lasttimeisaw For shizzle it was a simpler time when a passenger can fairly conveniently (albeit visibly in a shaky state) sneak a makeshift bomb inside his attaché case on board of a trans-Atlantic Boeing 707, in George Seaton's AIRPORT, whose runaway box office success (not to mention its earth-shattering 10 Oscar nominations) would launch a disaster film franchise that unsurprisingly fizzles out at the end of its decade, Van Heflin (rather compelling in his final role) is the said bomb-carrier, pushed to despair by his hardscrabble reality, which partially should be answerable by that unjustified war, this is as political as one can get from this adaptation of Arthur Hailey's popular novel, and the rest is sheer schlocky drama.Mustering a vast cast and condensing its story on one blizzard-assailing night in the fictive Lincoln airport in Chicago, AIRPORT takes its multi-threads narrative in a balanced if unimpressive stride, on the ground we have airport manager Mel Bakersfeld (Lancaster, not so often on automatic pilot) mired in workaday imperatives and private crises, the dissolving of his marriage with Cindy (a piercingly fierce Wynter) is imminent, while he still dithers about his feeling towards his widowed co-worker, Tanya Livingston (Seberg, unremarkable to a fault, is this the same girl from Godard's BREATHLESS, 1960, one cannot help but wonder), the customer relations agent for Trans Global Airlines. And later aloft in the ionosphere, Mel's brother-in-law captain Vernon Demerest (a swarthy Dean Martin), must contend with a similar but more life-threatening situation when the bomb explodes (the frisson-free one-the-fly special effects cruelly show up its shoddiness), and his pregnant paramour, the chief stewardess Gwen Meighen (Bisset) is seriously injured, an emergency landing is actualized without much flair. Although one can understand its appeal at that time (its grandiose production scale, eye-pleasing cinematography from Ernest Laszlo, the innovative use of split-screen and a heroic act in its core), AIRPORT is unavoidably goes down in the history as one of the major undeserved Oscar BEST PICTURE contenders, that said, two outstanding performances are worth dwelling on a bit more, firstly the bodacious Helen Hayes, who won her second Oscar as the larger-than-life stowaway Ada Quonsett, spryly and magnanimously proffers cheeriness and wittiness which the film is gravely in need of, and all the more, defies any cheap entrapment of relegating her character into a substantial laughing stock, which means she can take a slap in the face for a greater cause. On the other side of the spectrum, we have the inimitable Maureen Stapleton, also Oscar-nominated here, evokes pathos in spades as the bomber's distressed wife, makes great play of her limited screen time and her catatonic reaction belongs to one of the high-water marks of method acting, sticks out like a sore thumb while the rest bigger names are just going through the motions, and further counterpoints the mediocrity that permeates this well-meaning but overall ponderous and characterless overachiever, where beautiful gals are all docile and sensible in front of their much senior married male counterparts, yet, it is the bitter wives that get their raw deals, a patriarchal America ever so outdated and self-congratulatory, that is its last straw.

Hitchcoc Many of the airport runway scenes were filmed here in Minneapolis/St. Paul. I recall that some of the bit parts went to local TV people or actors. This movie doesn't wear well because the silly subplots are almost laughable now. First of all, I could never stand Dean Martin as an actor. He did a nice job on those Italian songs and his TV show was OK. The romantic stuff with him is such a diminishing factor in this film. Everyone thought that Helen Hayes was so cute. I just never got it. Anyone could have played this part. The main drawback was the formulaic nature of the whole thing with everyone fitting a particular niche. As I said in my brief comments on "The Towering Inferno" there are people who fit a prescribed pattern and they just happened to show up on this flight. These disaster films were so predictable. Finally, see "Airplane." It is much better and mocks the whole airport milieu.

vincentlynch-moonoi 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.

g-bodyl So I confess that I have a love for disaster films, no matter what other people think of them. Thank heavens for movie subjectivity! Anyhow, Airport is a movie that is the pioneer for modern disaster movies, but I really enjoyed it. There are undeniably many flaws, but my gosh I had a blast watching the film and the campy tone gave the film spirit. My biggest flaw I had with the film is the scenes involving the personal lives of the manager. I mean, his pending divorce has nothing to do with the rest of the plot, including trying to save the plane. Other than that plot issue, I really had fun watching the granddaddy of all disaster films.This film is about this airport that is stricken due to a blizzard. But even more serious problems arise when a bomb-damaged plane needs an emergency landing in order to save the people on the plane. The manager of the Lincoln Airport, Mel Bakersfield, has his hands full in trying to combat the weather and personnel in order to save the plane.The film has a stacked cast full of Oscar nominees. Now while no one truly gives Oscar-worthy performances, there is no denying that they were solid performances. Burt Lancaster did a good job as Mel and Dean Martin as the head pilot, Vernon. Those performances came across as serious despite the campy tone, but they were still good. However, I felt the best performance came from Helen Hayes, a 70-year-old woman who makes a fuss about plane tickets which causes her to hitch airplane rides while avoiding authorities. Her comic relief was excellent, and maybe she did deserve that Oscar.Overall, Airport is a fun disaster movie and in hindsight, it set the tone for the major disaster movies that will come in the future. It is a great movie? Not really. Is it a fun, entertaining movie? You bet it is! I am very amazed how this film achieved ten Oscar nominations. If this same film was released in 2015, it more likely would have received ten Razzie nominations. Oh how the time change! But on the whole, a really fun movie with some cool sequences including my favorite which was the bomb going off in the plane.My Grade: B+/A-