AIRPORT

(March 1970, U.S.)

In my last post, I mentioned "airport" films of the '70s. Well since the alphabet ultimately takes its course, it's time to discuss a couple of them...

When the film version of Arthur Hailey's AIRPORT was relased 40 years ago, it was actually rated G. This means if you saw it on screen when you were a kid, you were treating yourself to a soap opera drama that involved infidelity, pregnancy, divorce, a crippling snowstorm, airline fraud and domestic terrorism. Not exactly Disney stuff, is it? AIRPORT ushered in the new decade of the disaster film, and yet with the exception of the last 30 minutes or so, very little of the story involves the traditional disaster themes of the time. As a drama, the film works surprisingly well, much of it attributed to the performance of the late, great Burt Lancaster. The film is characterized by ensemble acting in which many of the personal stories are intertwined while critical, minute-by-minute decisions are being made by the airport staff during one of the worst snowstorms in decades.

Not that I'm advocating a remake of this film, but I've often wondered how this story would play on screen today, in a post 9/11 world. Even if you avoid involving terrorism, certainly stories of passenger frustration, inadequate security, overcharging for airline extras, racial profiling, etc. - that material alone would make for a nice dark drama, rated PG-13 as a minimum.

Hollywood, if you're reading this, I'm just speculating. Please don't remake AIRPORT. Please don't remake anything ever again!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Mel Bakersfeld: "Don't talk to me about consequences! When Congress voted to cut airport appropriations, you never even sent in a letter of protest. And where were you when the airlines and the pilots and the rest of us were pleading for more airports and better traffic control? You were picking out the colors in the ladies lounge. So now you've got your consequences!"