Synopsis
An ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning.
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Cast
- Robert HaysTed Striker
- Julie HagertyElaine Dickinson
- Leslie NielsenDr. Rumack
- Kareem Abdul-JabbarRoger Murdock
- Lloyd BridgesSteve McCroskey
- Peter GravesCaptain Clarence Oveur
- Lorna PattersonRandy
- Robert StackCaptain Rex Kramer
- Jim AbrahamsReligious Zealot #6
- Jonathan BanksGunderson
Recommendations
- 100
The Telegraph
The really great thing about Airplane! is that the jokes undercut your expectations so deftly, right down to the sour air traffic controller called Stack. When it's suggested that he turns on the landing lights on the runway, he snaps back: "That's just what they're expecting us to do." - 100
Empire
The distinguishing feature of what many people consider to be the funniest movie ever made is the sheer number of gags. - 90
The New York Times
At a time when throwaway gags seem like a luxury in any film, Airplane! has jokes—hilarious jokes—to spare. It's also clever and confident and furiously energetic, and it has the two most sadly neglected selling points any movie could want right now: it's brief (only eighty-eight minutes), and it looks inexpensive (it cost about three million dollars) without looking cheap. Airplane! is more than a pleasant surprise, in the midst of this dim movie season. As a remedy for the bloated self-importance of too many other current efforts, it's just what the doctor ordered. - 80
Variety
Airplane! is what they used to call a laff-riot. Made by team which turned out Kentucky Fried Movie, this spoof of disaster features beats any other film for sheer number of comic gags. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
The onslaught of one-liners and sight gags in AIRPLANE! is so relentless that even the most dour viewer is ultimately won over--or exhausted. - 80
The A.V. Club
The hits outnumber the misses well enough in Airplane!, especially in the first half, when the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team (writer-directors David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker) are layering jokes in the foreground and background. There are parodies of popular favorites like Jaws and Saturday Night Fever, wacky stock footage on back-screen projection, slapstick violence against various religious solicitors, and plenty of silly wordplay. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
It is sophomoric, obvious, predictable, corny, and quite often very funny. And the reason it's funny is frequently because it's sophomoric, predictable, corny, etc. Example: Airplane Captain (Peter Graves): Surely you can't be serious. Doctor (Leslie Nielsen): I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley. This sort of humor went out with Milton Berle, Jerry Lewis, and knock-knock jokes. That's why it's so funny. - 75
ReelViews
There are also plenty of background sight gags that often go unnoticed on a first viewing.
