Airport '77 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Airport '77 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 5, 2016

Note: 'Airport '77' is currently only available as part of a boxed set with other 'Airport' films.

Another star-studded cast populates Airport '77, the franchise's third film and a far cry from the excellence of the first and sheer entertainment value of the second. The film once again cobbles together a rather eccentric collection of characters and, unlike the first and very much like the second, most only serve to suffer in peril and fear rather than play an integral part in the movie. Director Jerry Jameson's picture struggles to find, or maintain, tightly woven thrills. It's a basic cause-and-effect film with little sense of real peril despite a rather strong starting premise and the promise of both a popular franchise and a top-flight cast operating in support, resulting in a classic case of franchise fatigue: the expectedly lesser results when a series surges onward without the same focus as before, even with a good idea at its core.

Sink or swim?

Philip Stevens (Jimmy Stewart) is a man of fine tastes and endless wealth. He's constructed a luxury jumbo jet that, on her maiden voyage, is scheduled to carry an assortment of VIPs, as well as his priceless art collection and his most prized possession, his daughter and grandson. But a few bad guys have other plans. Several men manage to pose as maintenance and staff and, with the cooperation of the flight's co-pilot, Bob Chambers (Robert Foxworth), gas the crew and guests and steer the plane towards a remote, long-abnadoned island and runway in the Bermuda Triangle. Their plan is to land the craft, steal the art, and leave the passengers to awaken and piece together what's happened, long after the criminals are gone. But the plan goes awry when the jet, flying low to avoid radar detection, clips an oil platform and crashes into the sea. The plane sinks but lands on a shallow bit of submerged land not too far from the surface. As the passengers and crew awaken, including Captain Don Gallagher (Jack Lemmon), they are forced to race against time to figure out a way to get word to the surface and be rescued before they drown in the world's most expensive tomb.

Airport '77 gets out of the gate rather slowly and lethargically. It takes a good thirty minutes to set the story in motion, for both the bad guys to do their thing in preparation of taking the plane and for the passengers to assemble on board and establish their relationships and personalities. Their Soap Opera-inspired antics and associations only result in a slow-drip reveal of what's to come and what to expect of them once tragedy strikes. The filmmakers clearly hoped that that slow drip would, as happens in the movie as a leak in the plane eventually becomes a full-fledged saturation and flood, prime the film for the explosion of dramatic interest to follow alongside the action, but that never materializes. Characters beyond the core -- Captain Gallagher and Stan Buchek (Darren McGavin) on the plane -- don't do much more than annoy, writhe in pain, scream, take up space, and offer up more bodies to put in danger as the situation grows ever more bleak, and wet. Even the returning George Kennedy, playing the fan-favorite Joe Patroni, is completely wrenched into the plot to get him in the movie. Only a handful of the characters are critical or somehow important to the movie, and some of the more detailed insight into the lesser ones at film's start, and without any real purpose to their comings and goings -- one of the keys that made the first film so memorable -- mean that they only add numbers to what everyone wants to see: a plane trapped underwater with precious little hope that the people on board escape alive.

Airport '77's single best asset, even beyond its assembled all-star cast, is the rather enticing and somewhat unique idea behind it. The movie is, essentially, a shrunk-down version of The Poseidon Adventure, the classic maritime Disaster flick released several years prior, and taking place on a sunken airplane rather than a sinking cruise ship. It's uniquely compelling. The execution just doesn't live up to either that film's standards or the Airport franchise's excellence. The movie seeps a bit of tension in its final act when hope literally hangs in the balance and work is furiously underway to rescue the survivors, but even then it's largely minimal. Airport '77 is a great lazy weekend afternoon movie, but even considering the interesting concept that's oozing with potential, it doesn't execute satisfactorily and pales compared to the vastly superior original and the highly entertaining, if not rather simplistic, sequel.

Airport '77 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Airport '77's 1080p transfer isn't quite perfect, but it's rather nice-looking, all things considered. Grain structure is very fine, and regular, if not a bit volatile in a few places. The image sometimes looks a bit too smooth, but loss of detail is never an issue and the picture never takes on that waxy, plastic look. It's just very clean. Indeed, detail is very nice to, at times, striking. Many of the fancier appointments inside the plane, particularly woods, carpeting, and upholstery, are strongly revealing. Clothing is likewise complexly presented, and faces rarely miss a beat. Colors are well saturated and vibrant both inside the plane and up on the surface, particularly late in the movie out in the very bright daytime sunshine. Black levels are very deep but prone to mild crush. Flesh tones appear accurate. A stray hair is visible on the lower-left portion of the screen right after the opening titles, lingering for one shot. Small little specks and flecks pop up throughout, but never to any sort of detrimental level.

Airport '77 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Airport '77's DTS-HD Master Audio Mono soundtrack delivers a passable listen that relates the basics, but beyond dialogue without any sort of richly realized detail. Music sputters into the stage with little range. It's cramped, unkempt, and absent anything more than crude definition. "Live" background music on the plane -- singing and guitar strumming -- is a little more open and well defined. Ambient details in the plane, at the airport, or up on the surface of the ocean fail to realize any kind of accurate, immersive sensation. Heavier elements -- particularly rushing water -- are more globular and jumbled than they are accurate. Dialogue is generally fine, nicely clear and articulate, though screams and shrieks and cries come across as piercing and muddled.

Airport '77 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All that's included is the Airport '77 theatrical trailer (480i, 2:39). No top menu is included. The special feature, as well as audio, subtitle, and chapter options, must be accessed in-film via the pop-up menu.

Airport '77 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Airport '77 isn't a bad movie. It's a fun enough entertainer that puts together honest production values, a strong cast, and a quality foundational story. It's just not very well executed. The characters are disposable, emotion is never tangible, and danger rarely feels critical. Rarely engaging but good enough for background noise while lazing about the house, the movie is worth checking out for fans of the first two films in the franchise but hardly of value as a serious, full-attention-worthy motion picture. Universal's Blu-ray is practically featureless and the sound is very basic, but video is quite good. Worth a look.