Download Airplane! - Film Log

Airplane - 1980
Genre:
Comedy/Parody/Spoof
Written and Directed by:
Jim Abrahams
David Zucker
Film Editor:
Patrick Kennedy
Major Actors:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Game of Death
Leslie Nielsen Robert Stack Lloyd Bridges – Blown Away
A parody/spoof of disaster films popular in the 70s
 The Towering Inferno (1974)
The world’s biggest skyscraper is being prepared for its
big unveiling party, which will be crammed with
visiting dignitaries.
Sadly, the chief electrical engineer has cut corners and a
fire soon breaks out. You can guess the rest from the
title.
 The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Another star-studded cast (including Gene Hackman in
one of his all-time classic roles as Reverend “Buzz”
Scott) are trapped when their ship goes belly up thanks
to an undersea earthquake.
 Airport (1970)
A bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost
closed by snow, and various personal problems of the
people involved all intersect aboard an airplane.
The movie also helped define some of the genre’s
tropes as several stories weaved together against the
backdrop of a plane in trouble.
 Earthquake (1974)
There’s a whole lotta shakin’ going on as a massive
underground shockwave hits Los Angeles.
Even Charlton Heston (who had already played Moses
by this point) and Ava Gardner can’t stop the place
falling to pieces.
Earthquakes are awesome movie fodder because they
cause all sorts of other destructive problems – fires,
flooding. It’s a one-stop shop for danger!
 Juggernaut (1974)
Released across the Atlantic as Terror On The
Britannic (a title that stuck for its eventual DVD
release), this is definitely, positively not a British
attempt to cash in on The Poseidon Adventure.
Still, it’s different enough, and loaded with suspense,
featuring a maniac (Freddie Jones) planting bombs on a
huge ocean liner and demanding a ransom.
Richard Harris, Ian Holm and David Hemmings are
among those racing to track down the explosives before
the ship is destroyed.
 The Hindenburg (1975)
Perhaps a lesser-known entry into the ‘70s canon, this is
a mash-up of fact and fiction as the zeppelin tragedy is
re-imagined as a terrorist act.
George C. Scott is Colonel Franz Ritter, assigned to
protect the legendary aircraft from threats to destroy it.
 The Swarm (1978)
Among the last gasps of the ‘70s destructo-trend,
Swarm finds the likes of Michael Caine’s insect expert
and Richard Widmark’s general trying to battle a
buzzing horde of killer bees.
Now if only they could agree on how to proceed…
 Specifically Parodies Zero Hour 1957
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO90hdkeKrs
Comparison
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbEM1MoSg
UQ Trailer
o Jive Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fkZdz4Vz10
What other films is Airplane spoofing?
Spoof that spawned an entire genre of parody films
 Airplane II
 Top Secret
 Naked Gun
 Hot Shots!
 Hot Shots! Part Deux
 Mafia!
Situational Irony- when the actual outcome is the exact opposite of
the expected outcome
Dramatic Irony- when the audience is aware of information that a
character is not
Verbal Irony-when the opposite of what is said is what is meant
 Sarcasm
 Pun
 Equivocation
List other films that are being parodied throughout film and classic lines
“Surely you can’t be serious- I’m dead serious, and don’t call me Shirley”
Quiz Questions
The protagonist of the movie Airplane is named ___________________.
Ned Biker
Ted Stryker
Knower Liker
Jim Stevens
Airplane is a parody of the 1970’s movie
Airliner
Friendly Skies
Zero Hour
Emergency Flight
“Fly the plane? Surely you can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious, and don’t call be Shirley.”
This exchange is an example of
Situational Irony
Verbal Irony
Dramatic Irony