Living in the Age of Airplanes

Released Apr 10, 2015

47m

Documentary

List

63%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Filmmakers study 18 countries across the world in an exploration of how airplanes have impacted everyone's lives.

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Audience Member

A brilliant short feature. It's not a film about airplanes, or pilots, or how to fly, or great aviation triumphs or terrible flying tragedies. Broken into 5 brief chapters, it's a movie about the amazing time we live in, where aviation has turned the planet into a small country. Where a range of goods that would have been beyond the wildest dreams of the wealthiest King or Sultan of the past, is now quietly shipped to your local mall from around the globe. Where countries geographically and environmentally as far apart as Antarctica and the Maldives can be reached, explored or vacationed at. An age in which the longest journey of our ancestors, the ten thousand year odyssey from Africa to the bottom tip of South America, can now be done in comfort in a day. Filled from beginning to end with sumptuous imagery and a magnificent musical score (James Horner's last before the airplane accident that killed him), the narration and special effects are kept deliberately low-key to let the real footage speak for itself. I'm a 54 year old man, and I watched it with my 25 year old son. We were both quietly sobbing by the end of the movie -not because it was sad, but at the sheer beauty of cinematography and the power of the final chapter. This is short film-making the way it's supposed to be done. It is nothing less than a love letter to aviation.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I was sorely disappointed with this documentary. I am not even sure I can call this a documentary (it is classified as a documentary in iTunes). It's more of a series of National Geographic photos converted to videos. I was expecting something more substantial than a script that kept repeating itself. I get what it is saying - our world has become much smaller because of air travel, and that it is the closest that we have so far to a time machine. The "documentary" could have explained that in about 10 minutes, not a whole hour. I have to admit that its cinematography and scoring were good. But after close to 45 minutes of Harrison Ford saying the same thing over and over again in different ways just about had me losing interest and patience.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Audience Member

This movie was pretty bad. Too much giraffes and roses, not enough planes!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

I had expected a lot more airplanes in this documentary, especially since Pilot Harrison did the narration. It was more about what and where airplanes can take us and how it has "shrunk" the world. I kind of feel duped for spending $15 on this. I am a pilot as well and wanted more planes . Best clip was the Twin Otter that backed up on the beach in the Maldives. the rest was plane vanilla.Very disappointed!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

This is the second movie from Director Brian Terwilliger. He has a passion for aviation and this documentary allows him to share it. Six years in the making and scored beautifully and movingly by composer James Horner, it tells the remarkable story of the impact of airplanes on our lives. It takes something we have come to regard as commonplace and reveals the amazing benefits and advances that air travel has brought to humankind. The cinematography is all original, incredibly well captured, and the narration by Harrison Ford is informative and enlightening. Unless you loathe planes, and you are unmoved by music, you cannot help but love this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautiful cinematography and a soundtrack to match! As the title suggests, the film focuses on the transformative effect aviation has had on our civilization, and it's everyday magic we often take for granted in our busy lives. It's an insightful and uplifting experience.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Brian J. Terwilliger

Director

Harrison Ford

Narrator

Jessica Grogan

Screenwriter

Brian J. Terwilliger

Screenwriter

Brian J. Terwilliger

Producer

Bryan H. Carroll

Producer

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THR Staff

Hollywood Reporter

It also vividly illustrates that as we sit in our too cramped coach seats, attempting to pass the time with various diversions, that we are also taking part in a modern miracle about which our ancestors could never have dreamed...

Nov 16, 2023

Full Review

John Hartl

Seattle Times

As a sunny depiction of what to expect and what's been accomplished, the movie is nearly seamless, but is that all there is?

Rated: 2.5/4

May 28, 2015

Full Review

Ronnie Scheib

Variety

This giant-screen rhapsody on the power of airplanes to revolutionize the world winds up offering little more than an endorsement of the tourism and shopping industries.

Apr 9, 2015

Full Review

Zachary Kennedy

Film Inquiry

The proceedings of Living In The Age Of Airplanes overall are enjoyable, but there are some surprising omissions from aviation history.

Dec 8, 2016

Full Review

Linda Cook

Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

'Age of Airplanes' takes flight.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 30, 2016

Full Review

Michael D. Reid

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

Living in the Age of Airplanes is a gorgeously photographed travelogue intercut with some great aviation footage.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 10, 2016

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Synopsis

Filmmakers study 18 countries across the world in an exploration of how airplanes have impacted everyone's lives.

Director: Brian J. Terwilliger
Producer: James Moll
Screenwriter: Jessica Grogan, Brian J. Terwilliger
Distributor: National Geographic
Production Co: National Geographic
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 10, 2015, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Runtime: 47m
Aspect Ratio: IMAX (1.43:1)

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