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and stereotypes provided Jim
Abrahams, David Zucker and
Jerry Zucker ample material
for a brilliant spoof.
Flying
High
(aka
Airplane!
,1980) is
not only one of the best airline
satires, it's one of the greatest
comedies ever made. Hilarity
actually does ensue when a food
poisoning outbreak aboard an
L.A. to Chicago flight leaves the
plane in the shaky hands of an
ex-fighter pilot (Robert Hayes) and an inflatable
autopilot, while Leslie Nielsen reveals his flair for
comic timing. An absolute must see, and better
appreciated after you've watched an Airport
movie or two.
Things are more grave in Paul Greengrass's
United 93
(2006), a nailbiting, real-time
dramatisation of what occurred aboard the titular
flight hijacked on 9/11 – the one which crashed
into a field near Pennsylvania after the heroic
passengers and crew challenged the terrorists.
United 93
remains one of the best movies to
cover the events of 9/11.
The enormous responsibility of pilots is
highlighted in Robert Zemeckis's
Flight
(2012)
and Clint Eastwood's
Sully
(2016), in which
both captains manage to avert disaster and
make emergency
landings – Denzel
Washington flying his
plane upside down and
Tom Hanks making the
famed water landing
on the Hudson River,
respectively.
Sully
is
the better film, but
both offer insights
into the finer details
of flight procedures
in the subsequent
investigations.
FURTHER VIEWING
Now that you've experienced
a good cross section of airline
films, it's time to check out how
other genres use air travel as a
plot device. Just as airline films
lend themselves to disaster
movies, they're also a perfect
match for the action blockbuster.
Die Hard 2
(1990) finds Bruce
Willis in the wrong place at the wrong time
(again), when terrorists take control of a
Washington airport (during a snowstorm,
of course) while his wife's plane is in a
holding pattern above. And in
Con Air
(1997), it's Nicolas Cage who must save
the day after a prison transport plane
is commandeered by America's worst
criminals.
Psychopaths can be passengers too,
and Wes Craven's gripping
Red Eye
(2005) reveals there are worse things than
an obese person sitting beside you, as
Rachel McAdams discovers when she's
blackmailed by a villainous Cillian Murphy
on an overnight flight from Dallas to Miami.
It's not all doom and gloom when taking
a commercial flight, however. The more
mundane aspects of air travel are explored
in Jason Reitman's endearing romantic
drama
Up in the Air
(2009), which follows
George Clooney's frequent flyer from one
airport VIP lounge to the next in his job as
an employment terminator.
The recent success of
Sully
proves
that airline movies are still capable of
maintaining a commercial flight path, and
filmmakers will continue to exploit our
familiarity with – and fear of – flying, and
dramatise true acts of aviation heroism for
our entertainment. Albeit not our in-flight
entertainment.
45
SNAKES ON A PLANE
The title says it all. Venomous snakes dropping like
oxygen masks is every passenger's worst nightmare.
Luckily Sam Jackson is onboard to issue a quotable
ultimatum.
ZOMBIES ON A PLANE
WorldWar Z
An outbreak of the living dead in mid-air can only
end in disaster – even if Brad Pitt is on the same
flight. This nightmare scenario is also used to lesser
effect in the cheekily titled
Flight of the Living Dead
.
GHOSTS ON A PLANE
Flight 7500
The death of a passenger on a red eye flight is
troubling enough, but when it unleashes all manner
of paranormal activity, it's time to ask if there's an
exorcist onboard.
GREMLINS ON A PLANE
Twilight Zone:The Movie
White-knuckle flyer John Lithgow experiences a
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" when he spots a gremlin
perched on the wing. In this case, engine trouble
isn't a result of poor maintenance.
UNWELCOME
TRAVELLERS
Sometimes there's worse to
worry about on a flight than
a lack of leg room and bad
airline food...