Rating: 
Summary: When Airports Were Safe
Review: In 1969, who could have imagined what frightful places airports could become? But for its time, Arthur Hailey's best-seller portrayed one metropolitan airport as a quite frenzied place, especially during a severe snowstorm. And, this novel may have been the only one to spawn one movie, three sequels, and two parodies.With an all-star ensemble pitting arrogant pilot (Dean Martin) against the mild-manner Operations Director (Burt Lancaster), the film reveals one full night in which many characters' subplots intertwine while revealing the airport's infrastructure and many tricks of the trade. But the major story is that of financially troubled "D.O. Guerrero" (Van Heflin) who ambles onboard a Rome-bound flight with a simple briefcase bomb poised for his wife to collect insurance. Despite a carefully planned ploy by an elderly stowaway (Helen Hayes), the bomb explodes leaving the 727 seriously crippled and needing to return home. With masterful piloting by Martin, the plane descends, desperately needing the longest runway which is still blocked by a plane that skidded earlier that evening. With 179 souls on board, only Lancaster can give the order for an assembly of tractors to literally shred the obstacle off the needed runway. But the top mechanic (George Kennedy) insists he can rock the stuck plane out of the way.
Rating:
Summary: Par For the Course
Review: This one falls right in line with the 70s disaster flicks. Yes, Helen Hayes gives quite a performance as an anti-corporate senior citizen. Fun to watch her screw the man! Dean Martin comes off as a real [jerk[, [being with] flight attendants (then referred to as stewardesses, I believe) and acting as a thorn in the side of his on-the-ground bro-in-law, Burt Lancaster. Burt, himself, is the man's man. He tries to keep it together on the ground, following an in-flight explosion by a crazy called Guerrero. A very watchable flick, but I warn you, it may make you look into Poseiden Adventure.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for nostalgia, but ultimately flawed....
Review: Airport signalled the beginning of the 'disaster' movie phenomenon of the 1970's. The disaster movie was the perfect vehicle to showcase the increased quality and depth of special effects available to movie makers as well as the stereo sound in theatres. The main problem with Airport is the pacing of the movie. For the first 1.5 hours, the pacing is excruciatingly slow. In this extremely slow build up, we are treated to soap opera theatrics including the mandatory 'husband leaving his wife for the young bimbo' storyline. There seems to be too many side stories that detract from the main focus of the 'mad bomber'. By the end of the 70's though, the problems inherent within Airport were worked on to give us gripping 'on the edge of your seat' disaster movies such as The Towering Inferno and Earthquake. Not that Airport is a bad movie - just slow and packed with too many side stories. The exciting part of the movie lasts all of ½ an hour. But it is almost worth it to see the final scenes of the plane landing. It's also interesting to see the early 70's in full action - the orange chairs and gaudy yellow walls are captured for us all to appreciate and admire! Airport, whilst flawed, should be of interest to nostalgia buffs who wish to see the development of the 70's disaster movie.
Rating:
Summary: Often Imitated, never Duplicated
Review: The granddaddy of transportation disaster movies with an all-star cast (Helen Hayes stole an Oscar as Ada Quonsett) and big budget set (lots of snow). Best line in the movie: Dean Martin to Jacqueline Bissett, after Dean hears she may not have her pregnancy terminated and instead give the chid up for adoption - "you have religious scruples?" This from a man who is cheating on his wife and has just heard he's knocked up a stewardess. Aaaaahh, you gotta love it!! Only a Rat Packer could pull that one off. Too much time on runway two-niner methinks. Classic stuff, even if a little dated.
Rating: 
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:
Summary: Boy, flying really did have glamour!!!
