4K UHD Review: Kino Lorber’s Airport (Special Edition) 

The classic disaster epic Airport makes its 4K UHD Debut from Kino Lorber with a 4K Restoration and special features.  

The Film 

Airport, Universal Pictures’ big-budget all-star cast action-drama classic, is the glossy prototype for every single disaster picture that came after it (including the three sequels).  Though nothing feels as inventive as the original in any genre.  The Towering Inferno may be the apex of the genre, and Earthquake the most entertaining.  There is something about George Seaton’s long-fused thriller that remains one of the best (even if Airplane! mercilessly lampooned it and its sequels). 

It’s the dead of January, and Chicago’s Lincoln International Airport’s ground crews and staff are looking at a nightmare of a day.  One of their runways is closed down because a jet is stuck in a layer of snow.  This is causing hell for the airport manager, Mel (Burt Lancaster), and his chief mechanic, Joe (George Kennedy).  The drama of the pilots, flight attendants, passengers, and administrators in the mix only adds a combustible element to proceedings.  Though it’s a broke-out-of-work desperate man (Van Helfin) who is the spark that could send everything ablaze aboard a flight to Rome.  Can the Pilot (Dean Martin), his staff, and his resourceful stewardess (Jacqueline Bisset) stop the man’s nefarious plans before he destroys the plane mid-air??? 

The film could also be called Infidelity and Split Screens, with the way that much of the drama is derived from couples and their infidelity, and the visual style of the film relies heavily on split screens in the widescreen frame.  There are multiple storylines, eight plot threads woven into the narrative that all come to a head and pay off throughout.  

Though it’s the two leads, Dean Martin and Burt Lancaster (playing brothers-in-law), who are both dealing with respective lovers throughout the film (those played by Bissett and Jean Seberg).  It wouldn’t be so bad if their wives (played by Barbara Hale and Dana Wynter) were given a fair shake, but they are handled with the sort of crass Mad Men era shake off throughout the film.  Bissett and Seberg are given more complexity in their roles, having a good mix in the plot.  

It’s Helen Hayes as Ada Quonsett, the crafty old bird of a stowaway that steals the film.  The way that she pays off to the plot is crackerjack gold and something you rarely see nowadays.  Hayes was so good that she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for it.  

One may complain about the long-in-the-tooth 137-minute runtime, but would be missing the point.  Failing to see the craftsmanship of the entire enterprise.  Airport is an expertly crafted, intricately plotted action film that puts the drama and character before spectacle.  The result is satisfying entertainment throughout.  The kind that they just don’t make anymore.  

The Transfer 

The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of 35mm Inter-positive Reduction Elements is a beautiful representation of the 70mm Todd-AO production shot by Ernest Laszlo. The 4K UHD disc is astounding in its clarity, depth, and color reproduction.  The Dolby Vision imbues the blacks with a level of refined detail that Blu-ray just can’t produce.  Airport in its 4K UHD format is as close an experience that one could possibly get to the theatrical 70mm format.  Kino Lorber continues to do revelatory work in the 4K UHD format.  

The Extras

They include the following;

DISC 1 (4KUHD): 

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Author/Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner 
• Theatrical Trailer (Newly Mastered in 2K)

DISC 2 (BLU-RAY): 

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Author/Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner 
• Theatrical Trailer (Newly Mastered in 2K)

The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Author/Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner begins with how and why the film opens in blackness and not the Universal Logo.  Some of the other details include the score by composer Alfred Newman, including a discussion of how a composer known for his work at 20^th Century Fox came to Universal for this film; writer Arthur Haliely’s book that the film was based on, and the formula that his novels followed; a larger discussion of the type of novel of the era that were best sellers; a discussion of the work, career, and personal history of producer Ross Hunter; the critical reception of the film vs. the number of academy award nominations it received; a larger discussion throughout about the life and careers of the two male leads in Dean Martin and Burt Lancaster – their thoughts on the film and the production; the sexual politics of the film and how they are dated and also the difficulties the film portrays in its own way for women throughout; the casting of Jaqueline Bisset and her work in the film and how her casting became part of the formula of the series and the disaster movie as a whole; the work and career of George Kennedy, including the fact that he’s in the entire series but also in other disaster films for Universal including Earthquake; a discussion of where Lancaster’s career was when he was cast in this film; the life and career of writer/director George Seaton; the uncredited directing duties that Henry Hathaway performed and why he wasn’t credited; a larger discussion of the various locations used by the production; a larger discussion of the various actors, their personal/professional histories, and various factoids about them in the film; and much more. 

Rounding out the special features are trailers for Airport [Newly Mastered in 2K] (3:34); Airport 1975 (2:59); Airport ’77 (2:52); The Concorde… Airport ’79 (3:08); Turbulence (2:00); Juggernaut (2:54); 

The Final Thought 

Kino has given Airport the 4K UHD upgrade and restoration it deserves. Highest Recommendations!!!

Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD Edition of Airport is out September 30^th