Airport

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Airport

G,

1970,

2h 17m,

Mystery & Thriller

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Watchlist

Watchlist

72%

18 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

In this large-ensemble disaster movie, Mel Bakersfeld (Burt Lancaster), the general manager of a Chicago-area airport, must contend with a massive snowstorm and other issues, both work-related and personal, while the troubled D.O. Guerrero (Van Heflin) threatens to blow up an airliner. As pilot Vernon Demerest (Dean Martin) attempts to calm Guerrero down and dissuade him from setting off explosives on the plane, tensions increase in the air and on the ground, and danger is imminent.

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Oct 23, 2004

2/4

On some dumb fundamental level, Airport kept me interested for a couple of hours. I can't quite remember why.

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Oct 15, 2025

2.5/5

Five stars for Helen Hayes. But "Airport" feels like it was 10 years past its prime in its time, playing solely to those who loved big-name stars assembled in one place or who still found novel the still relatively new field of commercial air travel.

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Frank J. Avella

The Contending

Oct 1, 2025

B+

Hayes provides wonderful comic relief as Ada Quonsett (that name!). Stapleton, who was also Oscar-nominated is quite touching and Bisset is imbues her role with tremendous poignancy.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Jul 9, 2022

3/4

...a deliberate yet mostly engaging endeavor...

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Sep 13, 2012

2.5/4

[UPDATED 2025 REVIEW] Yes, it may be junk, but to many it’s irresistible junk, like cotton candy, chicken nuggets, and Gilligan’s Island reruns.

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Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

Aug 15, 2011

3.5/4

Before there was Airplane! there was Airport, a surprisingly engaging disaster drama that ignited a trend.

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Jan 26, 2019

The best movie score ever composed!

Leia R

Dec 4, 2018

Great old movie with famous cast.

Finn S

Nov 11, 2018

A scaled disaster classic with standardized minimal simplicity, as well a glimpse into the airport workforce, while the patient establishments of the characterization rises above most of the genre's current spectacle condition, even though few narrative links went missing. (B+) (Full review TBD)

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Finn S

Jul 8, 2018

The beginning of all the disaster movie yet to come, but not a bad picture, good acting decent story, very 70's!

Luke L

Nov 28, 2017

Anyone reviewing this movie who wasn't at least a teenager when it was released will not read by me. In this day of cellphones in each person's pocket, metal detectors and x-ray scanners at each airport entrance, and TSA agents at every airport....AIRPORT had none of these. So to truly appreciate the film, you had to have been living in those days. Someone like Guerrero could have snuck a bomb on board. Anyway, I saw it at age 15 and was completely sucked into the action.

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Leia S

Nov 25, 2017

I keep getting marvelled at the simplicity of movies made before the 90s and yet the ability of them to keep the viewers engaged. I loved the straight forward dialogues, simple characters yet not shallow and well-framed shots. It was funny at right points, knowledgable at correct areas, and scripted beautifully. The pace of the movie was on the ball.

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George Seaton

Director

Burt Lancaster

Mel Bakersfeld

Dean Martin

Capt. Vernon Demerest

Jacqueline Bisset

Gwen Meighen

George Kennedy

Joe Patroni

Helen Hayes

Ada Quonsett

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Synopsis

In this large-ensemble disaster movie, Mel Bakersfeld (Burt Lancaster), the general manager of a Chicago-area airport, must contend with a massive snowstorm and other issues, both work-related and personal, while the troubled D.O. Guerrero (Van Heflin) threatens to blow up an airliner. As pilot Vernon Demerest (Dean Martin) attempts to calm Guerrero down and dissuade him from setting off explosives on the plane, tensions increase in the air and on the ground, and danger is imminent.

Director: George Seaton
Producer: Ross Hunter
Screenwriter: George Seaton
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Rating: G
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 1970, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2014
Runtime: 2h 17m

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