Editing Airplane! (section)

==Reception==
{{quote box|align=right|quote="''Airplane!'' emerged in 1980 as a sharply perceptive parody of the big-budget disaster films that dominated Hollywood during the 1970s [and] introduced a much-needed deflating assessment of the tendency of theatrical film producers to push successful formulaic movie conventions beyond the point of logic".|width=30em|source=[[Library of Congress]]}}
''Airplane!'' received universal acclaim from critics and is widely regarded as one of the best films of 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/1980.html |title=Greatest Films of 1980 |website=Filmsite.org |access-date=August 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722104331/http://www.filmsite.org/1980.html |archive-date=July 22, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Ethan Morris |url=http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1980/15097039 |title=The 10 Best Movies of 1980 |website=Film.com |date=June 14, 2007 |access-date=August 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812102157/http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1980/15097039 |archive-date=August 12, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.films101.com/y1980r.htm |title=The Best Movies of 1980 by Rank |website=Films101.com |access-date=August 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906013309/http://www.films101.com/y1980r.htm |archive-date=September 6, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film an [[approval rating]] of 97% based on 69 reviews, compiled retrospectively, with an average rating of 8.45/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though unabashedly juvenile and silly, ''Airplane!'' is nevertheless an uproarious spoof comedy full of quotable lines and slapstick gags that endure to this day".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/airplane/ |title=Airplane! (1980) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |date=January 1980 |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] |access-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722143724/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/airplane/ |archive-date=July 22, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/airplane! |title=Airplane! Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=July 3, 2018 |archive-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621192053/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/airplane! |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' wrote "''Airplane!'' is sophomoric, obvious, predictable, corny, and quite often very funny. And the reason it's funny is frequently because it's sophomoric, predictable, corny, etc."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/airplane-1980|title=Airplane! :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews|website=Rogerebert.com|access-date=August 15, 2010|archive-date=September 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914172007/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/airplane-1980|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote "''Airplane!'' is more than a pleasant surprise... As a remedy for the bloated self-importance of too many other current efforts, it's just what the doctor ordered".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1738E762BC4A53DFB166838B699EDE|title=Airplane! (1980)|date=July 2, 1980|author=Janet Maslin|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 2, 2010|archive-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217181340/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1738E762BC4A53DFB166838B699EDE|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2008, ''Airplane!'' was selected by ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine as one of 'The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time'.<ref>{{cite web|title=Empire Features|url=https://www.empireonline.com/500/25.asp|access-date=August 15, 2010|work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]|archive-date=January 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119034539/http://www.empireonline.com/500/25.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also placed on a similar list—'The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made'—by ''The New York Times''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html|work=The New York Times|title=The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made|date=April 29, 2003|access-date=April 23, 2010|archive-date=March 29, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050329013532/http://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2015, the film was ranked fourth in the [[Writers Guild of America]]'s list of '101 Funniest Screenplays'.<ref>{{cite news|title=101 Funniest Screenplays List|url=https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-funniest-screenplays/list|work=Writers Guild of America, West|date=November 11, 2015|access-date=April 25, 2019|archive-date=February 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202091302/http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=5949|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Maxim (magazine)|MaximOnline.com]] named the airplane crash in ''Airplane!'' as number four on its list of "Most Horrific Movie Plane Crashes". Leslie Nielsen's response to Hays' "Surely you can't be serious" line—"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley"—was 79th on AFI's [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes|list of the best 100 movie quotes]]. In 2000, the [[American Film Institute]] listed ''Airplane!'' as number ten on its list of the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs|100 funniest American films]]. In the same year, ''[[Total Film]]'' readers voted it the second-greatest comedy film of all time. It was also second in the British 50 Greatest Comedy Films poll on [[Channel 4]], beaten by ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]''. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' voted the film the "funniest movie on video" in their list of the 100 funniest movies on video.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Brod, Doug|title=The Kings of Comedy|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=October 16, 1992|url=https://www.ew.com/article/1992/10/16/kings-comedy|access-date=July 22, 2009|archive-date=September 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904044954/http://www.ew.com/article/1992/10/16/kings-comedy|url-status=live}}</ref>

A number of actors were cast to spoof their established images: prior to their roles in ''Airplane!'', Nielsen, Stack, and Bridges were known for portraying adventurous, no-nonsense tough-guy characters. Stack's role as the captain who loses his nerve in one of the earliest airline "disaster" films, ''[[The High and the Mighty (film)|The High and the Mighty]]'' (1954), is spoofed in ''Airplane!'', as is Lloyd Bridges' 1970–1971 television role as airport manager Jim Conrad in ''[[San Francisco International Airport (TV series)|San Francisco International Airport]]''. Peter Graves was in the made-for-television film ''[[SST: Death Flight]]'', in which an [[Supersonic transport|SST]] was unable to land owing to an emergency.<ref name="Synposis">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/478220/sst-death-flight|title=Synopsis: SST Death Flight|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=December 7, 2014|archive-date=October 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020132211/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/478220/SST-Death-Flight/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Nielsen enjoyed a major career boost subsequent to ''Airplane!''{{'}}s release. The film marked a significant change in his film persona towards [[deadpan]] comedy, notably in the three ''[[The Naked Gun|Naked Gun]]'' films: ''[[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!]]'' (1988)''; [[The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear|The Naked Gun 2&nbsp;{{frac|1|2}}: The Smell of Fear]]'' (1991)'';'' and ''[[Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult|Naked Gun 33&nbsp;{{frac|1|3}}: The Final Insult]]'' (1994). The films were based on the six-episode television series ''[[Police Squad!]]'' which starred Nielsen and was created and produced by Zucker–Abrahams–Zucker. This also led to his casting, many years later, in [[Mel Brooks]]' ''[[Dracula: Dead and Loving It]]''. Brooks had wanted to make the film for a long time, but put it off because, as he said: "I just could not find the right Dracula". According to Brooks, he did not see ''Airplane!'' until years after its release. When he did, he knew Nielsen would be right for the part. When it was suggested that his role in ''Airplane!'' was [[Typecasting|against type]], Nielsen protested that he had "always been cast against type before", and that comedy was what he always really wanted to do.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Andrew |last1=Dalton |first2=Bob |last2=Thomas |url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBIT_LESLIE_NIELSEN?SITE=TXMCA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT |title='Airplane!', 'Forbidden Planet' actor Nielsen dies |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=November 29, 2010 |access-date=November 30, 2010 |archive-date=December 8, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208205723/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBIT_LESLIE_NIELSEN?SITE=TXMCA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT |url-status=dead }}</ref>