Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/16/2007

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1560 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2005-12-13
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 87 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
The quintessential movie spoof that spawned an entire genre of parody films, the original Airplane! still holds up as one of the brightest comedic gems of the '80s, not to mention of cinema itself (it ranked in the top 5 of Entertainment Weekly's list of the 100 funniest movies ever made). The humor may be low and obvious at times, but the jokes keep coming at a rapid-fire clip and its targets--primarily the lesser lights of '70s cinema, from disco films to star-studded disaster epics--are more than worthy for send-up. If you've seen even one of the overblown Airport movies then you know the plot: the crew of a filled-to-capacity jetliner is wiped out and it's up to a plucky stewardess and a shell-shocked fighter pilot to land the plane. Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty are the heroes who have a history that includes a meet-cute à la Saturday Night Fever, a surf scene right out of From Here to Eternity, a Peace Corps trip to Africa to teach the natives the benefits of Tupperware and basketball, a war-ravaged recovery room with a G.I. who thinks he's Ethel Merman (a hilarious cameo)--and those are just the flashbacks! The jokes gleefully skirt the boundaries of bad taste (pilot Peter Graves to a juvenile cockpit visitor: "Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?"), with the high (low?) point being Hagerty's intimate involvement with the blow-up automatic pilot doll, but they'll have you rolling on the floor. The film launched the careers of collaborators Jim Abrahams (Big Business), David Zucker (Ruthless People), and Jerry Zucker (Ghost), as well as revitalized such B-movie actors as Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, and Leslie Nielsen, who built a second career on films like this. A vital part of any video collection. --Mark Englehart

On the DVD
The shenanigans continue through the menus and even the printed matter of this second DVD release. A trivia track and commentary are enjoyable, but pretty superfluous if you watch the branching "extended edition." When a TA logo appears on the screen, you can click to one of many interview segments examining the scene. The key subject matter is how little money was used on the project and the inexperience (for better or for worse) of the three directors ("three bodies, one head"). Most of the cast and crew have fond memories of the quick shoot: Leslie Nielsen tells us how his new career path was a conscience decision, a gentlemanly Peter Graves mentions how grateful--if puzzled--he was at the chance to do comedy, and Robert Hays dishes how his car was put into the film. The directing team gleefully shows all their mistakes. The deleted scenes aren't much, but you'll know when seeing one: the flashing words "Deleted Scene" gawkily flashes at the bottom of the screen. Note: there is no easy way to watch just the new material. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

A classic comedy, still funny today
Who does not love this film?

A comedy classic.

Cast perfect in their roles.

Well written of course with the memorable catch phrases.

DVD package. Normal extras on it. Deleted scenes, commentary, trailer, that type of thing

BUT IT IS ONE OF THE I HATE THEM SO MUCH FLIP THE LITTLE FLAPS TO OPEN THE CASE.

The film that got Leslie Neilson's career into high gear in comedy's. there would have been no Naked Gun series of films without this film.

In it for Long Haul...but where is it?
This is one of my favorite movies of all time and I anxiously bought it, inserested it in my new Samsung high-def capable DVD player. and clicked on long haul edition..and yes, I wanted to see deleted scenes and interviews. but, after trying several times, all I kept getting was the short version. Surely I'm missing something. I obviously am, or I wouldn't call myself Shirley. Feel free to comment.

Classic Comedy
From start to finish, this movie is non-stop laughter. A must-bye for anyone interested in corny jokes and humor.