Airport - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

If it were the 1970s and you went to the movies or turned on the television, the odds of you seeing something where the plot took place on or near an airplane were shockingly high. While not a new concept, the glut of airplane or airport-themed content was practically an exploitation genre all its own. Now, George Seaton’s 1970 disaster epic Arport, wasn’t the first film or show to feature an airplane in peril, but it hit big at the box office and started a run on the genre in Hollywood. Three sequels, dozens of imitations, and two incredible spoofs later, we’re going to take a look at the four-film Airport series. 

Since we initially anticipated reviewing only the collection set from KLSC, we will repaste this section for each film while offering a unique analysis of the A/V and extras. None of these films is altogether complicated enough to warrant lengthy individual reviews. By the time we get to the third film, the idea had already moved into the land of ridiculous. By the time we get to Concorde, the franchise had already drifted into unintentional self-parody. So let’s dive in.

Airport

Starring Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Jean Seberg, Van Heflin, among numerous others, the film is part “day-in-the-life” of a fictitious Chicago airport, part disaster epic. As snow and ice blanket the runways, Van Heflin, at the end of his rope, takes a bomb onto an airplane. When the bomb severely damages the aircraft, pilot Dean Martin must land the aircraft as Burt Lancaster and George Kennedy race to clear the runway.

What sounds like a thrill-a-minute plot is often bogged down by the everyday mundanity of going to the airport. As a friend once told me, “thank god this film wasn’t made in the modern era, it’d been two hours of people taking their shoes off to get through security.” Throughout the repetitive exposition and introduction of characters and their respective roles in this high-flying soap opera, the film somehow manages to remain human and somewhat exciting. Bad weather is bad enough, but add a bomb to the mix and you’ve got an interesting balance of 90 minutes of setup and 45 minutes of genuine excitement. 4/5

Airport 1975 

After five years, the high-flying drama of an airport or airplane in distress was in full swing with countless imitations, so it’s time for a sequel. George Kennedy returns as the gruff Patroni as he’s caught in between the troubled romance between Charlton Heston and Karen Black. But when a private aircraft crashes into the cockpit, killing the copilot and engineer, Black is forced to pilot the aircraft herself as passengers Sid Caesar, Gloria Swanson, Myrna Loy, and Linda Blair brace for imminent destruction. 

More action, less melodrama, this sequel leans into the pulp entertainment value, wasting little time on exposition and the inner day-to-day workings of the Airport. In fact, there’s barely an airport at all. Heston already fought James Brolin and saved an airplane in 1972’s Skyjacked, so this wasn’t much of a stretch for him. Karen Black delivers her best strong-damsel-in-distress performance. Myrna Loy is doing what she can as the foil for Sid Caesar as he marks time, trying to deliver the comedy. Gloria Swanson, in her final role, is just her Swansoniest best self. As the near-comatose kid awaiting a new kidney, Linda Blair doesn’t turn any heads with this post-Exorcist performance. This film serves as the basis for a lot of the gags of 1980’s Airplane! The Movie, while the leftover footage was used for the Incredible Hulk episode “747.” 3.5/5 

Airport '77

When human drama at 10,000 feet becomes old hat, you put those passengers 100 feet underwater! The terror strikes the uber-rich when a luxury airplane owned by James Stewart crashes into the water after a team of dumbass thieves screws up their hijacking plan. With the plane resting on the bottom of the ocean, it’s up to Captain Jack Lemmon and Dracula to find a way to reach the surface and signal rescue. If they fail Lee Grant, Joseph Cotten, Darren McGavin, LaserDisc, and Olivia de Havilland will either drown or run out of breathable air as George Kennedy drops by for his obligatory cameo appearance. 

Where the last film was heavier on survival terror, this sequel was heavier on high-concept action. But through all its corniness, it’s actually a surprisingly entertaining, edge-of-your-seat disaster flick. I hope he got workers' comp because Jack Lemmon acted his ass off carrying this load, outclassing everyone in the show. While McGavin is his usual amiable self, the rest of the cast are virtual nonstarters. Lee Grant is stuck in a thankless part of supposedly being in love with Christopher Lee while throwing a hissy fit. Her future satanic Damien: Omen II co-star, Robert Foxworth, has a strong start as the co-captain/hijacker, but he’s quickly left with little to do. As LaserDisc makes its big screen debut, legendary stars Joseph Cotten and Olivia de Havilland more or less pass the time until the check clears. But where this film is thin on character, its pace and energy hold your attention right through the thrilling rescue mission. 3/5

The Concorde… Airport ‘79

Some franchises should be left to die lest they become their own parody. Sadly, that’s where we’re at with The Concorde. George Kennedy’s Patroni becomes a leading man hero when the former mechanic specialist is promoted to full captain. In the co-pilot chair is Alain Delon, with David Warner as the navigator. Together, the three men must get a cabin full of character actors like Eddie Albert, Avery Schrieber, Charo, Jimmie ‘JJ’ Walker, and sexy stewardess Sylvia Kristel safely to Moscow when Robert Wagner launches a missile drone and two fighter jets to kill his reporter girlfriend, Susan Blakely!

