To Fly!
Encyclopedia
To Fly! is a documentary film
shot in the IMAX
format. It follows the history of flight, from the first hot air balloon
s in the 19th century to 20th century manned space missions. It was created for performance at the National Air and Space Museum
's IMAX Theater in Washington, D.C.
It was written by Jim Freeman, Greg MacGillivray
, Tom McGrath, Francis Thompson, Robert M. Young and Arthur Zegart. It was directed by Freeman and MacGillivray, and edited by documentary filmmaker Alexander Hammid. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States
Library of Congress
and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
.
The movie was shown in 1979 at Great America
theme park's Pictorium and was the first movie shown at the new theatres.
To Fly! was the highest grossing documentary of all time before the release of Fahrenheit 9/11
in 2004. It has grossed US$82 million domestically and US$116 million worldwide, which it has accumulated during its decades in release. The movie is still shown daily at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
shot in the IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
format. It follows the history of flight, from the first hot air balloon
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
s in the 19th century to 20th century manned space missions. It was created for performance at the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
's IMAX Theater in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
It was written by Jim Freeman, Greg MacGillivray
Greg MacGillivray
Greg MacGillivray is an American film director and cinematographer. MacGillivray was first nominated for an Academy Award in 1995 for directing The Living Sea , and was nominated in the same category again for Dolphins in 2000.He has initiated the development of three cameras for the IMAX format...
, Tom McGrath, Francis Thompson, Robert M. Young and Arthur Zegart. It was directed by Freeman and MacGillivray, and edited by documentary filmmaker Alexander Hammid. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
.
The movie was shown in 1979 at Great America
Great America
Great America is a name shared by two American amusement parks opened by the Marriott Corporation in 1976.Both parks are now under different ownership and are known as:* California's Great America, Santa Clara, California, owned by Cedar Fair...
theme park's Pictorium and was the first movie shown at the new theatres.
To Fly! was the highest grossing documentary of all time before the release of Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
in 2004. It has grossed US$82 million domestically and US$116 million worldwide, which it has accumulated during its decades in release. The movie is still shown daily at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....