Review: Well acted, Academy Award winning (Best Supporting Actress 1970)disaster flick is a hoot on DVD. I had never seen "Airport" which is amazing considering I have worked for the airlines. It was great fun and a trip down memory lane to the days when flying involved more glamour than headaches. These days flying is little more than a glorified, albeit faster, ride on the bus. "Airport" features screen stars of its day and yesteryear. Helen Hayes really shined and richly deserved the Oscar. Maureen Stapleton gave her a run for the money in another excellent performance. Burt Lancaster, as usual, commands the screen. Jacqueline Bisset, George Kennedy, Jean Seeberg, Lloyd Nolan and Dean Martin were all wonderful. I think it is time people stop gripping about Goodtimes. This is a great little dvd at a budget price. If the Goodtimes contract with Universal studio expires (it may have) and Universal takes back these titles (as they did with the Universal titles released by Image) one of two things will happen. The titles may simply vanish off the shelves and possibly never see the light of day again. Or, Universal may issue a marginally better edition itself at several times the price. Witness their re-issue of "Halloween 2", instead of a special edition we got another "bare-bones" DVD (the blood aside) very similiar to the Goodtimes release except for the price. The only extra on the Universal release was a silly trailer, no running commentary, featurette or interviews. The Goodtimes, hopefully, are here to stay. Anyway, I am glad I have "Airport" on a widescreen DVD, order yours before it is gone and make some popcorn!!! Thanks, CAL
Rating:
Summary: OLD FASHIONED ENTERTAINMENT
Review: "AIRPORT" is one of those old-fashioned Sunday evening type movies that has been enjoyed by many. Forget the abysmal sequels which turn alot of people off this original and enjoy the numerous plot twists that develop throughout. The best acting comes from the supporting cast in which Helen Hayes and in particular Van Heflin standout. Though overlong (A minor gripe) the direction is taut and the suspense level is maintained. If viewing this movie at home,go for the DVD version (Widescreen preferably) I rate this DVD highly
Rating: 
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
Rating:
Summary: The dawning of a new age in Hollywood Cinema
Review: It may not have been obvious at the time, but 1970 signaled a landmark change in Hollywood cinema. The release of the movie "Airport" marked the debut of Hollywood's decade-long obsession with disaster. The success of "Airport" established a general formula followed by all disaster flicks and inspired countless imitators (not the least of which involved THREE separate sequels to "Airport"). The basic plot outline involves a suicidal man who just lost his job who decides to end it all by blowing himself and an entire plane out of the sky. He doesn't manage to do destroy the plane, but he does damage it severely and it's up to the plane's captain to land the it safely and the airport director to orchestrate the safe landing in the midst of a driving snow storm. This movie introduced the 'failing marriage and other woman' plot device to the disaster formula as there was not just one, but TWO male leads that experience that phenomenon. Burt Lancaster, as the airport director, ignores his wife while consorting with his secretary during the crisis, and Dean Martin, as the plane's captain, has a very worried wife on the ground while his own concerns (in addition to saving the plane) are directed towards the stewardess he is having an affair with (and who is carrying his child). It also introduced the theory that George Kennedy should be in as many disaster films as possible (as witnessed by the fact that he was in every "Airport" movie as well as "Earthquake"). It certainly did not warrant the 10 Academy Award nominations and 1 Academy Award win (for Support Actress by Helen Hayes as a mousy stowaway). But, the freshness of this type of movie likely swayed audiences and the academy. Yet, this is an entertaining flick and worth the time invested to see it.
Rating:
Summary: The accidental classic!
Review: The cars and clothing styles are hopelessly dated, its portrayal of gender roles is about as politically incorrect as you can get, it gave birth to a genre many of us love to hate, and it's probably best remembered today as the inspiration for one of the great movie parodies of all time. In other words, what's not to love about "Airport"? Granted, most of the movie's entertainment value is unintentional from today's point of view. The one overtly humorous side-story, featuring Helen Hayes as a repeat-offending stowaway, is amusing as ever; but the movie's efforts at more serious fare are the real farces. The airport manager's marriage troubles which happen to come to a head just as the worst snowstorm in a decade hits and his unnaturally stoic response, the hysterical wife of the movie's villain, the hamhanded attempt at addressing the issue of abortion (which was still illegal in most parts of the U.S. at the time), and perhaps most of all, the casting of Dean Martin as the pilot who saves the day...none of these come even close to being convincing, but they're definitely entertaining! If you're among the legions of Gen-Xers who know all the lines to "Airplane!" by heart, it's a scream to see the original characters, dialogues and events that movie satirizes; they're fairly easy to pick out. The primary storyline, of course, concerns an airplane in jeopardy and a crew racing against time to bring the passengers to safety. Sure, it's typical disaster-movie fare, but it's not quite as predictable as you might expect, and the special effects are well-done considering their vintage. (It's also fairly low-key compared to most of the mega-budget messes this genre has spawned more recently; this is actually kind of refreshing.) Even if you know how the flight and all the side stories end, the movie as a whole stands up to endless repeated viewings for anyone who likes late-60s kitsch - there's so much of it here that you're sure to notice something new and noteworthy every time. No one will ever mistake it for one of the all-time greats, but "Airport" will always be good for a laugh - however accidental.
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