Airport (film series)

Last updated

Airport
Directed by George Seaton
Jack Smight
Jerry Jameson
David Lowell Rich
Screenplay byGeorge Seaton
Don Ingalls
Jennings Lang
Eric Roth
Based on Airport
by Arthur Hailey
Produced by Ross Hunter
William Frye
Jennings Lang
Starring Burt Lancaster
George Kennedy
Charlton Heston
Alain Delon
Jack Lemmon
Cinematography Ernest Laszlo
Philip H. Lathrop
Edited by Stuart Gilmore
Music by Alfred Newman
John Cacavas
Lalo Schifrin
Production
company
Release dates
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$387.5 million

Airport is a 1970s film series consisting of four airplane-themed disaster films: Airport , Airport 1975 , Airport '77 and The Concorde... Airport '79 . They are based on the 1968 novel Airport by Arthur Hailey. The four films grossed $387.5 million worldwide.

Contents

The only actor who appeared in all four films is George Kennedy, in his recurring role of Joe Patroni, who progresses from a chief mechanic, to a vice president of operations, to a consultant, to an airline pilot.

Critical reception

The first Airport film from 1970 has been praised for the film's influence on the disaster genre and its "camp value". [1] However, the movie's star, Burt Lancaster, said in a 1971 reaction to its ten Academy Award nominations that the film was "the biggest piece of junk ever made." [2] [3]

The New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael characterized Airport 1975 as "cut-rate swill", produced on a TV-movie budget by mercenary businessmen. [4] Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a silly sequel with a 747". [5]

In a review of Airport '77 , a critic in The New York Times wrote that it "looks less like the work of a director and writers than like a corporate decision." [6]

Variety ′s review of The Concorde... Airport '79 called the film "Definitely not for sophisticates, 'Concorde' is a throwback to the old popcorn genre, and rather enjoyable at that" but noted that "unintentional comedy still seems the 'Airport' series' forte". [7] The New York Times' critic Janet Maslin wrote disparagingly that "'Concorde' is enough to persuade anyone to stay on the ground." [8]

Box office receipts declined as the series progressed, and no further Airport films were produced, although media reports in the early 1980s suggested a fifth film was considered.[ citation needed ]

The 1980 comedy Airplane! , though more specifically a parody of the 1957 film Zero Hour! (itself a precursor to the Airport concept, with a screenplay by Hailey), was marketed as a spoof of the Airport series. It spawned its own follow-up, Airplane II: The Sequel , in 1982.

Box office performance

FilmRelease dateBox office grossBudgetReference
United States/CanadaOther territoriesWorldwide
AirportMay 29, 1970$100,500,000$27,900,000$128,400,000$10,200,000 [9] [10] [11]
Airport 1975October 18, 1974$47,300,000$55,700,000$103,000,000$3,000,000 [12] [10]
Airport '77March 11, 1977$30,000,000$61,100,000$91,100,000$6,000,000 [13] [10]
The Concorde... Airport '79August 17, 1979$13,000,000$52,000,000$65,000,000$14,000,000 [14] [10]
Total$190,800,000$196,700,000$387,500,000$33,200,000

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Airplane!</i> 1980 American satirical comedy film

Airplane! is a 1980 American comedy film written and directed by the brothers David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson. It is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly the 1957 Paramount film Zero Hour!, from which it borrows its plot, central characters, and some dialogue. It also draws many elements from Airport 1975 and other films in the Airport series. It is known for its use of surreal humor and fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns, gags, running jokes, and dark humor.

<i>Airport</i> (1970 film) 1970 film by George Seaton

Airport is a 1970 American air disaster–drama film written and directed by George Seaton and starring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin. Based on Arthur Hailey's 1968 novel of the same name, it originated the 1970s disaster film genre. It is also the first of four films in the Airport film series. Produced on a $10 million budget, it earned over $128 million. The supporting cast features Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, George Kennedy, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, Maureen Stapleton, Barry Nelson, Lloyd Nolan, Dana Wynter and Barbara Hale.

<i>An Unmarried Woman</i> 1978 film by Paul Mazursky

An Unmarried Woman is a 1978 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, and Cliff Gorman. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress (Clayburgh).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster film</span> Film genre

A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as a pandemic. A subgenre of action films, these films usually feature some degree of build-up, the disaster itself, and sometimes the aftermath, usually from the point of view of specific individual characters or their families or portraying the survival tactics of different people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Kennedy</span> American actor (1925–2016)

George Harris Kennedy Jr. was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role and being nominated for the corresponding Golden Globe. He received a second Golden Globe nomination for portraying Joe Patroni in Airport (1970).

<i>Funny Lady</i> 1975 musical film directed by Herbert Ross

Funny Lady is a 1975 American biographical musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall and Ben Vereen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Benjamin</span> American actor and film director

Richard Samuel Benjamin is an American actor and film director. He has starred in a number of well-known films, including Goodbye, Columbus (1969), based on the novella by Philip Roth; Catch-22 (1970), from the Joseph Heller best-seller; Westworld (1973), a science-fiction thriller by Michael Crichton; and The Sunshine Boys (1975), written by Neil Simon, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performances in He & She (1968), opposite his wife Paula Prentiss.

An airport is a location where aircraft take off and land. Airport may also refer to:

<i>Airport</i> (novel) 1968 novel by Arthur Hailey

Airport is a bestselling novel by British-Canadian writer Arthur Hailey. Published by Doubleday in 1968, the story concerns a large metropolitan airport and its operations during a severe winter storm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Smight</span> American film director

John Ronald Smight was an American theatre and film director. His film credits include Harper (1966), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), Airport 1975 (1974), Midway (1976), and Fast Break (1979).

