Firefox

Firefox (1982)

Timing: 2:16 (136 min)

6.008/10
530

4.828/10
2074

5.9/10
31000

All about film

Video 4

Photo 29

Actors and characters

Release date

1982-06-18

Country

United States

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures, Malpaso Productions

Genre

Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Thriller

Budget

$18 000 000

Revenue

$46 708 276

Website

Director

Clint Eastwood

Actors

Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, David Huffman, Warren Clarke, Ronald Lacey, Kenneth Colley, Klaus Löwitsch, Nigel Hawthorne, Stefan Schnabel, Thomas Hill
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Clint Eastwood, Fritz Manes

Operator

Bruce Surtees

Composer

Maurice Jarre

Artist

Thomas Riccabona

Audition

Mary Selway, Marion Dougherty

Editing

Ferris Webster, Ron Spang
All team (38)

• The real MiG-31 entered combat duty back in 1980 and was a fairly traditional interceptor developed in the 1970s. The aircraft from Thomas's book, like the real MiG-31, is a direct descendant of the MiG-25. In his second book about "Fire Fox", Craig Thomas described the aircraft as it was depicted in the film.
• The film was released a year after the first flight of the F-117A prototype – the first combat aircraft to use stealth technology. The word itself is never uttered in the film, however, the angular features of the "fiery fox" do resemble real stealth aircraft.
• Initially, Eastwood intended to use a Swedish Saab 37 Viggen as the "Russian" aircraft. The Swedes flatly refused, and numerous mock-ups had to be used (a total of 9 mock-ups were made, two of which were capable of flight). The standard combined shooting technique using a blue screen did not suit the filmmakers – the jet black aircraft, according to the script, had to fly over the snowy plains of the Arctic and against the backdrop of forests, so a special "reverse bluescreen" shooting technology was developed. The footage was later used in the film "Back to the Future Part II".
• The film also featured: the piston-engine A-1 Skyraider (the Vietnam episode), the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, the Northrop F-5, the Tu-16, the Tu-154 and others.
• Leaving the Moscow hotel, Gant buys a Havana cigar, getting used to smoking "to look like a Russian officer".
• During the hijacking, the MiG-31 rolling out of the hangar runs over the same security guard twice.
• A KGB general told the General Secretary that to save fuel, the hijacker should fly as low as possible. In reality, to save fuel, the hijacker should have climbed to a sufficient cruising altitude.
• A NATO submarine is attempting to surface under Arctic ice with its periscope and antennas extended. In the next frame, after surfacing, neither is visible on the conning tower.
• High-ranking KGB officers wear standard military uniforms, armed and in boots, including during a reception with the General Secretary.
• "Moscow Metro" was filmed in Vienna, with German signage and a map of the Vienna Metro visible in the shots. The scene with a worker lighting a cigarette directly in a subway car would have been practically impossible in Moscow in the early eighties.
• The real MiG-31 entered combat duty as early as 1980 and was a quite traditional interceptor developed in the 1970s. The aircraft from Thomas's book, like the real MiG-31, is a direct descendant of the MiG-25. In his second book about "Fire Fox," Craig Thomas described the aircraft as it was portrayed in the film.
• The film was released a year after the first flight of the F-117A prototype – the first combat aircraft to use stealth technology. The word itself is never pronounced in the film, but the angular features of the "fire fox" do indeed resemble real stealth aircraft.
• Initially, Eastwood planned to "film" a Swedish Saab 37 Viggen in the role of the "Russian" aircraft. The Swedes flatly refused, and numerous mock-ups had to be used (a total of 9 mock-ups were made, two of which were capable of flight). The usual combined shooting technology on a blue screen did not suit the filmmakers – the coal-black aircraft, according to the script, had to fly over the snowy plains of the Arctic and against the backdrop of forests, so a special "reverse bluescreen" shooting technology was developed. The footage was later used in the film "Back to the Future Part II."