72nd Festival de Cannes, the long-awaited annual rendez-vous of all true cinephiles, starts on the 14th of May. The French Riviera already awaits with warm 20 °C welcome, so if your swimsuits are packed, you can relax and make the last arrangements. Skypcop is quite sure, that your Cannes tickets are accompanied by boarding card – that’s why we are offering best aviation movies to watch before a flight or even on board.
Europa (1991)
If you are a bit afraid to fly, chill – you are not alone. Danish cinema hooligan, 1 Palme d’Or and 2 Prizes of the Cannes Jury winner Lars von Trier admits having such an intense fear of flying that whenever his films have been screened at the Cannes, he has insisted on driving from Denmark to France and back.
The director was expelled from the festival in 2011 and announced ‘Persona non grata’ in Cannes, but returned last year with bizarre and shocking The House That Jack Built. If you have already seen it, maybe Europais still on your watchlist.
The story is set just after WW2. An American takes a railway job in Germany but finds his position politically sensitive, while various people try to use him. You can call Europathe road movie and thankfully it is set on a train. The film was screened at Cannes Film Festival in 1991 and won even 3 awards, including the Jury Prize.
The Birds (1963)
We all know who fly the best – birds. We also know who made the best horror movies – Alfred Hitchcock. Together this perfect duo makes the classical drama and mystery masterpiece The Birds.
Basically, the story is about a little town which is terrorized by birds. Without any particular reason, they start attacking citizens and that’s how true apocalypse began. But that’s just on the surface. Hitchcock’s The Birdscontains a more allusive and allegorical political meaning. True cinema classic is about the struggles of the Cold War era society.
Fun fact: the film crew fed the main cast – birds – with a mixture of wheat and whiskey. During the filming, they needed to keep the birds standing and flying for hours, so this combination kept them going.
Band of Brothers (2001)
Fans of action, history, war and, of course, TV series should all watch the Band of Brothersmini-series. Visitors of imdb.com rated it the second TOP TV show of all time. That’s even higher than Game of Thrones.
The drama, which won the 2002 Golden Globe award for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television tells the story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in WW2 Europe. They parachuted behind enemy lines in the early hours of D-Day in support of the landings at Utah beach, participated in the liberation of Carentan and again parachuted into action during Operation Market Garden.
This HBO TV series was created by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and other masterminds. Critics say that it’s a ‘fury of combat minus the clichés’. So, aren’t you curious what is better rated than GOT?
One Six Right (2005)
It’s common to believe that people are the true aviation heroes. But One Six Righttells a different story. This documentary celebrates the unsung hero of aviation – the local airport – by tracing the life, history, and struggles of an airport icon: Southern California’s Van Nuys Airport.
Short stories are told by pilots, air traffic controllers, history and aviation experts. The love saga of one airport explores the timeless romance of flying.
And if you always dreamt about being a pilot, the real one says about One Six Right: “I’ve been a pilot for over 20 years. It’s impossible to count the number of times that I’ve been asked by non-pilots to describe my feelings about aviation. You see, words alone can never capture the experience. I no longer need to worry about answering that question. One Six Rightis the definitive aviation experience”.
The Terminal (2004)
Those who love Tom Hanks know – his movies are not the best choice before stepping on an aircraft (roger that, fans of Sully?). But The Terminalis the great exception.
Tom Hanks’s character reaches JFK airport from non-existing Eastern European country. The state is politically unstable, government collapse, so main characters Victor’s papers are no longer valid in the airport. There is nothing left to do, except to stay and live in JFK. The airport becomes his home and Victor develops a friendship with the people who work there until he can leave.
Interesting fact – The Terminalis inspired by a Merhan Nasseri, an Iranian political refugee who got stuck in Charles De Gaulle Airport for almost 20 years – from August 1988 to August 2006. Finally, he was taken from the terminal due to an illness. Nasseri couldn’t travel further, due to stolen his refugee certification on the route from Belgium to England. Without the papers, he was unable to enter England.
And if you got stuck in the airport way too long because of delayed, canceled or overbooked flight, remember two things. One, air passenger rights are protected by Regulation (EC) 261/2004. This means you can claim for a compensation in the event of more than 3 hours of delay, cancellation, and overbooking. And the second – you almost don’t have to do a thing. Just easily file a claim to Skycop and we will turn your inconvenience into a compensation up to €600.