The Magic of Flight (1996)

Directed by: Greg MacGillivray | 55 minutes | documentary | Voice over: Tom Selleck

Anyone who, as a boy (or girl!) saw Tom Cruise star in ‘Top Gun’ (1986) or was allowed to take a look in the cockpit during a holiday flight, has only one dream: to become a pilot. Logical, because the art of flying is fascinating and the pilots are tough.

In this stunning documentary, director MacGillivray takes a journey through the development of aviation, starting at the beginning. Because it’s only been a little over a hundred years since the first flight was made, from the beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. Even this somewhat boring part of the documentary, due to the lack of moving images, is nice to see. Because images of failed attempts and Charlie Chaplin-like music show how clumsy people were in the first flight experiments.

Since then, aviation has developed rapidly. MacGillivray therefore does not simply focus on The Blue Angels from the American army in his documentary. By attaching cameras to the wings, in the cockpit and many other places on the modern F/A-18 Hornet aircraft they use, ‘The Magic of Flight’ is more than just a viewing experience. You feel the freedom and emptiness of the airspace, and you gain insight into the effort and concentration that flying the pilots requires. Plus, it makes for some stunning images of Hornets flying upside down over beautiful beaches, or through snow-white mountain landscapes.

Also nice about this documentary is the relationship that MacGillivray establishes between the plane and the bird. Because that is what people are inspired by. In addition to the busy and spectacular stunt shows, there are also calm and impressive images of birds migrating over lakes and forests. In addition, computer animations make it clear what exactly the difference is between the flying technique of the bird and that of humans.

It is a pity that the documentary is appreciated by a much smaller audience than the feature film. But anyone who knows the Omniverse knows how a film like ‘The Magic of Flight’ comes across. Don’t look, but feel. Feeling like Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun’.