Simply A Masterpiece

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

George Seaton (Miracle on 34th Street) directed the initial installment, which originated the entire big budget disaster genre that ruled the 1970's. The actual story is simple - there's a big snowstorm in Chicago and a flight to Rome is in danger, thanks to a down on his luck demolition expert (Van Heflin in his last role) looking to blow up the plane so that his wife (Maureen Stapleton, who won a Golden Globe for her work) can cash in. Along the way, we meet airport manager Mel Bakersfield (Burt Lancaster), whose is married to the airport over his wife (Dana Wynter from Invasion of the Body Snatchers) while a co-worker (Jean Seberg, the gorgeous star of the original Breathless whose support of the Black Panthers led to the FBI COINTELPRO hounding her for the rest of her short life) pines for him. Then there's Vernon Demerest (Dean Martin), who is married to Bakersfield's sister (Barbara Hale, mother of William Katt) but is having an affair with a stewardess (Jacqueline Bisset, The Mephisto Waltz). Then there's Mrs. Quonsett (Helen Hayes, who won an Oscar for the role), an elderly woman who sneaks her way onto planes.This big cast all interplays with one another, ending up on the seemingly doomed flight or aiding in its rescue. Will love win out? Will anyone who works in the airline industry get along with their spouses? Can Patroni shovel out a plane in time after being called in while he's trying to enjoy a night of passion with his wife? Sure. Yes. Of course.To get big stars like Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin, the producers gave that 10% of the profits after the film reached $50 million. With a US gross of over $100 million, the stars did more than fine making this one.

If the disaster film genre of the 1970s had an actual starting point, it would most likely have been with the spectacular success in 1968 of Arthur Hailey's best-selling novel Airport, which detailed the major ins and outs of an ultra-busy airport where things like stowaways, stuck aircraft, and security breaches are all in a day's work. The book was such a monstrous success, selling in excess of a million copies within its first year of publishing, that it was almost inevitable that Hollywood would try to make it into a movie. And this is indeed what writer/director George Seaton, who had made the 1947 Christmas classic MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, did after Universal bought the rights to it and got Ross Hunter (of THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE fame) to produce it, with a cast of all-stars. The end result, released in March 1970, would be a box office smash and lead not only to three sequels, but also begin a film genre that would be much maligned by a good deal of film critics into the 21st century.The setting for Airport is Lincoln International Airport in Chicago on a snowbound winter night. Burt Lancaster portrays the airport's general manager who, on this night, is beset by any number of minor crises, including a brother-in-law (Dean Martin) who needles him about the way he runs the place; a jet stuck in the snow out on the tarmac because its pilot cut the taxiway short; an elderly stowaway (Helen Hayes) causing havoc with security; and problems at home with a wife (Dana Wynter) who gets into an argument over his being far more obsessed with his job than with his home life. He somehow manages to keep it together, thanks to the help of a very reliable staff, including tough-as-nails mechanic Joe Patroni (George Kennedy), who helps to get that stuck 747 out of the snow so that a vital runway isn't clogged for too long (with that runway being closed, jets are forced to take off on a runway right in the path of homes whose owners have complained fiercely about the noise).This night, however, he is facing another, fare more serious crisis. A mentally unstable and very depressed man (Van Heflin) has managed to get on a flight from Chicago to Rome being piloted by Martin and Barry Nelson; and in his suitcase, the only one he brings onboard (and keeps very close to him) is a bomb. Alerted to this as the flight is passing through the airspace monitored from Cleveland, they try to turn the plane around and head back to Chicago while at the same time trying to find a way to disarm Heflin and not frighten any of the passengers. Unfortunately, Heflin manages to detonate the bomb inside a bathroom, causing significant damage to the plane and injuring several passengers in the bargain, including a pregnant chief stewardess (Jacqueline Bisset). They have to fight the bad weather in the air and make it to Chicago, advising Lincoln Tower that they have to land on the main runway or there's no guarantee that anyone will survive Although clearly meant to be nothing more than old-fashioned Hollywood entertainment (and even in 1970, it definitely looked old-fashioned), AIRPORT, for all its melodramatics and sometimes off-center sense of humor, generated primarily by Hayes' dotty performance as the elderly stowaway (which won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar), works quite well for what it was intended to be. The performances by Lancaster, Martin, Bisset, Kennedy, and Hayes are all what you'd expect from professionals like them; and the cast includes Larry Gates, Maureen Stapleton, Jean Seberg, Lloyd Nolan, Barbara Hale, and Whit Bissell. Alfred Newman's score (his last; he passed away only a few weeks before the film's release) is also quite good and appropriate (its love theme was turned into a million-selling instrumental hit by studio guitarist Vincent Bell in 1970), and got Newman both an Oscar and a Grammy nomination posthumously.While a lot of the clichés introduced in this film and tits three subsequent sequels would nauseate critics for most of the rest of the decade, AIRPORT nevertheless moves at a fairly good clip, given that it's close to 140 minutes in length and its special effects are painfully dated in the 21st century age of CGI. It also helps that some of the concerns raised in this movie, which came true in light of 9/11, have somehow managed to keep this film relatively relevant, which is saying something, given how many Hollywood films come and go every year.

