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Post by teleadm on Oct 11, 2018 17:45:53 GMT
One of the classic disaster movies of the 1970s, with by then state of the art special effects, and a new invention called Sensurround sound, I don't know if anyone actually could feel the rumble, since not all theatres' installed this gimmick.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Oct 12, 2018 8:01:00 GMT
6/10
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Post by sjg on Oct 12, 2018 11:35:09 GMT
6/10
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Oct 15, 2018 21:10:54 GMT
7/10. I enjoyed the extended TV version more.
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Post by amyghost on Oct 15, 2018 21:24:41 GMT
Haha, saw this one, along with disaster-schlockmeister Irwin Allen's immortal The Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno at our little local movie palace eons ago. They had installed Sensurround, but their system was too small for it to have much impact. The high points for me are still Walter Matthau in his uncredited drunk guy cameo, and Marjoe Gortner as the National Guardsman turned crazed rapist.
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Post by cryptoflovecraft on Oct 15, 2018 23:41:58 GMT
"7"
Fun disaster flick.
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Post by politicidal on May 29, 2020 23:50:31 GMT
4/10.
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Post by Prime etc. on May 30, 2020 1:41:41 GMT
8/10
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Post by amyghost on May 30, 2020 12:26:59 GMT
Haha, saw this one, along with disaster-schlockmeister Irwin Allen's immortal The Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno at our little local movie palace eons ago. They had installed Sensurround, but their system was too small for it to have much impact. The high points for me are still Walter Matthau in his uncredited drunk guy cameo, and Marjoe Gortner as the National Guardsman turned crazed rapist. I love The Poseidon Adventure, not only is it my favorite of the 70's disaster flicks, I think it is a fine and nifty flick in its own right. The Towering Inferno I feel is over-long and full of its own self-importance. It is also quite dry and flat in spots. I didn't get around to seeing this until the very early 80's on a re-release.
I never forgot my Earthquake experience as a kid. Was lucky enough to see it at a Cinerama cinema on a giant 70mm screen with Sensurround. It was mightily impressive at the time. Without the gimmick the film is pretty ho-hum in retrospect, but I was terrified as a kid. Good cast and it doesn't opt for a pat climax either.
Agree that Inferno is probably the most 'soap-opera' in spots of all the Allen disaster films, and although it has some genuinely exciting moments it does tend to go on a bit. I mainly recall the film for its one truly horrifying sequence--the business of the trapped partygoers who commandeer the elevator to escape and come back up as a horde of crispy critters. That scene gave me nightmares and on the few times I've watched the film again, I still find myself covering my eyes at that sequence!
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Post by amyghost on May 30, 2020 18:35:55 GMT
Agree that Inferno is probably the most 'soap-opera' in spots of all the Allen disaster films, and although it has some genuinely exciting moments it does tend to go on a bit. I mainly recall the film for its one truly horrifying sequence--the business of the trapped partygoers who commandeer the elevator to escape and come back up as a horde of crispy critters. That scene gave me nightmares and on the few times I've watched the film again, I still find myself covering my eyes at that sequence! The film was well mounted, it just had some ponderous sequences and it was also quite nasty in parts. Poseidon Adventure killed off its survival hungry characters, but not so gruesomely and the deaths fitted in with the narrative well. With Towering, they tended to want to showcase mean-spirited ways in which to kill off its cast. Jennifer Jone's death, one of the nicest characters in the film, was darn right shocking. That scene got a lot of hate back when the film was released. It was really gratuitous, added nothing to the plot, and you're right--while a number of the characters deserved what they got, she was one of the few decent ones and didn't rate such a pointless and grisly death. One thing that can be said for the film--it gave a much more realistic depiction of how fires actually behave than most movies of the time did. No slow moving flames that gave plenty of time to get out of a burning room, but the much truer scenario of the 'flashpoint' phenomenon, where everything bursts into flame at once--including anyone unlucky enough to be trapped in the midst of it.
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Post by amyghost on May 31, 2020 18:21:24 GMT
That scene got a lot of hate back when the film was released. It was really gratuitous, added nothing to the plot, and you're right--while a number of the characters deserved what they got, she was one of the few decent ones and didn't rate such a pointless and grisly death. One thing that can be said for the film--it gave a much more realistic depiction of how fires actually behave than most movies of the time did. No slow moving flames that gave plenty of time to get out of a burning room, but the much truer scenario of the 'flashpoint' phenomenon, where everything bursts into flame at once--including anyone unlucky enough to be trapped in the midst of it. It has been a long long time since I saw it. What was the issue with the sprinkler system. Hadn't they finished installing it? For its time, the film was sensational and I can see why it was such a big hit. I just don't feel this and Earthquake, hold up so well against Poseidon Adventure. The quaintness, surreal setting, characterization, performances and well-meaning integrity all hold that one together so well.
I think the sprinkler system hadn't been fully installed and had also fallen prey to the same corner-cutting measures elsewhere. I love the Poseidon Adventure too; I think it's still the best of the IA 'disaster trio' and the most fun without excessive reliance on gruesome deaths. Have you ever read the novel by Paul Gallico on which it was based? Real drugstore paperback beach read stuff, but fun, and the 1972 film stayed fairly close to it, though it shaves off a couple of subplots and some supporting characters. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Poseidon_Adventure_(novel)#Film_adaptations
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Post by The Herald Erjen on May 31, 2020 23:51:18 GMT
8/10
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Post by theravenking on Jun 2, 2020 19:58:05 GMT
5/10
It starts out well, the way the characters are introduced is reasonably interesting, but once the mayhem begins I kind of lost interest. I wish the psycho character would've been more conflicted and not just out and out evil, and the moralising ending left a sour taste in my mouth.
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