On the cover for the newly released on Blu-ray comedy classic, Airplane!, there’s a quote stating that it’s “one of the top ten comedies of all time!” Normally, such hyperbole would go overlooked, but I feel one would be hard pressed to find someone that doesn’t agree. One of the true gems of the Zucker/Abrahams production team, Airplane! Exists in a league of its own and, since its debut in 1980, has remained one of the most entertaining and watchable comedies of all time.
Airplane! pulls of some double duty of sorts as it is equal parts spoofing the disaster movie genre while at the same time lampooning sappy love stories, and, for good measure, everything else in between. The films primary characters are Ted Striker (Robert Hays), an ex-military pilot who’s discovered his longtime girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hagerty), a stewardess, is leaving him. Determined to try and reconcile, Ted boards Elaine’s flight in hopes of changing her mind about him. Shortly after take-off, a sickness takes over much of the plane, taking out every pilot and leaving the whole plane in peril. It’s up to Ted to get over his past so that he can land the plane, save the day and get the girl.
From that summary, Airplane! comes across as a pretty serious sounding film, while in actuality it’s anything but. Hilarious is more like it. The creators behind the film (Jerry and David Zucker/Jim Abrahams) filled it to the brim with jokes, sight gags, puns, word play and random acts of hilarity. The brilliant thing about it all is that nothing seems forced. Comedy is at its best when it comes off fresh and organic and, even after repeated viewings, the film maintains that feeling.
As much praise as I would give the writing, the actors are what makes most of it work. There is such a glorious ability at “deadpan” delivery throughout the entire cast, and it just helps nail home every joke, no matter how of the wall.
The king of the deadpan, though, deserves his due. No one, and I mean no one, can pull off this style of comedy like Leslie Nielsen could. He approaches what is an absolutely absurdist role with such a straight faced seriousness that only lends itself to making every line and moment that much funnier. Nielsen is a true comedic legend, and although he’s sadly passed on, I’m thankful his movies remain for future generations to enjoy for years to come.
It seems that a lot of reviewers, when speaking of Airplane!, insist that it’s a very loosely threaded film with little to no plot holding it together, and I couldn’t agree less. I feel that one of the strongest aspects of the film is that, aside from the millions of jokes thrown ones way at any given second, that it actually is telling a story along the way. This is something that “spoofs” of the past decade or more seem to have forgotten. Both Airplane! films, as well as the Zucker/Abrahams holy Naked Gun trilogy, pull off making fun of nearly everything, but not at the expense of having a cohesive, though mostly absurd, story to tell. That, to me, helps make it all the more endearing and, most importantly, watchable.
High-Def Presentation
For a 31 year old comedy, Airplane! lands on Blu-ray looking surprisingly good. With a MPEG-4 AVC 1080p encode, there’s a lot to like about the picture. There’s no sign of significant DNR’ing. In fact, there’s a nice level of grain throughout the entire picture giving it that nice “film” look. There are loads of fine textures and detail throughout, and skin tones are warm and have depth, even revealing blemishes on some of the actors. It’s so clear that you can plainly see when actors have strings attached to them, which just adds another level to the comedy.
Being a bit of an older film, it definitely looks its age, especially in the color palette, which, although strong, is very muted containing lots of grays and browns. Overall, a surprising transfer for a catalog comedy, which often times get the shaft.
As for the audio realm of things, this is clearly the best Airplane! has ever sounded. Boasting a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, the disc’s sound is just as impressive as the picture. There’s subtle, but effective use of rear speakers, while the dialogue is featured front and center. There are some scenes, however, that seem like would have a huge audio moment (primarily the early scene with the airplane crashing into the terminal) that does come off as kind of a whimper. Aside from a very few shortcomings, this is a great track.
I also wanted to note that, as of now, this release is a Best Buy Exclusive.
Beyond the Feature
For its Blu-ray debut, Airplane! ports over all of the special features from the previous “Don’t Call Me Shirley” DVD edition. This is a fine group of supplements that, while small in quantity, make up for it with the actual quality. Still, it would have been nice to see some updated or new features make their way to the disc.
Audio Commentary – This is a hilarious track featuring Producer Jon Davidson and the acclaimed Writer/Director team of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Brothers, Jerry and David. The group seems to be having a great time and bring their unique humorous viewpoint to the proceedings. From discussing technical aspects to anecdotes about the cast and the various spoofs the film makes, this is a must-listen for any fan of the film.
“The Long Haul” Version -While the film plays, this feature has frequent “Trans-World” logos pop up which, upon being clicked by the viewer, leads to behind the scenes moments, cast and crew interviews, and sequences that have never been seen before. While this feature is very informative and serves as a nice compliment to the film, it would have been nice to be able to view all of these extras separately rather than them only being found via this mode.
Trivia Track – Normally these “Trivia Track” features are pure fluff, but here this is a welcome and equally hilarious addition to the film. This track pops up random facts and information about certain scenes, but also makes a point to showcase errors and flubs within the film itself. It’s nice seeing this feature utilized in such a great and comedic way.
Trailer (HD, 3 min) – The original theatrical trailer for the film.
Even in its 31st year of existence, Airplane! remains just as funny as it always has been, while also retaining its importance within the history of modern comedy. It is non-stop laughs from beginning to end, but pulls off telling a story along the way. More importantly, unlike many of the spoofs of today, it’s smart, and that goes a long way in the realm of comedy.
With its Blu-ray debut, Airplane! finally has a worthy picture and sound mix to compliment all of the good within the film itself. Although the special features are all ported over, they remain insightful and, often times, just as funny as the film itself. I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to have this disc in their library. I can’t recommend it enough.
