The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Paul Gallico (novel)
Stirling Silliphant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 December 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Hell, Upside Down

Plot:

A group of passengers struggle to survive and escape, when their ocean liner completely capsizes at sea.

Plot Keywords:

Survivor | Tidal Wave | Passenger | Haberdasher | Ocean Liner

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	Reverend Scott
Ernest Borgnine	...	Mike Rogo
Red Buttons	...	James Martin
Carol Lynley	...	Nonnie Parry
Roddy McDowall	...	Acres
Stella Stevens	...	Linda Rogo
Shelley Winters	...	Belle Rosen
Jack Albertson	...	Manny Rosen
Pamela Sue Martin	...	Susan Shelby
Arthur O'Connell	...	Chaplain
Eric Shea	...	Robin Shelby
Fred Sadoff	...	Linarcos
Sheila Allen	...	Nurse (as Sheila Mathews)
Jan Arvan	...	Doctor
Byron Webster	...	Purser

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG (video rating) | Iceland:16 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG (PCA #23341) | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Kent Productions

Trivia:

Part of the set was built on a hydraulic system which would raise it to a 45° angle, and camera tricks were used to suggest more severe angles.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the last scenes as they are exiting the ship and getting on the helicopter they walk over a clean hull. After being in service the keel would not be as clean as shown and easy to walk on.

Quotes:

Mike Rogo: She's got nothin' on underneath.
Linda Rogo: Just panties. What else do I need?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Chump Change (2000)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

The Best Natural Disaster Film

The Poseidon Adventure is one of those movies I have seen at least once a year as long as I have been alive. I lived in Maine when I was a kid and we loved our natural disaster flicks. Of all the great disaster movies from the 70s, this has got to be the best one. Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelly Winters, Roddy McDowall, Leslie Neilson, and the list goes on.

The basic plot goes like this. The Poseidon is a cruise ship out for its last voyage and it is New Year's Eve. The guests are all celebrating while deep beneath the ocean's surface an earthquake is happening. The earthquake sets off a huge tsunami and the ship is knocked upside down. In order to be saved, a small group of people heads for the engine room at the bottom (make that top, since the ship is upside down) of the ship. At first, the ocean claims hundreds of the passengers until they are whittled down to about 10 people left. From here there are plenty of tense moments and a power struggle for control of the survivors. Typical disaster movie fare but done rather well.

This movie is a great main event for a disaster film weekend.