I sat through this thing in the theatre, and I guess I was able to suspend my disbelief, although I never bothered to see it again until tonight. Now I know why. Were it not for the characters constant arguing and bellyaching all the way, the movie would have been half as long! I guess that's the element of "drama" at work.
The genre this "classic" spawned was among the stranger ones that Hollywood has produced over the years. While it's not as bad as the dog movie (or it's latest variant, the kangaroo movie), the disaster genre has had some real gems over the years (n.b. the "Airport" movie where a jumbo jet, FULL OF AIR, sits at the bottom of the sea - in the Bermuda Triangle, of course!). Actually, the "Poseidon Adventure" was not really the first disaster movie. "A Night to Remember", about the Titanic, was an earlier, and better, one. However, "Poseidon" was the one that started a rash of copies.
If you haven't seen this, it's worth it for a laugh. Watch for Ernie Borgnine's constant questioning of Gene Hackman's leadership and his bullying attitude towards the stereotypical "inquisitive little boy". Also, don't miss Hackman's "sermonette" at the end. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave it at that. Let's just say that it's obvious why the scene had to be shot from about the knees up.
One thing to consider is this: in '72 "The Poseidon Adventure" was state of the art film making, but now it's pretty much only good for laughs. How will "Titanic" look in 30 years?
Oh yeah, some "adventure"!
The genre this "classic" spawned was among the stranger ones that Hollywood has produced over the years. While it's not as bad as the dog movie (or it's latest variant, the kangaroo movie), the disaster genre has had some real gems over the years (n.b. the "Airport" movie where a jumbo jet, FULL OF AIR, sits at the bottom of the sea - in the Bermuda Triangle, of course!). Actually, the "Poseidon Adventure" was not really the first disaster movie. "A Night to Remember", about the Titanic, was an earlier, and better, one. However, "Poseidon" was the one that started a rash of copies.
If you haven't seen this, it's worth it for a laugh. Watch for Ernie Borgnine's constant questioning of Gene Hackman's leadership and his bullying attitude towards the stereotypical "inquisitive little boy". Also, don't miss Hackman's "sermonette" at the end. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave it at that. Let's just say that it's obvious why the scene had to be shot from about the knees up.
One thing to consider is this: in '72 "The Poseidon Adventure" was state of the art film making, but now it's pretty much only good for laughs. How will "Titanic" look in 30 years?
Oh yeah, some "adventure"!