MovieChat Forums > Skyjacked (1972) Discussion > Hello People!!!

Hello People!!!

posted 15 years ago by davematt1453
10 replies | jump to latest

I just want to take to task all of you who criticize all of these early 70s movies.

Remember when they were made. Remember the context, and that, if you are posting on this board, you probably either were not born yet, or you were a child.

At that time, there had been no "Star Wars", no "ET", no “Apocalypse Now”, no “Die Hard”, no “Beverly Hills Cop” .etc, etc, etc.

Please attempt to view the film in the time in which it was made; the current events, morals, perspectives, views, ideologies, fears, values and limits of what was acceptable viewing then.

These films were not made post 2000. Maybe you are confusing or judging them by the remakes!!

Give it a rest! It was the late 60s, early 70s! These were suspenseful, entertaining films at the time.

There was never an expectation that "Skyjacked" was destined to be an Oscar winner. But, it was an accurate reflection of those times! For those of you who are ignorant, there was a rash of hijacked planes at that time!

If you are silly enough to think all films of this generation should be "The Godfather", then you have no idea about the film business or filmmaking.

I enjoyed them at the time, which is what is important. Not every film is conceived, executed and released to be "Gone With The Wind" - yet they still play an important part of our filmmaking heritage here in America. Gee whiz, people complain that “To Kill A Mockingbird” with Gregory Peck is in Black and White!

Thank you.

[–] Ariane67 14 years ago

Thank you for your great post, I fully agree - especially with this part :

"Please attempt to view the film in the time in which it was made; the current events, morals, perspectives, views, ideologies, fears, values and limits of what was acceptable viewing then."

Well, I just watched this very enjoyable movie again and liked it as much as I did many years ago !
You are so right : Cinema isn't just about masterpieces but above all about entertainment. I'm a passionate movies lover for decades and of course I deeply appreciate great works that bring me a lot of emotions and thoughts, lifetime favorite movies that move me everytime - but I never understood why so many so-called cinema enthusiasts despise good comedies or spectacular movies, when they give us so much joy watching them.
For me, I don't like to compare what is not comparable : different genres as well as different periods. I just adore to watch "serious" and intelligent works like Twelve Angry Men, for exemple, but I also like a lot to enjoy pure entertainement stories - B&W or colour, from silent screen to today, comedy or drama.
What we love in the greatest directors and actors/actresses is the diversity of their talents. So why not simply appreciate the diversity of cinema - quality being the only true criterion of appreciation ?

Many thanks again for your intelligent post !
^_^

"Don't act, be !" (Kate Winslet)

[–] princesstinymeat 14 years ago

Agreed. I just watched this film for the first time, and it was insanely entertaining.

[–] kurtangle83 13 years ago

I aswell just watched this for the first time and found it really entertaining. To the point that I was surprised of the low rating!

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rabates 11 years ago

Brilliantly put - couldn't agree more. Love the era and this film.

[–] Itsamoomoo 11 years ago

I've come to the conclusion that those who heavily criticize these films are from this current generation of buck wild, disrespectful, brainless idiots who were raised on happy meals, Barney, and Pampers, who know -- skip it. They're not worth my time.

[–] Speed_Daemon 11 years ago

("Skyjacked") was an accurate reflection of those times!

No, not entirely.

A pretty fair portion of the film shows Captain O'Hara manhandling the 707, both on the ground and in the sky. This flight almost ends in a crash before the plane ever leaves the ground as it gets fast-taxied into a violent, skidding turn onto the runway, coming within a foot of going off the tarmac and into the weeds. We then see Captain O'Hara cavalierly puffing great clouds of smoke from a pipe as his visibly shaken crew members exchange nervous glances. He then proceeds to advance the throttles only to half power, consuming all of the 10,000 foot runway and coming dangerously close to crashing the plane into San Francisco Bay!

The rest of the flight is equally harrowing. For reasons unknown, the plane flies around in circles at an extreme (almost perpendicular to the ground) roll angle. After pulling that stunt, Captain O'Hara then proceeds to abandon his post, plop himself down into a jumpseat and blithely start reading a magazine. Sudden, hard banks throw people off their feet, drink carts careening out of the galley, and various and sundry items tumbling from the overhead storage. Quite often the flight crew becomes so preoccupied with playing detective that nobody is left to fly the plane. In one scene, the entire crew is literally out of their seats and backs turned away from their jobs! This film makes it look like the flight crew is as much a danger to the passengers as the hijacker is!

While you insist that this must be perfectly normal "because it's olden times", let me assure people that commercial aviation was far from that! It's 1972, not 1927! Barnstorming with a jetliner full of passengers simply is not tolerated. I should point out that the book does not contain the same inane behavior. This is indeed a film that deserves ridicule, and that ridicule was done masterfully in "Airplane!"

[–] SealordJohn 10 years ago

The original poster of this thread brought up some good arguments meant for posters who have complained about this movie. For those complainers who lived during that same time period, these arguments serve as a reminder. As for those posters who were not born then, then we can understand their ignorance of these matters.

[–] phillindholm 10 years ago

Yeah, they find more ''significance'' in video games.

[–] mike_cable 9 years ago

I loved your post, thank you. Completely agree, it could be applied to many films from this period.