There’s at least one good thing that can be said about Hollywood remakes
of classic films nowadays. Whenever one hits the theaters you can almost always
walk into your local entertainment retailer and find a souped-up special edition
DVD of the original. Such is the case with The Poseidon Adventure
(1972), released to DVD just days before its contemporary big-budget successor
Poseidon (2006) hit the silver screens. Twentieth Century
Fox Home Entertainment’s new special edition DVD of The
Poseidon Adventure adds a pair of commentaries and a separate disc
loaded with extra content. Although the production may seem somewhat primitive
by today’s high standards, the original film stands as what it was –
namely, an entertaining disaster flick – and the DVD’s extra material
provides the proper context for viewers who may wonder what was so impressive
about the original.
THE MOVIE
The S.S. Poseidon, an enormous cruise ship, is in the middle of the ocean
on New Year’s Eve when an earthquake on the ocean floor sets off an
enormous tidal wave that capsizes (turns over, for you landlubbers out there)
the ship just moments after the raucous 10-second countdown to the New Year.
Many of the guests on the cruise who were gathered in the main ballroom for
the festivities survive the flip, but it’s Reverend Frank Scott (Gene
Hackman) who pulls together a ragtag group that will make their way up –
the new down in the Poseidon’s turned-on-its-head world – through
the ships bowels to the rear propellers, where the ship’s hull is at
its thinnest. Why does Frank, a man of the cloth with forward-thinking ideas,
know so much about cruise ships? Well, in truth, he doesn’t. He’s
just taking the advice of the ballroom’s resident cruise ship expert,
the 10-year-old (or so) Robin Shelby (Eric Shea). The group he assembles is
a who’s-who of useful character archetypes for this sort of adventure.
You’ve got Manny and Belle Rosen (Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters),
elderly Jewish grandparents on their way to see their grandson in Israel for
the first time. Belle, as we later find out, is a former swimmer who won a
medal for her ability to hold her breath; there’s no way that sort of
skill will be useful on a sinking ship, right? Mike and Linda Rogo (Ernest
Borgnine and Stella Stevens) are a newlywed couple; he’s a New York
City police detective and she’s a retired “working girl”
(whore, for you non-city slickers). Mike Rogo is the other strong male presence
in Frank’s little group and he serves as the near-constant voice of
disagreement. That is until disaster strikes and Mike needs to step up and
do what is right to save the day. Whew.
But wait! There’s more! Nonnie Parry (Carol Lynley) is a singer and
bandleader without a band (they all died, including her brother, during the
Big Flip) and she just can’t summon up the strength to go on. Or can
she? James Martin, a single, lonely haberdasher (merchant of men’s clothing,
for you young ones), seems to think so. He’s the little angel on her
shoulder, whispering encouraging words of advice to her throughout the film.
Rounding out the group of ten is Robin’s older sister Susan (Pamela
Sue Martin) – just another body to be saved – and Acres (Roddy
McDowall), one of the ship’s waiters. Acres is best compared to the
red-shirted “Ensign Johnson’s” of the original Star Trek
series; in other words, he’s a character with whom we have no emotional
investment so it’s easier to bear his inevitable death when it occurs.
Not that Acres dies. Don’t you believe that. Not for one second.
The Poseidon Adventure, which was adapted from a book of
the same name by Paul Gallico, is a little long in the tooth for younger viewers
who may be used to a faster pace in their disaster flicks. Being that this
was one of the first of that particular genre – which reached a high-water
mark during the 1970s – a lot of the conventions that we’re accustomed
to today were still new and fresh at the time. Aside from the convenient skillset
of the core group you have more than a few moments of high melodrama; star
Hackman is the most frequent offender. Perhaps he’s trying to channel
his preacher character’s abundant flair for the dramatic (or perhaps
it’s just his own creeping through), but Hackman is at his hammy best,
particularly in a final outburst, which is sure to take some back to a memorable
moment from The Blair Witch Project (1999). Even director
Ronald Neame, during his included commentary track, ventures several times
that he might have been better off telling several of the cast members to
hold back a bit. For all its many hiccups however, The Poseidon Adventure
is exactly what it’s supposed to be: a big-budget blockbuster spectacle.
As with all films of this sort, the idea is to just sit back, free your mind
and bask in the glow of guilty pleasures.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS The Poseidon Adventure gets an Anamorphic Widescreen transfer
(2.35:1 aspect ratio) that looks great considering the age of the film. The
stereo-only audio mix is fine as well; just don’t expect to hear the
frightened screams of cruise guests in lush surround sound. For that kind
of immersive experience, you’ll have to wait for the DVD release of
Poseidon. Also note that there are dubbed Spanish (subtitles
also available) and French audio tracks available, but both play only in mono.
PACKAGING AND LAYOUT Fox gives The Poseidon Adventure special edition
DVD a good overall presentation, with only a minor rough touch here and there.
The black, plastic snapcase (featuring some nice poster art on the cover)
is housed in a somewhat flimsy cardboard sleeve with a similar layout. The
menus are easily read and navigated, though a bit uninspired with their simple
layouts and film clips/stills.
SPECIAL FEATURES
There’s quite a lot of bonus material to be found in this set. On the
first disc alone you have two commentaries and an interactive cutaway feature
that follows the path of escape for the survivors on a map as you watch the
film. The second disc is where you find the kitchen sink and everything in
it: featurettes, interviews, galleries, etc.
