| Airport '77 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jerry Jameson |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | Airport, based on the novel byArthur Hailey |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | |
| Music by | John Cacavas |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | Universal Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $91.1 million |
Airport '77 is a 1977 American airdisaster film, the third installment of theAirport film series. The film stars anensemble cast of veteran actors includingJack Lemmon,James Stewart,Joseph Cotten,Olivia de Havilland, andBrenda Vaccaro as well as the return ofGeorge Kennedy from the two previousAirport films. It is directed byJerry Jameson, produced byWilliam Frye, executive produced byJennings Lang with a screenplay by Michael Scheff and David Spector.[1]
The plot concerns a privateBoeing 747 packed withVIPs and priceless art that is hijacked before crashing into the ocean in theBermuda Triangle, forcing the survivors into a desperate struggle for survival.[2][3]
Despite mixed critical reviews,Airport '77 was a box-office hit, grossing $91.1 million worldwide. It was nominated for twoAcademy Awards.
Wealthyphilanthropist Philip Stevens is having invited guests flown in his luxurious privately ownedBoeing 747-100, Stevens Flight 23, to hisPalm Beach, Florida estate. Aboard are his estranged adult daughter and her young son, whom he hopes to reconnect with, as he is secretly dying. Priceless artwork from Stevens' private collection destined for his new museum is also on the jetliner. The collection has motivated a group of thieves led by co-pilot Bob Chambers tohijack the aircraft.
Mid-flight, Captain Don Gallagher is lured from the cockpit and knocked unconscious. Asleeping gas secretly installed pre-flight is released into the cabin, rendering unprotected crew and passengers unconscious. Chambers, flying to a small deserted island to offload the art treasures, drops the plane below radar range causing Stevens Flight 23 to "disappear" in theBermuda Triangle. Descending to virtually wave-top altitude, Flight 23 heads into a fog bank, reducing visibility. Minutes later, a largeoffshore platform emerges from the haze, and Flight 23's wing clips the platform's tower, igniting an engine. Chambers extinguishes the fire, but due to a sudden loss of airspeed, the plane stalls and crashes into the water, floating momentarily before sinking below the surface.
The plane settles in relatively shallow water that is above the plane's crush depth, though water pressure gradually compromises the fuselage. Many passengers are injured, some seriously. Chambers, the only surviving hijacker, reveals the plane is 200 miles (320 km) off course, meaning search and rescue efforts will be focused in the wrong area. As a search for the missing plane is launched, veteran aeronautics expert Joe Patroni joins the rescue operation as a technical adviser, joined by Philip Stevens. Meanwhile, the trapped crew can only contact rescuers by getting a signal buoy to the surface. Captain Gallagher and a professional diver, Martin Wallace, enter the main cargo preparing to swim to the surface using air masks. The hatch door malfunctions, forcing Wallace to open it manually. The sudden onrush of water kills him, but Gallagher is able to make it to the surface and activate the emergency beacon. The signal is detected and a rescue operation is launched. Meanwhile, the plane's fuselage is steadily leaking, and on top of that, air is running out.
The Navy dispatches a sub-recovery ship,USSCayuga,USSAgerholm and a flotilla of other vessels to the crash site, rescuing Gallagher. Stevens, meanwhile, has joinedCayuga via helicopter while Patroni stays on the mainland to study the aircraft's risks of imploding underwater, which he warns Gallagher about over the phone. Guided by Gallagher, Navy divers rig the plane with balloons and inflate them, slowly raising the aircraft. Just before the plane reaches the surface, a balloon breaks loose and pressure is reduced to stabilize the aircraft. A cargo hold door inside the plane bursts open and seawater floods the cabin; Chambers and Wallace's widow Karen drown, while Emily's injured friend Dorothy dies from her injuries. With time running out, air pressure is increased, raising the plane to the surface, and all survivors are quickly evacuated. Captain Gallagher and Stevens' assistant, Eve (whom Gallagher is in love with), become trapped inside and escape through the upper deck where they are fished out of the ocean by a Navy helicopter, as the 747 sinks under the waves for the last time. Stevens reunites with his daughter and tearfully hugs his grandson, while the helicopter carrying Gallagher and Eve lands aboardAgerholm, where they are both met by the grateful survivors.
Although the disaster portrayed in the film is fictional, rescue operations depicted in the movie are actual rescue operations used by theNavy in the event of similar emergencies or disasters, as indicated at the end of the film prior to the closing credits. The disaster itself—a hard water landing as shown in the film, and an intact sinking—would not be likely given the hardtailstrike, which would have demolished the aircraft.[citation needed]
For its initial broadcast onNBC-TV in September 1978, an additional 70 minutes of outtakes and new footage shot especially for network TV was added.[5]
Rotten Tomatoes, areview aggregator, reports that 50% of 12 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 5.4/10.[6] OnMetacritic the film has aweighted average score of 36 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[7]Variety wrote, "The story's formula banality is credible most of the time and there's some good actual US Navy search and rescue procedure interjected in the plot."[8]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times rated it 2/4 stars and wrote, "The movie's a big, slick entertainment, relentlessly ridiculous and therefore never boring for long."[9]The New York Times wrote, "Airport '77 looks less like the work of a director and writers than like a corporate decision."[10]
The film grossed $30 million in the United States and Canada and $61 million internationally for a worldwide total of $91.1 million.[11][12]
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[13] | Best Art Direction | George C. Webb andMickey S. Michaels | Nominated |
| Best Costume Design | Edith Head andBurton Miller | Nominated |
From late 1977 until the early 1980s, theUniversal Studios Tour in California featured theAirport '77 Screen Test Theater as part of the tour.[14] Several sets were recreated, and members of the audience were chosen to play various parts. The audience would watch as these scenes were filmed. Key scenes such as the hijacking, crash and rescue were recreated, and the footage was then incorporated into a brief digest version of the film and screened for the audience on monitors. Each show's mini-film was made available for audience members to purchase on8 mm film and videotape.
