Editing To Fly! (section)

== Legacy ==

''To Fly!'' is regarded as an influential IMAX film, with filmmaker and author [[Lenny Lipton]] calling it the giant-screen film industry's "signature film".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lipton |first=Lenny |title=The Cinema in Flux |date=April 7, 2021 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |isbn=978-1-0716-0950-7 |location=[[Los Angeles]] |pages=581 |chapter=IMAX and PLF Exhibition |author-link=Lenny Lipton}}</ref> Jon Wilkman, writing for ''[[Literary Hub]]'', listed the film in 2020 as one of the "21 Documentaries That Redefined the Genre".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wilkman|first=Jon|date=February 18, 2020|title=21 Documentaries That Redefined the Genre|url=https://lithub.com/21-documentaries-that-redefined-the-genre/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208235337/https://lithub.com/21-documentaries-that-redefined-the-genre/|archive-date=February 8, 2021|access-date=December 21, 2021|website=[[Literary Hub]]|publisher=[[Grove Atlantic]]}}</ref> In 1980, Kernan listed the film as one of the top reasons people visited Washington, D.C., alongside the [[Washington Monument]] and [[J. Edgar Hoover Building]].<ref name=":18" /> It also has a significant history with political figures, viewed by heads of state from Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. During [[First inauguration of Ronald Reagan|his first inauguration]] in 1981, US President [[Ronald Reagan]] handed a copy of it to [[Soviet General Secretary]] [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], and later showed it to him while in Moscow. When [[George H. W. Bush]] met Israeli Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Shamir]] in 1989, they went to the NASM and watched ''To Fly!.''<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />

[[File:ChrisNolanTDK (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Christopher Nolan]] at the premiere of his film ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' (2008), whose IMAX cinematography was inspired by ''To Fly!'' and consulted by MacGillivray|alt=A man amid a crowd]]

Contrary to popular belief, the film is not the first in IMAX, though was instrumental in introducing more people to the format.<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Pisano |first=Dominick |date=May 3, 2010 |title=IMAX—Not the First, but Close! |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/imax%E2%80%94not-first-close |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706014815/https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/imax%E2%80%94not-first-close |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |access-date=July 8, 2020 |publisher=[[National Air and Space Museum]]}}</ref> This was acknowledged by IMAX filmmakers like [[Kieth Merrill]] of ''[[Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets]]'' (1984),<ref name=":4" /> and [[Ron Fricke]] who decided to film ''[[Chronos (film)|Chronos]]'' (1985) in IMAX after seeing ''To Fly!'', regretting not shooting his more-popular film ''[[Koyaanisqatsi]]'' (1982) with it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=MacDonald|first=Scott|title=The Sublimity of Document: Cinema as Diorama|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2019|isbn=978-0190052140|location=[[New York City]]|pages=31|doi=10.1093/oso/9780190052126.001.0001|oclc=1083674891}}</ref> [[Brian J. Terwilliger]] theatrically premiered his IMAX film ''[[Living in the Age of Airplanes]]'' (2015) at Lockheed Martin as a tribute to ''To Fly!'' which he watched as a teenager.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tallman|first=Jill W.|date=April 9, 2015|title='Living in the Age of Airplanes' Premieres at Air and Space Museum|url=https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2015/april/09/living-in-the-age-of-airplanes-premieres|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805125206/https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2015/april/09/living-in-the-age-of-airplanes-premieres|archive-date=August 5, 2020|access-date=November 21, 2021|publisher=[[Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association]]}}</ref> [[Christopher Nolan]] watched the film at the age of 14 and noticed the audience tilting their heads during the aerial scenes; MacGillivray also consulted him on the IMAX cameras for ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' (2008),<ref name=":20">{{Cite speech |location=LG [[IMAX]] Theater, [[Sydney]] |date=September 25, 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbBv2IMS1zY |title=''The Dark Knight Rises'' 15/70mm rescreening |access-date=July 25, 2023 |publisher=【IMAX】[[YouTube]]r Aventa |publication-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20230725092328/pbBv2IMS1zY |archive-date=July 25, 2023 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> the first major feature-length film to be shot on IMAX<ref>{{cite web |last=Tapley |first=Kristopher |date=July 18, 2018 |title=''The Dark Knight'' Set for 10th Anniversary Imax Re-Release (Exclusive) |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/dark-knight-10th-anniversary-imax-re-release-1202875906/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817143259/https://variety.com/2018/film/news/dark-knight-10th-anniversary-imax-re-release-1202875906/ |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=[[Penske Media]]}}</ref> and whose aerial scenes were inspired by ''To Fly!''.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Blair|first1=Elizabeth|date=May 2, 2014|title=Maintaining The IMAX Experience, From Museum To Multiplex|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/05/02/308939700/maintaining-the-imax-experience-from-museum-to-multiplex|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701122246/https://www.npr.org/2014/05/02/308939700/maintaining-the-imax-experience-from-museum-to-multiplex|archive-date=July 1, 2021|access-date=July 1, 2021|website=[[All Things Considered]]|publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref> After watching the film, scientist [[Anatoly Sagalevich]] ideated the underwater IMAX film ''[[Titanica]]'' (1992) to filmmaker [[Stephen Low (filmmaker)|Stephen Low]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Titanica |url=https://www.stephenlow.com/project/titanica/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325223407/stephenlow.com/project/titanica/ |archive-date=March 25, 2023 |access-date=August 21, 2023 |publisher=[[The Stephen Low Company]] |at=Production Notes}}</ref>

