Airport (film series)

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 byGeorge Seaton
Jack Smight
Jerry Jameson
David Lowell Rich
Screenplay byGeorge Seaton
Don Ingalls
Jennings Lang
Eric Roth
Based onAirport
by Arthur Hailey
Produced byRoss Hunter
William Frye
Jennings Lang
StarringBurt Lancaster
George Kennedy
Charlton Heston
Alain Delon
Jack Lemmon
CinematographyErnest Laszlo
Philip H. Lathrop
Edited byStuart Gilmore
Music byAlfred Newman
John Cacavas
Lalo Schifrin
Production
company
Release dates
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
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.

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]

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.

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 [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

References
  1. Canby, Vincent (1970-03-06). "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 2009-08-31.
  2. Stafford, Jeff. "Airport". TCM.com. 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. 1977-03-26. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  7. Poll. (August 1, 1979). "Review: "The Concorde – Airport '79"". Variety. p. 20. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  8. Maslin, Janet (August 3, 1979). "The Concorde Airport 79 (1979) Screen: 'Concorde...Airport '79':Airplane on Skis". The New York Times.
  9. "Airport, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  10. "Universal's Foreign Champs". Daily Variety. February 6, 1990. p. 122.
  11. Warga, Wayne (June 21, 1970). "Freddie Fan of Filmdom Finds Lost Audience: The Lost Audience Discovered". Los Angeles Times. p. q1.
  12. "Airport 1975". The Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  13. "Airport '77, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  14. "The Concorde: Airport '79, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
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