R.I.P. Ernest Borgnine (1917 -2012) , Red Buttons (1919 - 2006) , Carol Lynley (1942 - 2019), Roddy McDowall (1928 - 1998), Shelley Winters (1920 - 2006) , Jack Albertson (1907 - 1981), Arthur O'Connell (1908 - 1981) and Leslie Nielsen (1926 - 2010). Gene Hackman, Stella Stevens, Pamela Sue Martin and Eric Shea are still with us!
The first movie I recall seeing as a kid on the big screen, that scene when the tidal wave strikes the ship, was goosebumps. Ever since then been fascinated with the sea and ships. Still love this movie.
This wasn’t what inspired my love of ships (that would be the book 882 1/2 Facts About The Titanic) but I do love the soundtrack and the story of Poseidon. Edit: Well aware it is fictional... it’s interesting nonetheless.
This 21st century has a lot of people who find fault in everything and everyone, this movie was made in 1972 the technology was not as good as 2005, but during that time it was one of the best movies.
It's one of my favorites. It just can't be beaten. The sets on the inside of the movie can't be replicated by cgi. Outstanding acting. Great special effects. I started watching the remake and turned it off to watch the original!
That opening is timeless...technology of the day ceases to matter. Any time would be hard pressed to duplicate that... (talking everything, music, image, etc)
True, and a number of over the air independent television stations whom offered an 8 PM Movie Format prior to their 11 PM nightly newscast would on New Year's Eve, feature this movie. Of course the movie was edited for language and to fit commercials into the three hour timeslot. During the 1970's and early 1980's around NYE this would be retelevised( for free) on no pay television.
My parents took me and my sister to see this when I was 6. It was at the drive in theatre in Newark. Does anyone remember drive ins? That capsizing sequence is still phenomenal. Especially when you consider that this was way before CGI. Still watch it whenever it is being broadcast.
I remember this when it came out. I had just started working. Used my first weeks wages to go see it at the Pavilion in Cork , Ireland they were great times. Mighty craic!
It's not hard to tell that the ship is a miniature in the shots (water and smoke give it away), but the atmospheric haze does a lot to restore the sense of scale.
speeta on an interesting note; the model ship you see here is now a museum piece, while the real ship it’s based on; the rms queen Mary, is now a hotel and museum.
@@BritanniaPacific More interesting note: the author of the novel, Paul Gallico, was on the real Queen Mary when it was serving as a troop transport in WWII when it was caught in a giant swell that nearly capsized the vessel. That incident stayed with Gallico and inspired the novel.
Even if it’s a miniature, and we all know it: There is some thing amazing and great about this entire sequence. It’s REAL. I am approaching 30, and I have been around long enough to see the progression of filmmaking from Sets with painted backgrounds, to giant sets with small touches of CGI to whole films with nothing but green screens and people in front of it to even worse...... just a video game with actors faces pasted onto the “bodies” and it’s depressing. I really dislike most movies I see today, I’m watching unrealistic, completely flat fake looking video games passing as a movie...... bring back actors! acting! Miniatures! Components of filmmaking that work and come up with something polished and great looking and feeling.
A nonfiction aspect of the fictional Poseidon,( S.S Poseidon) of the novel and 1972 Movie is a former Ocean Liner of the Cunard Line, she named The Queen Mary is the liner whom saw decades of passenger service and served in wartime as well. The Liner Queen Mary is bearthed at Long Beach, California, USA, as a Hotel, Tourist Attraction and Convention Center. Tours, guided and self guided can be purchased. to explore many interior and outside deck areas of this ship. For a number of years, there is a fan gathering on board, where fans of the 1972 The Poseidon Adventure, meet up for a weekend convention onboard. Convention held one weekend per year. The ship is open throughout the year.
