Customer Reviews

The Poseidon Adventure

5 star:		(109)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Timed to coincide with the big-screen remake "Poseidon," 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment are releasing 2-disc special editions of two classic star-studded disaster movies, including the 1972 original "The Poseidon Adventure" starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Roddy McDowell among a crew of 15 Academy Award winners. Produced by the legendary Irwin Allen (who made a career in the 1970s of turning out big-budget disaster movies) the movie, based on a novel of the same name by Paul Gallico, tells the story of the aging liner Poseidon, which is hit by a 90-foot tidal wave that knocks her over on her final voyage from New York to Greece.
Featuring impressive special effects for its time and excellent performances from its cast, the movie manages to rise above a trite script and corny dialogue as they travel through an upside-down world, into the bowels of the ship in the hope of rescue from above.
Perhaps the main attraction of this movie is the sets, which effectively create a world turned on its head that leaves passengers walking on the ceilings of a maze of passageways and falling into what was just seconds before the roof of a giant ballroom. The movie proved to be a smash hit in 1972 and itself garnered nine Oscar nominations.
The movie was previously released on DVD as a relatively bare-bones effort, an oversight which has been corrected here in what is a virtual embarrassment of riches for those of us who love to scour through the special features of those shiny discs. Alongside two audio commentaries, one featuring director Ronald Neame and a second with cast members Pamela Sue Martin, Stella Stevens and Carol Lynley are ten all-new featurettes that include a retrospective by the cast and crew and the AMC Backstory that looked behind the making of the movie. The longest of these short documentaries by far is the Backstory presentation that clocks in just short of a half-hour at 25:08 and details not just the fight by Allen to bring the novel to the screen, but also on-camera interviews with the likes of Roddy McDowell, Sheila Metthews Allen and Stella Stevens.
Fox apparently was reluctant to finance the $5 million picture and tried to kill the movie even after work had started on it. It was up to Allen to raise half of the budget, something he managed when he interrupted two rich friends playing cards at the neighboring country club who said "Yes, but let us get back to the game." The two men subsequently became even more wealthy.
The shortest documentary "Turning over the ship" on the effects shots in the picture is a mere 2:26.
The other documentaries cover such elements as the song "The Morning After," the religious themes of the movie, how some of the scenes were created and a featurette, which this DVD shares with "The Towering Inferno," on writer Stirling Sillipant.
Even given its short length at 6:27 is the featurette "The R.M.S. Queen Mary" which gives a fascinating history of the liner which served not only as a location for exterior shots of the "Poseidon" and the design of the ship, but also in the genesis of the idea for the novel. Apparently Gallico had taken a trip on the Queen Mary in the 1950s when it had been hit by a large wave. Tilting slightly plates and glasses went flying until the ship righted itself. Years later as Gallico sat down to write a novel the memory came back to him.
Perhaps the most famous shot of the movie is of the character Terry falling from a table into the glass ceiling below. This stunt was performed by actor Ernie Osatti, who was asked to do it so the movie could say that a number of the stunts had been performed by the actors themselves. This is recounted by Osatti in the 4:09 documentary "Falling up with Ernie."
Of the two commentaries the solo effort by Neame is the most involving with the director commending his cast for spending virtually an entire movie being "damped down" with hoses before practically every shot. Neame also reveals that he was "terrified" when he heard that Gallico would be seeing the movie because he had not stayed faithful to the novel, but was relieved to find out that the novelist loved the film.
Neame also explained the use of the "title" on the front of the movie which would seem to a casual observer to be a spoiler. As the movie opens we learn from a blurb on the screen that "only a handful of survivors" made it through the capsized ship. As Neame tells us, this was included as a means of holding the audiences attention through the first 20 minutes of the picture as we are introduced to the impressive cast with the audience trying to figure out who will survive.
The second cast commentary by Martin, Stevens and Lynley has, strangely enough, more periods of silence as the three seem to become involved in watching the movie unfold. It is also more anecdotal in nature. Stevens, for example, recounts getting into trouble recently for having her picture taken with the model of the ship (which apparently is on display at the maritime museum in Long Beach, Calif.), until it was learned she had appeared in the movie.
The three also talk about the casting and even mention how they had expressed an interest in making cameo appearances in the new movie, a notion which was met with no enthusiasm by the studio.
Perhaps the most interesting special feature is also the most unusual, an interactive feature that allows the viewer to follow the escape through schematics of the ship as they watch the movie. With a boat graphic in the lower right corner of the picture as a prompt, a screen comes up that shows the viewer where the survivors are, the path they took to get there and who is left. The schematic is based (as the movie and book were also) on the R.M.S Queen Mary.
Rounding out the DVD is a 10-minute archival 1972 promotional feature on the movie, two teaser trailers and the theatrical trailer, three storyboard comparisons and the transcription of an article that appeared in an edition of "American Cinematographer" with selectable images that take the viewer to image galleries.

