Product Details

• Actors: Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins, Shirley Knight
• Directors: Richard Lester
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: July 15, 2003
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000092Q5E
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,455 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
One of director Richard Lester's least-known films, Juggernaut was part of the wave of disaster movies of the early 1970s--and one of the only ones with a sense of intelligence. Richard Harris, in one of his most controlled performances, plays a bomb expert called aboard a luxury liner in midocean; the ship has been commandeered by an anonymous terrorist, demanding money before he starts setting off bombs he has planted around the vessel. The cast, which includes David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins, and Omar Sharif, is a solid one, and the suspense is thick enough to cut through, with Lester's nasty sense of humor working at full throttle as the countdown gets into the single digits. --Marshall Fine

Product Description
The high seas have never been more terrifying than in this riveting, tension-packed adventure. Richard Harris (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) and Omar Sharif (Doctor Zhivago) head an all-star cast that includes OscarÂ(r) winner* Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal) in a"tingling" (The Village Voice), edge-of-your-seat shipboard thriller! HMS Britannicis caught in a storm at sea. But the real terror is on boardseven bombs planted by a terrorist calling himself Juggernaut, who demands a high ransom in exchange for the passengers' lives. Bomb expert Fallon (Harris) is flown to the ship and, as negotiations break down, he struggles with the mostchallenging job of his life in a race against time! *1991: Actor, The Silence of the Lambs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Expertly executed British disaster movie/thriller, May 8, 2002

By	www.DavidLRattigan.com (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juggernaut (1974) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a deftly handled thriller from veteran director Richard Lester. It inevitably begs comparison with movies of the ilk of The Poseidon Adventure, which is worthy in its own way, but this is in a far superior class. Its Britishness is its real asset - it avoids the schmaltzy, soapy feel of its American forebears in the world of disaster epics. Romantic elements of the story are treated with a grittiness that eschews all melodramatics. The psyches of the characters are not explored in depth, but are nevertheless flesh-and-blood characters, and we never get the feeling that their development is sacrificed to the suspense (of which there is plenty). In a supporting role as the ship's entertainments officer, Roy Kinnear elicits much pathos; Shirley Knight is affecting in a similarly tragic minor role, as the longsuffering mistress of captain, Omar Sharif, whose performance is merely satisfactory next to excellent star turns by (a young) Anthony Hopkins and Richard Harris. Film buffs will also delight in spotting a few other vintage British character actors in among the big names: Michael Hordern, Freddie Jones, Ian Holm and Julian Glover to name a few.

The pace is near-perfect (this is textbook film-making), never lagging or threatening to become tedious. The editing works to create maximal tension at just the right moments; the photography has a grainy and often extemporaneous documentary feel to it (some of the more seemingly spontaneous shots reminded me of Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy, however distant a comparison that might appear). Both editing and camerawork function effectively to hold interest and attention. Ken Thorne's score is subtle and in keeping with the tone of the film. In sum, this is an exciting and dramatic thriller, competently pulled off by a skilled company of talents.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding thriller!, April 7, 2004

By	M J Heilbron Jr. "Dr. Mo" (Long Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Like many of the other reviewers, this was a film that I recalled with great fondness.
I had seen it when I was younger...not even a teenager...but I remember loving it.
I had been looking for it forEVER when I read that it was being released on DVD.
I happily popped it in my DVD player and put my feet up.

You know how some movies are not NEARLY as good as you once thought? They're not as funny, not as scary, often plain stupid.

Well I'm happy to report that this film is terrific. It STILL raises the blood pressure, and will still having you guessing by the end.

Richard Harris plays the quasi-heroic bomb defuser, Omar Sharif the beleaguered captain and a young Anthony Hopkins has a one-note performance as a stressed out Scotland Yarder.
Roy Kinnear is a painful hoot as the Ship's Steward (think Julie on the Love Boat) who tries to raise everyone's spirits EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THERE'S BOMBS ON THE SHIP.
Trying to get everyone to sing along to "Roll Out The Barrel"? Priceless.

The script is spare but witty. I loved the comment about "A Night To Remember".

This is among the best "disaster" movies ever made, and a terrific thriller.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars is it the blue wire...or the red wire..., April 23, 2005

By	Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

With the ever present ticking of a clock and nerve-wracking machine noises in the soundtrack, this is a taut, nifty disaster thriller, with the cruise ship HMS Britannic sailing to America, unknowingly with 7 bombs hidden aboard, set to explode; they have multiple booby traps, and the saboteur wants not only money but revenge against the system that in his twisted mind feels slighted him.
The cast is great, with Richard Harris as the head of a demolition team, David Hemmings as his right-hand man, Omar Sharif as the ship's captain, and Anthony Hopkins as the man in charge of finding the bad guy (whose wife and children are aboard the ship); Shirley Knight, Ian Holm, and Roy Kinnear round out the cast.

The direction by Richard Lester, better known for his comedic musical films with The Beatles and not thrillers, is fast paced, with some superb effects; I especially like the suspenseful moments when the demolition crew arrives on the scene, parachuting into the stormy sea.
The screenplay by producer Richard DeKoker is intelligent, raising this film up from the average production in this genre, and the cinematography by Gerry Fisher excellent. The score by Ken Thorne is also good, but mostly one can only hear the tick...tick...tick...of the bomb.
Total running time is 109 minutes.