Airport 4K 1970

After watching the film, I was convinced once again that brilliant action scenes can be staged without the use of sophisticated special effects, which take up a good half of the screen time in any modern film of this genre. It is enough to invite actors of the caliber of Burt Lancaster to the film and explain to them what they need to do. The result is obvious. Looking at the faces of the two pilots at the controls of the plane, staring anxiously into the distance, you fully feel the tension of the seemingly hopeless situation in which the characters find themselves. But that's not even what keeps you watching Airport from beginning to end without looking away.

The most important thing is that you want to believe in all of this. And you do believe. You believe every inhabitant of this giant organism. Whether it's an eccentric old lady without a ticket, a desperate unemployed man who plans to use his death to get money for his family, or a seemingly calm manager who prefers problems at work to trouble at home with his wife. All of them, as part of our lives, torn from the common course of life, are faced with a difficult choice, another test of strength...

And, my God, how pleasant it is to realize that a gang of very evil and narrow-minded terrorists with explosives for the whole world will not suddenly burst into the frame, and the cabin of the liner will not suddenly be filled with a hundred or so poisonous snakes. I don't regret spending two hours watching a film that is almost 40 years old. Many thanks to Arthur Hailey, and bravo, George Seaton!

PS. It's a shame that the film lost out on what I think were well-deserved Oscars for screenplay adaptation and editing at the Academy Awards.