The Concorde … Airport ’79, the final in the long-running Airport series, comes to 4K UHD thanks to Kino with a new 4K restoration.
The Film
The Concorde … Airport ’79 may be the last entry in the decade-spanning Airport series, but it’s by no means a lackluster or budget-conscious one. In fact, this action-adventure pulls out all the stops for maximum effect. Minus a few shoddy VFX shots, the film is a B-movie 70s action thriller with an A-budget.
Screenwriter Eric Roth’s (yes, that Eric Roth) screenplay is a pseudo corporate espionage melodrama. Where CEO Kevin Harrison (Robert Wagner) has just been made an illegal arms dealer by his girlfriend (Susan Blakely). Rather than face the music, he decides to kill the girlfriend who happens to be on the Concorde on the way to Paris with a “malfunction” Drone!
The Concorde … Airport ’79 makes bold choices. Some of the tastier ones need to be seen unfold to believe from a studio picture; The primary romance between stars Alain Delon and Sylvia Kristel. Yes, that Sylvia Kristel from the Emmanuelle films and that Alain Delon. Even wilder is that George Kennedy’s Joe Petroni (the anchor of the series) has been bumped up to a co-pilot who’s so good he’s handling the maiden voyage flight of the Concorde. He also appears to have gotten fighter pilot training because he manages to evade the drone in the film’s action centerpiece. Though it’s the love-making and romance for Kennedy’s character that launches the film into science fiction territory (though there is a great payoff).
Though Roth’s script should be given credit, as it makes some unexpected turns with a second bonus flight of the Concorde, with a new set of characters and disaster to contend with. The film feels like you’re getting a second film within the same film. Including Charo playing… Charo with her dog and Ed Baggley Jr. playing a ski resort employee, goggles and all.
Charo cameo aside, the most laughable aspect of the film is the VFX shots during some of the action scenes. Considering how much was spent on the film, they could have afforded a better VFX house to take on the film, not the in-house staff that typically handled Universal films at this time. Though make no mistake, these moments make for a highly enjoyable film, but maybe not one of great quality. The type of film that was lampooned so mercilessly in Airplane! though the ZAZ comedy classic does not have a dog fight between a Concorde and an F-4 fighter jet.
One could do a lot worse in the disaster subgenre than taking a ticket on this wild ride.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is an excellent representation of cinematographer Philip H. Lathrop’s 35mm shot film. One wishes that Lathrop had chosen to shoot the film in widescreen, as the others had been to remain consistent. Regardless of this minor quibble, this 4K UHD disc is astounding in its clarity, depth, and color reproduction. The clarity the transfer brings to the model work alone is worth the price of admission. The Dolby Vision imbues the blacks with a level of refined detail that Blu-ray just can’t produce. Airport ‘77, in its 4K UHD format, is a great example of just the kind of restoration work that Kino Lorber is doing to bring films like this to life for a new generation of film fans.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
- Theatrical Trailer (Newly Mastered in 2K)
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson opens with the duo introducing themselves before diving into facts about the real-life Concorde and two films that were made about the film (the other being Rogerio Diaddo’s Concorde Affair). Some of the details include that this is the first film of the series (and the last) that had co-star George Kennedy upgraded to Lead/Star; the work here and career of screenwriter Eric Roth; the score by Lalo Schiffren – and an interesting discussion of disco version of themes of the era; the changes made and required by Air France in order to use the Concorde; the reason why the film was shot non-anamorphic widescreen; the Cineasonic FX process that this film used (and was the only film that used it) – the troubles that they had producing the film’s FX; the reasons why Alain Delon decided to star in this film; the work here of George Kennedy and why he took on this role in the Airport series; the TV version of the film that was 4 hours or two 2-hour time slots – including what was included on that version; a larger discussion of the VFX work; a larger discussion of the various cast that appear in the film; and much more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Airport [Newly Mastered in 2K] (3:34); Airport 1975 [Newly Mastered in 2K] (2:59); Airport ’77 [Newly Mastered in 2K] (2:52); The Concorde… Airport ’79 [Newly Mastered in 2K] (3:08); Turbulence (2:00); Daylight (2:26);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber has brought the Airport series back to life with these 4K UHD upgrades. Highest possible recommendations!