Product Description

Passengers on an airplane become food-poisoned causing a major emergency. This film is what Airplane! is based upon.Runtime: 81 minFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 085391145127 Manufacturer No: 114512

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23106 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2007-06-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 81 minutes

Features

• Passengers on an airplane become food-poisoned causing a major emergency. This film is what Airplane! is based upon. Runtime: 81 min Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR Age: 085391145127 UPC: 085391145127 Manufacturer No: 114512

Customer Reviews

taut, underrated thriller with lots of action and suspense
Zero Hour! is a rather well done thriller movie starring Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell. The acting is very convincing and the plot moves along at a very good pace. The cinematography and the choreography both work well in the scenes on the airplane when some of the passengers are ill.

The action begins when shell-shocked war veteran Lt. Ted Stryker (Dana Andrews) just gets his first real job; he hurries home to tell his wife who's been upset over Ted's failure to bounce back emotionally after a war incident when Ted's decision cost the lives of six of his men. Unfortunately, Ted's wife Ellen (Linda Darnell) has just left him, taking with her their son Joey (Raymond Ferrell). Ted rushes to the airport and he makes it there just in time to get onboard the same plane as Ellen and Joey are on; Ted hopes he can persuade Ellen to return to him.

Things worsen, as you may well already know. The passengers who ate fish for dinner become ill with some type of life threatening food poisoning; and that includes the two pilots flying the plane! There is a doctor on board (Geoffrey Toone) but it doesn't look like he can do much for the ill passengers unless someone can land that plane in time to get the ill people to a hospital.

After the crew and the doctor find out that Ted is the only one with any flying experience, they ask him to get that plane down safely. This poses a huge emotional challenge for Ted as all the nasty memories of the war incident come back and threaten to ruin Ted's slim chances for landing the plane. The tension heightens with Ted's wife Ellen is asked to sit in the co-pilot's seat to help Ted communicate by radio with ground crew below.

Where does the plot go from here? You may know; but I'm not including plot spoilers in my review. Will Ted be able to land the plane? Will Ellen and Ted clash as they have to deal with each other as Ted tries so hard to land that plane? What about the sick passengers--will they survive the food poisoning?

Unfortunately, the DVD comes with few extras. There's the theatrical trailer and you can choose languages and scenes but that's about it.

Overall, Zero Hour! has a taut plot and it held my attention very well. It's also interesting to note that this film was the basis for the comedy Airplane! all those years later; I never knew that. I highly recommend Zero Hour! for people who enjoy thrillers and classic movies as well.

Would you like fish or meat?
Zero Hour! was the basis for the comedy favorite Airplane!, which is the reason why it is considered a cult classic. In fact, many of the lines and scenerios from Airplane! are lifted straight from this movie. Zero Hour! is the story of an ex-fighter pilot Ted Stryker (Dana Andrews) who finds himself chasing his discontented wife (Linda Darnell) and child Joey (Raymond Ferrell) onto a commercial airplane. Once on the plane, he discovers that there are worse problems than just his failing marriage. There is a problem with the fish (thankfully, he chose meat) and the passengers are falling ill rather rapidly. It soon becomes a matter of seriousness when both pilots take ill and Ted is the only one with any flying experience.

The problem with this movie is the fact that it is supposed to be serious. There are so many ludicrous things in it that it is impossible to take seriously, but since it was not supposed to be funny, there are many long stretches where an audience can find itself bored. One of the best examples of this is the long "suspenseful" ending. Still, it is worth watching at least once for fans of Airplane!, just don't expect it to become your favorite.

If you liked "Airplane!" you must own this film!
I caught some of this movie on Turner Classic Movies one evening, during a day of tributes to movies and their remakes. This film was the inspiration (and the source for many lines) for the 1980 comedy spoof "Airplane!". Just like "Airplane!" "Zero Hour" is about a former war pilot who is forced to take over an airliner when half the passengers get sick from eating bad fish! (Yes, the choice for dinner was 'chicken or fish' just like "Airplane!"). My wife and I were practically in tears, because so many classic lines from "Airplane!" were lifted directly from this film, only the punchlines never came, which somehow made it funnier.

I'll be pre-ordering this one for purchase when it comes out!