Amelia (film)

On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) and her navigator, Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston), are on the last leg of an around-the-world flight. Moving in vignettes from her early years when Earhart was captivated by the sight of an aircraft flying overhead on the Kansas prairie where she grew up, her life over the preceding decade gradually unfolds.

As a young woman, Earhart is recruited by publishing tycoon and eventual husband, George Putnam (Richard Gere) to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean, albeit as a passenger. Taking command of the flight results in success and she is thrust into the limelight as the most famous woman pilot of her time. Putnam helps Earhart write a book chronicling the flight, much like his earlier triumph with Charles Lindbergh's We. She gradually falls in love with him and they eventually marry, although she enacts a "cruel" pledge as her wedding contract.

Embarrassed that her fame was not earned, Earhart commences to set myriad aviation records, and in 1932, recreates her earlier transatlantic flight, becoming the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic. Throughout a decade of notoriety, Earhart falls into an awkward love affair with pilot and future Federal Aviation administrator Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). In a display of romantic jealousy, Putnam quietly tells Amelia that he does not want Vidal in his house. Annoyed by the seemingly endless agenda of celebrity appearances and endorsements, Putnam reminds her it funds her flying.

Earhart returns to her husband on the eve of her last momentous flight, her biggest and most dangerous adventure to date, to fly around the world. Earhart's first attempt ends in a runway crash in Hawaii, due to a collapsed landing gear, and her aircraft requires extensive repairs before the flight can be attempted again. Eventually, she takes the repaired Lockheed Model 10 Electra, sponsored by Purdue University, in a reverse direction, leaving the lengthy trans-Pacific crossing for the end.

Setting out to refuel at tiny Howland Island, radio transmissions between USCGC Itasca, a Coast Guard picket ship, and Earhart's aircraft reveal a rising crisis; the Coast Guard radio operators realize they do not have sufficient length to provide a "fix". Itasca has a directional finder with a dead battery, and weak radio communications prevent Earhart and USCGC Itasca from making contact. Running low on fuel, Earhart and Noonan fly on. They disappear. A massive search effort is unsuccessful, but solidifies Earhart as an aviation icon.

Hilary Swank took on the role of executive producer, working closely with Nair.[4] Filming took place in New York City, Toronto, Parkwood Estate in Oshawa, Nova Scotia, Dunnville, Ontario and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, as well as various locations in South Africa. Over the weekend of June 22, 2008, Swank was in Wolfville, Nova Scotia for filming at Acadia University. At the time, although Swank was a pilot-in-training,[5] her appearance in the aerial sequences was limited, with three other women pilots contracted for the flying scenes.[6] Nair was concerned about insurance and liability issues, and opted for professional pilots, Jimmy Leeward and Bryan Regan to do the bulk of the flying in the film.[7] Contemporary newsreel footage of Earhart was interspersed throughout the film while a combination of static, real aircraft and CGI effects was utilized for the flying sequences.[8] Numerous period aircraft, automobiles and equipment were obtained to provide authenticity, including the use of two replica aircraft, a Lockheed Vega and Fokker F.VIIb/3m Tri-motor Friendship (with limited ability to run up engines and taxi).[9] The Lockheed 12A Electra Junior "Hazy Lily" (F-AZLL) used alongside another Electra Junior, filled in for the much rarer Lockheed Electra 10E that Earhart used.[10] Despite the efforts to faithfully replicate the period, numerous historical inaccuracies were evident, as chronicled in some reviews.[11]

The aerobatic flying maneuvers in the film were handled by Canadian musician-turned pilot, Larry Ernewein.[12]

At the completion of filming, the two replica aircraft featured in the Earhart transatlantic flights were donated to museums. The Lockheed Vega is now in the collection of the San Diego Air & Space Museum[13] while the Fokker F. VIIB/3M tri-motor is now housed at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario where it was unveiled in 2009 with a local Amelia Earhart reenactor Kathie Brosemer recounting the story of Earhart's flight in 1928.[14]

On February 2, 2010, Fox Home Entertainment released Amelia in DVD and Blu-ray versions. Extras on the DVD include deleted scenes and "The Power of Amelia Earhart", "Making Amelia" and "Movietone News" featurettes. The Blu-ray release also has two additional featurettes: "The Plane Behind the Legend" and "Re-constructing the Planes of Amelia" along with a digital copy of the film.[27]

• Amelia at the TCM Movie Database
• Amelia at AllMovie
• Amelia at IMDb