Highest-Rated Movies about 'Aviation', Sort by Popularity

The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997), Breaking the Sound Barrier (1952), Airplane! (1980), Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), The Aviator (2004), Bright Eyes (1934) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Aviation movies.

#16. Spitfire (1942)

Storyline: By the late 1920's aircraft designer R.J. Mitchell feels he has achieved all he wants with his revolutionary mono-planes winning trophy after trophy. But a holiday in Germany shortly after Hitler assumes power convinces him that it is vital to design a completely new type of fighter plane and that sooner or later Britain's very survival may depend on what he comes to call the Spitfire.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Plot Keywords: inventor, pilot, wife, daughter, nurse, military officer, inspiring ...

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#17. Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)

Storyline: In the infancy of aviation in 1910, a British newspaper offers a prize for the winner of a cross-channel air race which brings flyers from all over the world. There are many subplots as the flyers jockey for position and the affections of various women.—John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Keywords: pilot, newspaper owner, beautiful woman, american, englishman, villain, madcap ...

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#18. Top Gun (1986)

Storyline: Code-named "Maverick", Pete Mitchell, the impetuous daredevil Navy-pilot ace, is accepted into Miramar's elite Fighter School, also known as "Top Gun". There, as the impulsive pilot competes with the best of the best, not only will he meet Charlie, the flying school's curvaceous astrophysics instructor, but also the brilliant and highly competitive fellow student, "Iceman", with whom right from the start, he will engage in a reckless contest. As Maverick is haunted by his father's mysterious death, will he be able to suppress his wild nature to win the prestigious Top Gun Trophy?

Plot Keywords: pilot, naval officer, instructor, rival, lieutenant commander, wife, uplifting ...

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#19. Test Pilot (1938)

Storyline: Jim Lane is a test pilot, whose professional life is dangerous, and whose personal life compensates for that danger by fast living and recklessness. As such, he lives from paycheck to paycheck, and is often in debt, but knows his lucrative job will eventually get him out of those debts. On a coast to coast record attempt speed flight, Jim's plane, the Drake Bullet (named after the company's owner), hits some mechanical problems and Jim is forced to make an emergency landing on a farmer's field in Kansas. The farm belongs to the Barton family, whose straight talking daughter, Ann Barton, falls for Jim, and visa versa. They impulsively decide to get married and live in New York. Jim's sidekick and mechanic, "Gunner" Morris, doesn't know if Jim and marriage go hand in hand, both because of the type of person he is and his profession. Ann too soon learns that she plays second fiddle to Jim's work, she referring to the sky as Jim's mistress. Ann also truly comes to understand the dangers of Jim's work, he who is often required to push the planes beyond their physical limits. With each flight, Ann fears that she will become a widow, as she has seen it before with the wives of Jim's colleagues. Can Jim and Ann's marriage survive the many pressures stemming from Jim's life as a test pilot?—Huggo

Plot Keywords: pilot, mechanic, wife, boss, gripping, melodramatic, kansas ...

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#20. The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)

Storyline: The true story of General Billy Mitchell, a pioneering crusader for the Army's fledgling air corp. In spite of an impressive performance during the First World War, the commanders of America's armed forces still think of the airplane as little more then a carnival attraction. Even after sinking an "unsinkable" captured German battleship from the air, Mitchell sees funds dry up and friends die due to poor equipment. He is court-martialed after questioning the loyalty of his superiors for allowing the air corp to deteriorate.—KC Hunt <khunt@eng.morgan.edu>

Plot Keywords: colonel, general, congressman, major, lawyer, tense, inspiring ...

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#21. Ceiling Zero (1935)

Storyline: War veteran pilots Dizzy Davis, Texas Clark and Jake Lee are working in an airline in Newark. Dizzy is flirting with the girlfriend of a younger pilot and, due to this, he feigns illness to get Texas to take his flight assignment to Cleveland. Returning from Cleveland to Newark, Texas' plane crashes attempting to land on the airfield under extremely bad weather circumstances and he dies from this accident. Dizzy feels guilty for his friend's death and takes the next flight to Cleveland under even worse circumstances, testing a new anti-ice device on the plane.—Stephan Eichenberg <eichenbe@fak-cbg.tu-muenchen.de>

Plot Keywords: pilot, boss, friend, teenager, suspenseful, newark, n.j., airplane ...

