Smell the Movies
Smell the TV
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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| Year: | 1972 |
| Country of origin: | USA |
| Director: | Ronald Neame |
| Genre: | Action, action, action |
| Starring: | Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall |
| Rating: | 4/5 |
| IMDB link: | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069113/ |
| Tagline: | Hell, Upside Down |
| Favourite line: | "The Greek God Poseidon. God of storms, tempests, earthquakes and other miscellaneous natural disasters. Quite an ill-tempered fellow." |
The ultimate disaster movie?
Well, quite possibly.
A luxury liner, The Poseidon, is on it's farewell voyage when catastrophe strikes: The huge vessel flips over, suspended upside down in the water, seawater rushing in, threatening to sink it altogether at any moment. Many of the passengers and crew are killed instantly, but for a few lucky survivors, the terror has only just begun.
Battling against ice cold water, a labyrinthine construct now made alien by virtue of being both upside down and in darkness, and a peril from within, man's inability to cooperate even in the most extreme circumstances, this is a race against time to get to the hull, surface side, before the mighty craft plunges to the ocean floor.
An ensemble cast perform capably, including the ever dependable Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine, but it is both the sets and set-pieces that are the real star of the show, along with a nerve-jangling soundtrack.
The sets themselves are remarkable, vast in scale and, remember, this is long before CGI could be used to create the illusion of things that aren't actually there. Exciting, intense and relentlessly gripping, this is a great movie.
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