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Just because you old farts like this kind of crap and were of the same age as these actors when they made the film,
Sorry, I think I was the age of Burt Lancaster's daughter (the younger one) when this movie was released.
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Posted by Ron Pulliam -
It's amazing, isn't it! The more he types, the sillier and more ludicrous he gets.
Could be intentional...
I have had my suspicions to that end...!
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I love the film Airport and think it's a very well-made piece of popcorn entertainment.
I bought the box set some time ago and have watched the poor Airport 1975 and awful Airport '79 so far. I'm keeping the original (widescreen and surround sound*) for one of those evenings when I can open the red wine, put my feet up and just enjoy!
* I can't remember whether it's 5.1 or not
DTS!!!!!
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My parents lived in suburban Minneapolis (where I was born) at the time the movie was made and can remember the effort that was put into changing the facade entrance of Minneapolis International Airport to say "Lincoln International Airport" for the benefit of the location shooting was done there. They also remember when they were leaving on a family trip to CA in 1970 seeing the plane arrive with Dean Martin for the premiere which took place in Minneapolis.
I think the film is great in setting the tone for the best of the disaster films of the 70s. The sequels IMO are really bad with "Airport 77" passable only in its expanded TV version (the theatrical cut has a lot of important exposition missing). The Concorde is an embarrassing joke of a film, particularly with its ridiculous conceit of Kennedy opening the cockpit window to fire a gun yet amazingly there's no sudden decompression.
And let's not forget the many TV-movie knockoffs of this era which were also airplane disaster inspired! "SST: Disaster In The Sky" featuring the stars of as many recently cancelled TV shows as you could put in one plane (Doug McClure, Robert Reed, Martin Milner, Peter Graves, Lorne Greene, Tina Louise) AND give us Billy Crystal before "Soap" as a fey steward that the unknown John DeLancie threatens to deck at one point! "Airport" itself inspired many imitators but the original remains the best on all levels.
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Posted: |
Dec 3, 2008 - 2:36 PM
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By: |
Cryogenix
(Member)
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Watched Airport '75 at lunch today. Nicely done. The music made sense (kind of reminded me of The Deep and Charlie's Angels [TV]) and was highly effective in easing tensions, creating anxiety and building drama, as well as hinting of tragedy to come way in advance.
The story flowed well, had nice structure and things felt far more dramatic and serious than in A70. I initially enjoyed the usage of split screen in the first film (until it got crazy and you'd see seven shots at once) and I was surprised it wasn't used at all in this picture. The only truly bad performances were by Helen Reddy as a nun, and Erik Estrada as a horny communications officer. The supporting cast consisted of believable (yet usually annoying) characters who you were rather indifferent about. Still didn't cling to anyone or care if they lived or died. The story and character development weren't deep or strong enough to establish that kind of sentiment. I'd love to see someone (try to) strum a guitar on a plane while passengers are trying to sleep. I can see why Airplane! exploited that scene. It was also cool to see more of the inspiration behind the spoofing. I'll really enjoy watching the Airplane! films after this.
Effects-wise, it was all pretty good, except for looking through the cockpit windows and seeing the twin-engine on a collision path and other related effects from that POV. And the co-pilot dummy being lifted (supposedly sucked) out of the hole in the fuselage. Looked worse than a poorly stuffed scarecrow. Kennedy's performance wasn't as grand or as interesting this time around. I'm guessing he held back so as not to overshadow Heston.
Interesting, too, watching the original, theatrical trailer, as it's so bloody long (and very, very, very boring) and filled with spoilers. Guess they didn't believe in holding anything back in those days.
I think my favorite was Airport '77, where the plane goes down in the Bermuda Triangle, if I recall. I think the one with the Concorde is the one I initially thought went down in the ocean and they tried to lift it with those yellow air bladders. In fact, I believe those yellow air bladders/balloons are what are used in A77. Really looking forward to that one.
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I think my favorite was Airport '77, where the plane goes down in the Bermuda Triangle, if I recall. I think the one with the Concorde is the one I initially thought went down in the ocean and they tried to lift it with those yellow air bladders. In fact, I believe those yellow air bladders/balloons are what used in A77. Really looking forward to that one.
Really interesting interplay in '77 between Christopher Lee and Lee Grant who plays his drunken and belligerent wife. I saw '77 just a few months ago and really enjoyed it.
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There were rumors floating around about 1980 that the ever scholcky Larry Cohen (of It's Alive! fame) was working on another Airport movie, this one dealing with UFO's.
I guess we'll never know what we missed.
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