Airport '77 (1977)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Jerry Jameson

Writers:

H.A.L. Craig (story)
Charles Kuenstle (story)

Release Date:

11 March 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Flight 23 has crashed in the Bermuda Triangle... passengers still alive, trapped underwater...

Plot:

Art thieves hijack a 747, hit fog and crash into the ocean, trapping them and the passengers under 100 feet of water.

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | Bermuda Triangle | Underwater | Washington D.C. | Millionaire

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Capt. Don Gallagher
Lee Grant	...	Karen Wallace
Brenda Vaccaro	...	Eve Clayton
Joseph Cotten	...	Nicholas St. Downs III
Olivia de Havilland	...	Emily Livingston
James Stewart	...	Philip Stevens
George Kennedy	...	Joe Patroni
Darren McGavin	...	Stan Buchek
Christopher Lee	...	Martin Wallace
Robert Foxworth	...	Chambers
Robert Hooks	...	Eddie
Monte Markham	...	Banker
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Julie
Gil Gerard	...	Frank Powers
James Booth	...	Ralph Crawford

Also Known As:

Airport 1977 (International: English title) (informal title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1987) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12 (original rating) | USA:PG (Certificate #24803) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1977) | Sweden:15 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Bob Hope Airport - 2627 Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The Magnavox Magnavision VLP optical videodisc player shown in the film was Lew Wasserman's personal player and was borrowed from his office for the day of shooting. It was a hand-built pre-production model that was given the "7000" model number. The entire top of the player opens instead of just a small "lid" portion and the disc area has a clear window so you can see the disc spinning. For the final player release (model 8000), the lid was shrunk to only the disc area and the transparent window was eliminated. The player used in the film could not play CLV Extended Play discs as the the CLV format had not yet been finalized. The single-sided disc placed on the player contained the actual recording of James Stewart seen in the film - MCA Disco-Vision pressed the one-off disc just for the film. The packaging for the disc is a so-called "Nautilus Box" inside a standard cardboard box used to transport MCA Records Nickel-plated LP stampers. Monica Lewis uses the player incorrectly. She doesn't shut the lid completely and presses one of the "audio" buttons instead of the "Play Forward" button.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just following the opening titles, Don Gallagher and Stan Buchek walk past the stationary 747 on the tarmac. Stripes are painted along the side and continue right around the nose of the aircraft. When the aircraft is taxiing prior to takeoff at night, the nose cone of the plane is shown painted black (i.e. a different aircraft).

Quotes:

Karen Wallace: Excuse me, I don't mean to intrude, but could you move your ass, dear?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Skydivers (#7.9)" (1994)

Average disaster movie

This is a so-so movie. Not as good as the previous two Airport movies. The movie gets off to a slow start, introducing the characters and trying to bring some character development to the film. And not doing too well in that regard. Even the late, great Jimmy Stweart doesn't add much to the film. As with the other movies, you have to suspend your disbelief at times. While not the best installment of the series, this is a somewhat entertaining disaster movie. Though only recommended if you've seen everything else in the store.