The Delta Force is a 1986 action film starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin as leaders of an elite squad of Special Forces troops based on the real life U.S. Army Delta Force unit. It was directed by Menahem Golan and featured Martin Balsam, Joey Bishop, Robert Vaughn, Steve James, Robert Forster, Shelley Winters, and George Kennedy. The film was produced in Israel. Two sequels were produced entitled Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection and Delta Force 3: The Killing Game. Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. The Delta Force was Lee Marvin's last film. Recorded on January 23, 2003.
Plot synopsis
A group of Lebanese terrorists hijack American Travelways Boeing 707 (ATW) Flight 282 that is on a flight from Athens, Greece to Rome, Italy and then to New York City.
Taking all passengers and crew hostage, the group, the pro-Khomeini New World Revolutionary Organization, led by Abdul Rifi (Robert Forster) and Mustafa (David Mekenham), forces Captain Roger Campbell (Bo Svenson) and his crew to fly the plane to Beirut, Lebanon, where they make demands to the United States government that, if not met, will result in the death of the hostages. The two kill one hostage, a US Navy diver named Tom, taking the other two US divers with them as well as a couple of male Jewish passengers on board to Beirut.
As a compromise, the terrorists release the women and children passengers in North Africa. The remaining hostages are transported to a militant controlled area of Beirut. Using a sympathetic Greek Orthodox Priest, Israeli Army Intelligence prepares an operation to free the hostages.
The U.S. quickly responds by sending in Delta Force, an elite counter-terrorism unit led by Major Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris) and Colonel Nick Alexander (Lee Marvin), to rescue the hostages.
Successfully infiltrating the terrorist compound, they kill the terrorists, rescue the hostages, and flee to the safety of Israel on the ATW jetliner, before returning to the U.S on a C-130 transport plane.
Cast
Delta Force
Lebanese Terrorists
ATW
Passengers
Israelis
Filming locations
The movie was filmed entirely in Israel, making use of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus's newly opened GG Israel Studios facility in Jerusalem. The Beirut, Tel-Aviv and Athens airport sequences in the film were filmed at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel-Aviv. In some sequences, Hebrew lettering and Israeli Police emblems are visible on some of the supposed Lebanese airport barriers.
The military aircraft (notably the Hercules C-130) used in the film was on loan from the Israeli Air Force. The lease arrangement was similar to that used for Iron Eagle.
Historical connections
Music
Alan Silvestri's score gained a new life when ABC Sports used it to intro their Indianapolis 500 broadcasts from 1988-1998; 2001.
References
External links