A cast of Hollywood greats, but the real star of this film is the beautiful RMS Queen Mary, one of the finest passenger liners ever built and the last survivor of the golden age of transatlantic travel. Visiting and spending the night aboard her is top of my bucket list :)
SS United States survives, however she is rotting away at a pier in Philadelphia. You may be able to visit her but she is little more than a ghost of herself.
Yes, the Queen Mary was a grand liner; comfortable and very popular, and also a notorious "roller". It's wonderful that she is still with us, hopefully for many years to come. Her rival in those early years, the French liner Normandie, was an Art Deco palace that was in a class by herself.
GiraffeForPigs Why did I not think of that?! I’m dumb, I’ve seen behind the scenes of Star Wars Empire strikes Back, and they used miniature. Thanks for telling me though.
JOHN WILLIAMS BRILLIANCE MAGNIFICENCE!! Saw this at the Kent theatre in Brooklyn N.Y. December 1972 or January 1973. So many years ago I don't remember the exact date. Belle Rosen (Shelley Winters) death in this movie was a tear jerker.
One of the best disaster movies ever made in my opinion along with The Towering Inferno, Earthquake and Airport 1975. Prefer The Towering Inferno out of them all but if you ever need an acting masterclass this film is one of them xx
It's been 84 years and I can still smell the fresh paint The China had never been used The sheets had never been slept in Poseidon was called the god the sea And he was He really was
A year later! Midnight and voices carry in the fog at a giant ship yard...somewhere in Scotland,,,, "She wouldamade it if she wer'nt top heavy, Williamson Aye! that she would've..! What an absolute loss! ! Linakos were crying that day in the old bailey,, "AYE! that he was! & FURTHERMORE LADDIE, YOU'D be cryin' as will if ye were facing 25 year FOR KILLIN' those poor soul onboard highlander or not!
With a big miniature in a big pool, agitated by a wave machine and a few fans. The action was shot with a high frame count, with the speed slowed right down when added to the final mix, so as to make the small waves roll slower.
It was very likely intentional. Any great composer is very well aware of all the feelings certain instruments playing certain notes/sequences/dynamics evoke and why. The French horns are associated with nature, but also with nobility. I see it that the melody line with the French horns represents both human achievement (a seagoing vessel) and nature which is both marvelous and cruel. The string instrument textures around it add a lot of drama, the low notes (string basses, tuba, bassoons) add depth. To add more timbric variety to the French horns there are woodwinds and trumpets/trombones. Perfect! Oh, there is also a bell near the start (looks like it plays four times, certainly at 00:37). That's both the ship's bell and the death bell for the ones who will perish. Trust me: the more you become aware of those details, the closer they will hit home. That's why people decide becoming a musician.
@@TheEmeraldMenOfficial Along with the bridge, and perhaps the scene outside the Rogo's room. The main ballroom was based on the Queen's. You can see the model in a maritime museum in San Mateo , it's amazing!
If do a search for the Newest " Godzilla " film the Opening Theme is very very similar to this One " not much difference atall actually , just a slightly different tune hmm , could be the exact same tune from The Posidon Adventure " just Remixed ????
I saw this movie for the first time in 1994, I was 5 years old. I dont know if I was too young to see a disaster movie, but I was terrified that night. Until today this film scares me.
@@jonathanswift2251 don't think so. Voyage to the bottom of the sea was a fantasy even though I took it seriously when I was about ten years old. I only realised it was for kids when one episode had a man dressed as a white ape trying to kill everyone on the Seaview. My all-time favourite prop is still the flying sub though.
Somewhat. The author of the novel which got adapted into this movie was on the Queen Mary (the ship the Poseidon was based on) when it nearly capsized. That event became the inspiration for the Poseidon.
Paul Gallico, the author of the 1969 novel was traveling on the Queen Mary in 1937 when in one instance it listed to port at a steep enough angle to cause dishes of food to fall off a dining table.
Actually, this movie’s events are supposed to have happened around the date of release. In this version, Poseidon is on her last voyage, before being scrapped due to age.