20th Century Fox missed the boat on this one. This movie holds up remarkably well considering most of the dialogue seems a bit dated now. Shelley Winters gives a good solid performance of the grandmother on the way to see her grandson in Israel. Hackman is a rebel priest, and Stella Stevens is the hooker made good by marrying cop Ernest Borgnine. Everyone is having a good time until disaster strikes. The special effects of the capsizing of the Poseidon were unsurpassed until Star Wars came along - and even then Lucas wasn't turning over a boat load of passengers. The grand piano crashing through mid air still gives me stomach pains. Yes, they don't compare to James Cameron's Titanic, but remember - they didn't have digital/computer technology back then. I still don't know how they did it. Which leads me to my next point.

The real disaster is the treatment Fox gave the DVD. I didn't wait all these years for DVD technology to hear Dolby mono. The movie was originally released in stereo. Hearing all those screaming people from my center speaker doesn't cut it. Hearing John William's fine score, and the Academy Award winning "The Morning After" in mono is a real disappointment. I know there was a 'making of' documentary produced around the time the film was made. Why isn't it on the DVD? Why didn't we get a commentary track from some of the special effects wizards, cast, or director. They can't all be dead. Again, we waited for years for this to be released in a digital format, but my recommendation is to stick with the VHS version. At least that is in stereo.

I first saw Poseidon Adventure on Christmas Eve 1972. I was nine and my brother was almost twelve. I vividly remember calling the theater and, because it was rated PG, asking the lady if my brother and I had to have an adult with us in order to see it! Well, needless to say, my 9-year-old eyes had never seen anything like it and to this day the movie has a certain hold on me. I bought the special edition dvd the day it came out. I watched it four times the first two days. Both commentaries are great but I think I like the commentary by Stella Stevens, Carol Lynley and Pamela Sue Martin a little better than the director's. It's fun to listen to the three ladies reminisce and laugh together. I have seen the new movie and I like it, probably because I like the premise of the story. It's just a very different take on the same premise. Poseidon Adventure will always be among my favorite movies.

The Poseidon Adventure is probably my favorite disaster flick of all time. I saw it for the first time when I was a kid and thought it was the greatest movie.
The special effects are definitely dated now, but to me the ship capsizing from the tidal wave is still cool.

I can't say much for the DVD version unfortunately. All you get is the movie and no extras. But let's hope there will be a new release of the DVD with more extras in the future. NBC television has a remake of the movie on this month, and a huge theatrical remake is scheduled to be out next year. So there seems to be a new fascination with this film and story.

I've always thought The Poseidon Adventure was the best out of the disaster genre. I am glad to see this film and story getting some of the respect it deserves.

This movie is so much better than the titanic. Although both share some simalirities, The Posideon Adventure has an exhilerating plot and unpredictable instances. Its has all that one whould hope for, adventure, love, and drama. But none overwhelmes the other, delivering the right dose, at the right time. This DVD belongs in every collection

One of the best, and one the most well-known disaster films ever, the Poseidon Adventure is the story of a small group of survivors trapped in a capsized luxury ship. The film follows their struggle to survive, and persevere in an unusual and extremely dangerous situation. The story, based on Paul Gallico's novel, features a wonderful all-star cast, headed by Gene Hackman, and Ernest Borgnine, with Shelley Winters, Roddy McDowall, Red Buttons, Stella Stevens, Jack Albertson, Carol Lynley, Pamela Sue Martin, Eric Shea and Leslie Nielsen.

It is New Years day, just after midnight, when a huge wave strikes the USS Poseidon, twisting the huge cruise ship, and leaving it upside down in the water. Inside, the passengers and crew, who had been joyously celebrating the New Year, are suddenly facing a deadly situation. Emerging from the crowd trapped in the ship's dining room, is Reverend Scott (Gene Hackman), who spearheads the effort to climb "up", towards the bottom of the ship. A small group of survivors join the Reverend in the journey. The movie focuses on their adventures, as they slowly make their way through the bowels of the ship, searching for a safe route to the "top", staying just ahead of the rising water. As we follow along, we learn much about the survivors as people. The characters become defined, and we come to have strong feelings about many of them.

Reverend Scott, is constantly challenged by Rogo (Borgnine), a police officer with his own ideas of what they should be doing. The tension between the two men, keeps the atmosphere edgy. The group endures much, and overcomes even more, in their perilous journey. They struggle on, through hell and hardship, because as Scott says, "...life always matters very much". Although not everyone will make it to the end, the survivors never give up. As long as there is life, there is hope. This is the theme of the memorable Oscar winning song, "The Morning After". John Williams' powerful score, earned him an Academy Award nomination too.

Shelly Winters was nominated for an Academy Award as well, and the film has many other fine performances. Hackman, and Borgnine are marvelous, their clash of wills, creates sparks on the screen. Roddy McDowell is very good, in an understated but brief role as a steward. Jack Albertson was never better, and Pamela Sue Martin, TV's Nancy Drew, makes her film debut. If you have not seen this before, you have missed a real classic.

