How Many Movies Have You Watched On One Flight?

by Kelly Amabile on

I’m not exactly embarrassed to admit this, but I’m not sure if it is something to be proud of either?! On a recent 13-hour Qantas flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles, I managed to watch five movies in a row, and could have probably snuck in a sixth if my eyes were not so weary. And for some reason, I feel compelled to admit that I engaged in this obscene in-flight marathon film fest. I’m actually quite curious to know about the movie-watching habits of other long-haul fliers out there.

Who else will ‘fess up?

I had only planned on watching one movie, and then figured I’d pop some Sudafed Nighttime pills to knock me out. But the drugs never kicked in after my own private screening of No Reservations. Or maybe deep in my psyche I knew that I just HAD to watch Blades of Glory before bedtime. After that, I blame it on the seat — I just couldn’t get comfortable. Or was it that burning desire to watch License to Wed and Evan Almightly?! By the time I got to Borat I had really surpassed my (or any normal sleep-deprived human’s) film-viewing limit and should have certainly been fast asleep…but once you start watching that movie, you just can’t stop. My cranium hurt and my eyes were surely bugging out of the sockets by then, but I had to know if Borat would ever get his dream date with Pamela!

So who else has been hooked by their in-flight entertainment system? Please tell me that I am not the only who has denied herself sleep on a plane in order to catch up on all the romantic comedies and mockumentaries she’d been missing? I had brought a good book with me on the plane, as well as my laptop, so I could organize the photos from my trip. Instead, the in-flight entertainment system got me good, proving to be a much stronger drug than the decongestant I thought would have brought me at least a few good hours of sleep.

Airplane! vs. Zero Hour!: A Comparison of Films

by Justin Glow on


Did you know that the 1980 Zucker brothers comedy, Airplane!, was a spoof-remake of Zero Hour!, a 1957 airplane disaster movie? I didn’t, and Airplane! was one of my favorite movies growing up. In fact, I credit this movie in a long list of influences that got me interested in travel as a child.

What’s especially funny is Zero Hour! wasn’t just inspiration for Airplane!, but an almost scene-by-scene remake. How could I have not known this? Fortunately, someone has done the legwork and compared the two movies side-by-side so it’s easy to see the similarities. Check out the first part above, and the second after the jump.

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One for the Road: Roman Polanski – The Cinema of a Cultural Traveler

by Kelly Amabile on

A new book looks at the filmography of Roman Polanski in advance of what will surely be his biggest project yet. The controversial film director will soon begin work on a movie adaptation of the best-selling Robert Harris novel Pompeii. This new book about Polanski takes a close look at all previous films he directed: Roman Polanski: The Cinema of a Cultural Traveller examines the settings, genres and themes of his films, including Two Men and a Wardrobe, Cul de Sac, Rosemary’s Baby, The Pianist and Oliver Twist.

From the publisher, I.B. Tauris: Ewa Mazierska looks into the function of music, of religion, power, patriarchy and racism in the films, as well as Polanski’s literary adaptations and his use and subversion of film genres. Herself a Polish émigré, she uncovers Polanski’s Polish roots and the extent of their influence on the cinema of this mercurial film maker, at large in the world.

Mazierska is co-author of From Moscow to Madrid: European Cities and Postmodern Cinema and Crossing New Europe: The European Road Movie.

“Scenes from the City”: A Map That Pinpoints Movie Locations Around NYC

by Willy Volk on

In 1966, New York City established the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. This not only gave filmmakers unprecedented access to the world’s most exciting and vibrant city, it ensured gossip writers in the Big Apple would be forever employed.

To celebrate the anniversary of the MOFTB, the City launched a snazzy interactive map pinpointing locations that have served as backdrops over the years. Allowing users to filter by film, television, filmmaker, scene type, time period, and neighborhood, the map is a nifty way of planning a day in NYC. Want to hit all the locations around the City that Woody Allen has featured? Plan on making 11 stops. Interested in visiting all the locations used for movies set pre-1966? That’ll be 23 stops.

The only problem with the map is that, while it tells you where to go, it doesn’t give you the back story for the destinations. Does that make it useless? Fuhgeddaboutit. Pick up a copy of the photo-filled coffee table book that inspired the map and use the map as the basis for a totally kick-ass scavenger hunt.

Turistas: Another Travel Horror Flick

by Adrienne Wilson on

Thanks to WorldHum, I’ve just been reminded of what I could do with my Saturday evening if it were a little less booked. Coming to theaters this weekend is the long-awaited film Turistas directed by John Stockwell (Blue Crush & Into the Blue) who was inspired to write the script after returning from a Peruvian surf-trip where things went sour to say the least. As for Turistas, the film is ultimately about a small group of American tourist that go looking for good times and I’m certain a little Samba, when they get robbed and drugged and sucked into Brazil’s jungles. As one could imagine with any horror flick all things go wrong for the good looking cast and they must fight a primal battle to save their lives or be swallowed in the underground caverns of Brazilian jungle. Honestly, I don’t think I’d go as far as rent this one when it hits video stores. Nothing about it shakes me up or spooks me.

However, the Los Angeles Times has a pretty nice article on the production process which is worth a read.