So this is just… bad. But still oddly very entertaining as the effort to one-up the previous films takes the disaster survival franchise into the realm of espionage and intrigue. Alain Delon is doing his damned best, exuding all of the talent and star presence he could, but sadly, this would be his final effort to crack into major American films. George Kennedy is as amiable as ever, but it’s impossible not to laugh when he opens the cockpit window of the supersonic jet going Mach 2 to fire a flare gun out the window as Delon does barrel rolls to evade a missile strike. And that’s before he spends the night with a prostitute! The movie performed poorly with critics, and at the opening weekend box office, it was pulled and re-marketed as a comedy, playing up its unintentional silliness. Ill-conceived and strangely executed, this is high-flying, hilarious nonsense that, nonetheless, remains entertaining - if for the wrong reasons. If Airplane! The Movie and Airplane 2: The Sequel didn’t exist; Concorde… Airport ‘79 would be the funniest airplane film of them all. 2/5 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
We place our 2160p baggage in the overhead bins as we settle in for Airport on 4K UHD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. A two-disc 4K + Blu-ray set, the 4K version is pressed on a BD100 disc with a Region A BD50 serving the 1080p. The discs are housed in a standard black two-disc case with identical slipcover artwork.

Reportedly sourced from a new 4K scan of the 35mm Interpostive reduction elements, Airport makes for some impressive 2160p Dolby Vision visuals. I’m not sure of how or why the original 70mm elements were used as the basis for this presentation (I’ve heard before they’re lost, but I'm not sure of that accuracy). Regardless, this is a very welcome upgrade over the decent but dodgy 1080p Blu-rays of yesteryear. The biggest, most immediate standout for me was how cleaner and clearer the numerous split-screen optical effects look now. They’re far more stable with much less grit or damage. I also felt the optical blowing snow visual effect looked much better for those big, wide shots of the airport and runways.

Facial features, the late 1960s, early 1970s production design, and costumes all look spot on without any signs of edge enhancement or smoothing. Film grain is appropriately cinematic without appearing too intrusive. Some of the flight effects are still a tad dodgy, but they were great for their day. Colors are bright and robust with a healthy primary palette. Skin tones look healthier and more human than before. Black levels and shadows are strong, rounding out the transfer’s appealing Dolby Vision grade. My only wish was that this could have been sourced from the original negative, but this is still an impressive effort.

Airport takes off with a pair of audio options: a DTS-HD MA 5.1 and a DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio track. Now doing some disc flippies, the 5.1 sounds pretty damned identical to the previous Blu-ray - which is pretty damn good. Now, new to the show is the 2.0 track, and checking through key sequences doesn’t sound like a fold-down. If it is, it’s done well, as for key action sequences and busier crowd moments, sound effects didn’t feel like they were missing or dropping out in odd places. The 2.0 is also the default track, so this lends me to feel it’s a legit theatrical track. The good news is that regardless of which track you prefer, both work great. The dialogue for both tracks is clean and clear. The score is strong and complements the melodrama and action nicely. The 2.0 track might feel a bit stronger and upfront, but I do love the surround spread for the 5.1.

Given that Airport was such a massive success, nominated for multiple Oscars, it’s surprising to me that this film doesn’t really enjoy a robust selection of bonus features, archival or otherwise. While we don’t get much, I will say that the Julie Kirgo and C. Courtney Joyner commentary is worth your attention. 

• Audio Commentary featuring Julie Kirgo and C. Courtney Joyner
• Trailer

Airport may not be the first “disaster” movie, and even by today’s standards, it barely qualifies, but it’s the film that launched a thousand terrifying survival situations from Hollywood’s dream machine. It also spawned a franchise and an entire decade’s worth of airplane and airport-themed films and television shows. But on its own accord, with its great cast and escalating dramatics and suspense, the film still holds up 55 years later. Making its 4K debut, Airport lands with a solid 2160p Dolby Vision transfer with 5.1 and 2.0 audio tracks. Given that the elements are multiple generations removed from the original negative, this image is notably sharper, cleaner, and more stable than previous disc releases. Audio is nice and strong as well. Bonus features are sadly very thin, but the commentary is worth the time. Recommended