Airplane- 1980

Genre:Comedy/Parody/Spoof

Written and Directed by: Jim Abrahams

David Zucker

Film Editor: Patrick Kennedy

Major Actors: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Game of Death

Leslie Nielsen-

RobertStack -

Lloyd Bridges – Blown Away

A parody/spoof of disaster films popular in the 70s

  • The Towering Inferno (1974)
    The world’s biggest skyscraper is being prepared for its big unveiling party, which will be crammed with visiting dignitaries.
    Sadly, the chief electrical engineer has cut corners and a fire soon breaks out. You can guess the rest from the title.
  • The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
    Another star-studded cast (including Gene Hackman in one of his all-time classic roles as Reverend “Buzz” Scott) are trapped when their ship goes belly up thanks to an undersea earthquake.
  • Airport (1970)

A bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved all intersect aboard an airplane.

The movie also helped define some of the genre’s tropes as several stories weaved together against the backdrop of a plane in trouble.

  • Earthquake (1974)
    There’s a whole lotta shakin’ going on as a massive underground shockwave hits Los Angeles.
    Even Charlton Heston (who had already played Moses by this point) and Ava Gardner can’t stop the place falling to pieces.
    Earthquakes are awesome movie fodder because they cause all sorts of other destructive problems – fires, flooding. It’s a one-stop shop for danger!
  • Juggernaut (1974)
    Released across the Atlantic as Terror On The Britannic (a title that stuck for its eventual DVD release), this is definitely, positively not a British attempt to cash in on The Poseidon Adventure.
    Still, it’s different enough, and loaded with suspense, featuring a maniac (Freddie Jones) planting bombs on a huge ocean liner and demanding a ransom.
    Richard Harris, Ian Holm and David Hemmings are among those racing to track down the explosives before the ship is destroyed.
  • The Hindenburg (1975)
    Perhaps a lesser-known entry into the ‘70s canon, this is a mash-up of fact and fiction as the zeppelin tragedy is re-imagined as a terrorist act.
    George C. Scott is Colonel Franz Ritter, assigned to protect the legendary aircraft from threats to destroy it.
  • The Swarm (1978)
    Among the last gasps of the ‘70s destructo-trend, Swarm finds the likes of Michael Caine’s insect expert and Richard Widmark’s general trying to battle a buzzing horde of killer bees.
    Now if only they could agree on how to proceed…
  • Specifically Parodies Zero Hour 1957

Comparison

  • Trailer
  • Jive Talk

What other films is Airplane spoofing?

Spoof that spawned an entire genre of parody films

  • Airplane II
  • Top Secret
  • Naked Gun
  • Hot Shots!
  • Hot Shots! Part Deux
  • Mafia!

Situational Irony- when the actual outcome is the exact opposite of the expected outcome

Dramatic Irony- when the audience is aware of information that a character is not

Verbal Irony-when the opposite of what is said is what is meant

  • Sarcasm
  • Pun
  • Equivocation

List other films that are being parodied throughout film and classic lines

“Surely you can’t be serious- I’m dead serious, and don’t call me Shirley”

Quiz Questions

The protagonist of the movie Airplane is named ______.

Ned Biker

Ted Stryker

Knower Liker

Jim Stevens

Airplane is a parody of the 1970’s movie

Airliner

Friendly Skies

Zero Hour

Emergency Flight

“Fly the plane? Surely you can’t be serious.”

“I’m very serious, and don’t call be Shirley.”

This exchange is an example of

Situational Irony

Verbal Irony

Dramatic Irony