The Concorde... Airport '79

"At twice the speed of sound, can the Concorde evade attack?"

1979 2h 3m EN

💀

4.7

SKIP

★4.7TMDB · 221

ActionDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Aviation disaster-prone Joe Patroni must contend with nuclear missiles, the French Air Force and the threat of the plane splitting in two over the Alps.

“At twice the speed of sound, can the Concorde evade attack?”

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Cast

Robert Wagner
Kevin Harrison
Susan Blakely
Maggie Whelan
Alain Delon
Paul Metrand
Sylvia Kristel
Isabelle
George Kennedy
Joe Patroni
David Warner
Peter O'Neill
Eddie Albert
Eli Sands
Sybil Danning
Amy Sands

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Lowell Rich
Writers: Eric Roth, Jennings Lang
Languages: French, Spanish, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 93% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

47 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Spanish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Airport Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Lowell Rich, shot by Philip H. Lathrop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dorothy Spencer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Wagner and Susan Blakely and Alain Delon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Lowell Rich directs. Philip H. Lathrop behind the camera. Lalo Schifrin scores. Dorothy Spencer cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in French, Spanish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 93% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
247 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Spanish, English.
4Part of the "Airport Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by David Lowell Rich, shot by Philip H. Lathrop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Dorothy Spencer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Robert Wagner and Susan Blakely and Alain Delon carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "At twice the speed of sound, can the Concorde evade attack?".
10IMDB entry: tt0078740 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 20 themes, including "panic", "missile", "stewardess", "pilot".
12Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Philip H. Lathrop
Original score: Lalo Schifrin
Editing: Dorothy Spencer
Production design: Henry Bumstead
Costume design: Burton Miller
Makeup / hair: Hallie Smith-Simmons
Sound: Robert L. Hoyt
Stunt coordinator: George Sawaya
Runtime: 123 min · 2h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $14,000,000
Box office: $13,015,688
Return: 93% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)

Part of

Airport Collection

"Airport", based on the best selling novel by Arthur Hailey is an Academy Award nominated disaster film that spawned three sequels: Airport '75, Airport '77, and the campy Airport '79 (The Concorde).