Episode: #0008: Firefox (1982)

Firefox is a 1982 American action techno-thriller film produced, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood. The cast also includes Freddie Jones, Kenneth Colley, Warren Clarke, and Nigel Hawthorne. Based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Craig Thomas, Firefox is the only film appearance of Thomas' character Mitchell Gant.[2] The film recounts Gant's mission to secretly enter the Soviet Union, hijack a cutting-edge fighter plane, and fly the aircraft back into American hands.

Although the story is largely set in the Soviet Union, Cold War considerations meant that Eastwood's and Fritz Manes' Malpaso Company used several locations in Austria, including Vienna, for many scenes. One source states that the film was shot on a $21 million budget, the largest-ever production budget for Malpaso.[3] Another source indicates that over $20 million was spent on special effects.[4] The effects have been called "particularly innovative,"[5] as the "reverse bluescreen" technique was invented for the film.[6]