– Matt Hardeman
TheHDRoom may be paid a small commission for any services or products ordered through select links on this page.
Airplane! Blu-ray Review
Airplane! pulls of some double duty of sorts as it is equal parts spoofing the disaster movie genre while at the same time lampooning sappy love stories, and, for good measure, everything else in between. The films primary characters are Ted Striker (Robert Hays), an ex-military pilot who’s discovered his longtime girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hagerty), a stewardess, is leaving him. Determined to try and reconcile, Ted boards Elaine’s flight in hopes of changing her mind about him. Shortly after take-off, a sickness takes over much of the plane, taking out every pilot and leaving the whole plane in peril. It’s up to Ted to get over his past so that he can land the plane, save the day and get the girl.
From that summary, Airplane! comes across as a pretty serious sounding film, while in actuality it’s anything but. Hilarious is more like it. The creators behind the film (Jerry and David Zucker/Jim Abrahams) filled it to the brim with jokes, sight gags, puns, word play and random acts of hilarity. The brilliant thing about it all is that nothing seems forced. Comedy is at its best when it comes off fresh and organic and, even after repeated viewings, the film maintains that feeling.
As much praise as I would give the writing, the actors are what makes most of it work. There is such a glorious ability at “deadpan” delivery throughout the entire cast, and it just helps nail home every joke, no matter how of the wall.
The king of the deadpan, though, deserves his due. No one, and I mean no one, can pull off this style of comedy like Leslie Nielsen could. He approaches what is an absolutely absurdist role with such a straight faced seriousness that only lends itself to making every line and moment that much funnier. Nielsen is a true comedic legend, and although he’s sadly passed on, I’m thankful his movies remain for future generations to enjoy for years to come.
It seems that a lot of reviewers, when speaking of Airplane!, insist that it’s a very loosely threaded film with little to no plot holding it together, and I couldn’t agree less. I feel that one of the strongest aspects of the film is that, aside from the millions of jokes thrown ones way at any given second, that it actually is telling a story along the way. This is something that “spoofs” of the past decade or more seem to have forgotten. Both Airplane! films, as well as the Zucker/Abrahams holy Naked Gun trilogy, pull off making fun of nearly everything, but not at the expense of having a cohesive, though mostly absurd, story to tell. That, to me, helps make it all the more endearing and, most importantly, watchable.
High-Def Presentation
For a 31 year old comedy, Airplane! lands on Blu-ray looking surprisingly good. With a MPEG-4 AVC 1080p encode, there’s a lot to like about the picture. There’s no sign of significant DNR’ing. In fact, there’s a nice level of grain throughout the entire picture giving it that nice “film” look. There are loads of fine textures and detail throughout, and skin tones are warm and have depth, even revealing blemishes on some of the actors. It’s so clear that you can plainly see when actors have strings attached to them, which just adds another level to the comedy.
Being a bit of an older film, it definitely looks its age, especially in the color palette, which, although strong, is very muted containing lots of grays and browns. Overall, a surprising transfer for a catalog comedy, which often times get the shaft.
As for the audio realm of things, this is clearly the best Airplane! has ever sounded. Boasting a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, the disc’s sound is just as impressive as the picture. There’s subtle, but effective use of rear speakers, while the dialogue is featured front and center. There are some scenes, however, that seem like would have a huge audio moment (primarily the early scene with the airplane crashing into the terminal) that does come off as kind of a whimper. Aside from a very few shortcomings, this is a great track.
I also wanted to note that, as of now, this release is a Best Buy Exclusive.
Beyond the Feature
For its Blu-ray debut, Airplane! ports over all of the special features from the previous “Don’t Call Me Shirley” DVD edition. This is a fine group of supplements that, while small in quantity, make up for it with the actual quality. Still, it would have been nice to see some updated or new features make their way to the disc.
Audio Commentary – This is a hilarious track featuring Producer Jon Davidson and the acclaimed Writer/Director team of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Brothers, Jerry and David. The group seems to be having a great time and bring their unique humorous viewpoint to the proceedings. From discussing technical aspects to anecdotes about the cast and the various spoofs the film makes, this is a must-listen for any fan of the film.
“The Long Haul” Version -While the film plays, this feature has frequent “Trans-World” logos pop up which, upon being clicked by the viewer, leads to behind the scenes moments, cast and crew interviews, and sequences that have never been seen before. While this feature is very informative and serves as a nice compliment to the film, it would have been nice to be able to view all of these extras separately rather than them only being found via this mode.
Trivia Track – Normally these “Trivia Track” features are pure fluff, but here this is a welcome and equally hilarious addition to the film. This track pops up random facts and information about certain scenes, but also makes a point to showcase errors and flubs within the film itself. It’s nice seeing this feature utilized in such a great and comedic way.
Trailer (HD, 3 min) – The original theatrical trailer for the film.
Even in its 31st year of existence, Airplane! remains just as funny as it always has been, while also retaining its importance within the history of modern comedy. It is non-stop laughs from beginning to end, but pulls off telling a story along the way. More importantly, unlike many of the spoofs of today, it’s smart, and that goes a long way in the realm of comedy.
With its Blu-ray debut, Airplane! finally has a worthy picture and sound mix to compliment all of the good within the film itself. Although the special features are all ported over, they remain insightful and, often times, just as funny as the film itself. I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to have this disc in their library. I can’t recommend it enough.
– Matt Hardeman
TheHDRoom may be paid a small commission for any services or products ordered through select links on this page.
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