The Captain (2019)
The Captain (Chinese: 中国机长) is a 2019 Chinese disaster-adventure film co-produced, co-cinematographed and directed by Andrew Lau, which stars Zhang Hanyu, Oho Ou, Du Jiang, Yuan Quan, Zhang Tian’ai, Li Qin, Zhang Yamei, and Yang Qiru. The film is based on the Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 incident. The film was released in China on September 30, 2019. The Captain was supported and assisted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, included hundreds of professionals from the civil aviation system participated in the film development and filming process Shooting began on January 3, 2019 and ended on March 4, 2019. Filming began at Wuxi and on February 17, the film was transferred to be shot in Chengdu. Filming concluded in Lhasa, Tibet.
Plot.
When the windshield of his commercial airplane shatters at 30,000 feet in the air, a pilot and his flight crew work to ensure the safety of the passengers and land the plane. Directed by Andrew Lau, the film is based on a real-life incident in May 2018, when the cockpit windshield of a Sichuan Airlines flight shattered while the plane was flying 30,000 feet above the Tibetan Plateau. The co-pilot was sucked halfway out of the cockpit and passengers started losing consciousness due to low pressure.RELATED:
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Pre-production
On August 8, 2018, the National Film Board publicly released the late July Chinese film script (synopsis) for the record and project approval. Beijing Bona Film Group Co., Ltd. applied for filing of the film “The Captain,” with scriptwriter Xu Zhiyong. Its review status was “agreed to shoot in principle.” On November 16, Sichuan Airlines 3U8883 returned to flight. Director Liu Weiqiang, producer Li Jinwen, leading actors – Zhang Hanyu and Yuan Quan, also took this flight and witnessed this special moment together with Liu Chuanjian and all members of the “CAAC hero crew.” Lau said in an exclusive interview that the selection criteria for extras were quite strict. Individuals with diseases such as hypertension and heart disease were not allowed to participate in the film.
Box office
On October 3, 2019, the box office of “The Captain” collected another 263 million yuan in one day, and the cumulative box office exceeded 1 billion yuan. The Captain grossed 55.15 million yuan (around 7.80 million U.S. dollars) on the second to last day of its presale. The Film earned $411 million worldwide.Cast:
- Zhang Hanyu as Liu Changjian
- Oho Ou as Xu Yichen
- Du Jiang as Liang Dong
- Yuan Quan as Bi Nan
- Zhang Tian’ai as Huang Jia
- Li Qin as Zhou Yawen
- Zhang Yamei as Zhang Qiuyue
- Yang Qiru as Yang Hui
- Gao Ge as Wu Yan