An historical tale, set in 1897, The Flight of the Eagle” depicts an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole by a balloon.
The film is directed by Jan Troell (better known for making the Oscar-nominee “The Emigrants” in 1971 and its sequel, “The New Land,” in 1973), and stars the great Swedish actor Max von Sydow, as the entrepreneurial engineer S. A. Andrée, who sets out to become the first man on the North Pole.
He implements his idea to launch a polar expedition by using a hydrogen balloon with two of his friends. The balloon, “The Eagle,” takes off from Svalbard in 1897 but the three men disappear with no trace.
Oscar Nominations:
Best Foreign-Language Picture
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
The winner of the Best Foreign Language Oscar was the Spanish Entry, “To Begin Again” (“Volver a Empezar”) in a contest that included: “Alsino and the Condor” from Nicaragua, “Coup de Torchon” (Clean Slate) from France, “The Flight of the Eagle” from Sweden, and “Private Life” from the U.S.S.R.