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Airplane (film)
''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker in their directorial debut, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson. It is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly the 1957 Paramount film ''Zero Hour!'', from which it borrows the plot, central characters, and some dialogue. It also draws many elements from ''Airport 1975'' and other films in the ''Airport'' series. It is known for using surreal humor and fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns, gags, running jokes, and dark humor. Released by Paramount Pictures, it was a critical and commercial success, grossing $171 million worldwide against a budget of $3.5 million. The creators received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Grossman (artist)
Robert Samuel Grossman (March 1, 1940 – March 15, 2018) was an American painter, sculptor, filmmaker, comics artist, illustrator and author. He is a member oThe Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. In a career spanning fifty years, Grossman's illustrations have appeared over 500 times on the covers of various national publications. ''TIME, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Esquire, TV Guide, Sports Illustrated, The Times, The Nation, The New York Observer, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, Evergreen Review, New York'' magazine, '' National Lampoon'', and ''The New York Times'' have all published illustrations by him. Grossman's work has appeared in children's books, including ''The 18th Emergency'' (text by Betsy C. Byers), and ''What Could a Hippopotamus Be?'' (text by Mike Thaler). He has created album covers for Columbia, Epic, Warner Bros., and United Artists. Education and early career Grossman's father, Joseph Grossman, was a display artist who gave his son his earliest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the oldest genres in film, and it is derived from classical comedy in theatre. Some of the earliest silent films were slapstick comedies, which often relied on visual depictions, such as sight gags and pratfalls, so they could be enjoyed without requiring sound. To provide drama and excitement to silent movies, live music was played in sync with the action on the screen, on pianos, organs, and other instruments. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1920s, comedy films grew in popularity, as laughter could result from both burlesque situations but also from humorous dialogue. Comedy, compared with other film genres, places more focus on individual star actors, with many former stand-up comics transitioning to the film industry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slapstick Comedy
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as saws and ladders. The term arises from a device developed for use in the broad, physical comedy style known as ''commedia dell'arte'' in 16th-century Italy. The " slap stick" consists of two thin slats of wood, which makes a "slap" when striking another actor, with little force needed to make a loud—and comical—sound. The physical slap stick remains a key component of the plot in the traditional and popular Punch and Judy puppet show. More contemporary examples of slapstick humor include ''The Three Stooges'', '' The Naked Gun'' and '' Mr. Bean''. Origins The name "slapstick" originates from the Italian ''batacchio'' or ''bataccio''—called the " slap stick" in English—a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in ''co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surreal Humor
Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviors that are obviously illogical. Portrayals of surreal humour tend to involve bizarre juxtapositions, incongruity, non-sequiturs, irrational or absurd situations, and expressions of nonsense. Surreal humour grew out of surrealism, a cultural movement developed in the 20th century by French and Belgian artists, who depicted unnerving and illogical scenes while developing techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. The movement itself was foreshadowed by English writers in the 19th century, most notably Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. The humour in surreal comedy arises from a subversion of audience expectations, emphasizing the ridiculousness and unlikeliness of a situation, so that amusement is founded on an unpredictability that is separate from a logical analysis of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airport (film Series)
''Airport'' is a 1970s film series consisting of four airplane-themed disaster films: ''Airport (1970 film), Airport'', ''Airport 1975'', ''Airport '77'' and ''The Concorde... Airport '79''. They are based on the 1968 novel ''Airport (Hailey novel), Airport'' by Arthur Hailey. The four films grossed $387.5million worldwide, on a collective budget of $33.2million. The only actor who appeared in all four films is George Kennedy, in his recurring role of Joe Patroni, who progresses from a chief mechanic, to a vice president of operations, to a consultant, to an airline pilot. Films Critical reception The first ''Airport (1970 film), Airport'' film from 1970 has been praised for the film's influence on the disaster genre and its "Camp (style), camp value". However, the movie's star, Burt Lancaster, said in a 1971 reaction to its ten Academy Awards, Academy Award nominations that the film was "the biggest piece of junk ever made." ''The New Yorker'' film critic Pauline Kael char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airport 1975