The film was also cited as a great influence on the legitimization of IMAX and multi-image scenes in IMAX films, which has been common practice ever since.<ref name=":32" /> A reviewer urged major film companies to "watch out", predicting ''To Fly!'' would set IMAX as a leading film format over Cinerama and 3D.<ref name=":3" /> In 1995, the [[Library of Congress]] deemed ''To Fly!'' a pioneer of the format, thus culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant for the [[National Film Registry]], an American film preservation effort,<ref name=":33">{{Cite web |title=Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/descriptions-and-essays/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101025858/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/descriptions-and-essays/ |archive-date=January 1, 2018 |access-date=November 28, 2021 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |at=Section "To Fly! (1976)" and "Complete National Film Registry Listing"}}</ref> which archived its [[reduction print]]s.<ref name=":32" /> Voters at the Giant Screen Theater Association included it in the IMAX Hall of Fame on September 24, 2001, a decision praised by IMAX's then-co-chief executive officers [[Richard Gelfond]] and Bradley J. Wechsler, stating the film deserves such recognition.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 24, 2001|title=IMAX Announces Recipients of Founders Award at Chicago GSTA Conference|publisher=[[PR Newswire]]|location=[[Chicago]]}}</ref>

In 1980, the NASM requested another IMAX film,<ref name=":39" /> prompting Moore to collaborate with MacGillivray on ''[[Flyers (film)|Flyers]]'' (1982), which Conoco funded and became a box-office success too. MFF continued making IMAX documentaries, two of which were nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject]]: ''[[The Living Sea]]'' (1995), also inducted into the IMAX Hall of Fame; and ''[[Dolphins (2000 film)|Dolphins]]'', which was the highest-grossing documentary of 2000.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=July 2020 |title=MacGillivray Freeman Films Filmography (1963 through 2020) |url=http://macgillivrayfreeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/MFF_Filmography_2020_2.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725080649/https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/MFF_Filmography_2020_2.pdf |archive-date=July 25, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2021 |publisher=[[MacGillivray Freeman Films]]}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=3, 26, 31}} Still active, the company is regarded one of the most influential IMAX figures with over $1&nbsp;billion of box-office earnings.<ref name=":1" /> In 1996, MacGillivray released ''[[The Magic of Flight]]'', a film about the Blue Angels which serves as the [[spiritual sequel]] of ''To Fly!''{{'s}} scene featuring the squadron.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Robbins|first=Gary|date=March 18, 1996|title=Taking a camera to the max|page=86|work=[[Orange County Register]]|publisher=[[Freedom Communications]]|location=[[Anaheim, California]]|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-mar-18-1996-p-86/|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|access-date=November 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120115022/https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-mar-18-1996-p-86/|archive-date=November 20, 2021|via=[[NewspaperArchive]]}}</ref>