Die Höllenfahrt der Poseidon

The Poseidon Adventure has gotten its reputation as the best of all the disaster films of the seventies, not just for the Special Effects good as they are. It's that select group of people trying to survive, they're a bunch you do get to care about even though some of them can be annoying as all get out.

The film is an adaption of Paul Gallico's novel which was written in the Thirties, but it was updated to the present for the film. While on the luxury liner Poseidon as a New Year's Eve Party goes on, Captain Leslie Nielsen takes note of an undersea earthquake and the tidal wave that will hit the ship in about fifteen minutes. But he's certainly not prepared for the wall of water that smacks the Poseidon broadside and capsizes it.

Before the big event and the special effects that got The Poseidon Adventure its Oscar in that department we are introduced to the group of people who elect to try and climb up to the keel of the capsized Poseidon while the rest remain in the grand ballroom. Leading the group is minister Gene Hackman and the rest are married couples, Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters, Ernest Borgnine and Stella Stevens, musician/singer Carol Lynley, hypochondriac Red Buttons, steward Roddy McDowell, and teenager Pamela Sue Martin and her little brother Eric Shea.

You do get wrapped up and sucked into the conflicts especially with Ernest Borgnine who's simultaneously got a war going with Gene Hackman and with his wife Stella Stevens. She's an ex-hooker who he busted several times and eventually married. He's got a rambunctious nature and Borgnine provides a lot of the interest here.

Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters are the typical elderly Jewish couple who are on a trip to Israel to visit the grandchild they've never seen. They're a calming and steadying influence on the others. So is Red Buttons who finds courage he never thought he possessed and he helps Lynley out who's devastated at the loss of her brother who was in the band performing at the New Year's Eve Party.

Gene Hackman as a minister takes his gospel from that noted skeptic Benjamin Franklin who said that God helps those who help themselves. For those who believe in a divine plan, he seems divinely sent to get these people to safety. Not all of them make it though.

The Poseidon Adventure got another Oscar for Best Song for The Morning After. Maureen McGovern's recording of that tune was playing everywhere in 1972. It's one of the few Academy Award winning songs that is still prized and remembered over the last 40 years.

Maybe Irwin Allen did a wise thing by not directing the film and letting Ronald Neame do it. Spectacle is great and I love it, but a good story with characters you care about is what makes the Poseidon Adventure the fine film it is.

for a disaster flick,this is one of the better ones.for 1972,it is well made and has some good effects.it's pretty convincing also thought the movie was compelling and touching,and sad,all at the same time.since we get to know the characters a bit,you can't help but feel for them in their(what seems hopeless)situation.i did think there were a few stereotypical characters,which was annoying,but the acting was decent enough.plus,the fact that the survivors had to go through what amounted to a labyrinthine maze as they tried to get out,really added to the feeling of hopelessness of the situation.i was also surprised at who ultimately survived and who didn't.for a nearly 2 hour movie,this one moves along pretty good.i was engrossed throughout.for me,The Poseidon adventure is a strong 8/10

This movie is my ultimate disaster flick and even though I really liked Titanic. This one, as others have said IS better and I'll tell you why. In Titanic we have just one story going, where as in this one we have several. The subtle budding romance between Nonnie and Mr. Martin was very interesting to watch. I thought they were a rather odd pairing at first, but it worked seeing how they both needed each other. Linda Rogo was my favorite character. She knew what to say and how to say it. She even told her pompus husband off a few times. The fact that she's an ex-prostitute and her husband being the cop that arrested her made their story rather interesting. Mr. Rogo and the Preacher's quarrels were amusing and heated. I liked the Rosens, they were the strong ones and you could truly see the love they had for one another. The kid was annoying, but useful and I really enjoyed the sexual tension between Susan and the Preacher. Their scenes were my favorite. This movie has a cast of truly rich characters that were more entertaining to watch than the actual effects. Ah! The good old days where character development and an actual plot outweigh the special effects and the disaster itself. 9 out of 10.

I have seen many disaster films in my day but The Poseidon Adventure is truly a film that will leave you on the edge of your seat because each moment after the being hit by a tidal wave is unpredictable. The survivors have to find a way out of the ship and a preacher (Gene Hackman) has to lead them out that becomes dangerous and often scary situations they face. Each cast member played their parts with emotion that becomes dramatic at times. All in all I thought this was better then the Titanic. I know they did a remake of this film in 2005 but as I always say, stick with the classic.

I still don't understand how people get on here and write reviews about movies, with statements like wasted actors talent, campy, don't you understand this movie was made in 1972 there was no CGI and copying movie like it's done today, this was an original and won awards and was up for many more nominations, these actors weren't wasted they were continuing to develop their craft. I saw this as a 6yr old and still remember it today on New Years Eve as I just watched it this morning bringing back so many memories that made me the movie buff I am. I never forgot it from the wonderful soundtrack (Oscar winning ) and the cinematography (Oscar winning) which was earned the old fashioned way imagination, not by some computer generated initiative. I love movies today but I still remember good movies and how they were made in yesteryear also. It's kinda like comparing atheletes when people(younger people especially) when they say Lebron is better than Oscar R or Michael J, the players are all great in their time, if either Michael or Oscar were here today they would still be GREAT, as Lebron is today, but to say he is better is foolish, This a Great Movie today as it was in 1973. PERIOD!!