<i>Airport 1975</i> 1974 American disaster film

Airport 1975 is a 1974 American air disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film Airport. It was directed by Jack Smight, produced by William Frye, executive produced by Jennings Lang, and written by Don Ingalls. The film stars Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy and Gloria Swanson – as a fictionalized version of herself – in her final film role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent Canby</span> American film and theatre critic (1924–2000)

Vincent Canby was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for The New York Times from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. He reviewed more than one thousand films during his tenure there.

<i>The Concorde... Airport 79</i> 1979 American disaster film directed by David Lowell Rich

The Concorde... Airport '79 is a 1979 American air disaster film and the fourth and final installment of the Airport franchise. Although poorly reviewed by critics and earning poorly in North America, the film was a huge hit internationally, for a total gross of $65 million on a $14 million budget.

<i>The Fury</i> (film) 1978 film by Brian De Palma

The Fury is a 1978 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Amy Irving, Carrie Snodgress, Charles Durning, and Andrew Stevens. The screenplay by John Farris was based on his 1976 novel of the same name.

<i>Someone to Watch Over Me</i> (film) 1987 American film

Someone to Watch Over Me is a 1987 American neo-noir romantic thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Howard Franklin. It stars Tom Berenger as a police detective who has to protect a wealthy woman, who is a key witness in a murder trial. The film's soundtrack includes the George and Ira Gershwin song from which the film takes its title, recorded by Sting, and Vangelis' "Memories of Green", originally from Scott's Blade Runner (1982).

<i>Swing Shift</i> (film) 1984 romantic drama war film by Jonathan Demme

Swing Shift is a 1984 American romantic drama directed by Jonathan Demme, and produced by and starring Goldie Hawn, with Kurt Russell. It also features Christine Lahti, Fred Ward, Ed Harris and Holly Hunter, in one of her earlier movie roles. The film was a box office bomb, grossing just $6.6 million against its $15 million budget. Lahti earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<i>La Cage aux Folles II</i> 1980 film

La Cage aux Folles II is a 1980 French comedy film and the sequel to 1978's La Cage aux Folles. It is directed by Édouard Molinaro and stars Michel Serrault as Albin, the female impersonator star of a gay night-club revue, and Ugo Tognazzi as Renato, his partner of over 20 years.

<i>Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York</i> 1975 American film

Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York is a 1975 black comedy film directed by Sidney J. Furie about a shy young woman who moves to New York City and falls in love with the boyfriend of her extroverted roommate. The film was co-written by Kenny Solms and Gail Parent, and based on her novel. The film was shot on location in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Steiger on screen and stage</span>

Rod Steiger was an American actor who had an extensive career in film, television, and stage. He made his stage debut in 1946 with Civic Repertory Theatre's production of the melodrama Curse you, Jack Dalton!. Four years later, he played onstage in a production of An Enemy of the People at the Music Box Theatre. A small role in Fred Zinnemann's Teresa (1951) marked his film debut. In 1953, he played the title role in the teleplay "Marty" to critical praise. His breakthrough role came with the crime drama On the Waterfront (1954), which earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination, and subsequent appearance in Fred Zinnemann's musical Oklahoma!.

Aviation accidents and incidents, particularly civilian airplane crashes or incidents threatening a crash or requiring an emergency landing, are a common theme in fiction. Films centered on such incidents make up a substantial subset of the disaster film genre, and influence how other stories within the genre are told. Works in this genre encompass both fictional depictions of the incidents themselves, and depictions of consequences such as investigations, lawsuits, and the effect on the lives of persons involved. A subgenre, the "plane crash survival movie", involves characters placed in a dangerous environment by an initial airplane crash. Airplane crashes have been described as "the easy and obvious device" for dramatically incorporating an airplane into the plot of a film, and as "a Hollywood staple", with various levels of praise or criticism directed to the realism of specific depictions.

References

  1. ↑ Canby, Vincent (March 6, 1970). "The Screen: Multi-Plot, Multi-Star 'Airport' Opens: Lancaster and Martin in Principal Roles Adaptation of Hailey's Novel at Music Hall". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  2. ↑ Stafford, Jeff. "Airport". TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies.
  3. ↑ "Airport 'junk' — Lancaster". The Montreal Gazette . March 8, 1971 – via Google News.
  4. ↑ Kael, Pauline (October 28, 1974). "Airport 1975". The New Yorker .
  5. ↑ Canby, Vincent (October 19, 1974). "Airport 1975 (1974) Screen: 'Airport 1975' Is a Silly Sequel With a 747". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ "'Airport '77,' Starring a Jet, Fails to Maintain High Level". The New York Times. March 26, 1977. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ Poll (August 1, 1979). "Review: "The Concorde – Airport '79"". Variety . p. 20. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  8. ↑ Maslin, Janet (August 3, 1979). "The Concorde Airport 79 (1979) Screen: 'Concorde...Airport '79':Airplane on Skis". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ "Airport, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Universal's Foreign Champs". Daily Variety . February 6, 1990. p. 122.
  11. ↑ Warga, Wayne (June 21, 1970). "Freddie Fan of Filmdom Finds Lost Audience: The Lost Audience Discovered". Los Angeles Times . p. q1.
  12. ↑ "Airport 1975". The Numbers . Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Airport '77, Box Office Information". The Numbers . Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  14. ↑ "The Concorde... Airport '79, Box Office Information". The Numbers . Retrieved March 22, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.