Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
So bad it's brilliant, May 30, 2003
AIRPORT 75 must have the least believable premise of any major Hollywood release that wasn't straight science fiction: a small private plane crashes into the cockpit of a giant 747 en route to Salt Lake City, and all the flight crew members are either killed outright or incapacitated as a result. So a stewardess (Karen Black, as bewitchingly crosseyed as ever) has to come into the remains of the damaged cockpit (which, despite the fact that it has a giant gaping hole in it, still manages to retain Black within it and does little more to her then make her chilly) and steer the plane to Salt Lake until Charlton Heston can be dropped by helicopter into the hole in the cockpit.
The premise was so outrageous even at the time that it quickly spawned two exceptionally memorable parodies: "Disaster 75" on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW and AIRPLANE! (for which it was one of the primary sources of inspiration). But the original itself is so jawdroppingly strange it remains almsot beyond parody. The passengers are played by a series of Borscht Belt comedians like Sid Caesar and Jerry Stiller and Norman Fell, with the notable exceptions of a singing nun (Helen Reddy), a young girl with serious health problems (Linda Blair), and, most memorably, Gloria Swanson (as herself). The other stewardesses keep wandering in to the damaged cockpit to be comforted by Karen Black, whom one would think has enough problems as it is. Even if you can get beyond these thing, you find yourself fascinated by the questions the film's astonishingly bizarre details propose, such as why the airline's logo is so ugly and why its color scheme (bright red with violet and fuchsia accents!) is so hideous.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Buy this version unless they remaster the Terminal Pack..., May 4, 2004
By A Customer
I won't comment on the film or the acting; it's hard to take any Airport film seriously after Airplane! skewered the genre.However, if you appreciate the film for what it is, fun entertainment, this is certainly one of the better in the 70's disaster film genre and the special effects have held up well over the years. If you're interested in this film, I strongly urge you to buy this copy instead of or in addition to the Airport Terminal Pack; there is a mastering error that does not fully expand the film horizontally in that collection, with the result that objects are somewhat compressed horizontally from their true proportions. Another reviewer's references to "tire ovals" and "stick people" is a bit of an exaggeration, but you'll wonder why the plane is so short and stubby and why the airport's pickup trucks look as if they have 4' beds. :-) In short, another mastering error on Universal's part and, frankly, a somewhat better transfer on GoodTimes' part make THIS the better transfer of Airport 1975...
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best of the bunch, August 15, 2002
My personal favourite of all the Airport movies, Airport 1975 is a camp classic. Right from the opening credits I am whisked away to the 70's and the familiar feeling of snuggling up at the drive-in....I can almost smell the thermos coffee. Airport 1975 doesn't take itself too seriously, yet all the characters play it straight. With a cast that reads like a guest list for a post Oscars party this movie seems to be full of cliches, yet it was this movie that started the said cliches, which I suppose debunks that theory. This is the movie that Airplane (aka Flying High) stuck closest too. With the sick child (Linda Blair), singing nun (Helen Reddy) and commitmentphobe pilot (Charlton Heston) all represented in the direct spoof. The movie however belongs to Karen Black, the poor old flight attendant. The plane is rendered pilotless when a midair collision with a small plane collides with the cockpit. Ms Black then has to take control of the 747 with no experience in flying whatsoever. Entertaining and hilarious.
I was disappointed however in the DVD which was very light on features. I would have loved to see a trailer, a commentary or better yet, a feature on all four Airport movies, but alas, it was not to be. I had to settle for a filmography on the top 2 stars only and that was it.
If you want a blast from the past, or are just fond of the disaster flicks churned out in the 1970's I would heartily recommend Airport 1975.
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