"Go do your thing, baby!"

Several months ago (how we generally watch our films--buy them months ahead of when we actually sit down to them), the other half and I picked up the "Terminal Pack" for those grand old disaster films of the 70's; the Airport epics. Now, I recall the underwater one; which I've now discovered is the 1977 episode. Saw it when I was a little kid; and I remember little other than how terrified I was of the water coming down the staircase. Am I recalling that correctly? Well, last night we put in the original Airport (nominated for 10 Oscars); and followed up w/ Airport '75. You all know the sequel; it's the one w/ Karen Black's stewardess having to fly a massive 747 after a mid-air collision. Right? A few items.

The original was a fabulous bit of fun. The cheesy score, the insane amount of exposition (which I loved!); and the actually quite terrifying briefcase sequence on the plane; just before the explosion. Burt Lancaster was great fun; and I found myself completely in love w/ Jean Seberg as Lancaster's assistant/mistress. Her no-nonsense high power position was sexy; and seemingly almost out of place in this time frame...but in a good way. A very "modern" woman. Lots of good soap opera business here, but the performances were all quite good. Of course, the darling Helen Hayes was easily worthy of the Oscar for her role as the stow-away "biddy". Her moments in the buildup to the aforementioned "briefcase" struggle were wonderfully over-the-top. Particular mention should be given to Maureen Stapleton. I was quite blown away w/ her work. I overuse this word, but her performance was heartwrenching. Seeing her face as she realized what her husband was actually up to; and her final moment (almost a throw away bit; in the "happy" ending going on around her) running to the debarking passengers; screaming out, "He didn't mean it". In the jumble of plentiful cheesiness; her character's situation was difficult to swallow. Set up very well, and with a horrible denoument; after all of the grand scale disaster and (quite powerful) tension; I was left horrified; wondering where she would go from there. Just as Dean Martin tried to impart to the bomber; that (I'm paraphrasing here) this would actually make it worse for his family; we're left feeling that indeed; that will be the case. Glad to have taken part in this classic.

Now, onto the second chapter. First, Karen Black was a beauty, but what's w/ the crossed eyes? I'm not trying to be cruel, but it was quite distracting. Anyway, I appreciated; and at the same time, did not care for the lack of exposition in this one. It was onto the plane right away; and off we go...into the wild...blue yonder. Forgive. Charlton Heston was useless in this one; and the fact that he ends up landing the craft (not Black) was a great disappointment. In all of my pop culture references, I was led to believe that she was the hero in the end. Alas. The worst part? Heston takes over the captain's chair; turns to Black (his lover in the film) and tells her to go calm the passengers...a pilot is on board now. His line to her? "Go do your thing, baby." Gag. After all that Black's character had overcome; this was simply sexist. Of course, coming from Heston; it seemed appropriate. What's worse? She does as he says. Awful. Just awful. Some fun bit roles here. Gloria Swanson as herself (looking as lovely as she did in Sunset Blvd.), Alice Nunn (Pee Wee Herman's Trucker buddy; Large Marge), Jerry Stiller and Norman Fell, and of course Eric Estrada. The camera work must also be commended. It was quite stunning; considering there were very few effects shots (at least that I could tell); and certainly no computer graphics. That plane was flying over the mountains; at a very low altitude...for real!

Coming up in the moments between packing boxes, we'll be taking a gander at the final two films in the series. All four films; in one pack; for 14 bucks. Nice.