Race for the Yankee Zephyr

1981 "Finding it after four decades is quite a challenge…. but holding onto it is really an adventure!"
5.5| 1h48m| en
Details

In a lake high in the mountains of New Zealand hunter Gibbie Gibson discovers a plane wreck from WW2. When he tells it around, a gang of crooks follows and threatens him and his daughter, because they know there are 50 million dollars in the wreck. Helicopter pilot Barney helps Gibbie against them, risking his life thereby.

Director

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Pact Productions

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Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Robert J. Maxwell If you've ever wondered what the high country of New Zealand's south island looks like, this will provide decent introduction. It looks a little like the video clips we've seen of the Falkland Island, only with mountains, rocky snow-veined crags.The story features Ken Wahl as an adventurous helicopter pilot, his bibulous side kick Donald Pleasance, and the requisite young lady who gets swept up in the race to find the Yankee Zephyr, an American C47 that crashed during WWII, carrying a cargo of Purple Hearts, whiskey, cash, and gold bars. I don't know why everyone in the movies finds wrecks filled with treasure. All the old crashed airplanes I''ve found contained nothing. The wrecked ships were worse.In any case the three good guys are doing their best to find the wreck, the drunken Donald Pleasance not being too sure of its location. In hot pursuit are the bad guys, led by George Peppard, one of those suave villains who sounds like he graduated from college and is dead set on demonstrating it. I can't locate his accent. I won't tell you who wins.It's all fast paced with obvious direction by David Hemmings. The editing is a bit clumsy and the film is overscore. The music is mostly generic adventure but shoehorns in a little Sibelius. Leslie An Warren looks pretty good.It's harmless entertainment, along the lines of "High Road to China."
Blueghost A solid film with exceptional production values a few flaws. What really surprises me about this film is just how well acted it is by the supporting cast and the three protagonists. Combine that with some very good cinematography and you have a respectable film.Toss in a very sumptuous looking New Zealand background and you have a an exceptional production. The only downside to this production is perhaps the casting of George Peppard as the mercenary antagonist. His accent and overall performance are very misplaced and almost serve as comic relief for a film that needed a good solid villain to anchor it. Peppard nearly derails this film with a horrible effete British accent, but the action and the three leads.The character driven moments are finely staged, and the action sequences are old fashioned classic pre-CGI film making. Aeriel sequences and boat chases, and even a few fire fights are all in this film combined with the elements I already mentioned. It's just a few notes shy of being an outstanding film. As it is now it's just a good action film with good drama, some comedy, and one mis-cast villain. It's worth seeing once.Enjoy.
Erika Ridpath Unbelievably bad. That's all I would say if IMDb didn't insist on at least ten lines, so I will oblige them.* The story sounds all right but is discarded from the outset. * It was written by putting scraps of paper with individual words on them into a hat and then plucking them out at random. * If there was a director he must have been drunk under a table, or perhaps away on holiday. That's what I would claim if I was listed as the director of this film. * The production values were around the level of a school play. Perhaps they wasted their entire budget playing with helicopters. And it's obvious that they were just playing, because none of it has the least thing to do with the story. * There is no acting in this film. All you'll find are cardboard cutouts taped to sticks, and the whole lot waved around in front of the camera while someone off to the side yells gibberish in strange voices. * The scenery is pretty, but it's not anywhere near enough to salvage this. Not even close to being enough! Not even on the same planet, in fact.Recently a Kiwi friend has forced me to watch a pile of New Zealand films with her, and all I can say is that I now no longer have any desire to ever visit New Zealand. It may seem odd to you that a few bad films could ever change my view of an entire nation or willingness to visit it, but if you had to sit through the same incredibly appalling rubbish, I would be willing to bet that you'd feel likewise. ( Watch The Price of Milk and then try and tell me I'm wrong! )
doc91555 This is a nice campy little film that the whole family might enjoy IF you can find a copy anywhere. However there are many unrealistic "shoot em up" scenes, which may leave the young to think that gunplay has no consequences. I won't describe the plot as given elsewhere.There are two great helicopter chase scenes in the film (reminiscent of "the Gauntlet") that really show off some of the backcountry beauty of New Zealand that frankly, you would not be able to see without a helicopter.There are also many later scenes of "expert maneuvers" in helicopter, such as "quickstop-pedalturn-reverse heading", a "hammerhead pushover" or two, "sidewall dismount", and "confined spaces settling". The pilotage is excellent.The film also shows some of the wild ruggedness of New Zealand's South Island, where(at the time the film was made at least in 1981) the only paved roads are in larger towns and cities, and the country thoroughfares are primarily just "metal" (gravel roads) though always well maintained. And yes, the peaks really are that jagged. No special effects.Donald Pleasance, as a happy go lucky over the hill sot, plays his character to perfection. He makes numerous muttering quips similar to the humorous mutterings you hear in the vintage "a.a.p." Popeye cartoons. Unfortunately, many of these mutterings in RFYZ are unintelligible without multiple rewinds and equalizing to hear what is said. A bit frustrating, as there are probably a few lost jokes in there.George Peppard's accent is a very forced upper class snotty, which conforms to his portrayed character adequately.Ken Wahl and Lesley Ann Warren's characters play well off of each other to establish a typical independent rugged male vs. coddled entitled wenging female dynamic that would be "toxic" if not for nuances of a smoldering mutual sexual interest. There is one very brief fully clothed and appearing to have been intentionally directed "doggie style" movement between Wahl and Warren masked in a "struggling to escape" context that adds a subliminal mild eroticism to the play, but will go right over the heads of the kiddies. (Though may well spark Mom and Dad's fantasies once the kiddies have gone to sleep . . . .) There are no overt sexual references in the film that the kiddies would understand, however there is a brief "wet slip" scene which does faintly reveal the nature of LAW's upper "endowments".Shooting violence is significant, including use of assault weapons, but amazingly through the expenditures of hundreds of rounds of ammo, nobody ever gets hurt(hooray for Hollywood), nor is their accompanying gore.Conversational and expletive profanity (all but the F word and genital synonyms) are typical for middle class language, and would likely only be offensive to "devout" types, though may be inappropriate to guarded "inculcation" of pre-teens. Overall a fun "adventure" type film that all can enjoy as long as the young'uns are thoroughly coached or cognizant that in real life all the gunplay would really end up with lot's of dead people. And a must see for anyone interested in the wilds of New Zealand that could otherwise not be seen, or any student of rotor-wing aviation. Though all shots are exterior, so accurate control inputs are not shown. Choppers used are Hughes 269, Hughes 500C and Bell 206.