Airport (Widescreen Edition)

Rating:
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:
Summary: The Widescreen version on DVD was worth the wait!
Review: This movie is based on the first novel I read in high school. The book was both engaging and suspenseful and the film brings it to life on the screen (right down to verbatim dialog from the book). When I saw this film in the theater the first time I was blown away.

Veteran film makers Ross Hunter and George Seaton gather an excellent cast and crew to do justice to the book (material not used in this film was developed to make Airport '75). It's no wonder the film, though panned by critics of its time, garnered 10 Academy Award Nominations, including Best Picture (Helen Hayes received the Best Supporting Actress award)!

This is a must film for those who are fans of its genre. A 30 year anniversary documentary of the film would still have been an appropriate tribute to honor all those involved with its making (many are no longer with us). Remastering it digitally in its original widescreen presentation is quite an improvement!...

Rating:
Summary: A+ DVD for the GoodTimes
Review: I'm going to do something I thought I'd never do; give GoodTimes Video an A+ for this DVD. They took a step into the 20th century for their Thirtieth Anniversary DVD release of Airport.

I held onto my old Airport VHS tape well after I stepped up to DVDs, because no one had released a widescreen DVD of the classic disaster film. GoodTimes had earlier released a DVD of Airport, but it was in standard aspect ration, so I passed on it. Then last week, there it was, Airport, WIDESCREEN, it said. And when I picked it up to look at the features on the back, I couldn't believe my eyes. GoodTimes not only released it in widescreen, but in anamorphic widescreen, AND in Dolby surround. And the price is more than perfect.

You get no extras, just the movie. But it's beautiful, and it's the original, shown for the first time as it was on the big screen in perhaps thirty years.

If you love classic films, then this movie is probably on your list of must-haves. This is not a perfect film, but it works. From Dean Martin's better than average performance, to Helen Hayes' Oscar winning portrayal of a fiesty trickster that sneaks onto planes. By today's standards the plot may seem to move slowly, but if you view it in it's 70's context, it's actually more like a roller coaster ride that takes off at a slow glide, tops a hill, and flies down the other side into a fairly tense climax. Don't be afraid of this DVD. For ten bucks you could get a real crappy DVD. But in this case, you strike gold.

Let's hope this is a new and lasting trend for GoodTimes DVDs. Low prices, good movies. GoodTimes.

Rating:
Summary: Widescreen FINALLY!!!!
Review: It's about time!!!! Great movie. I can hardly wait to see the widescreen edition.

Rating:
Summary: Not Perfect, But Solid Entertainment
Review: It's not every day you see a movie that shows Dean Martin as more of an actor than you remembered, and Helen Hayes as rather less of one, but "Airport" is like that. It's a rich, plotty plum pudding of a film that features dozens of performances from actors at every level of competence. Interestingly enough, it all works. Martin is quite credible and good as an airline pilot, even when the dialogue he's given is contrived and movie-ish. Hayes is a little over-the-top in her acclaimed performance as a little-old-lady stowaway; it's nothing Spring Byington couldn't have done just as well, and cheaper. What the heck, Hayes had reached the point in her career where she could do as she pleased.

Other people in the film? The late Jean Seberg is in it, looking amazingly like Kim Novak in a Hitchcock film- complete with grey Edith Head suit and a crush on an older man, played dully by Burt Lancaster. Barbara Hale ("Della Street" in the old "Perry Mason" series) is great as an earth mother married to Dean Martin; watch for her little scene toward the end of the movie when she realises her marriage is over. Van Heflin is painfully accurate in his portrayal of a demented loser who wants to suicide-bomb a 707 so his wife will have his flight insurance as compensation for the horrible life she's had as his spouse. And as the wife, Maureen Stapleton is absolutely wonderful. She's uncomprehending, incoherent, and agonisingly aware by turns; everytime she's on-screen, nothing else matters.

Other roles involve Jacqueline Bisset as a stewardess- not the highest and best use of her talent- and yes, that's Gary Collins as a navigator. George Kennedy plays a TWA mechanic who saves the day; I don't like his performance, but Kennedy went on to play the same role in this film's sequels, so he must have been pleasing someone with his work. True film buffs will be delighted by one of the bit players- the mother of a teen-aged nerd who is on the ill-fated 707 flight. It's none other than Virginia Grey, Joan Crawford's blonde co-worker at the perfume counter in "The Women". And "Airport" features the last screen appearance of the late, great Jessie Royce Landis; she's a rich woman who tries to do a little diamond smuggling. Her accomplice is her poodle, who travels in- what else?- a Louis Vuitton carrier.

The film itself? Well, it's big-time movie-making, circa 1970; everything about it is flossy and expensive and well-done. There is an astounding special effect when the loser sets off a bomb on the plane. It's got enough plot and enough stars for four movies. And in its own way, it's quite good. It'll take your mind off your life for the entire time you're watching it, and what more is a Hollywood epic supposed to do? Chalk this one up as imperfect, but recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Very good movie
Review: This movie has a great soryline, and some very good actors. I bought this for my grandfather because he loves this movie, so when I got it, I watched it. I really liked it. Whats also nice, is that the widscreen is 1:33, so it fills up almost the whole screen.

Rating:
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:
Summary: Will we ever see this....
Review: in WIDESCREEN???? I have loved this film for years and have the original MCA videotape, the original MCA laserdisc, and this horrible Goodtimes DVD. CAN'T SOMEONE GET THIS FILM TRANSFERRED TO SEE IN WIDESCREEN? Turner Classic Movies is the only source where I've seen it in widescreen. Thank God for TCM! Perhaps one day...........

Rating:
Summary: The first is always the best.
Review: OH MY GOD! DEAN MARTIN SOBER!!!!!

He didn't appear inebriated at all in this film, and he really showed that he could be a damn fine actor. This film started the ball rolling on what would soon becalled "The Disaster Genre".

Produced in 1969, Jennings Lang could not have even imagined what he was getting into. The film was one of Hollywoods shining moments and usherd in the modern era of action/adventure/disaster films. The effects were top notch, now a little cheezy, but I am sure that those like me love it either way.

I did notice a few pilot tech flubs, such as reaching for the flap handle by way of the gear lever(!). The flap actuator was next to the thottle quads in the 707, not on the front panel where the gear actuator is located.

Even from a pilots point of view, this film is a must see. I would really like to see the directors cut of this film, as I read somewhere a few years ago that the DC was 40 minutes longer than the edition we see now.

Oh well, time will tell!

Excellent Filmmaking

Rating:
Summary: One Of The All-Time Best...
Review: of its kind. I remember as a boy of thirteen going to the neighborhood theater and watching this movie and then seeing it on television many times. If you have any interest in commercial aviation at all especially airliners of the Boeing family, then you have to see this movie. The cast is star-studded (you'll remember many of them from your parent's day if you are a boomer) and the plot grabs you from the get-go.

This movie was made in a time when there wasn't a need for blood, guts, and gore to get the point across. The suspense in this film rivals any of today's "action/adventure" flicks and still comes out on top. There's no way you won't enjoy this one. I just wish they made more films of this caliber in today's market. Enjoy!