Rating: Summary: Frequent Flyer Miles Review: The decade of the seventies gave us many `disaster' films. None of them spawned a film and 3 sequels with the exception of AIRPORT. All along, the filmmakers had to consider "How do we make the next one bigger and better?" Having blown up a bomb on the first plane, a head on collision in the second, and crashing into the Bermuda Triangle in the third, the filmmakers finally decided to go supersonic. Well, after the original, the films decline pretty quickly, but all the AIRPORT films still retain a bit of charm that makes viewing painless and on occasion fun. Now, we have the AIRPORT TERMINAL PACK which includes AIRPORT, AIRPORT 75, AIRPORT 77 and THE CONCORDE AIRPORT 79. There have been some gripes about the cropping of one of these films in that set, but if you're just looking for a quick AIRPORT fix, it clearly fits the bill.
AIRPORT
Top amongst them is AIRPORT, based on the bestselling novel by Arthur Hailey. Helen Hayes took home an Oscar for her performance as a professional stowaway.
A bomber takes out a plane in hopes of getting insurance money for his wife.
Like other disaster films of the 70s, AIRPORT has an All-Star Cast! Dean Martin, Burt Lancaster and Jacqueline Bisset juggle the impending disaster. Van Heflin is excellent and sympathetic as the bomber, looking to get insurance money to his unknowing wife, another wonderful performance by Maureen Stapleton. And of course, George Kennedy is in as Patroni, who will (maybe unfortunately) become an AIRPORT staple. Also of note is the great musical score by Alfred Newman.
Unlike its sequels, AIRPORT handles the balance between drama, soap opera and entertainment with excellence.
AIRPORT 75
This time, there is a head-on collision that takes out the flight deck, leaving a flight attendant to fly the plane.
Another All-Star Cast! Well, nowadays, that all-star cast is really just a collection of familiar looking people. Charlton Heston and Karen Black are on board. Jerry Stiller, Norman Fell, Sid Caesar and Erik Estrada are there for laughs. Even Gloria Swanson is ready for her close-up, adding to the camp qualities. Most amazing is an appearance by Helen Reddy as a nun charming the passengers with a guitar. It is one of the unintentional moments of hilarity parodied so well in the comedy AIRPLANE.
One element that actually works very well in this sequel is the footage used of the troubled plane flying through the mountains. It is not a special effect, rather actual plane footage that sells the situation as real.
AIRPORT 77
This time, a group of art thieves accidentally crashes a super-plane into the ocean.
By crashing the plane into the ocean, the filmmakers have the opportunity to make the viewer feel very claustrophobic. But they miss that opportunity with that super plane with endless indoor space. So, when they are underwater you feel relieved that they still have all that space and comfort surrounding them while they await rescue.
Of course, AIRPORT '77 has another quote unquote All-Star Cast! Jimmy Stewart in a phoned-in performance as a millionaire tycoon and Jack Lemmon as the heroic Captain are the only big names.
'77 doesn't have Helen Reddy with a guitar, but they've got the next best thing: a blind piano player singing "Eyes of the beholder."
For the time, the special effects are pretty strong. They in no way compare with what would be done today, but the crash and the submerged plane are pretty impressive.
AIRPORT '79 THE CONCORDE
Another All-Star Cast! Jimmie Walker, Martha Raye and Charo are there to supply some laughs. John Davidson provides some unintentional guffaws. Even Robert Wagner is here, this time as the villain of the piece. Ironically, a performance by bushy haired AVERY SCHREIBER is the most touching in the whole film.
There are some moments when actual footage of the Concorde in flight is used. It is impressive, but the screenplay is sometimes ridiculous. Poor special effects and skewed logic run rampant at 40,000 feet. Airport '79, The Concorde, is easily the worst of the group.
But all the films can sure be fun; especially on those late Saturday nights went you can't get to sleep... this'll do the trick! Especially when you see how spot-on those filmmakers were with their parody.
Rating: Summary: Definite framing/mastering error on Aiport 1975 Review: There is definitely a mastering error on Airport 1975; the picture is nowhere near as wide as it SHOULD be.While it's a bit of an exaggeration to say tires and engines are oval, the image is definitely not mastered properly. I'd say the aspect ratio is either more like 2.2:1 when it should be 2.35:1, or Airport 1975 was actually 2.4:1 or so. This error can easily be seen by comparing the new anamorphic pressing with the earlier GoodTimes DVD or the Universal LaserDisc release. People look very tall and thin as compared to how they should look (and yes, my DVD player is set for 4:3 Letterbox, not 16:9.) Note the other three films in this collection are mastered correctly; only Airport 1975 shows this error (of course, the film I bought the collection for an anamorphic copy of.) I hope Universal corrects this error as they did with the Back to the Future trilogy, and really you probably won't notice it if you aren't aware of it, but once you are the error is very, very obvious and distracting and you'll wonder why the airport has so many short, stubby emergency vehicles. ;-)
Rating: Summary: The soaring 70's. Review: These four films take the audience back to the 1970's, when disaster movies ruled at the box office and tight polyester pants were worn by the most macho of men. 'Airport 75' is the best of the bunch, and features Charlton Heston in one of his more stereotypical performances as the Alpha male who saves the day. The first 'Airport' film includes a fine cast led by Burt Lancaster, but suffers somewhat from a turgid pace and very dated sexism. The '77 and '79 films alternate between decent dramatic moments and laughable scenes, such as a 747 crashing into the ocean and not breaking apart on impact, or a Concorde making arial maneuvers like an F-15. Overall, the 'Airport Terminal Pack' is fun viewing for 70's pop culture fans, but not up to the technical level of today's action and disaster films.
