Search - Airplane! ["Don't Call Me Shirley!" Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Humor Movie Release: 1980 DVD Release: 12/13/2005 Format: DVD - Color,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 27 mins Studio: Paramount Total Copies: 6 Genres: Comedy, Parody/Spoof, Absurd Comedy, Ensemble Film See Also: Airplane!, Airplane [I Love the 80's Edition]

This spoof of the Airport series of disaster movies relies on ridiculous sight gags, groan-inducing dialogue, and deadpan acting -- a comedy style that would be imitated for the next 20 years. Airplane! pulls out all the clichés as alcoholic pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays), who's developed a fear of flying due to wartime trauma, boards a jumbo jet in an attempt to woo back his stewardess girlfriend (Julie Hagerty). Food poisoning decimates the passengers and crew, leaving it up to Striker to land the plane, with the help of a glue-sniffing air traffic controller (Lloyd Bridges) and Striker's vengeful former captain (Robert Stack), who must both talk him down. Along the way, we meet a clutch of stock disaster movie passengers like the guitar-strumming nun, a sick little girl, a frightened old lady, and two African-American travelers whose "jive" has to be subtitled. Leslie Nielsen portrays the plane's doctor, launching a new phase of the actor's career that carried him through the next two decades in several similarly comedic roles. The trio of directors Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and David Zucker responsible for the film would eventually go on to solo careers, but not before making Top Secret! and Ruthless People. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Robert Hays - Ted Striker
Julie Hagerty - Elaine Dickinson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Murdock
Lloyd Bridges - McCroskey
Peter Graves - Capt. Oveur
Leslie Nielsen - Dr. Rumack
Robert Stack - Kramer

The mother of all comedies, Airplane! finally comes home to DVD in this elaborate =Don't Call Me Shirley! 25th Anniversary Edition. The film is once again presented with an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen picture and 5.1 sound, though the real meat of the disc comes in the form of a slew of new extras. A commentary track is now included, with Jerry and David Zucker heading down memory lane with co-writer Jim Abrahams and producer John Davison. Anyone familiar with the Kentucky Fried Movie commentary will be pleased to know that this track is equally as funny, though the comedic team's fuel runs a bit dry by the end. In other features, the disc is supplied with a "Long Haul Version" that includes deleted scenes and interviews via a branching system. While it would have been nice to access them separately, there is something satisfying in seeing some of these trimmed pieces added back into the film, even if it means endlessly searching for the TransAmerican logo to appear on the screen anytime you'd like to rewatch any of these extras. Also available are the original theatrical trailer and a trivia track, which basically rehashes most of the information given in the previous two extras. The =Don't Call Me Shirley! Edition is a worthy upgrade for those with the 2000 release and a great addition to any home library that's lacking the title. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide