MovieChat Forums > Airport (1970) Discussion > This movie did not hold up well over the...

This movie did not hold up well over the years

posted 16 years ago by jgroub
54 replies | jump to latest

I had last seen this movie as a kid over 30 years ago, and it did not hold up. The acting is over-the-top and hammy, it's ridiculous to see the incredible lack of security they had then (whether it's true or not) compared to today, and all the things mentioned on the Airport drinking game thread make this movie pretty much unwatchable.

Notice I said pretty much. What does make this movie somewhat bearable is thinking about all the things Airplane spoofed while watching this dog. Do that, and you'll have a good time laughing your a$$ off.

I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] johnm-dalton 10 years ago

The movie came out the year I was born.

Not a great film, but I found the fashions, sets, acting styles and the airport itself to be interesting.

Helen Hayes is a lot of fun, and Maureen Stapleton is excellent. The action leading up to the explosion is handled well.

To watch this movie you need to be able to shift your mindset. I have a feeling that the charms of this movie would be lost on anyone born after 1980.

Funny to think this came out the same year that Midnight Cowboy won the Oscar for Best Picture.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nutsberryfarm 10 years ago

hammy? that's called passion. 

🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴

[–] markedjuan 9 years ago

It was considered unabashedly old fashion by film critics,especially when compared to the other films in contention for the Oscars, MASH, Patton (which won), etc...

It seemed to have been filmed in the 1950s -- that scene with Dana Wynter arguing with Lancaster on the phone in their bedroom. Their room had two separate beds! Like this was the year when almost every movie that came out had a nude scene.

But it's still entertaining. And I don't get people who criticize the use of split screen images. That was the style that was commonly used in that period. To call it cheesy and dated would be like be calling an old black and white film cheesy and dated because it doesn't use any color.

[–] nutsberryfarm 9 years ago

the critics usually don't get good comedy.

ebert gave one of my favorite comedies of all time: .5 stars! 

that is, actually, kinda funny.
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/clifford-1994

🎍Season's greetings!🎅🌲

[–] samoanjoes (58580) 8 years ago

I agree. Everything about this film was dated. Some of the art-direction was okay but it all felt like a cheap set. The split screen use throughout the film seemed as if they figured out a way to do it, thought it was cool, and implemented it every time they could, even if it wasn't needed. Even some of the score was dated.

[–] Xcalat3 (3754) 7 years ago

this move has not aged well at all, and agreed about the score it seems too cheery and upbeat at times.

[–] samoanjoes (58580) 7 years ago

And it was way too long for such a simple story.

[–] joegerardi (384) 7 years ago

Reading all the different replies here shows me that most people really didn't get it. The plot of the movie was a day in the life of an airport, seen from the prospective of the General Manager. It wasn't about the bomb, it wasn't about the crippled plane, it was - as the title TELLS you - about the airport.

To the OP- Yes, security was that lax then. One could actually walk onto the plane to say goodbye to someone who was flying; Yes, people dressed to fly. You have to remember that this isn't the time when the fucking Millennials fly in their pajamas, (which I saw at Chicago O'hare on a layover) it was a time when people had a little pride. It wasn't even a time when many people flew. I'm 60. My brother and myself were the first kids on our block to get to fly in a plane, and that was when I was 13, in 1970, from LaGuardia to Miami.

As to not being successful, well, the damn thing made over 100 million, on a budget of 10 million. I'd say that's successful. Now factor in another 43 million in rentals. For every dollar spent, it has made 15.

Look at it as a time capsule of what life was like then.

..Joe

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

I'm a millennial and I dress up in a suit and tie to go the airport, as an act of protest against today's slovenly frumpiness.

[–] joegerardi (384) 7 years ago

God bless you then. There might be hope for your generation yet!

..Joe

[–] gcarras (2782) 4 years ago

Different things from a given era, interestingly, will age better vs another for a given person, subjectively..f'r instance,given the choice, I'd much rather (I was between 9-10 then) have watched Airport than Scooby Doo..Airport used the fashions much better, no cheesy songs played, and no Saturday Morning 30 K times over episodes (though it wasn't aimed at young kids like the Sat AM cartoons made then were)

[–] Stratego (31075) 4 years ago

I can't believe this movie ever held up. It's all over the ace. It doesn't work as a vignette movie or as a disaster movie or as a comedy or as a soap opera. Absolutely boring. The best part was the bomb plot with Van Heflin, which was only 10 minutes in total.