As an avid Dean Martin fan, sure I loved this film. But watching it again now, 46 years later, it's a darned good film. A bit dated, of course. But, if you wonder what air travel was like back in 1970, this gives you a pretty good idea from terminal issues to actual flying. And of course, "Airport" spawned a whole series of sequels.Before I get into the film, I wanted to mention that I am watching this on Universal's Blu Ray edition, and it's an extremely nice transfer. However, the way the disc works with special features and restarting after a pause is rather odd.The first thing that I remember from my original viewing of this film in theaters was how interesting just seeing how airports work. There's a bit of technical stuff here than adds to the realism.The second thing remembered was how worn out Burt Lancaster looked. Of course, he was nearing 60, but a little better makeup would have helped. Nevertheless, it's a good performance, and I say that as someone who didn't always appreciate Lancaster.I remember folks wondering if Dean would be believable as an airline pilot. Well, he was, and in fact his is another very good performance, particularly in the scene just before the bomb goes off.I usually wan't impressed with Jean Seberg, although she does nicely here. Her personal life and the intrigue surrounding it were probably more interesting than many of her acting roles. I feel similarly about Jacqueline Bisset -- a little shallow as an actress. But they were both beautiful. Another actor I was never impressed with is here, too -- George Kennedy as trouble shooter; chomping on a cigar never impresses me; it's a stereotypical performance.The beloved performance by Helen Hayes as elderly stowaway Ada Quonsett.Among the most intriguing characters are Van Heflin as a failed contractor and the bomber of the airplane in question. Maureen Stapleton plays his despondent wife; a bravura performance by a talented character actress.Good performances are turned in by Barry Nelson as the co-pilot, Dana Wynter as Lancaster's wife, Lloyd Nolan as a custom's agent, and Barbara Hale as Dean's wife (Barbara was Della Street in "Perry Mason").I flew in and out of Minneapolis-St. Paul many times on the way to and from Thailand beginning a decade later, and that's where much of the film was made. I was also interested to see my old favorite airline -- Northwest Orient -- advertised in several shots. But I also was reminded how much smoking there used to be on airplanes.I thought they did a nice job with some of the very minor characters aboard the airline, even those who had no speaking parts. It added humor and detail. And, you'll recognize a few of those character actors whose names you never quite remember.There have been complaints that "Airport" is melodramatic, and it' somewhat true. And yet, the stories of any of the portrayed passengers are all realistic. And, that's the kind of film that Ross Hunter often produced, and so many of his films were so popular.It's interesting to compare this film with it's ancestor -- "The High And The Mighty", and to note how much air travel had changed from 1954 until 1970.The one problem I saw technically is my doubt that in the middle of winter during a snowstorm that men digging with shovels to make a sort of ramp for the plane was unlikely. Ever try digging with a shovel into soil in the middle of the winter? I just don't think so."Airport" is a very fine film. It was a blockbuster, and deservedly so. A $90 million profit at a time when that rarely happened.

There is a snow storm at Chicago's Lincoln International Airport. Manager Mel Bakersfeld (Burt Lancaster) is working hard to handle all the emergencies. There is a demonstration against the new runway that flies over a neighborhood. He calls in mechanic Joe Patroni (George Kennedy) to pull out a plane stuck in the snow. D.O. Guerrero (Van Heflin) intends to blow up his plane in the air so that his wife Inez (Maureen Stapleton) could collect the life insurance money. Captain Vernon Demerest (Dean Martin) keeps pushing the airport to run faster and pushes the pilot to take off. Stewardess Gwen Meighen (Jacqueline Bisset) is on board and is pregnant with the married Demerest's baby. Mrs. Ada Quonsett (Helen Hayes) is an expert stowaway.The movie has a lot of character minutiae before it gets to the drama. The cast is amazing and Helen Hayes probably won the Oscar for her body of work. The acting suffers from the scale which overshadows everything. There are too many stories to follow. I don't care about most of them. It's rather boring for much of the movie. It's a big movie that doesn't generate enough tension. I am also uncertain whether to praise its influence in starting the 70s disaster movie craze or to hate it for the camp that most of that genre represent. This is not a terribly compelling movie until they get on the plane. Basically the last half is a good disaster movie but the first half is boring as hell.