• Audio Commentaries – There are two commentary tracks, one with
Neame (mentioned above) and the other with actors Lynley, Martin and Stevens.
Neame, though silent through some stretches, really makes the most of his
commentary time. His sandpaper wit and monotone delivery lend themselves well
to an all together dim view of the film. Neame, who was mostly known before
this for smaller, more character-driven films, was a hired hand on The
Poseidon Adventure. He was brought in by a studio that didn’t
trust producer Irwin Allen, the man who went on to director The Towering
Inferno (1974) – another classic “catastropheature”
– just two years later, to get the film done on time or under budget.
Neame’s commentary offers some truly entertaining anecdotes from the
production while maintaining a subtly blistering tone throughout. The second
commentary isn’t nearly as riveting as Neame’s (and suffers from
similar stretches of silence), though the three actors do provide some amusing
anecdotes of their own.
• Interactive “Follow the Escape” Feature – This is
the cutaway feature described above. When turned on a crude graphic of the
capsized ship appears in the bottom right corner of your screen during certain
scenes. When you hit enter on your remote, the film cuts away to a schematic
of the ship (turned upside-down, of course). The location of the characters
is marked on the map, as well as who’s alive and who’s dead. There’s
a good chance you’ll never turn this feature on and that’s fine.
This cutaway feature is little more than a throwaway.
• AMC Backstory: The Poseidon Adventure – An
AMC documentary about the making of the film. The half-hour feature, which
first aired on television, follows the production from Allen’s point
of view. What you get is a good, concise overview of the most important elements
that led to the final film, including Allen’s clashes with the studio,
Neame’s hiring, the casting, the set design, the shoot and more. More
than anything else in the set, this episode of AMC Backstory provides the
most detailed background coverage of the film.
• Featurettes – There are six of them in this section, all clocking
in at under 10 minutes. “The Cast Looks Back” speaks for itself.
“Falling Up with Ernie” is a focus on the actor, Ernie Orsatti
(originally uncredited), who performs the incredible stunt fall into the skylight
as the ship capsizes. “The Writer: Stirling Silliphant” is also
fairly easy to figure out. The focus here is on Silliphant (one of two screenwriters),
who also wrote The Towering Inferno, In the Heat of the Night
(1967) and the ever-impressive Shaft in Africa (1973). “The
Hereos of the Poseidon” is a too-short discussion of the film’s
themes and its literary influences. “The Morning After Story”
focuses on the song, Morning After, that won the film one of its two Academy
Award (the other was for “Special Achievement in Visual Effects”).
Lynley, along with songwriter Al Kasha, singer Maureen McGovern and vocalist
Renee Armand (Lynley’s singing voice in the film) all talk about the
film’s memorable and enduring theme song. “R.M.S. Queen Mary”
offers little in the way of background on the cruise ship, the Queen Mary.
Instead, this feature looks at the locations on the actual ship where the
film was shot before the tidal wave (subsequent scenes were filmed in a soundstage).
• Conversations with Ronald Neame – This feature is broken into
three parts: “Sinking Corridor,” “Generations of Fans”
and “Turning Over the Ship.” Think of this as a collection of
deleted scenes from Neame’s commentary recording. The director talks
about each of the three topics with the same subtle yet biting wit that characterizes
his commentary track.
• Vintage Promotional Material – A teaser and a trailer for The
Poseidon Adventure, a teaser for The Towering Inferno
and – best of all – a making-of featurette for The Poseidon
Adventure from 1972. The short documentary (about 10 minutes) is
pretty typical, collecting on-set interviews, production footage and the like.
• American Cinematographer Article – A piece that appeared in
American Cinematographer in 1972, reprinted here with photos that can be selected
and enlarged with your DVD remote.
• Galleries – Three of them – Marketing, Publicity and Behind-the-Scenes.
Guess what each one contains.
• Storyboard Comparisons – Much is made of Allen’s reliance
on storyboards to make sure that each scene was filmed exactly the way he
wanted. This feature takes three scenes – “Ship Capsizes,”
“The Vertical Shaft” and “Saving Reverend Scott” –
and compares the live action footage to the storyboards by cutting back and
forth. The lack of picture-in-picture or split-screen options in this section
is surprising, but in the end it’s just a storyboard comparison.
FINAL THOUGHTS The Poseidon Adventure is by no means a landmark film for
our time (or anyone’s time). Despite some lofty thematic undertones,
a talented, recognizable group of performers, a first-class director and a
tremendous budget, this film still isn’t anything more than a work of
pure cinematic spectacle. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with
that. Like its newly released successor, The Poseidon Adventure relies
on constant activity and edge-of-your-seat suspense to drive its narrative,
and it does so remarkably well for a so-called first entry in the genre.
Fox Home Entertainment’s special edition DVD release adds even
more value with its great selection of bonus content. Though the packaging
and technical presentation leaves a little to be desired, the overall release
is definitely worth adding to the shelf for you rabid blockbuster consumers
out there.
DVD Film Score: B+
DVD Audio/Video Score: B-
DVD Packaging and Layout Score: B
DVD Special Features Score: A Overall Score: A-
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