L'aventure du Poséidon

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.

The aging liner Poseidon, on her final journey, is struck by a tidal wave that knocks her upside down. A small group of passengers realise that if they want to survive they must journey up into the bowels of the ship hoping for rescue from above.

The idea is well conceived and the excellent cast turn in good performances despite getting little help from the somewhat corny script. With above average special effects for the time and excellent sets that convincingly realise the upside down half-flooded ship and its bewildering maze of passageways, the movie manages to be compelling and exciting viewing.

The clothes and the likes are really the only thing that date this film. 35 years old, and it still holds up well. No CGI featured, and none required. I have not read the book of this film, so I cannot say if it is an accurate adaptation, in the spirit of the original. I will say that it is a well-produced piece of fiction. The plot is quite good. The writing is good, and has very realistic, great moments. Dialog is well-done, and delivered equally well. The characters are credible and well-written. There is a reasonable amount of development and background for them. The special effects are undeniably excellently done. They are convincing throughout. Nature itself becomes the threat, with realistic physics. The camera-work and editing are nicely done, save for an awkward cut or two. Cinematography is effective. The pacing is solid for the whole film. As far as the technical aspect goes, the film is great. The acting is of high quality. The kid isn't the most annoying ever seen. The tension is admirable. I haven't watched particularly many disaster films... in fact, this film may be 50% of the total amount... so I can't say if this is an outstanding one. I'm not sure you can really watch this without noticing the theme of passivity versus activity... or, blind faith versus a more critical, independent faith. The film takes a definite stance on that. All in all, entertaining and worth your time. I recommend this to any fan of the actors and/or the genre. 7/10

Although the film was made in 1972, the special effects still stand up quite well even in this CGI era. While you might expect actors like Hackman and Winters to "walk" through their roles in a film like this simply "for the money", the cast does a solid job. Buttons, known for his proclivity to "ham it up", treats this role more seriously like he did in "Sayonara", and as a result is okay. Carol Lynley, never a great actress to begin with, gives the poorest performance, turning her character into a whiner. In the story, the ship is capsized at midnight on New Years Eve, and the story proceeds from there to the conclusion hours later when it is daylight. The action is continuous, which makes it more believable. As of this date, aside from the "kids" Pamela Sue Martin and Eric Shea, Gener Hackman is the only cast member still living.

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.