Disaster films in the 1970's were famous for many distinct attributes, one of them being big named casts. These well-established actors and actresses would help bring depth and substance to the characters so that they would not be overshadowed by the film's grander aspects such as special effects or action sequences. In a proper disaster film like The Poseidon Adventure (1972), a good actor allows the audience to empathize with the character and therefore be invested in their literal or figurative survival. While many commonly point out Shelley Winters's award nominating performance as Belle Rosen, it is in my personal (fanboy) opinion that Stella Stevens is severely underrated in her portrayal of ex-prostitute and current wise-cracking wife of a cop Linda Rogo. Those who've read Paul Gallico's book, on which the film is based know that Linda is much harsher and negative in the book than she is in the film. Stella gives the character room to grow and be three dimensional not merely with dialogue, but visual character actions. Watch as she helps Nonnie (Carol Lynley) get up an upside down stairwell (albeit with a certain degree of impatient roughness) or how she dives into the water later in the film and gets her out quickly because she knows Nonnie cannot swim. These tiny actions amount a great deal because they exemplify what the characters in disaster films go through, a personal journey of self-discovery. When one is put in a disastrous scenario, their true nature comes to light. Linda may be flirty and mean spirited at times, but when push comes to shove, she was willing to help others survive.
2. The Set Design
Practicality is not a word one hears in regards to special effects very often these days, and yet it is such an adequate word to describe the set design and special effects of The Poseidon Adventure. The lighting is eerie and macabre. The dirty, oil-stained set pieces make the bowels of the ship appear like---well the bowels of an aging luxury cruise liner. There is little "studio set-up" feel in the film, even though you know very well it's not being shot inside an actual cruise ship, with the exception of a handful of the film's opening scenes. The magnum opus set is without a doubt the Engine Room which truly looks like hell on earth, littered with raging fires, twisted metals and dead bodies. It is the most ideal setting for the intense finale the film draws us into during its third act.
3. The Special Effects
Now, to the special effects. The Poseidon Adventure set the standard for practical, but safe special effect usage in disaster films. All of the water, fire and even the rotation of the ballroom during the capsizing is 100% real, with actors (for the most part) performing and engaging in their own stunts. A small percentage of films today even attempt this level of realism, mainly because studio and union liability laws have changed with the times. Still, the film feels more real because the actors are actually going through these sequences step by step, swim by swim, themselves and not just going through the motions like puppets in some dull street-side marionette performance. The film's weakest special effect and set-piece in a way is the repetitive shot of the boat during a series of explosions underwater. This shot is used throughout the film but gets a bit tiresome to the eyeball after a while. Even our favorite films can never be completely perfect.
4. The Score
Call me a sucker, but I enjoy a good film theme song and Maureen McGovern's "The Morning After" is just a stunner. It's emotionally wrenching without being overly melodramatic. It is grand and sweeping, but not overbearing like let's say, a wave crashing over a cruise ship! It also most certainly paved the way for Celine Dion's bombastic heart-gutting ballad "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic (1997). I'm guilty of singing both of these songs in and out of the shower countless times in the last ten years. The film's general score is also not to be missed. Violins are used prominently to evoke both suspense and somberness in the film's emotionally heavier scenes. The score takes us on this adventure just as much as the characters or special effects do. It compliments all of these other crucial elements by being present and effective, without sounding overstated or tedious to the ear.
5. The Story
Disaster films have always caught my eye not because of their dazzling action sequences or larger than life, casting choices, but because of what they stand for on a deeper symbolic level. Disaster films put groups of people, many of whom are strangers together in life-threatening situations and forces them to come together despite their odds and differences in order to survive. The Poseidon Adventure showed me at a young age (Middle School to be exact) that people are inherently good-natured at heart and have the capacity and willingness to fight for one another when the right situation calls for it. The Poseidon Adventure was a truly first of its kind in conveying this sort of humanistic message in the 1970's, and it is a message that still holds importance in today's world. A world where terrorist attacks and natural disasters are commonplace on a global scale. The Poseidon Adventure is my favorite film because it brings me through all the emotions, laughter, thrills, sadness and of course, excitement. It stands the test of time with its distinct filmmaking and storytelling techniques. While many of them have been copied and replicated to varying degrees of success since in the last few decades, it's important to remind ourselves where it all started, not on the SS. Minnow, but aboard the SS. Poseidon, and it has continued to stay afloat in relevance all these years thanks to the top-notch quality of filmmaking that went into splashing it onto the big screen, and not because Leslie Nielson was the Captain who didn't follow his guts when he should have. Still bitter about it, but then again, without that crucial lapse in judgment, we would not have been privy to this incredible journey into the morning after.
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