Apparently, today is National Aviation Day in the United States. So, we’re going to do what we do best: wring out a list of films from something that has nothing to do with films. Yeah, planes in motion pictures can feel great. The rush one gets from being in a cockpit in a vehicle zipping through the sky. The feeling of association we have when we’re in an airbus and are reminded of how travelling goes. Seeing planes in films can be a real treat. What about films that are heavily based on the flying experience? Well, there’s a lot of those, but I tried to handpick some of the better films, just in case any of you ever feel like celebrating this day (or flight in general). Here are ten of the best plane films for National Aviation Day.

Hell’s Angels
Howard Hughes was more of a business model and producer than he was a director. One of his only directorial efforts was the one many know him best for: Hell’s Angels (he was helped by James Whale). Featuring a love triangle that takes place around the Royal Flying Corps, Hell’s Angels channels frustration into airplane combat, with fire, crashes and all.

The Aviator
After Hell’s Angels, you can have a look at the man behind this film. The Aviator is a loving tribute to the art of filmmaking through the perspective of eccentric producer Howard Hughes. Mixing his love of flying, his cinematic visions, and his deteriorating condition together, The Aviator is a thorough look at a large creator whose successes surpassed his struggles.

Wings
The in-air choreography of the first ever Best Picture winner Wings is still breathtaking over ninety years later. So much time is devoted to seeing airplane combat, and all of it is worthwhile, given the visual beauty of planes, bullets, and the clouds that separate them. Wings is a romantic epic that never loses sight of how damning the historical context of its story can be.

Wings
A completely different film than the previous entry. Larisa Shepitko’s Wings takes place not during a war, but rather afterwards, with a fighter pilot finding life difficult to get used to post war. With flashbacks to combat and the joys of flying at high speeds, Wings is a bittersweet take on readjustment, with the yearning for the joys within misery to resurface once more.

Flight
What happens if a pilot who has saved almost everyone on board of a plane that’s falling apart is caught having flown under the influence? Are they still a hero, or are they blamed for what could have been? Flight is a great discussion topic, but Robert Zemeckis always goes the extra technical mile, and that goes without saying once you see the flight scenes in action. Every portion of Flight is treated with severity, so its dramas are as powerful as its action.

The Right Stuff
Even though The Right Stuff is about space travel, a good majority of it takes place on Earth, including its flight scenes. See, this team of astronauts is comprised of flight experts, and we see a range of pilots try to prove their worth. If anything, it’s the hectic airplane stunts that occasionally steal the show, especially when different strangers are aiming to show they have what it takes. One final plane experiment actually succeeds in claiming all of The Right Stuff, simply because the film’s title is exactly what this pilot had.

Dunkirk
Dunkirk is divided into three stories: on-foot soldiers for a week, on-boat help for a day, and in-flight combat for an hour. Because of the time lengths of the other storylines, the flight passages of Dunkirk feel especially detrimental, given how much of the storyline is reliant on how this battle turns out. As gas runs out and bullets rattle against the plane we’re positioned in, the air fighting in Dunkirk is nerve-racking through and through.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb
Of course, one entire third of Dr. Strangelove takes place in the air (on a plane that is continuing a dangerous mission to bomb a site for stupid reasons), but really all of the film is geared around said plane. The war room waits in anticipation to see if the planes will be called back. Colonel Mandrake tries frantically to find the code to issue back every plane sent on this assignment. Then, we await the one plane going down in flames, desperately trying to make its mark. Dr. Strangelove is brilliant satire, and anxious hilarity.

Up in the Air
Although we don’t get much air time in Up in the Air, we do feel the experience of airbus travelling throughout. With check ins and security measures treated like fine art, Up in the Air somehow turns the long, painstaking protocols of preparing for air travel into beautiful filmmaking (fancy choreography and all). Even if we’re not literally on planes for a good portion of the film, Up in the Air is the glorification of the entire experience of being on a plane.

Airplane!
It’s impossible to think of planes in movies without thinking of Airplane! (which is somehow more noteworthy to place here than Airport: the very film being spoofed here). This entry has more to do with the film taking place on a plane. Much of the humour is airport or flight related, including puns, mockery, and visual silliness. If anything, Airplane! likely changed the whole flying experience for many wishing to survive boring announcements and instructions (harking back to the way these go in Airplane! helps).

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.

Ten Films About Planes for National Aviation Day