Top Airplane! Consumer Review

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Airplane!

Best Price: $14.98

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Editorial Reviews
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

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Customer Reviews

S. Loftin Said: Guilty Pleasure ( Nov. 6th 2009 )

I hadn't seen Airplane for at least 10 years but decided to buy a used DVD to add to my collection. This kind of movie fits my sense of humor - kinda silly and gross in places, but still a lot of laughs. The humor is definitely 1980s with some pop-culture references that were fun to me, but would probably go over the heads of my grown children. It was also fun to see some of the actors that I hadn't seen in a few years. Even my wife, who wasn't looking forward to it, was laughing in some places. Not a cinematic masterpiece, but a fun time.

Eric S. Kim Said: Can't overcome your fear of flying? Then watch this! ( Oct. 7th 2009 )

This is probably the first comedy that has satirized the disaster genre. Before that atrocious film that's simply called "Disaster Movie," we've had the chance to be overwhelmingly amused by watching "Airplane!". This has to be one of the greatest comedies in the entire history of motion pictures. The humor equals to that of Blazing Saddles, The Naked Gun, and Spaceballs: it is truly hilarious! There's a whole lot of silly sight gags and wordplay all around, and some pretty memorable scenes: *"Don't worry, Stewardess, I can speak Jive." *"Calm down! Get a hold of yourself!" *"Roger, Roger. Over." *"Would you like some cream?" *"And don't call me Shirley!" and so on and so on. As everyone has already described it, this is pure comedic gold. And if you're scared of taking off on a plane, then this'll help you overcome your fears. Why? Because it's funny, and the constant laughing will help you forget your troubles! ...Well, maybe not. But watch it anyway!

Matthew Lanka Said: Review: Airplane! (1980) ( Oct. 4th 2009 )

Director: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker Writer: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker Starring: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar In my opinion, this is the funniest movie ever made. This is even more impressive considering that it was made very early in the careers of nearly everyone involved in both writing/directing and acting. The whole thing is essentially a spoof of a 1957 movie called Zero Hour. Our hero Ted Striker follows his flight attendant girlfriend onto her plane in an attempt to salvage their struggling relationship. During the flight, both pilots are incapacitated by some unfortunately timed food poisoning, and Ted has to land the plane. Stupid jokes abound, and there is something very wrong with you if you aren't laughing. You can tell that nobody erred on the side of caution here. Anything that was funny found its way into the film in one way or another. There are whole scenes that are built around a single joke that is totally unrelated to the plot of the film, but are still really funny. You forgive the movie for some technically bad storytelling techniques because it's so damned hilarious. This is a comedy in the truest sense. Nobody is taking anything seriously here, and neither should you. There are jokes flying so fast you have to see it more than once because you will laugh through many of them on the first viewing. The best part is that even 30 years later, very few of the jokes feel dated. Final Score: 9/10

Nik Said: Love It! ( Sep. 24th 2009 )

I love almost anything with Leslie Nielsen in it. He is just so darn cookey. This is not for serious movie viewers. It's only for those who are really relaxed at night and want to chuckle at an off movie plot with off characters and off action... This is the movie you went to see before films like these horrible comedies about drunk men and even more drunken women.

CFH Said: A Guilty Pleasure! Highly Recommended! ( Aug. 19th 2009 )

"Airplane" is one of those movies that is almost embarrassing to admit that you like, much less that it is on your "Top 10". The humor ranges from slapstick sight gags to some really clever play on words that might be missed on the first viewing. I have watched this no less than 20 times or so, and still find little gems each viewing. Airplane is one of the most quotable movies ever since there are so many one-liners and plays on words. The plot is a send up of the numerous airport/airplane disaster movies of the 1970s and features an all-star cast, including Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Frank Ashmore, Lloyd Bridges, Jonathan Banks, and Barbara Billingsley. This movie has a lot of adult humor, racial stereotyping, substance abuse, and worse. None of it is presented in a serious way, but those that are easily offended should skip this movie. This is one of my guilty pleasures, so Highly Recommended with the caveats above.

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