The Poseidon Adventure
| Year: | 1972 |
| Studio: | 20th Century Fox |
| Director: | Ronald Neame |
| Cast: | Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Roddy McDowall |
A close cousin of The Towering Inferno, this movie was from when Hollywood discovered the epic disaster movie in the last special effects era before the Star Wars age.
As such, today it looks a little on the hokey side if you watch it just for the spectacle, but the human drama and thriller aspects are still strong.
Led by a slightly right wing priest (Hackman), a group of survivors band together when a rogue wave capsizes their cruise ship in the open sea. While the crew and authorities want everyone to stay put, the groups breaks away to try and reach the bottom of the hull (now on top) where they can escape.
In true disaster thriller tradition, their number are slowly depleted as they try to prove their mettle in the face of such adversity, given voice most thematically by Hackman's imploring God angrily 'What do you want? You want another life?'
As such, today it looks a little on the hokey side if you watch it just for the spectacle, but the human drama and thriller aspects are still strong.
Led by a slightly right wing priest (Hackman), a group of survivors band together when a rogue wave capsizes their cruise ship in the open sea. While the crew and authorities want everyone to stay put, the groups breaks away to try and reach the bottom of the hull (now on top) where they can escape.
In true disaster thriller tradition, their number are slowly depleted as they try to prove their mettle in the face of such adversity, given voice most thematically by Hackman's imploring God angrily 'What do you want? You want another life?'