Airport 1975 (1974)

When you sit down to watch an "Airport" movie, you do so in the full understanding that you're going to have to get through at least half of the runtime dealing with the inevitable melodrama - the soapish background to the story, telling more than we ever needed or wanted to know about the vast multitude of unnecessary characters that are populating the screen in front of us. "Airport 1975" - the first sequel to 1970's "Airport" - does not disappoint in that regard. Did I really care all that much that Alan and Nancy (Charlton Heston and Karen Black) were in a troubled relationship, and that she wanted to "talk." (Every man knows that when a woman wants to "talk" there 's trouble a-brewin'.) No, I didn't. Nor did I care all that much about any of the other soapy plotlines. You watch a disaster movie to get to the disaster, and then you hope that the disaster is enough to overcome the unnecessary melodrama you waded through to get there.The disaster here is a mid-air collision between a 747 and a small prop-plane. The collision rips a hole in the cockpit of the 747 and kills the crew, except for the captain, who's too badly injured to fly the plane. So the afore-mentioned Nancy (the head stewardess) has to take the controls. Karen Black makes Nancy look appropriately frightened - but somehow this disaster didn't hit home. To be honest, there wasn't enough panic among the passengers. Even once they found out that their intrepid but totally untrained stewardess was piloting the plane - well, there was concern, but not real panic. It all seemed to go reasonably well. Nancy was able to take instructions from the ground and fly the plane - even through some mountains. True - they needed a pilot aboard, so in a totally expected twist, her beloved Alan (with whom she has to have a "talk") manages to board the plane via a tether line from a military helicopter, easing himself through the hole, and guiding the big jet to a safe landing at Salt Lake City. Somehow, I just never had the sense that it could be otherwise. The tension was lacking.It had a cast of fairly well known names (Heston and Black being the biggest probably.) George Kennedy was back as Joe Patroni from the first movie, and there were people like Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Helen Reddy, Linda Blair, Gloria Swanson and Sid Caesar included. But for all the cast and all the melodrama and the disaster itself, what I found myself thinking about mostly as I watched this was the fact that it was obviously the basis for the 1980 spoof movie "Airplane" - which I would highly recommend you watch over this. (2/10)

For anyone who's seen that episode of 'Family Guy' where Peter is sent by Death to kill the cast members of 'Dawson's Creek' on an airliner and Karen Black lands the plane, this is the source of that reference!Now, on to the film!As a disaster movie, 'Airport 1975' is not that bad. It was made at a time when all of those clichéd "there's no one flying the plane" plot lines were still quite fresh. When television shows such as 'Charlie's Angels' and 'The A-Team' began to cash in on the gimmick with their own interpretations, you could tell that the plot device was getting stale!Charlton Heston and George Kennedy reunite in another disaster movie after the also much-lambasted 'Earthquake' (1974) and both of them get quite good roles, with Kennedy reprising his role as Joe Patroni from 'Airport' (1969).The plot is not as complex as that in 'Airport' and the characters are hardly as well-developed. However, this film still has a certain charm. Not only is it the source of that Karen Black joke, which has been much-parodied beyond the realms of 'Family Guy', but the flying scenes were conducted using an actual commercial airliner being piloted low around mountainous terrain! These kinds of films convinced modern luminary directors such as Christopher Nolan to film things for real, even though these films probably earned more in popcorn sales than for actual screen-worthiness.If that is not exciting enough, there are plenty of perilous decisions, stunt work and high-octane situations to keep you busy. Plus, a pleasant combination of well-known and television actors appear in the film, such as Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (long before lending his voice to Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred), Helen Reddy as a singing nun (it's not as bad as it sounds), Linda Blair (post-'Exorcist') and even screen icon Gloria Swanson in her final film role.Certainly not the most complex of the 'Airport' films and certainly not the worst - if you're looking for something to thrill you and you're not taking a flight the next morning, then watch this!!

Unintentionally funny sequel to "Airport" is set(as the helpful subtitle tells us!) in 1975, where a Boeing 747 is disabled when a private airplane crashes into the cockpit(the pilot had a stroke), killing the flight crew and blinding one pilot, forcing a stewardess(Karen Black) to fly the plane, though her boyfriend(also a pilot, played by Charlton Heston) who is helicoptered into the cockpit, and tries desperately to resume control of the plane, before it crashes.Cast also includes returning character Joe Patroni(George Kennedy) along with Susan Clark, Gloria Swanson, Sid Caesar, Myrna Loy, Linda Blair, and Helen Reddy as a singing nun. Unlike the first film, which does hold up, this doesn't, crippled by a contrived plot and laughable scenes(whole film was effectively spoofed later on) that make it an unworthy entry, though there would be more...

This is the first airport's airplane movie. The authentic version of the plane's disaster movie of the 1970s. And the best of the whole airport series.The 1970 movie was an unusual day in a life of an airport. This round the new formula is clear and solid : A plane in calamity. Many different characters, mostly viewers. Attempts to rescue lead to a climax with a happy end. Afterwards, they tried to clone Airport 75 in the 1977 movie, then deform it in the 1979 one ! 3 matters did bother me. Firstly the list of cameos / the passengers didn't do anything but the relief, whereas there is no drama but the plane's drama, and anything else it is a triviality.Secondly, the way how the script skips several ways to make more thrilling moments that could have made the atmosphere hotter. To instance : the fuel is leaking and "we don't have enough", you see the lead's wife and son on the very plane however no special danger they suffer other than the main danger, the girl who needs a liver; there is no subsidiary thrill with her line; as if "her status is unstable, she requires immediate medical care", scared drunks on board with nothing to do but being scared; they could have done anything to threaten the peace inside the plane, the media's importunity does nothing but bugging (George Kennedy) and that's about it ?!,.. etc. Certainly, exploding situations like that, in the most exaggerated illogical yet entertaining ways, you can watch after 16 years in Die Hard 2 (1990), which makes Airport 75 more rational and believable in a way.Thirdly, the climactic moment wasn't done very well. I couldn't understand what the trouble in getting the plane on land was? I even couldn't get how (Charlton Heston) stopped it (that moment had been overstepped unfairly). All what he did was swerving it to turn it away from its headway; which is obviously so easy to an extent makes it unfit as a climax for all the excitement before it.(Heston) was so masculine and charismatic. He seemed cool with those shades. Originally, god gifted him with that look of "whatever hard I'll beat it utterly", he makes other guys like Tom Cruise perfect sissies. I suppose the 1970s were the last time to see 50-something-year-old lead in an action movie. (Karen Black) wasn't less charismatic. Aside from being a beauty (always believed that she's French-born), she managed to be convincing and serious. Something I miss with the beautiful dolls of today's movies as well. On the other hand, (Gloria Swanson) as (Gloria Swanson) was wrong, if not pathetic ! The movie is technically competent. I loved its amusing music, good editing, and fine directing. It has a reason to be distinct forever, among its fellow plane's disaster movies, which is the idea of the explosion of the cockpit with everyone in it. However, and despite the clever total tension of it, the movie is generally empty, and a bit poor when it comes to utilize rich areas it already has. Yes, it's the best airport's airplane-in-calamity movie to date, but, one way or another, it has the main lesion of not the plane's movies, rather the whole disaster movies : the script.