radical exploration of color.

[Rayon Vert]

Thanks knives. In terms of Sternberg, do you like all of his films or do you think there are some that are properly mediocre?

[knives]

Crime and Punishment is pretty mediocre bordering on awful and I’m the Lone Ranger indifferent to Anatahan

[Rayon Vert]

Damn I was thinking of maybe getting Anatahan. Any opinions to the contrary on that one?

[rapta]

I liked Anatahan, if only as a fascinating example of von Sternberg's style filtered through a Japanese setting. And the subject matter, of course, which was absolutely controversial in Japan. It's a disc worth picking up.

I received Jet Pilot the other day. Intrigued to check it out as I had heard mixed things about it in the past, but when it was announced by Indicator I decided on a whim to get the bundle. Clearly someone at Powerhouse loves John Wayne in non-Westerns (leaving those for MoC it seems)!

[HinkyDinkyTruesmith]

For what it's worth, I think that Crime and Punishment is an incredible dark comedy with a trio of compelling performances, especially Lorre; Anatahan is a full-stop masterpiece of a different order, strange and weird and certainly a fitting capstone to von Sternberg's career. I haven't seen this, however; it's one of my few blind spots for von Sternberg.

[reaky]

JET PILOT is most notable for its flying sequences, Cold War animus and Janet Leigh’s twin-torpedo brassieres, all mandated by Howard Hughes (he couldn’t leave it alone for four years after shooting ended). Seeing Sternberg’s name on it is like seeing your old teacher cleaning tables in a titty bar.

[MichaelB]

Jet Beaver.

[sabbath]

JET PILOT is most notable for its flying sequences, Cold War animus and Janet Leigh’s twin-torpedo brassieres, all mandated by Howard Hawks (he couldn’t leave it alone for four years after shooting ended). Seeing Sternberg’s name on it is like seeing your old teacher cleaning tables in a titty bar.

Hughes.

[reaky]

Hughes.

God yes. Fixed.

[therewillbeblus]

I thought this was a delightful pop Cold War satire that's expressed almost entirely in its cartoonish -if sincerely gorgeous- colorful visual palette and playful direction of actors, both elements of which feel straight out of a comic book. Wayne and Leigh are such interesting choices for actors here, which helps the film lean into its campy aspects - Wayne channeling his silly late-Hawksian temperament and Leigh never performing her part as if she's actually a Russian spy, but more of a screwball-y coquette played straight. The beauty of the film is so rich that it obliterates the utility of any awareness that there's little thematic relevance or purpose to the shenanigans, while also enhancing that meaninglessness as wonderfully fun and funny. It's artificiality births true feelings of the Cold War's absurdity, all under the banner of an absurd romance central to the plot. This is all relatively subtle, as the film is first and foremost just a leisurely good time, but that itself clashes with the narrative gravity to incite these ideas.

[therewillbeblus]

On a second watch, this is clearly a comedy in its fundamentals. Some bits are surely unintentionally satirical, but that doesn't really matter when the tone is intrinsically this loose and goofy from the start. The first hour is especially hysterical and the humor undercuts anything else the film is trying to achieve