AIRPORT (1970)

 

Just an extraordinary day in the life airport general manager Burt Lancaster.  If things weren't already bad enough with his socialite wife pestering the fark out of him nonstop and one of his senior pilot's (Dean Martin) giving him grief over a runway, he now has to deal with "the worst storm in 6 years", a moron pilot who shuts down a runway by getting his plane stuck in the snow, an elderly stowaway passenger, a horny co-worker, his boss threatening to fire him and a madman with a bomb!

I've never read the original Arthur Hailey novel, but I might now, because this movie held up very well for being nearly 50 years old.  Even without the mad bomber story I was totally into all the comings and goings of the people and their personal problems (cheating husband, pregnant mistress, no money, traffic jam, protesters, low I.Q. and so on). 

Excellent pace, awesome all-star cast lead by Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin (who I don't ever got enough credit for his acting abilities), funky 70's split screen overdose, impressive musical score, dated as hell technology, uneven special effects, mind-bending colour schemes...I enjoyed AIRPORT so much I actually watched it twice!  Although I am a little dumbfounded as to how Helen Hayes actually won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.  I thought she was the weakest point of the movie and her selfish, fuck everybody character was annoying.  Oh well, it's still worth watching.

Part 2 - Airport 1975 (1974)
Part 3 - Airport '77 (1977)
Part 4 - Concorde...Airport '79 (1979)

Poor Burt Lancaster having to listen to George Kennedy make out on the phone.