Airport (1970 Film)

Airport (1970 film)

Airport is a 1970 American drama film directed and written by George Seaton, based on the 1968 Arthur Hailey novel of the same name. It stars Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin. The film, which earned nearly $100,500,000, focuses on an airport manager trying to keep his airport open during a snow storm, while a suicidal bomber plots to blow up a Boeing 707 airliner in flight. The story takes place at fictional Lincoln International Airport located near Chicago. The film was produced by Ross Hunter with a $10 million budget. Ernest Laszlo photographed it in 70 mm Todd-AO.

This was the last film scored by Alfred Newman, who died shortly before the film's release. Airport was also the last film role for Van Heflin.

The film was a critical success and surpassed Spartacus as Universal Pictures' biggest moneymaker. It won Helen Hayes an Academy Award for her supporting role as an elderly stowaway. It was nominated for nine more Academy awards, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design for renowned Hollywood designer Edith Head.

Airport originated the 1970s disaster film genre, establishing the convention of "microcosmic melodrama combined with catastrophe-oriented adventure".