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Airport (Full Screen Edition)

Airport (Full Screen Edition)

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Airport Films Take Off
Review: As the first of the popular Airport movies, this film laid the groundwork and patterns for what would come - take a bunch of actors, some new and some veteran, give them each little melodramatic subplots, and link them together via aviation disaster. This one concerns the problems that beset a Chicago airport when a huge snowstorm strikes the same night a looney tunes passenger decides to blow a hole with dynamite in a plane en route to Rome. Dean Martin and Barry Nelson are the pilots on board trying to get the plane safely back to Chicago, while Burt Lancaster, Jean Seberg, and of course, George Kennedy work on the ground to solve the problems. There's too much emphasis put on melodrama and failing marriages, but the last half of the film works well when the suspense kicks in. The leads are all okay, but it's a few of the supporting performances that work best. Maureen Stapleton is very believable and touching as the bomber's wife who is too late to prevent the tragedy, while Van Heflin as the bomber is appropriately intense. Helen Hayes provides some of the film's best moments as a crafty stowaway, although the single best moment is provided by a priest towards the end who has a perfect way to shut up a panicked passenger. Airport is very much a film of its time, but it is fun to watch, particularly once you've made it through the soap opera of the first half. When the plane gets off the ground, so does the story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic Hit Film Finally Available in Theatrical Widescreen!
Review: Bravo for a well done DVD of a classic hit movie! AIRPORT has previously only been shown in widescreen on cable television, in letterbox format. Those who bought their own copy for home viewing had to settle for a full screen pan and scan edition, which leaves out a great deal of the movie's main attraction, its spectacle, not to mention a number of the "artsy" split-screen shots which were in vogue at the time.

If you are waiting for a definitive edition of AIRPORT for home viewing, this is a value. Excellent theatrical sound and anamorphic widescreen picture for maximum resolution even on your big screen. The movie score is a classic, too, and sounds great. The picture clarity and color are excellent, making this quite a bargain in Universal Pictures/Good Times home entertainment -- a big budget, all star cast motion picture for less than the price of two tickets to a revival screening.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Still a Thrill
Review: Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin star in this film about life and work around an airport for the employees and passengers. It is a mix of suspense and drama, of the sort that is still a thrill today, and while airports were safer during this time, the film exposes the caps that were apparent even then.

Dean Martin's performance is especially memorable, as it is very different from his work with Jerry Lewis or parts thereafter (no singing). However, in the form of a brainy teener there is still something of a Jerry Lewis-type-character for the man of "That's Amore" to contend with. A film that will entertain and intrigue!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Eventful day at an International Airport--Top Entertainment!
Review: Burt Lancaster is great as the dedicated General Manager of Chicago's Lincoln Airport, directing the handling of an array of trouble-situations. Whether dealing with a suicidal passanger aboard a jumbo jet, or a little old lady (superbly played by Oscar winner Helen Hayes) who is finally stopped from scamming the air lines out of free fares. When given an ultimatum by his wife, Lancaster chooses to remain loyal to his job. -- A side plot deals with pilot Dean Martin's concerns about the pregnancy of his stewardess girl-friend (played by Jaquelin Bisset). This part of the story line was handled rather progressively by 1970 standards. -- Maureen Stapleton gives another fine performance as the wife of the down-and-out guy who wanted to blow up the plane he was on in order for her to collect insurance money. She gives true meaning to the words "for better or for worse". -- "Airport" is the first in a line of many 1970s big budget disaster movies, and in my opinion it's also the best. You're gonna like this picture!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great old movie
Review: Everyone says "They don't make movies like that anymore, well they don't. No big multi-million dollar special effects, just big stars and GREAT acting.

This is a must for everyones library.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic Airline Drama
Review: For anyone who has dreamed of working for the airlines or airports or if you're just a fan of the industry, this movie is a must see. This a great snapshot of how glamorous and exciting flying was in the early days of the jetliner.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Airport
Review: I love the 1970 movie Airport- it is my favorite. Yes, the film may move along slowly without much action, yes, it may have a soap opera feel to it, yes the costumes and hair designing may be thirty years old, but it still is a classic in the disaster films area. I recommend it for anyone that is interested in aviation. The technical details are excellent as well, except that the in-flight scenes are shot using a toy model Boeing 707, but it's not too bad. Helen Hayes, playing her role as Mrs. Ada Quonsett, the stoaway, is excellent and very convincing. Alfred Newman's theme music gives it a good touch as well. Also, I recommend Arthur Hailey's novel from 1968, Airport, from which the movie is based on. The book was recently re-printed in August 2000, so it should be easy to find a copy, or to order it right here on amazon.com. Thanks for reading my review, and enjoy the movie and book!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One Of The Best Disasters Films Ever!!
Review: I love this movie! By 2001 standards, the special effects in "Airport" are pretty much subpar, at best. Just closely watch the scenes in which the Boeing 707 of "Trans Global Airlines" is going through turbulence. You can just visualize several stagehands off camera moving the set back and forth by hand! It's actually quite amusing when you watch it today. But aside from the bad effects, it's still a very fun movie to watch. Good score as well, especially on this new DVD edition. My hat is off to GoodTimes Home Video for this effort. On its VHS tapes, GoodTimes rarely (if ever) records anything in stereo...or even in mono hi-fi, for that matter! (Always wondered why this was.) But this DVD has excellent picture and stereo surround sound! A great movie; value priced too! Classic dialogue......"This plane is built to withstand anything...except a BAD PILOT!!"

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Movie an uncommonly good disaster film; VHS technical flop.
Review: I wanted to add the film to my see-it-again collection; I knew what to expect. The first cassette amazon sent was defective, stopped dead in about 10 min. Wonderfully courteous telephone staff sent another. This one played to the end but my eyesight suffered. Scratches and worse all the way through. Some areas almost blanked out. This time I'm returning it to the manufacturer; amazon has gone the extra mile already. Watch out for films from Good Times Video!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: THE BIGGEST PIECE OF JUNK MADE!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I would have given this film no stars, but I just had to find one redeaming quality about this film and after watching it five times I finally found it in, Maureen Stapleton. She is the only good thing about this film. Her performance as the mad bombers wife is so vividly brought to the screen that it breaks your heart. I'm not going to go into detail about this film because it's long and predictable and boring at times. Many people feel that Helen Hayes is a good part of this film, but please how many quirky old ladies can you see in films before you get tired of them. The Academy couldn't even give the Oscar to the right person from Airport either, they gave it to Helen instead of Maureen. This film only recieved 10 Oscar Nominations, including Best Picture, because it was a box office hit and because the studio spent a lot of money on ads for it. People say it's a classic because it started the disaster movies, I say it's a disaster and a piece of junk. The real disaster movie came with "The Poseidon Adventure."
10 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS:
BEST PICTURE[1970]
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-MAUREEN STAPLETON
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-HELEN HAYES
BEST ART DIRECTION
BEST SOUND
BEST SCORE
BEST FILM EDITING
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY


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