Airport 1975

Rating:
Summary: Buy this version unless they remaster the Terminal Pack...
Review: I won't comment on the film or the acting; it's hard to take any Airport film seriously after Airplane! skewered the genre.

However, if you appreciate the film for what it is, fun entertainment, this is certainly one of the better in the 70's disaster film genre and the special effects have held up well over the years.

If you're interested in this film, I strongly urge you to buy this copy instead of or in addition to the Airport Terminal Pack; there is a mastering error that does not fully expand the film horizontally in that collection, with the result that objects are somewhat compressed horizontally from their true proportions. Another reviewer's references to "tire ovals" and "stick people" is a bit of an exaggeration, but you'll wonder why the plane is so short and stubby and why the airport's pickup trucks look as if they have 4' beds. :-)

In short, another mastering error on Universal's part and, frankly, a somewhat better transfer on GoodTimes' part make THIS the better transfer of Airport 1975...

Rating:
Summary: Who is flying the Plane?
Review: If you are interested in this film, I would suggest looking into 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.

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 the filmmakers decided a head on crash with a small plane would recapture the magic. Well, it doesn't totally work, but all the AIRPORT films still retain a bit of charm that makes viewing painless and on occasion fun.

There are moments in the dramatic Airport 75 that are difficult to discern from the broad parody AIRPLANE. From Krishnas boarding the plane to an entire plane full of smiling passengers leaning in to hear a song sung to a transplant patient en route to her operation, it all looks familiar. In part, seeing the material that inspired that wacky comedy presented dramatically is a lot of fun.

Of course, AIRPORT '75 has an 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. And of course, George Kennedy returns as Petroni, an AIRPORT staple. Most amazing is the aforementioned 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 of the only elements 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.

Finally, Airport '75 retains some of the Soap Opera elements that propelled the first film in the series.

Airport '75 is in no way a great film. Hardly even a good one. But it can sure be fun; especially on those late Saturday nights went you can't get to sleep... this'll do the trick!


Rating:
Summary: For Camp Value Only
Review: In college, my friend Scott (who also reviewed this for Amazon) and I used to watch this movie incessantly. I had seen Airplane and wondered why they even bothered. Airport '75 is the height of self-parody. Rather than evaluate it on its merits - none - I will simply list for you many of its classic camp moments and the joy they have brought over the years to me and mine. Herewith: Karen Black period but especially when she first sees the hole in the cockpit and for the five second hysterical outburst "There's no one to fly the plane! Oh, my God! Help us!" after which she collapses as if she has just channeled every Hitchcock heroine from Ingrid Bergman to Tippi Hedren to well, herself in Family Plot. Karen's other fine moments include the tongue as grapple hook moment when she pulls Charlie boy on board and her deathless line, "We're all alone now Beth."
Moving on to Gloria Swanson. Apparently no one told her the movie was not called "Gloria Swanson's Brush With Death". She gives it everything she's got, and it's still a crushing blow to me that it is a double wrapped in that hooded black fur coat coming down the slide at the end. And let's give it up to Myrna Loy, drunk, drunk, drunk and still with more class in her little finger than well, never mind. And let's consider for just a moment how they could have ever thought the plane would get further than 15,000 feet with Regan, I mean, Linda Blair on board. You know something horrible is going to happen. I won't even go into how horrible Charleton Heston is. Okay, so maybe I'm swayed by the fact that he's a fascist, gun-toting psycopath in real life, but really, he couldn't ever act beyond gritting his teeth. In truth, I can't think of anyone better to play the part. And finally, let me give props to Miss Candy Clark who somehow pulls a little bit of sass and dignity out of her character. Her "We love you" moment with George Kennedy is the only real thing that happens in the film.

Okay, so I couldn't get to everything, but this movie - from the blaring trumpets to the horrible day for night editing of the exterior shots - is a stone cold blast. It's Karen Black's world, welcome to it.

Rating:
Summary: The best of all the "Airport" sequels!
Review: In my mind this sequel should have been the only one done after the success of the original.The script utilizes what material was not used from Authur Haley's novel in the first film and expands on it.The film is quite suspenseful but slightly dated. It features some hair raising moments when a pilot is attempted to be transferred to the pilotless plane.All in all, it's the best of all the "Airport" sequels!

Rating:
Summary: So-so disaster flick...
Review: It's not bad, but it's not great. An impressive line-up of celebrities, but all of them (even the legendary Sid Caesar) are wasted, each having about three lines to say (Gloria Swanson's cameo seemed like it was added as a joke!). Karen Black's incredibly heartbreaking and stunning performance as the terrified stewardess who must fly the airplane of fading stars is the only reason to watch this sequel, which lacks the better-developed characters of the somewhat superior "Airport 77."

