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Latter-day Saint, Utah and Idaho References
in the movie:
Flight of the Phoenix (2004)


"Flight of the Phoenix" (2004)
Directed by John Moore
Screenplay by Scott Frank and Edward Burns
Based on the 1965 screenplay by Lukas Heller

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Tyrese, Giovanni Ribisi, Miranda Otto, Tony Curran, Sticky Fingaz, Jacob Vargas, Hugh Laurie, Scott Michael Campbell, Kevork Malikyan, Jared Padalecki, Paul Ditchfield, Martin Hindy

MPAA Rating: PG-13
U.S. Box Office: $21,009,180
Production budget: $45,000,000
(IMDb.com; director John Moore refers to the film as a "$60 million" picture in the behind-the-scenes featurette on the DVD)

The song that plays during the opening credits of the movie "The Flight of the Phoenix" is "I've Been Everywhere," which was written by Geoff Mack and performed by Johnny Cash on his Unchained album (1996).

The song mentions mentions two cities which were founded by Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and which are still still retain majority Latter-day Saint populations today: Rexburg, Idaho and Cedar City, Utah. The song also mentions Idaho, the state which has the 2nd highest proportion of Latter-day Saints - about one-third of Idaho residents are LDS.

The names "Idaho", "Cedar City" and "Rexburg" can clearly be heard in the film as the song plays.

In some renditions or transcriptions of "I've Been Everywhere," the word "Pocotello" (Pocatello) can not be heard as part of the first list of cities mentioned: between "Tocapillo" and "Amperdello." But in the movie in this position, the place name that is sung sounds nothing like "Pocatello."

"Idaho" is sung at timecode 2 minutes, 14 seconds after the start of the film.

"Rexburg" is sung at timecode 2 minutes, 36 seconds. Rexburg, Idaho is where BYU-Idaho is located. This university, which is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was previously named "Rick's College," and was the largest private 2-year college in the country. The name was changed to "BYU-Idaho" when the campus was converted to a 4-year university. Over 95% of the people who live in this college town are Latter-day Saints. A large proportion of the city's residents are students or people who work at the university. Rexburg was founded by Latter-day Saints led by Bro. Thomas Ricks in 1883.

"Cedar City" is sung 2 minutes, 45 seconds. Cedar City, Utah was founded by Latter-day Saint settlers in 1851. It is the home of Southern Utah University and the prestigious Utah Shakespearean Festival.

The 2004 feature film "Flight of the Phoenix" is a remake of the same-titled 1965 film. Neither film has anything to do with the Mummy Chronicles book Flight of the Phoenix, which was written by Latter-day Saint author Dave Wolverton (New York: Skylark, 2001).

Johnny Cash, who sings about Rexburg and Cedar City during this movie's opening credits (apparently the film's theme song), is the subject of the 2005 biopic feature film "Walk the Line," in which Latter-day Saint actor Larry Bagby ("God's Army", "Liken the Scriptures: I Will Go and Do", "Saints and Soldiers", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Believe") co-stars as Johnny's friend, musician Marshall Grant. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon ("Sweet Home Alabama") stars as the Johnny's wife June Carter.


Webpage created 25 March 2005.