Review: To Fly! (1976)

98/100

Truly, nothing can ever surpass To Fly! in its own right. Films have become more triumphant since the Bicentennial, aviation films have soared higher than ever, and IMAX films have grown to be more accepted. But To Fly! started all those things, and nothing will ever be able to replicate the special experience of watching it.

Despite a runtime that one might deem short, it is, from the first second to the final, a wonderful piece of art. Credit that to writer-director Greg MacGillivray, an enthralling and chill person originating from Laguna Beach, California. MacGillivray was previously known for Five Summer Stories (1972), which you might recognize if you are a surfing fan. The film turned out to be the most popular and praised unscripted surf film, and though I have yet to watch it, I can finally see why it is the way it is. I might just call To Fly! the best aviation film. Because unlike most aviation films, To Fly!, with all its sophisticated actions, touches my heart.

I don't know MacGillivray to an extent, but I have been an aviation geek ever since I was young. Very young, too young to even ride an airplane. My local airport (now a dull military base) has an interesting layout: since it is surrounded by the metropolis, fences would protect the apron, and those going to the airport will have to go around that fence. Whenever we do, I would open the car window and lift my head up, and gleefully observes the airplanes taxiing about. As we approach the airplane we are riding, the buzzing of the engine gets louder until the whole world just fades to... this. It is intense, and with the COVID-19 pandemic going on, I miss that intensity. As I got older, I dived deeper into the aviation community. The amount of enthusiasm and diversity in it is almost a replica of the enthusiasm of riding a plane.

With that in mind, To Fly! feels like a mood booster in the realm of the senses. It's a third replica of the enthusiasm of riding a plane. Many Hollywood flicks have tried doing this, and Sully (2016) undoubtedly came close, but they're too... Hollywood, lacking in organicness. And it is meant to be another realm: the film was shot and projected notably in the giant-screen IMAX format, with screens so huge it becomes a second eye. But To Fly! is also very escapist. It's the My Neighbor Totoro (1988) of America, in essence. It's that one dream that makes you comforted, that one piano piece that diminishes all that anger in you and put you in a silent state of contemplation. All these may feel hyperbolic, but watch the film and you'll want the projector to rewind to your favorite scene just to experience the tranquility of it. One might even render the film as a compilation of amazing scenes, and acknowledging 24 Frames (2017), this is not a bad thing.

The narrative will, of course, fail big-time without its beautiful cinematography and neat editing. "[IMAX] give[s] you the sense of being there," said MacGillivray in a retrospective interview. "So when you show outer space, [...] the top of Everest, [...] the bottom of the sea, because it's so vivid, you remember it." But another half has to do with MacGillivray and his late partner Jim Freeman's carefree attitude. They made this film with great enthusiasm and study, and the camera movements just shows. The editing is also meticulous, and although I'm not a fan of some of the timings, overall it gives the experience the logline promised. It is the quintessential cinematic ego dissolution, a sense of oneness with the frames. During its historical scenes, you feel as if it is contemporary. Yet when it depicts the present, you don't feel an aching nostalgia. You feel a tremendous level of respect and love. That is aviation to me, and that's the best way I can write about my connection towards the film.

I can't speak for its historical side. Not because I'm not a "true" aviation geek (I can make an entire paper about the film's story if I wanted to), nor is this concerning my non-American identity, but because I don't think it speaks to a lot of us. To Fly! still retains a massive amount of reality, but when we step into the cinema, and the lights turn off, we soon learn to subside reality off our minds. What makes To Fly! a great escapist and patriotic film is its personification. Airplanes become humane, heroic, and touching, regardless of who you are. It is like the Star Child from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Static, but always moving. It guides us through revolutions, through ease and pressure, and through festivities and voids. It is a reflection of ourselves, and who we truly are. It's magical in any aspect that "magical" applies to.

For over 50 years, it has seen this universal humanist effect. It became so popular, that the National Air and Space Museum decided to just screen it until they die, in some invisible future. It has become so demanded by schools that the Smithsonian Institution made an entire guidebook for educators screening the film. I'm not a huge fan of open matte or aspect ratio treachery, but the widescreen online presentation is a good reliving of the immense IMAX presentation (I am looking forward to a 1.43:1 digital scan). They made a 20th-anniversary edition, and the Library of Congress archived the film as significant in American history. One might first assume that this stems from the film's intention: a celebration of the Bicentennial, and it is without a doubt that To Fly!'s triumphant mood, elevated by Bernando Segall's orchestral score, made it stand out among the others. The production of this film required pushing technical boundaries, and a lot of them were one-of-a-kind.

But that's not, at least not primarily, why the Library of Congress gave it such recognition. To Fly! literally defined what IMAX is now. Even though there were 12 IMAX films prior, the film managed to exploit IMAX to its full possibility, exploring boundaries that the previous hadn't thought of. IMAX becomes not only an audiovisual ride but also a heartful ride. It not only mimicks the geometry of life, but also the soul of life. The film is a reminder that despite our differences, we have the same heart. it's feel-good mood doesn't follow a traditional structure, which makes it even more feel-good. You suddenly forget everything, and as the film finishes, its visuals become overlayed with your life. It evokes a moral of understanding in a more effective way than any film. We need films like these every once in a while. And as such, it is truly a timeless, arthouse, underrated, universal masterpiece.

Truly, nothing can ever surpass To Fly! in its own right.

To Fly! is viewable for free in VHS version online, but is also available in LaserDisc and streaming. To view it in its full glory, consult its website.