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Summary of the Plot
As a masterwork in outrageous comedy, AIRPLANE! chronicles the exploits of an ex-fighter pilot who practically flies a fully operational airliner on autopilot during its crew’s breakdowns and ritualistically boasts of feasting upon airplane disaster flicks, religious zealots, television commercials and practically every other film of note. The endlessly quotable comedy features an impressive cast including Leslie Nielsen, Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, among others. (from Paramount Pictures)
Review of Film
I guess the most shocking concept to get ahold of is that one can watch a movie split into two halves on television which will be seamless and untouched on video. TV and watching movies divorced from video or streaming make use of the economy differently. Generally, I remember my family having watched the airport comedy spoof Airplane! from the year 1980 on TV on multiple occasions over the course of my childhood. Its nuances are not too clean and wholesome, but still, its originality is manifestly clear and a way ahead of time. Many imitators have tried to capture the zany attitude and clever visual bullet points that Airplane! had, and the number who can come close to achieving this is very small. It’s fair to say it is not the most entertaining movie you could watch, and if goofy and silly comedies are nowhere near your style of humor at all, spoiler alert, you would not like this film.
But, up to the recent 2011 Blu-Ray home entertainment release of Airplane!, I do not believe I have seen the movie’s entire content. Regrettably, the content that was elided for television broadcast is something I guarantee you I have not missed seeing.
When it comes to comedies, Airplane! has remained the most outstanding film throughout the 1980s. From the time of its release into the world of cinema, it has had a competition with a few other comedies that have emerged, but none of them came close to capturing the uniqueness that this film came with. The directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker put their heart and soul into this film, but it is quite unfortunate that like most other modern-day Hollywood movies, this film too contained excessive sexual humor. Last year’s Dinner for Schmucks attempted this too, but it is still there and when it is, AITY is pretty in-your-face. There were no PG-13 ratings back then, it was a lot more simplistic. There was PG and R and no in-between. For a time there, Airplane! had a few blunt bone dry rude jokes, but would still get a PG rating. As time progressed, it would of course get an edited PG 13 rating due to strict rules and CGI elements.
As is, and without changing anything, I suspect it would receive an R rating. And the reason for this is not language or violence, but rather nudity. For example, there is one moment in a scene of total mayhem on the plane, where a woman’s chest runs across the camera, pauses directly in the frame, and then exits to my surprise. Another scene depicts a pilot in an airport who has an adult magazine. The cover of the magazine was nude, and so was the one next to it.
Lastly, some visual gags that would easily fit in a PG-13 movie include a woman inflating the air in a dummy autopilot doll with a tube at its crotch (making it appear as though she is giving head). In another gag, the “no smoking” sign receives light from the passengers, and there’s another sign underneath it with a drawing of a couple “x-rated” cartoon style, and like the no smoking sign, there is an “X” covering it. Some people might find all of those rather tame, and maybe they are thinking about some of the things PG-13 films get away with these days, but for a film labeled as “PG,” which parents may choose to watch and think is safe for the whole family, they are sure to be more surprised than what they anticipated.
It is still a great movie to watch, even with its content flaws (which do include some swearing, but to a minimal extent). It features some actors that were clearly defined for their serious roles such as Leslie Nielsen and Peter Graves, who did a wonderful job at dryly presenting some really outrageous material. I don’t think I’ve seen Robert Hays in anything else, while Julie Hagerty (who starred in What About Bob) does a good job of what is required of her. These actors are surprisingly good at performing this kind of material and do it effortlessly. The main cast is absolutely brilliant with the supporting cast being made up of such people as Norden Graves, Robert Stack, and Lloyd Bridges, They are wonderful in blending comedy with drama without being overly exaggerative, which is impressive for a movie as exaggerated as this one. It’s the absurdity combined with their calm and nonchalant reactions towards it that makes this film even more enjoyable. Not to mention, who could forget moments like: “You can’t be serious?” “I am serious… and don’t call me ‘Shirley’” or the one involving the last names of the pilots and co-pilots?
Overall, it is the content that was the downside of the movie for me.
Due to some very crude and extremely poor jokes, though, I can’t wholeheartedly endorse this one. Seemingly considering Airplane’s age of 31 years, the picture quality on the Blu-Ray release is commendable. However, I feel like the HD presentation does not improve on the movie as much as it does for others. A lot of dated films have looked fantastic on Blu-Ray, say, any of the 80’s Star Trek films, for example, but surprisingly Airplane! looks fantastic on Blu-ray. There are minimal special features on this release too, so if you were wanting some super special awesome normal ordinary extras then…well, you won’t find anything here. Apparently, one of the movie’s 2005 DVD releases includes the Long Haul Version, which is the only extra other than the director’s audio commentary feature track. (Oh by the way, the theory is that the mid-air scenario within the instructional card is performed with the menu on the Blu-Ray disc and it’s animated “S__T” featuring above mentioned Obama pilot figure puffing up the inflating doll.)
Overall, Airplane! is a timeless funny movie, but it’s not the kind of film that I would recommend due to how many lines it crosses (The absurdity of the comedy is often found in it’s taking of many stereotypes – racial and religious stereotyping. If you are sensitive in any way, there is a good chance it might offend you). Don’t let the PG rating mislead you, because while Airplane! offers some good laughs, it is not fit for the entire family.
Review of Airplane! Special Features on Blu-ray
In contrast to the other features I reviewed, Airplane! has little to offer on it’s Blu-ray release. It is currently being offered in the Best Buy Limited Edition and virtually is just a high-definition transfer with the features you’d get off of the DVD version – there really isn’t any new content. That said, the extra feature, the ‘Long Haul Version’, is one of those that will appeal to the fans. Also, while the HD quality is good, it’s not that great either. It still does capture details that you would have never noticed before in the movie which can be both positive and negative. For example, in the scene where Striker dances in the bar, you can very clearly see the piano wires keeping him suspended so that he can ‘dance’ off his feet. I’m not sure if this is visible in other releases, but in this one, it was unavoidably evident.
– The chosen part allows viewers to watch the movie with interactive pop-up features which randomly brings up a “TA” logo flag at arbitrary time periods. Selecting it leads you to various bonus materials, including interviews of the cast recounting about the filming and their mistakes (like a visible crew member in a shot) as well as the directors reliving their experiences making the movie. The highlights are listening to Bob Hays in the present and how he played Ted, and other amazing stories of the set and how magic tricks were enacted on stage. The film’s directors and actors showed scenes from the completed film and tell us the blunders that can be seen in it or show some photographs of the most famous scenes. In addition, there is now the occasional deleted scene to this featurette; it is fun.
I find it intriguing that Peter Graves is very candid about filming his part as Captain Over and how perilous the film was for him to work on, particularly regarding some of the lines he was supposed to say. This is also quite hilarious to hear from little Joey, who is an adult now, and how people still make fun of him for some of the Graves’ dialog to him in the movie in the cockpit meeting of the two. Overall, it is an interesting featurette. I just simply wish all the extras were available individually apart from the film.
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