Airport

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, George Kennedy, Maureen Stapleton, Helen Hayes
Directed by: George Seaton
Rating: G
Genre: Drama, Thriller
1970

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Danger abounds at a busy airport when a blizzard threatens to shut the whole operation down, and a suicide bomber tries to bring down an airplane.

Review:

Tim: This is one of the biggest and most famous of all disaster movies. It was so impressive in 1970, in fact, that it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. While today, it feels a bit dated and somewhat anticlimactic, the film's influence on Hollywood cannot be denied. It's always good to go back to the films that started certain trends in Hollywood today. By better understanding the past, we can better understand the present (and hopefully, the future).

While this is enjoyable, the film is somewhat lacking on thrills, at least by today's standards. There is just not enough suspense. And, this is not because of the script. The plot could have been incredibly suspenseful. The film just doesn't come across that way, faltering on the execution (at least on that front). On the flip side, the movie does an outstanding job of developing characters, which is the one weakness most disaster movies today face.

The cast is all pretty good. I really liked both Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin in their roles. They are both good leading men and do well here. Jean Seberg is very, very good, and gives perhaps the best performance of the film. Helen Hayes won a Best Supporting Actress award for her role.

Airport was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, which is unheard of for a disaster movie. I'm still pretty shocked by this, although I'm not surprised it won only one. This film was one of the first big disaster movies. It has a good cast and is pretty entertaining, although not excellent. If you're a disaster movie fan, then you need to see this to understand the genre's roots. Check this one out.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Airport '75 Airport '77, Airport '79