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#23. The Wings of Eagles (1957)

Storyline: U.S. Navy pilot Frank 'Spig' Wead is a fun-loving and rowdy adventurer, but also a fierce proponent of Naval aviation. His dedication to the promotion of the Navy's flying program is so intense that his marriage and family life suffer. When an accident paralyzes him, Spig finds a new means of expressing his love of flying: screenwriting. Successful and acclaimed, he finds the U.S. entry into World War II to be an irresistible call. Pleading that he be reinstated in the Navy despite his paralysis, Spig finds he has an enormous contribution yet to make.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Plot Keywords: pilot, mechanic, wife, rival, director, powerful, patriotic ...

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#24. Too Hot to Handle (1938)

Storyline: Chris Hunter is a sly newsreel reporter. While in Shanghai doing reports on the Chinese-Japanese war, he meets pilot Alma Harding. At first she doesn't trust him, but by a trick he manages to get her hired as his assistant. During an adventurous expedition through the jungles of South America he manages to change her view of him.—Tom Zoerner <Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>

Plot Keywords: journalist, pilot, filmmaker, assistant, boss, lighthearted, witty ...

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#25. The War Lover (1962)

Storyline: Buzz Rickson is a dare-devil World War II bomber pilot with a death wish. Failing at everything not involving flying, Rickson lives for the most dangerous missions. His crew lives with this aspect of his personality only because they know he always brings them back alive.—KC Hunt <khunt@eng.morgan.edu>

Plot Keywords: bomber pilot, captain, lieutenant, girlfriend, sergeant, brash, confident ...

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#26. Journey Together (1945)

Storyline: David Wilton (Sir Richard Attenborough), John Aynesworth (Jack Watling), and Smith (David Tomlinson) are amongst a group of cadets hoping to become pilots in the Royal Air Force. David, however, has poor height perception and cannot master his landings. Therefore, he is sent to navigator's school, but finds it hard to concentrate on his new job due to despondency over losing his chance to be "something important", a pilot. His friends and teachers join in an effort to show David the vast importance of the navigator, something he learns for himself over the target city of Berlin.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Plot Keywords: pilot, friend, cadet, instructor, brash, patriotic, rousing ...

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#27. Airport (1970)

Storyline: This precursor to later "epic" 70's disaster films illustrates 12 hours in the lives of the personnel and passengers at the "Lincoln Airport." Endless problems, professional and personal, are thrown at the various personnel responsible for the safe and proper administration of air traffic, airline management and aviation at a major US airport. Take one severe snowstorm, add multiple schedules gone awry, one elderly Trans Global Airlines stowaway, shortages, an aging, meretricious pilot, unreasonable, peevish spouses, manpower issues, fuel problems, frozen runways and equipment malfunctions and you get just a sample of the obstacles faced by weary, disgruntled personnel and passengers at the Lincoln Airport. Toss in one long-suffering pilot's wife, several stubborn men, office politics and romance and one passenger with a bomb and you have the film "Airport" from 1970.

Plot Keywords: pilot, airport manager, flight attendant, passenger, lunatic, wife, emotional ...

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#28. The Rocketeer (1991)

Storyline: Straight from the pages of a pulp comic from a past era, the Rocketeer recreates 1930's Hollywood, complete with gangsters, Nazi spies, and the growth of the Age of Aviation. Young pilot Cliff Secord stumbles on a top secret rocket-pack and with the help of his mechanic/mentor, Peevy, he attempts to save his girl and stop the Nazis as The Rocketeer.

Plot Keywords: stunt pilot, superhero, actress, nazi, mechanic, howard hughes, campy ...

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#29. Dive Bomber (1941)

Storyline: A new flight surgeon and a Navy pilot overcome personal differences to work on solving the problem of Altitude Sickness which causes blackouts at high altitude. The real stars of the film are the pre-World War II navy aircraft featured in full color—Robert Svacha <chisox@azstarnet.com>

Plot Keywords: pilot, doctor, best friend, surgeon, girlfriend, intense, fiery ...

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#30. Flying Leathernecks (1951)

Storyline: Major Daniel Kirby takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers just before they are about to go into combat. While the men are well meaning, he finds them undisciplined and prone to always finding excuses to do what is easy rather than what is necessary. The root of the problem is the second in command, Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin. Griff is the best flier in the group but Kirby finds him a poor commander who is not prepared to the difficult decision that all commanders have to make - to put men in harm's way knowing that they may be killed.—garykmcd

Plot Keywords: marine, pilot, major, captain, sergeant, brother-in-law, intense ...

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