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Fire Birds movie storyline. The U.S. Government is willing to help any country that requires help in ridding themselves of drugs with support from the Army. Unfortunately, the drug cartels have countered that offer by hiring one of the best air-combat mercenaries and have armed him with a Scorpion attack helicopter. The army decides to send in its best people from its Apache Air Combat school. But first they have to be taught how to fly air-to-air combat missions.
Fire Birds (originally titled Wings of the Apache and released internationally under that name) is a 1990 action-thriller film directed by David Green and produced by William Badalato, Keith Barish and Arnold Kopelson. The storyline was conceived by retired Lt. Colonels Step Tyner and John K. Swensson and retired Marine Capt. Dale Dye and developed into a screenplay written by Paul F. Edwards, Nick Thiel and uncredited David Taylor. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones and Sean Young. Cage is cast as a helicopter pilot attempting to help dismantle a drug cartel in South America. Jones plays his pilot instructor and senior ranked military officer during his flight training, while Young portrays his love interest.
Production of the film was a co-production between the Walt Disney Studios and Nova International Films. It was commercially released under Disney’s Touchstone Pictures label. The movie featured elaborate aerial stunt sequences, involving combat helicopters.
Fire Birds premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on May 25, 1990 grossing a modest $14,760,451 in domestic ticket receipts. The film was met with negative critical reviews before its initial screening in cinemas; generally due to its melancholy dialogue and striking plot similarities to the more popular 1986 action film Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis.
Fire Birds (1990)
Directed by: David Green
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young, Illana Diamant, Bryan Kestner, Mary Ellen Trainor, Dale Dye, Peter Onorati, Charles Lanyer
Screenplay by: Nick Thiel, Paul F. Edwards
Production Design by: Joseph T. Garrity
Cinematography by: Tony Imi
Film Editing by: Norman Buckley, Dennis M. O’Connor, Jon Poll
Costume Design by: Ellis Cohen
Set Decoration by: Jerie Kelter
Art Direction by: Pat Tagliaferro
Music by: David Newman
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: May 25, 1990
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