Rating:
Summary: 3 Stars 'Cause I Already Rated 'Airport' 4 Stars
Review: Like everybody says, it's Karen Black's film, although George Kennedy and Machine-Gun Heston do a pretty good job of almost crashing the film through their own disasterous talents.

'Airport 1975' stars a few screen legends - Gloria Swanson (needs no intro), Dana Andrews (pilot of small private plane and big time movie star from 'While the City Sleeps,' 'Laura,' 'Tha Fallen Angel') and Myrna Loy, whose majority of spoken lines revolve around the subject of alcohol (a major nod to her 'Thin Man' series with William Powell). Magic.

Best line: George Kennedy, while clinging to the outside of an emergency vehicle that's speeding down the runway chasing the landed plane: "he can't stop her!!" (Why he couldn't ride in the cab of the truck, I'll never know).

Also, contrary to popular belief, Charlton Heston did not lose his mind shortly after becoming president of the NRA. He lost it in this film. When he finally gets aboard the 747 - a plane Karen Black has been flying with no experience for the past hour - he gets right into the whining about 'back-up systems' and isn't sure whether the 'wheels are locked' and . . . oh, it goes on. Hard to believe she bothers to walk off the plane with him at the end.

A film to see, particularly for Chuck and George's over-the-top acting.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the bunch
Review: My personal favourite of all the Airport movies, Airport 1975 is a camp classic. Right from the opening credits I am whisked away to the 70's and the familiar feeling of snuggling up at the drive-in....I can almost smell the thermos coffee. Airport 1975 doesn't take itself too seriously, yet all the characters play it straight. With a cast that reads like a guest list for a post Oscars party this movie seems to be full of cliches, yet it was this movie that started the said cliches, which I suppose debunks that theory. This is the movie that Airplane (aka Flying High) stuck closest too. With the sick child (Linda Blair), singing nun (Helen Reddy) and commitmentphobe pilot (Charlton Heston) all represented in the direct spoof. The movie however belongs to Karen Black, the poor old flight attendant. The plane is rendered pilotless when a midair collision with a small plane collides with the cockpit. Ms Black then has to take control of the 747 with no experience in flying whatsoever. Entertaining and hilarious.
I was disappointed however in the DVD which was very light on features. I would have loved to see a trailer, a commentary or better yet, a feature on all four Airport movies, but alas, it was not to be. I had to settle for a filmography on the top 2 stars only and that was it.
If you want a blast from the past, or are just fond of the disaster flicks churned out in the 1970's I would heartily recommend Airport 1975.

Rating:
Summary: was it Roy or Memorex?
Review: The best scene in this vapid movie is the actual mid-air collision. Roy Thinnes(probably the best darn actor in the whole movie) is sucked out of the gaping hole. do a frame by frame and you might agree with me that they used a Roy mannequin. I wish i could ask him. When i first saw this movie at a drive-in, i thought the co-pilot was sucked out and up, as into outer space, i guess i didnt know about gravity or pressure differential then.
by the way, i wonder who found his body?

Rating:
Summary: A Respectable Sequel - It Should Have Been The Only Sequel!
Review: The following is an update to my original (edited) review from 1999:

In my mind this sequel should have been the only one done after the success of the original. The script utilizes the material not used from Authur Haley's novel in the first film (i.e. the chapters about an overworked air traffic controller who deals with his experience with a midair collision) and expands on it.

The film is quite suspenseful but slightly dated. It features some hair raising moments when the head stewardess has to try to fly the damaged plane after the collision and the flight crew is either dead or disabled. Next, an attempt is made to place a pilot into the pilotless plane. The film features an all star cast, including Karen Black as the head stewardess and Charlton Heston as her boyfriend and exec of the airlines, and a plausable script with some great special effects (considering it was produced in the mid 1970s).

All in all, it's the best of all the "Airport" sequels!

Rating:
Summary: A Karen Black vehicle, all the way!
Review: The Theme (aircrew disabled/dead, stewardess or passenger brings it in...) has been done and re-done. This one, however, stands out due to the superlative "10-star" performance by Karen Black. With little help from special effects, less from the screenwriters (mediocre story-line, at best), Black made me FEEL the terror, frustration, anger, desperation and elation as Nancy's predicament progresses. Putting aside the known improbability (I'm a former jet fighter pilot)of a non-pilot being able to quick-study command and control of a B-747, even with expert coaching, Black's emoting captivated me to the point where I BELIEVED her; she made it real for me. The plethora of other stars, including the mighty Heston, faded into supporting roles to Ms. Black in this one. She was absolutely superb. Buy this one; watch Karen Black show you acting as it should be.