As to the DVD itself, the widescreen presentation is without any extras, except for a trailer and skimpy cast bios. Most regrettable, in light of the recent "Backstory" feature on A&E about this movie, which detailed Irwin Allen's efforts to bring this story to the screen. Catch this feature too, for some interesting background information. There is so much more, that could have been done, to honor this film, and the wonderful cast that worked on it so hard. Good or bad, the success of this film, and films like Airport (1970), helped launch the 70's wave of disaster films. Irwin Allen, would follow up himself with The Towering Inferno (1974). A few years later, there would be an inferior Poseidon sequel, "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure".

I think I like this a lot BETTER than that "other boat movie", which is strange, because you'd think it would get COOLER in 20+ years. The reason is simply this: Poseidon Adv. doesn't piddle around with trying to make a romance out of a disaster. I think that in REAL life once Titanic hit, J. Dawson would be like "Nice dance, nice screw, ship wrecked, screw you." Of course, that's just me, and anyone else who's being honest. A lot of people 21 and under probably saw Titanic, not this. I suggest they give it a look.

The Poseidon Adventure is still engrossing now as then it was back in the early 70's when the film was released. It's a story about a luxury ship called Poseidon on it's last voyage from New York to Athens. Unfortunately a sub-seaquake develops a freak tidal wave and hits the Poseidon on New Year's Eve. The ten survivors must find their way out through the capsized ship with an erray of excitement and special effects to follow. This is still a good movie with powerful acting from all of the main actors. Superb directing from Ronald Neame and pretty special and visual effects from L.B Abbott. Remember this was made in the early seventies so do not expect terrific sound on this DVD version because you will not get it. I found the film's sound mix to be very poor and dissapointing with the Dolby Digital mono 2.1 mix. It's presented in it's original Panavision scope aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and it does look sharper and more define. The John William's score matches the film to a T, it's also THX certified which is located on the bottom on the DVD box.

I once was lucky enough to hear Ray Bradbury speak at a local college, and close to the end of his talk about writing, he said something I've always remembered - he warned us not to listen to cynical writers who malign movies because of their entertainment value. He said there were many wonderful things in this world, and movies were close to the top of his list. If movies are not for entertainment, then what are they for, he asked. When I read the words "cheesy", "melodramatic", and "dated", attributed to the original, The Poseidon Adventure by modern proffesional critics, and wanna-be critics like myself, I remembered this man in his late 70's talking about how much he loved movies. When I heard they were finally giving The Poseidon Adventure the DVD release it deserved, I set my old copy to the side and waited eagerly. I still remember seeing this movie in the theater when I was a kid. It was edge of the seat thrills and an emotional adventure like nothing I, nor anyone else I imagine, had ever seen. An amazing fantasy adventure story purely for entertainment's sake.

This new Special Edition DVD looks amazing. It is now presented in anamorphic widescreen, which looks fantastic on a large, widescreen TV. The print source no longer has the dark, grainy look of the original DVD release. The overall lighting is brighter and cleaner, colors deeper, more vibrant; flesh tones true, from the glistening sweat, to the flushed, ruddy complexions.

The sound on my surround sound system was dynamic and rich. I found myself once again, all these years later, on the edge of my seat. Enjoying a thrill ride that was made purely for entertainment's sake, with an incredible cast of Academy Award winning actors, like Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelly Winters, Red Buttons, and an ensemble cast of veteren character actors, like Roddy McDowell and the absolutely drop dead gorgeous Stella Stevens. Some were past their prime, but just as strong and believable as ever, with standout performances by Hackman, Winters (don't care what anyones says, she was incredible), and Borgnine. The film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards.

The extras I've viewed so far are impressive, starting with the AMC Back Stage production of the making of The Poseidon Adventure, two full-length audio commentaries, and several new documentaries made especially for this release. There is more, but the main thing is the movie itself. I can't imagine it will ever look better than this. Enjoy it for what it is, a full-blown "Disaster Film", every bit as melodramatic, cheesy, and special effects ridden as any in the past three decades (Armagedden, Deep Impact, Idependence Day, and yes, the current remake Poseidon)-but just remember, this one started it all. So enjoy it. It's just entertainment!

To this day The Poseidon Adventure remains the undisputed high water mark (no pun intended) for the Disaster Movie craze. While Airport started it, it was really this Irwin Allen production, with its still potent mix of star power and grand spectacle, that got the genre off and running. Given the scale of the movie the over-the-top theatrics of the cast actually fit well and, no matter how many times I watch it, I still move to the edge of my seat, hoping that they make it to the bottom of the boat in time. For the price this DVD is a decent (and required) addition to the movie fans library, but it really deserves the Special Edition treatment (i.e. behind the scenes documentaries, commentaries, surviving cast interviews, etc.) and a remastered and (for those with 16 x 9 TV sets) anamorphic transfer. If you are fan of special effects movies in general or Disaster Movies in particular then you already know you need this in your collection. Highest recommendation.