Real-life events have proven tempting for filmmakers across the history of the medium. One need only look at the number of films based on the sinking of the Titanic, for example, to see their appeal. Other events, one showcasing triumph over tragedy, have proven just as appealing, including Charles Lindbergh's landmark solo transatlantic flight in 1927. Thirty years after the event, Hollywood dramatized it with Billy Wilder's The Spirit of St. Louis, telling the story with one of Hollywood's biggest names in the role of the famous aviator.
That big name was none other than Jimmy Stewart. Let's hit one particular nail on the head straight off: Stewart was too old to be playing the 25-year old pilot, being almost double that age when filming took place, even with dyed blond hair and sometimes all too apparent make-up to make him look younger. That said and to Stewart's credit, despite his age, he captures the spirit of the young aviator all the same. The enthusiasm, the determination, the charm apparent in so many of his best roles are on display throughout the film as we follow Lindbergh's journey from mail pilot to his odyssey across the Atlantic. For what he lacked in youthful appearance, Stewart more than made up for in capturing the spirit of the man he was portraying.
The film is also boosted by how well made it is. The replicas of the famous plane and the effects of it in flight are triumphs of the pre-CGI age of visual effects. It's something that lends a sense of authenticity to proceedings sometimes lacking in modern aviation-based films such as Amelia (though it had script issues all its own, as well). Franz Waxman, one of the golden age's best composers, composed a score full of his trademark lyricism but also a sense of determination and tension, all on display at the right moment. All brought together under the direction of Billy Wilder.
And it's Wilder's approach that makes the film work as well as it does. Though the film might be considered slow in terms of modern pacing, The Spirit of St. Louis, in many ways, the template for films such as Ron Howard's Apollo 13 in dramatically telling real-life stories on the big screen. From following the career of Lindbergh, the building of the plane which allows us to meet the engineers involved, and then the tension of the flight itself. Wilder, as both director and co-screenwriter, wisely plays up events during the flight itself so that, even knowing the outcome, the viewer can get caught up in the moment, wondering just how the pilot is going to get out of the current situation. It's how Wilder plays up the tension and those little moments of triumph, all before a tension-filled climax on the brink of victory, that help make the film as watchable as it is today.
Though overlooked at the time of its original release, The Spirit of St. Louis has been receiving something of a reexamination in recent years. It's the template for films such as Apollo 13, dramatically portraying feats of flight on the silver screen and realized through fine casting and superb effects. It captures the spirit of an age, the promise and tension of the landmark flight, and the young man who flew it. Though perhaps slow by modern standards, for those seeking a sense of the event that no history book can provide, it's an immensely watchable and visceral experience.
That big name was none other than Jimmy Stewart. Let's hit one particular nail on the head straight off: Stewart was too old to be playing the 25-year old pilot, being almost double that age when filming took place, even with dyed blond hair and sometimes all too apparent make-up to make him look younger. That said and to Stewart's credit, despite his age, he captures the spirit of the young aviator all the same. The enthusiasm, the determination, the charm apparent in so many of his best roles are on display throughout the film as we follow Lindbergh's journey from mail pilot to his odyssey across the Atlantic. For what he lacked in youthful appearance, Stewart more than made up for in capturing the spirit of the man he was portraying.
The film is also boosted by how well made it is. The replicas of the famous plane and the effects of it in flight are triumphs of the pre-CGI age of visual effects. It's something that lends a sense of authenticity to proceedings sometimes lacking in modern aviation-based films such as Amelia (though it had script issues all its own, as well). Franz Waxman, one of the golden age's best composers, composed a score full of his trademark lyricism but also a sense of determination and tension, all on display at the right moment. All brought together under the direction of Billy Wilder.
And it's Wilder's approach that makes the film work as well as it does. Though the film might be considered slow in terms of modern pacing, The Spirit of St. Louis, in many ways, the template for films such as Ron Howard's Apollo 13 in dramatically telling real-life stories on the big screen. From following the career of Lindbergh, the building of the plane which allows us to meet the engineers involved, and then the tension of the flight itself. Wilder, as both director and co-screenwriter, wisely plays up events during the flight itself so that, even knowing the outcome, the viewer can get caught up in the moment, wondering just how the pilot is going to get out of the current situation. It's how Wilder plays up the tension and those little moments of triumph, all before a tension-filled climax on the brink of victory, that help make the film as watchable as it is today.
Though overlooked at the time of its original release, The Spirit of St. Louis has been receiving something of a reexamination in recent years. It's the template for films such as Apollo 13, dramatically portraying feats of flight on the silver screen and realized through fine casting and superb effects. It captures the spirit of an age, the promise and tension of the landmark flight, and the young man who flew it. Though perhaps slow by modern standards, for those seeking a sense of the event that no history book can provide, it's an immensely watchable and visceral experience.