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.

#2. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)

Storyline: In 1966, Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, captured, and, down to 85 pounds, escaped. Barefoot, surviving monsoons, leeches, and machete-wielding villagers, he was rescued. Now, near 60, living on Mt. Tamalpais, Dengler tells his story: a German lad surviving Allied bombings in World War II, postwar poverty, apprenticed to a smith, beaten regularly. At 18, he emigrates and peels potatoes in the U.S. Air Force. He leaves for California and college, then enlistment in the Navy to learn to fly. A quiet man of sorrows tells his story: war, capture, harrowing conditions, escape, and miraculous rescue. Where did he find the strength; how does he now live with his memories?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: pilot, villager, soldier, filmmaker, inspiring, powerful, quirky ...

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#4. Airplane! (1980)

Storyline: Still craving for the love of his life, Ted Striker follows Elaine onto the flight that she is working on as a member of the cabin crew. Elaine doesn't want to be with Ted anymore, but when the crew and passengers fall ill from food poisoning, all eyes are on Ted.

Plot Keywords: pilot, doctor, flight attendant, child, ex-girlfriend, playful, madcap ...

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#5. Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

Storyline: In this story of the early days of daylight bombing raids over Nazi Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a "hard luck" bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a disciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over their targets. Actual combat footage is used in this tense war drama.

Plot Keywords: pilot, military officer, soldier, patriotic, thrilling, emotional, england ...

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#6. Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Storyline: When the ship San Luis makes a stop at the port of Barranca, to deliver mailbags and load bananas, cabaret singer Bonnie Lee leaves the boat for some hours to look around. She meets a gang of American flyers, who works for a warm-hearted Dutchman. He is the owner of a scrubby hotel, but also of the shaky Barranca Airways, lead by the tough flyer Geoff Carter. The only way to fly out of Barranca is through a deep pass at 14.000 feet above the ground. As the weather is often stormy and foggy, the flights are extremely difficult, and several flyers have already lost their lives. Bonnie falls in love with Geoff, who reminds her of her father, a trapeze artist who worked without safety net. She decides to leave the boat and stay at the hotel. But Geoff is scared of being detained by a woman. He wants to continue his risky lifestyle uninterrupted. The situation is aggravated when a new flyer, Bat MacPherson, turns up with his wife Judy. He once caused the death of a young flyer, by leaving ...

Plot Keywords: pilot, showgirl, wife, employee, emotional, suspenseful, south america ...

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#7. The Aviator (2004)

Storyline: Biopic of billionaire Howard Hughes, starting with his early filmmaking years as owner of R.K.O. Pictures, but mostly focusing on his role in designing and promoting new aircraft. Hughes was a risk-taker spending several fortunes on designing experimental aircraft and eventually founding TWA as a rival to Pan Am airlines owned by his great rival Juan Trippe. When Trippe's politico Senator Ralph Owen Brewster accuses Hughes of being a war profiteer, it's Hughes who gains the upper hand. Hughes also had many women in his life including a long relationship with Katharine Hepburn. From an early age, however, Hughes was also germophobic and would have severe bouts of mental illness.

Plot Keywords: entrepreneur, actor, pilot, striking, fascinating, thrilling, airplane hangar ...

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#8. Bright Eyes (1934)

Storyline: When a maid is accidentally hit by a car and killed, her young orphaned daughter is forced to live with the snooty couple she used to work for. A custody battle soon ensues between an aviator who adores the little girl and the couple's crotchety Uncle Ned.—Daniel Bubbeo <dbubbeo@cmp.com>

Plot Keywords: orphan, maid, pilot, family patriarch, dog, young girl, charming ...

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#9. Catch-22 (1970)

Storyline: A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a crazy situation. Catch-22 is a parody of a "military mentality", and of a bureaucratic society in general.

Plot Keywords: captain, pilot, soldier, lieutenant, doctor, witty, amusing ...

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#10. Die Hard 2 (1990)

Storyline: After the terrifying events in LA, John McClane (Willis) is about to go through it all again. A team of terrorists, led by Col. Stuart (Sadler) is holding the entire airport hostage. The terrorists are planning to rescue a drug lord from justice. In order to do so, they have seized control of all electrical equipment affecting all planes. With no runway lights available, all aircraft have to remain in the air, with fuel running low, McClane will need to be fast.

Plot Keywords: detective, wife, terrorist, general, thrilling, suspenseful, airplane ...

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#11. No Highway in the Sky (1951)

Storyline: Theodore Honey is an aeronautical engineer being sent to Labrador from London to examine the wreckage of a new passenger plane designed by his company. His theory is that the planes are susceptible to metal fatigue after a specific amount of time in the air. The absent minded Honey boards the Reindeer class plane and only realizes that this plane is due to fail in the next few hours after the plane is airborne. He decides to warn the crew and creates an incident regardless of whether he is right or wrong.—John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Keywords: mathematician, actress, stewardess, inspector, suspenseful, amusing, laboratory ...

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#12. The Tarnished Angels (1957)

Storyline: In the 1930's, a First World War flying ace named Roger Schumann is reduced to making appearances on the crash-and-burn circuit of stunt aerobatics. His family are forced to live like dogs while Shumann pursues his only true love, the airplane. When Burke Devlin, a reporter, shows up on the scene to do a "whatever happened to" story on Shumann, he is repulsed by the war hero's diminished circumstances and, conversely, drawn to his stunning wife, LaVerne.—Alfred Jingle

Plot Keywords: journalist, stunt pilot, wife, mechanic, son, showman, melodramatic ...

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#14. Air Force (1943)

Storyline: On December 6, 1941 nine B-17 bomber set off on a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii. One of the bombers, the Mary Ann, is commanded by 'Irish' Quincannon. The bombardier, Tommy McMartin, has a sister living in Hawaii and the co-pilot, Bill Williams, is sweet on her. The men are all highly professional with the exception of aerial gunner Joe Winocki, a bitter man who has every intention of leaving the army air corps. They arrive at Hickam Field on the morning of December 7, just as the Japanese are attacking Pearl Harbor and other military facilities. All of the men prepare to face the enemy, including Winocki whose attitude changes quickly. The bomber and its crew will participate in many missions but not all will survive.—garykmcd

Plot Keywords: pilot, soldier, gunner, sergeant, father, mechanic, thrilling ...

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#15. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

Storyline: Zack Mayo is a young man who has signed up for Navy Aviation Officer Candidate School. He is a Navy brat who has a bad attitude problem. Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley is there to train and evaluate him, and will clearly find Zack wanting. Zack meets Paula, a girl who has little beyond family, and must decide what it is he wants to do with his life.

Plot Keywords: naval officer, girlfriend, sergeant, uplifting, passionate, patriotic, naval base ...

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