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On December 12, 1972 "The Poseidon Adventure" premiered in Los Angeles. 30 years later the film is still appreciated as a disaster epic which also maintained strong character & story development. There are other pages giving some information about the movie. check out the related URLs below.
Why was "The Poseidon Adventure" so brilliant and why has it been bagged and criticised by so many people over the years, and yet why does it remain a popular film for many and one that made lots of money at the box office?
Movies that touch us emotionally and that stir our emotions of fear and going on in the face of danger, disaster, calamity and hopelessness, can reach into the deeper parts of our identity.
While some people have put down the film and said that it was trash, these critics are often the types who like to judge other people's tastes and impose their ruling on others as to what is good or artistic. The question to ask is did "The Poseidon Adventure" carry you in? For many the answer was clearly yes and for this reason, some people flocked back every time it rescreened in their cinema in the mid to late 70's. I was one of those people.
I was just 10 years old when the movie opened in 1972. When I saw the trailer for the movie, I knew that I had to see it. The movie felt like it was speaking to me, and I really felt a strong need to see it. My older brother tried to convince my mother not to let me see it as it was too gory, but I managed to convince her that it would be fine and that I would be alright. So she allowed me to go. The terror as the wave approached the ship was unbelievable and the remainder of the film that seemed like hours of rivetting entertainment carried me on the journey. I felt like I was one of the group travelling through the ship trying to get out before we drowned. By the end of the film, I felt like I knew all the people on board. It was an amazing experience. I never grew tired of seeing the film. I felt a bit embarrased admitting that such a movie about a disaster was my favourite movie, yet upon acknowledging it, interestingly, many others admitted with passion to loving the film as well.
What did you like most about the movie? The scene where they have to climb up the chimney when the explosion occurs or when they are climbing up the stairwell and the rising waters almost get them are rivetting.
I thought the inclusion of the Rosens was very significant. The film to me has always seemed like a modern interpretation of the holocaust. There seem to be a lot of parallels between the two- great calamity and loss of life, going on in the face of hopelessness, imagery of fire. The symbolism of the Rosens trying to get to Israel says it all.
Paul Gallico had written the Poseidon Adventure in 1969 which appeared on film in 1972. It was directed by Ronald Neame. It won academy awards for best song and special oscar for special effects.
I had tried to read the book as a 10 to 15 year old without success. I owned the book which became mangled in my unsuccessful attempts!
There are differences between the books and the movies. In the Poseidon Adventure movie Belle has a heart attack and dies by the pool after helping the Reverend through. In the book she dies at the top just before the rescuers cut through. Her body is removed. In the movie the children are alone, in the book they are with their parents. In the book but not in the film was a character called Miss Kinsella who claimed to be in love with the Reverend. In the book the boy is lost and never seen again; in the movie he is lost temporarily but found and rescued amidst the rising waters by the reverend. In the book there are other survivors who get out the other end, but in the movie they are the only ones. In the book they are rescued by a boat and in the movie by a French helicopter. In the book the boat sinks and in the movie the ship is still afloat as the helicopter departs at the end of the movie.
In Beyond the Poseidon Adventure Paul Gallico has modified his original story to be in line with aspects of the movie. Such as Belle Rosen died down by the pool and her body had not been removed. The survivors had left on a helicopter with French people. The ship was still afloat. Aspects of the sequel book were then modified in the creation of the sequel movie. The tidal wave which swamped the Poseidon also destroyed a yacht and the survivor is saved by a Dutch man and daughter. They agree to his plea to go to the ship. It is not explained why he wants to go there. At the same time crooks led by a beautiful woman are heading for the boat to salvage jewels even if it means cutting them off the fingers. The company owning the ship has an arrangement with corrupt US and Greek leaders to support Greek Cypriots by carrying gold on board to support this campaign. Rogo plus four others were responsible for this cargo not knowing what it was for or even what it was. The company sends in a military thug with his own army to wipe out Rogo and rescue the gold. No one is to know the story about US funds supporting the Cypriots.
Rogo orders the helicopter back to the ship which he reboards along with Rosen who feels that life is worthless without his wife. He feels that he should not have left her there. He did not even perform Kaddish for her. Martin returns to support them but also because he felt important in their earlier bid for survival and wants to feel that way again.
They enter the ship as does the Dutch vessel with their US sailor. Underneath the ship, the woman enters the now water shrouded dining room with her sidekicks who are all murdered by invading henchmen from the army of the arriving military thug. This woman escapes up into the ship and bands up with the others. Rosen is shot while assisting the escape of everyone else down to Broadway level being pursued by the thugs army. A tiger is amidst the ship which finishes off one of the worst thugs!
Bela the army thug closes in on the good guys. He wants the gold but how much longer does the ship have to be afloat? He exposes Hely's true story of chopping off fingers. Jason who was in love with her rejects her. She swims back down into the ship, discovers warm water, swims to the bottom of the sea, discovers a volcano forming, swims rapidly back up to the ship to warn Jason risking bends, conveys the message then dies. Jason knocks out Rogo and then offers a surrender claiming Rogo to be dead therefore having no need to continue his fight. They all leave with their "dead". The Dutch girl gets a bar of gold which Rogo later gives to Jason so that he can get a new boat. After they all board the Dutch boat they give Hely a decent at sea burial then they watch in shock as Bela still on board the Poseidon unloading the gold dies as the ship is blown to pieces and sucked into the suddenly emerging volcano. Another tidal wave ensues but they narrowly miss capsizing. Jason leaves before they arrive in Athens where after speaking to CIA and official press conference declares that Rogo returned to collect vital documents which have now been passed onto Greek officials. Rosen returns to his wife and is drowned. The salvaging crew of Bela are unfortunately killed in the volcano.
The company meets in Greece and New York and is pleased that the media conference went so smoothly. Police can be relied on after all. If the US wants to support the Greek Cypriots with gold they will have to have another go and this time be more thorough.
Paul Gallico dated the forward to Beyond as June 1976 and wrote it in Monaco. He dedicated the book to Irwin Allen. The book was copyrighted 1978 and the film released 1979. Directed this time by Irwin Allen himself.
Having always loved the theme of the original movie, I loved the sequel. It was a chance for the adventure to continue. I loved reading the books especially because there were differences from the movies. I enjoyed the variations. By the end of the book I cared about the characters and did not want it to finish.