''Airport 1975'' (also known as ''Airport '75'') is a 1974 American air disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film ''Airport''. It was directed by Jack Smight, produced by William Frye, executive produced by Jennings Lang, and written by Don Ingalls. The film stars Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy and Gloria Swansonas a fictionalized version of herselfin her final film role. The plot concerns the dramatic events aboard an airborne Boeing 747 when a small aircraft crashes into the cockpit, causing the fatalities of the First Officer and Flight Engineer and the blinding of the Captain, leaving no one aboard qualified to take the controls. ''Airport 1975'' was the seventh highest-grossing movie of 1974 at the US and Canada box office. Plot Columbia Airlines Flight 409 is a Boeing 747-100 on a red-eye flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, while Scott Freeman is a businessman flying his private ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parody Film
A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that lampoons other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together. Although the subgenre is often overlooked by critics, parody films are commonly profitable at the box office. Parody is related to satire, except that "parody is more often a representation of appreciation, while a satire is more often...pointing ...out the major flaws of an object through ridicule." J.M. Maher notes that the "difference is not always clear" and points out that "some films employ both techniques". Parody is found in a range of art and culture, including literature, music, theater, television, animation, and gaming. The first film parody was ''The Little Train Robbery'' (1905), which makes fun of '' The Great Train Robbery'' (1903), in part by using an all-child cast for the Western spoof. Historically, when a genre formula grows tired, as in the case of the moralistic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorna Patterson
Lorna Patterson (born July 1, 1956) is an American retired film, stage and television actress. As an actress, her best-known roles were as Randy, the singing stewardess, in ''Airplane!'', and as the lead in the television series '' Private Benjamin''. Biography Patterson was born in Whittier, California, where she attended Rio Hondo College for a single semester. Patterson began her professional career while still in high school, performing melodrama at The Bird Cage Theatre at Knott's Berry Farm. Career She is a founding member of the Musical Theatre Guild and has appeared in many stage musicals. She played Randy, the blonde stewardess in the 1980 comedy ''Airplane!''. She co-starred with Tony Randall in the 1981 television pilot'' Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend''. By the time this became the television series '' Love, Sidney'', she had won the lead role in the 1981–1983 television version of the film '' Private Benjamin'', so her ''Sidney Shorr'' role was played in ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins as a Center (basketball), center. A member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Abdul-Jabbar won a record six NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards. He was a 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA Team member, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection. He was a member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two more as an assistant coach, and was twice voted the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, NBA Finals MVP. He was named to three NBA anniversary teams (NBA 35th Anniversary Team, 35th, 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, 50th, and NBA 75th Anniversary Team, 75th). Widely regarded as one of the greatest playe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Graves
Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 and in its revival from 1988 to 1990. His elder brother was actor James Arness. Graves also played airline pilot Captain Clarence Oveur in the 1980 comedy film ''Airplane!'' and its 1982 sequel ''Airplane II: The Sequel''. Early life and education Peter Graves was born Peter Duesler Aurness on March 18, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the younger son of Rolf Cirkler Aurness (1894–1982), a businessman, and his wife, Ruth (''née'' Duesler, died 1986), a journalist. Graves's ancestry was Norwegian Americans, Norwegian, German Americans, German, and English Americans, English. He used the stage name Graves, a maternal family name, to honor his mother's family, and also so as to not be confused with the stage name of his elder brother James Arness, star o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, including the actors Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges. He started his career as a contract performer for Columbia Pictures, appearing in films such as ''Sahara'' (1943), '' A Walk in the Sun'' (1945), '' Little Big Horn'' (1951) and ''High Noon'' (1952). On television, he starred in '' Sea Hunt'' (1958-1961). By the end of his career, he had re-invented himself and demonstrated a comedic talent in such parody films as ''Airplane!'' (1980), ''Hot Shots!'' (1991), and '' Jane Austen's Mafia!'' (1998). Among other honors, Bridges was a two-time Emmy Award nominee. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 1, 1994. Early life Bridges was born in San Leandro, California, to Harriet Evelyn (née Brown) Bridges (1893–1950) and Lloyd V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Stack
Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor and television host. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''The Untouchables (1959 TV series), The Untouchables'' (1959–1963), for which he won the 1960 Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Series, and later hosted/narrated the true-crime series ''Unsolved Mysteries'' (1987–2002). He was also nominated for an Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film ''Written on the Wind'' (1956). Later in his career, Stack was known for his deadpan comedy roles that lampooned his dramatic on-screen persona, most notably as Captain Rex Kramer in ''Airplane!'' (1980). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