Rating: Summary: Get on board and fasten your seat belts. Review: This is a very good deal. Finally you'll get the chance to have the whole collection in just one pack, separated in two DVD's. Also the price is very good considering that you're purchasing 4 movies for less than 20 Dollars. Movie #1: AIRPORT (1970) This movie received 10 Oscar nominations in 1970, including Best Picture. The special effects are very good, but don't imagine special effects like Titanic, there are almost 20 years of difference. This story is about a Boeing 707 flight from Chicago to Rome and in the passenger list there is a man whois broke and gets an insureance for the trip so he gets on board with explosives to blow the plane so his family could claim the insurance. There are other stories in this movie like an old woman stowaway and the unexpected pregnancy of the captain's flight attendant mistress. Movie #2: AIRPORT 1975 (1974) This movie is not as good as the first one but it's good anyway. The story is about a flight of a Boeing 747 that in the middle of the flight crashes with a small private plane leaving no captain and first officer, so the senior flight attendant has to be in charge of the cockpit until an expert pilot gets on board in the middle of the air from another plane (something almost incredible to show back in 1975). Movie #3: AIRPORT '77 (1977) Another story about a Boeing 747 but this time is a private flight from an art collector who's carring several millions in paintings. So some workers in the plane plan to make sleep the VIP passengers with gaz so they can steal the artworks but everything goes wrong when then the automatic pilot crashes one wing with a petrol base in the Atlantic making the plane go under the ocean. So a rescue team have to save the pasengers who are 200 feet underwater before the airplanes cracks with the water pressure. Movie #4: THE CONCORDE: AIRPORT '79 (1979) In my opinion this is the best one. The story is a bit crazy but very good making you be glued to the screen. It's about a nuclear weapons expert who plans to destroy the Concorde with missiles because his lover who happened to be a jurnalist has in her power documents that revealed his secret operations, so the pilot and captain have to skip the missiles and then prevent the damaged aircraft from breaking and crashing the French Alps. You'll find First Class actors in all the movies including: Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jacqueline Bisset, Charlton Heston, Karen Black, Gloria Swanson, Linda Blair, Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, Alain Delon, Roberto Wagner and George Kennedy who appears in all the movies. I really like this movies, they are very interesting and another thing that I like very much in this movies is that you can notice how we have changed our concept of travelling, now it's something normal and usual but you'll see that everybody in the movies are so excited because they're going to be inside of a plane and everyone is very elegant.
Rating: Summary: Airport, Airport 77, and Airport 79 were great transfers Review: Three of the movies in this set look great, and fortunately...the true classic, "Airport", is one of them. With the exception of the hammy George Kennedy, this movie really WAS a classic. However, if someone has a copy of "Airport 75" from this "pack" that is in proper ratio, it can only mean that Universal fixed the problem. My guess is that it is more likely that some aren't as discriminating a viewer as those of us who noticed this problem. It certainly isn't that those with complaints with this DVD have the "aspect ratio on their tv or DVD player is set wrong". How could that be if every other DVD looks fine? Universal is known for shoddy workmanship. Purchase this one at your own risk....as I'm betting they haven't corrected the "Airport 75" transfer problem since the set's initial release.
Rating: Summary: Airport, Airport 77, and Airport 79 were great transfers Review: Three of the movies in this set look great, and fortunately...the true classic, "Airport", is one of them. With the exception of the hammy George Kennedy, this movie really WAS a classic. However, if someone has a copy of "Airport 75" from this "pack" that is in proper ratio, it can only mean that Universal fixed the problem. My guess is that it is more likely that some aren't as discriminating a viewer as those of us who noticed this problem. It certainly isn't that those with complaints with this DVD have the "aspect ratio on their tv or DVD player is set wrong". How could that be if every other DVD looks fine? Universal is known for shoddy workmanship. Purchase this one at your own risk....as I'm betting they haven't corrected the "Airport 75" transfer problem since the set's initial release.
Rating: Summary: Yet Another Botched DVD Release From Universal Review: What is up with Universal Home Video these days? Airport 75 on this set is not properly framed, resulting in a stretched picture. Let's see.......... E.T. was botched only because no one knew exactly what each edition actually contained. Back To The Future had framing issues on films 2 and 3. Monty Python's Meaning Of Life has all the progressive scan flags set in the wrong position. This is a major blunder, and should have been recalled, as it will affect those who later upgrade their DVD and TV hardware. Schindler's List should have been a 2-disc set, with audio options as part of the menu on side 2. I could go on and on....
Rating: Summary: Must-have for Disaster Fans! Review: While short on Bonus Features, this collection of the four AIRPORT films is a definite must-have for genre fans. AIRPORT - the original and most suspenseful, with an amazing cast, is almost like a time capsule, it so perfectly cpatures the style and feeling of air travel circa 1969. Some exceptional performances and a true Hollywood blockbuster. GRAND HOTEL in the sky! AIRPORT 75 - loved this one as a kid, and watching it now creates great nostalgia, though it's really pretty awful. The psychedelic colors, cartoon dialogue and camp performances make it ROCKY HORROR in the sky! (Gloria Swanson and Karen Black don't even look like real people!) AIRPORT 77 - surprisingly good, considering it's essentially POSEIDON ADVENTURE with wings. Great cast takes it very seriously and turn in solid performances given implausible story. Special effects aren't bad considering the time. You might enjoy this one more than you expect! AIRPORT 79-The stinker of the bunch, in fact it could be one of the worst movies ever made and I'm sure stars like Alain Delon and Robert Wagner look back and wonder why they were sharing screen time with Martha Raye and Charo. This is LOVE BOAT in the sky, but not as much fun. Bathroom humor, John Davidson's tongue and awful blue screen/toy plane effects make this sheer agony. George Kennedy gets special recognition for making it through all 4 films with his dignity in tact. As JOE PATRONI, he's consistently committed and watchable.
|