I suggest you make plans to see Living in the Age of Airplanes. Better yet, take some non-pilot friends and go see it together. Then go out to dinner so you can talk about the movie.
Living in the Age of Airplanes is from the director that made 2005’s One Six Right, Brian J. Terwilliger. But unlike One Six Right, Living in the Age of Airplanes isn’t for pilots, it’s for everyone else.
“Since we were all born into a world with airplanes, it’s hard to imagine that jet travel itself is only 60 years old, just a tick on the timeline of human history,” said Terwilliger. “But our perception of crossing continents and oceans at 500 mph has turned from fascination to frustration. I want to reignite people’s wonder for one of the most extraordinary aspects of the modern world.”
I watched a screening of Living in the Age of Airplanes in the EAA Museum while at AirVenture. Terwilliger introduced the film.
For 200,000 years, humans moved as fast as they could walk, and no faster. Then came boats, trains and automobiles. It wasn’t until aircraft that distant lands came closer.
Today, from the window of just about any airplane, we can glimpse more land than most people saw in their lifetime just a few hundred years ago.
So yeah, this film looks at the BIG picture.
Our everyday life is heavily influenced by the airplane’s impact. Airplanes makes the modern world work.
Following the screening, Terwilliger hosted a question and answer session.
“It should be shown in every classroom,” remarked a fellow viewer to Terwilliger. That comment drew strong applause.
A pilot himself, Terwilliger went to great lengths to cast the planes in a proper supporting role. Airplanes – to the non-pilot – are about reuniting with loved ones, casting away on a long overdue vacation, buying fresh flowers or fruit, and conducting business. Airplanes are about everything except flying.
The film was shot in 95 locations in 18 countries and all seven continents, and is a cinematic masterpiece.
It concludes with a mesmerizing global view of Flight Aware data showing aircraft moving around the planet on July 24, 2014.
To find a theater near you, go to AirplanesMovie.com/find-a-theatre.
Will this movie be released on DVD in the future?
I’m astounded by the negative comments! This movie is brilliantly filmed and tell as an amazing story that makes anybody mor aware of the CULTURAL IMPACT of airplanes, and the easy global travel they have provided. It is designed to make us aware and appreciative of the technology and how deeply it has impacted our human culture and modified our way of life all in a very short timespan. It is NOT about the “airline business” and is not meant to be a technical tale of how airplanes work. Everyone could benefit from this masterful film. Take a moment from your life to step back and be inspired about the awesome time we are living in. That is what this film is about.
I wish these films would be shown on PBS for all to see for free. I don’t really want to pay to see a documentary about the airlines and how it moves people and goods. We all know that! I stopped flying airlines and got a motorhome instead. I can see much more on the ground.
The movie is in-accessible to the vast majority of people in the US. I’d love to see it but doubt that it is worth the cost of a plane ticket or an 8hr drive & Hotel.
I saw this movie at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington D.C., and was blown away. It beautifully illustrates how humanity has benefitted economically, socially, and technologically because of the introduction of aviation to our lives. Whether we travel from here to there is not so much the point. Rather, it is that we can travel from here to there, quickly and easily. Arguably more important is the fact that goods can be shipped literally around the world in a matter of hours, which has changed our world to one of connection rather than one of disconnection.
Beautifully photographed, wonderfully narrated, this film is educational, entertaining, and contains far more information and insight than you might think could be packed into a program that’s less than an hour long. Highly recommended. I’ll see it again, and again, I have no doubt.
As a retired foreign service officer who traveled the world for 30 years, I didn’t really enjoy this film. The scenes of airliners, airports, and famous tourist sites uncomfortably jammed with crowds of tourists gives the impression that the fun and adventure of international air travel has diminished. Personally, I hoped for a film dealing with modern flying and aviation, which in many ways are more awesome than ever. The fact that lots of people go to lots of places by air was less interesting to me.
It’s disappointing that Brian Terwilliger gained his fame through his portrayals of general aviation at the grassroots level, yet this movie has none of that. This is all about the big iron, hauling passengers and cargo. Still, it’s about airplanes, so I’d step on someone’s head to see it.
What a concept Brian!
Paint the airplane as the wonderful tool it is to bring joy to people, to connect them (in an increasingly disconnected world) and to highlight the “magic carpet” that the airplane is.
If I can help support and promote your work through my copywriting and writing background, please feel free to call on me.
I would enjoy nothing more than helping to promote aviation and recover the magic of the “glory days” of aviation that I was so privileged and honored to be a part of.
Bert (TWA/Netjets retired), copywriter and all around aviation enthusiast.
I second the comment about needing the film in Louisville.
only saw the trailer, but was impressed by the general thrust of the production. I suspect, however, that it ignores GA too much and looks more like an infomercial for ALPA.
We need it here in Louisville!
I have so much respect for Bryan Terwillinger. I was moved by One Six Right when I left the theater back in 2005, and was similiarly moved by this current offering. I went out of my way to see the film at the Udar Hazy Air and Space Museum Annex in Herndon VA. It didn’t disappoint. Bryan’s filming and storytelling makes me proud to be a pilot, and makes me want to go out to the airport and hug my airplane. Go see it.
I was surprised at hour much this movie wasn’t really about the in depth nature of aviation. It’s more about how airplanes move stuff around and make travel easy. They bring far away goods to your doorstep. While that is all good and fascinating, it had little to do with the actual aviation system. I was very much looking forward to a closer look at the infrastructure and complexities of aviation.
While I understand that the film had to appeal to all audiences (and not just us aviation nuts), i feel the film could have done more about the entire aviation industry, and not just the large commercial side.