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.
| Airport | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | George Seaton (1) Jack Smight (2) Jerry Jameson (3) David Lowell Rich (4) |
| Screenplay by | George Seaton (1) Don Ingalls (2) Michael Scheff (3) David Spector (3) Eric Roth (4) |
| Based on | Airport by Arthur Hailey |
| Produced by | Ross Hunter (1) William Frye (2–3) Jennings Lang (4) |
| 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 |
|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $387.5 million |
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.
Films
edit| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story | Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airport | March 5, 1970 | George Seaton | Ross Hunter | ||
| Airport 1975 | October 18, 1974 | Jack Smight | Don Ingalls | William Frye | |
| Airport '77 | March 11, 1977 | Jerry Jameson | Michael Scheff and David Spector | H. A. L. Craig and Charles Kuenstle | |
| The Concorde... Airport '79 | August 17, 1979 | David Lowell Rich | Eric Roth | Jennings Lang | |
Critical reception
editThe 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
edit| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Budget | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States/Canada | Other territories | Worldwide | ||||
| Airport | May 29, 1970 | $100,500,000 | $27,900,000 | $128,400,000 | $10,200,000 | [9][10][11] |
| Airport 1975 | October 18, 1974 | $47,300,000 | $55,700,000 | $103,000,000 | $3,000,000 | [12][10] |
| Airport '77 | March 11, 1977 | $30,000,000 | $61,100,000 | $91,100,000 | $6,000,000 | [13][10] |
| The Concorde... Airport '79 | August 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
editReferences
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Stafford, Jeff. "Airport". TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies.
- ^ "Airport 'junk' — Lancaster". The Montreal Gazette. March 8, 1971 – via Google News.
- ^ Kael, Pauline (October 28, 1974). "Airport 1975". The New Yorker.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (October 19, 1974). "Airport 1975 (1974) Screen: 'Airport 1975' Is a Silly Sequel With a 747". The New York Times.
- ^ "'Airport '77,' Starring a Jet, Fails to Maintain High Level". The New York Times. March 26, 1977. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ Poll (August 1, 1979). "Review: "The Concorde – Airport '79"". Variety. p. 20. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (August 3, 1979). "The Concorde Airport 79 (1979) Screen: 'Concorde...Airport '79':Airplane on Skis". The New York Times.
- ^ "Airport, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Universal's Foreign Champs". Daily Variety. February 6, 1990. p. 122.
- ^ Warga, Wayne (June 21, 1970). "Freddie Fan of Filmdom Finds Lost Audience: The Lost Audience Discovered". Los Angeles Times. p. q1.
- ^ "Airport 1975". The Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ "Airport '77, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ "The Concorde: Airport '79, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
External links
edit- Airport at IMDb
- Airport 1975 at IMDb
- Airport '77 at IMDb
- Airport '79 at IMDb
