Airport (film series)

Airport
Directed byGeorge Seaton (1)
Jack Smight (2)
Jerry Jameson (3)
David Lowell Rich (4)
Screenplay byGeorge Seaton (1)
Don Ingalls (2)
Michael Scheff (3)
David Spector (3)
Eric Roth (4)
Based onAirport
(1968 novel)
by Arthur Hailey
Produced byRoss Hunter (1)
William Frye (2–3)
Jennings Lang (4)
StarringBurt Lancaster
George Kennedy
Charlton Heston
Jack Lemmon
Alain Delon
CinematographyErnest Laszlo (1)
Philip H. Lathrop (2–4)
Edited by
Music byAlfred Newman (1)
John Cacavas (2–3)
Lalo Schifrin (4)
Production
company
Release dates
  • March 5, 1970 (1970-03-05) (1)
  • October 18, 1974 (1974-10-18) (2)
  • March 11, 1977 (1977-03-11) (3)
  • August 17, 1979 (1979-08-17) (4)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$33.2 million
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, on a collective budget of $33.2 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

Film U.S. release date Director Screenwriter(s) Story Producers
Airport March 5, 1970 George Seaton N/a Ross Hunter
Airport 1975 October 18, 1974 Jack Smight Don Ingalls William Frye
Airport '77 March 11, 1977 Jerry Jameson Michael Scheff, David Spector H. A. L. Craig, Charles Kuenstle
The Concorde... Airport '79 August 17, 1979 David Lowell Rich Eric Roth Jennings Lang

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]

Despite strong box office results in foreign markets, the fourth film did very poorly domestically and the franchise did not continue. A fifth film entitled Airport '82: UFO had been in early development stages with the intention to cash in on the success of science fiction films at the time and have George Kennedy return, however it did not proceed.[9]

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

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 [10][11][12]
Airport 1975 October 18, 1974 $47,300,000 $55,700,000 $103,000,000 $3,000,000 [13][11]
Airport '77 March 11, 1977 $30,000,000 $61,100,000 $91,100,000 $6,000,000 [14][11]
The Concorde... Airport '79 August 17, 1979 $13,000,000 $52,000,000 $65,000,000 $14,000,000 [15][11]
Total $190,800,000 $196,700,000 $387,500,000 $33,200,000

See also

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". Turner Classic Movies. 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. ^ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/Airport
  10. ^ "Airport, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d "Universal's Foreign Champs". Daily Variety. February 6, 1990. p. 122.
  12. ^ Warga, Wayne (June 21, 1970). "Freddie Fan of Filmdom Finds Lost Audience: The Lost Audience Discovered". Los Angeles Times. p. q1.
  13. ^ "Airport 1975". The Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  14. ^ "Airport '77, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "The Concorde: Airport '79, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
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