Wonko writes – “”The Great Escape” precedes MacGyver as the ultimate in DIY adventure films. This movie stars an awesome cast of some of the periods best actors like Steve McQueen and James Coburn. Our hero’s are pilots captured by the Germans in WWII who fabricate, adapt and engineer their way out of captivity.” Link.
What’s your favorite Maker-type movie? We’ll start, Apollo 13 – those guys were hardcore Maker in space. Post up in the comments!
48 thoughts on “The Great Escape – and other Maker films?”
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Mad Max? I mean… look at those machines!!
Back to the Future, 100%.
The flight of the Phoenix (1965), of course!
They made a rad airplane in the middle of the desert…and it wasn’t something that also happened in the film, it was the bleeding film!
Besides that, erm,
The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark (1980), making a glass-bottom boat out of a B-29 using only bamboo, dynamite and a water-buffalo.
The flight of the Phoenix (1965), of course!
They made a rad airplane in the middle of the desert…and it wasn’t something that also happened in the film, it was the bleeding film!
Besides that, erm,
The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark (1980), making a glass-bottom boat out of a B-29 using only bamboo, dynamite and a water-buffalo.
The flight of the Phoenix (1965), of course!
They made a rad airplane in the middle of the desert…and it wasn’t something that also happened in the film, it was the bleeding film!
Besides that, erm,
The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark (1980), making a glass-bottom boat out of a B-29 using only bamboo, dynamite and a water-buffalo.
I think I buggered up there…that was supposed to be only one post, sorry.
It’s also interesting to consider the great film-Maker films — the ones that use ingenuity in their production design or otherwise:
From films like Citizen Kane and Barry Lyndon that had special lenses developed just for their production to Maker-made production design films like Pi, Blade Runner, and Terry Gilliam’s films (especially Brazil).
It’s also interesting to consider the great film-Maker films — films like Citizen Kane and Barry Lyndon that had special lenses developed just for their production to Maker-made production design films like Pi, Blade Runner, and Terry Gilliam’s films (especially Brazil).
Does The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) count? I know all the projects in that movie are fictional; but still, what a great Maker spirit!
A few more Maker movies:
The Conversation (1974) – Gene Hackman is an electronic surveillance expert with a bitchin’ workshop.
Sneakers (1992) – Redford, Ackroyd, Poitier, figure out how to be hacker-makers for a living . . . just not a very good one.
Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang(1968) – Dick Van Dyke as a turn-of-the-century Maker. Includes the Maker’s anthem, “Up From the Ashes!”
Cast Away (2000) – Tom Hanks takes making back to nature, just like . . .
The Swiss Family Robinson (1960) – Out-Gilligans Gilligan in dressing up their uncharted desert isle.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) – James Mason as arch-Maker, Captain Nemo. (In fact, any Jules Verne flick probably qualifies here.)
And lest we forget:
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – The tale of humanity, a species of makers, and how they went from antelope femurs to space travel in 1/24th of a second. Oh, and there’s that great scene where Kier Dullea “mods” HAL.
How about…
WarGames
Sneakers
Real Genius
3 Days of the Condor
Robert Redford is a CIA Analyst and voracious bibliophile who’s front company is taken out by an inside job by neocons attempting to destablize the mideast. Did I Mention it was topical? He has to doge both the CIA and the assasin using various hacks and gambits. The best bit is the trick with a lineman’s handset.
My picks: Forbidden City Cop (1996) and The Goonies (1985), two movies featuring crazy Asian inventors.
Honorable mention: From Beijing with Love (1994).
There’s a great take-off on the “Q” character in which the maker of secret weapons turns out to be incompetent and mentally ill.
The Sand Pebbles is great if you have a love of steam power, and/or total respect of uber male Steve McQueen…
No Highway in the Sky based on the Nevil Shute book which shows engineering gone wrong, and a preposterous (airplane) tail. Nevil Shute is a patron saint of Makers, read “Trustee from the Toolroom”, “Around the Bend”, “Ordeal” and his autobiography “Slide Rule”, as well as all his other books…Nevil Shute Norway Foundation
This is the second time I’m posting a comment as the first time said it was “awaiting moderation”…
I vote for The Sand Pebbles a great movie if you like steam power and Steve McQueen (the book is even better)…
Nevil Shute’s No Highway is a great movie by one of the patron saints of Makers. His books such as “Trustee from the Toolroom”, “Around the Bend”, “Most Secret” and his autobiography “Slide Rule” as well as his other books are well worth reading. Nevil Shute Norway Foundation
nick, when there are multiple links in a comment, it gets held (spammers) so i have to manually publish those.
cheers,
pt
Brazil (1985) particularly DeNiro’s commando engineer.
Surprised no one has posted this one yet.
Explorers
:D
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project (1986)
How about Gene Hackman again in Ememy of the State (1998)? He had that cool home-made bug-proof cage in the warehouse.
How about Gene Hackman again in Ememy of the State (1998)? He had that cool home-made bug-proof cage in the warehouse.
How about Gene Hackman again in Ememy of the State (1998)? He had that cool home-made bug-proof cage in the warehouse.
Actually Hackman’s character from Enemy of the State was a reprise of the main character of The Conversation a much better film and a better Maker film as well.