This film is one of the more intelligent "disaster" films of the 1970s. Directed by Ronald Neame and released in 1972, it covers many themes from religion to love, as well as the human spirit to survive. It's also based on the novel of the same name by Paul Gallico.
While "the Poseidon Adventure" looks dated nowadays, it is great for the time it was made. Even now, it's hard to figure out how the made it look so realistic in the various rooms on the ship.
The basic plot is that during a New Year's Eve party, about 1 second into New Year's Day, an ocean liner on the way from New York to Greece is capsized by a tidal wave. An earthquake has happened 130 miles from Crete and the ship is caught in the aftershocks. Can anyone make it out alive? The effects aren't brilliant but the true horror of the situation is still put across very well. The title song "The Morning After" at the start of the film is indicative of what is about to happen. Incidentally, The Poseidon is the God of the Sea. Naming a ship after a character who would strike the ground with a trident and cause springs and earthquakes, ship wrecks, and drownings is not a good idea. The film is a look at human kind's tendancy to want to dominate nature.
Like most disaster films, we have a selection of characters we are introduced to and we have to guess who will or won't survive. We follow the likes of Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Pamela Sue Martin and Shelley Winters as they are lead by Gene Hackman as a synical, charismatic preacher who is having his faith tested. All he is sure about is the make up of the ship and which is the best way to get out.
Of course, this is a disaster film and there are scenes of peril. People fall down into chandeliers and the ship is sinking all the time as the passengers have to make their way up through the bottom of the ship which is now upside down.
It's difficult to explain exactly what happens without giving away huge chunks of the plot (in case anyone hasn't seen it) but the end scene with Gene Hackman when he falls is wonderfully ambiguous. It's literally like he's fallen or possibly jumped into hell. Maybe he's finally given up on a belief in God and he has commited suicide. Leslie Nielsen is also great as the ship's captain - it's hard to remember he was once a very serious actor!
Some of the writing for the women isn't that good - except for Shelley Winters the two or three female characters are pretty feeble!
There are some very memorable scenes in this film. Mike (Ernest Borginine) and Linda (Shelley Stevens) are wonderful as a bickering couple. He is a police officer and she is an ex-prostitute, always scared she will bump into an old customer. Even on a ship on its way to Athens, she thinks she's seen someone she knows. There is some humour.
"Linda: "I saw a young officer on deck the other day, and he looked DAMN familiar... even with his clothes on." Mike: So... he recognized ya, so? Linda: So doesn't that bother you? Mike: If it bothered me, I wouldn'ta married ya. Linda: Well first you arrested me six times. Mike: Well I had to figure out some way to keep you off the streets... until you'd marry me."
As I said earlier, the themes as well as the performances lift this film above most other "disaster" movies, mainly because it was amongst the first. There was an appalling sequel, where we were supposed to believe that a gang of looters have found the ship which hasn't quite sunk properly. This year, "Poseidon" will be out but it's not a direct re-make.
The DVD of "The Poseidon Adventure" has the original trailer for the film as well as a "making of" featurette. I can highly recommend watching this movie.
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Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1995 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Allie Byrne, Oliver Cotton, Emily Mortimer, Michael Cochrane
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Excellent review. This is one of my favourite films.
ThePolarOne 22.01.2006 15:50
It's a very well made film, but it drags a little for me and has dated a bit. You give a well balanced review.
TheChocolateLady 22.01.2006 13:27
Shelly Winters just died and I'm glad someone wrote a review of one of her movies as a tribute to her. Unfortunately, she had to gain a whole lot of weight for this movie, never could take it off and it ruined her health.
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