Poll: "The Poseidon Adventure", "The Towering Inferno", or "Earthquake" ?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Epic and Disaster
AnthonyRocks — 3 years ago(May 12, 2022 06:58 AM)
Which 1 of these 3 Disaster Movies (listed in My Poll below) do you yourself actually like the most ?
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
0%
0 votes
The Towering Inferno (1974)
0%
0 votes
Earthquake (1974)
0%
0 votes
All
0%
0 votes
None
0%
0 votes
I Don't Know
0%
0 votes -
phantomparticle — 3 years ago(May 12, 2022 11:22 PM)
The Poseidon Adventure
, without hesitation. It's not as lavish and ultra-star studded as
The Towering Inferno,
but it has Gene Hackman, Ernie Borgnine, the underrated Carol Lynley and it's a hell of a lot more fun.
Sidenote: I had the choice between
The Towering Inferno
and
Earthquake
when they played my local twin cinema. Since I did not relish the idea of watching people burn to death, I picked
Earthquake
. Big mistake. It was a chore to get through, even with the silly gimmick earthquake machine rattling the seats.
The next week I went back and caught
The Towering Inferno
. Enjoyed it, immensely. How could you not with Newman and McQueen in the star parts? From my seat near the wall, I could hear the rumble of the earthquake machine in the other house.
And This, Too, Shall Pass Away -
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(May 13, 2022 12:41 AM)
The Poseidon Adventure
is a classic for me and does pretty much everything right. There was a magic mix here and emotionally it works better too.
I don't like
The Towering Inferno
much at all. Its too long and flat in parts.
I've always liked
Earthquake
and the scenario was quite scary to me. I was lucky to see
Earthquake
as a kid in 70mm
sensurround
.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
I love hutch — 3 years ago(May 14, 2022 04:22 AM)
the silly gimmick earthquake machine rattling the seats.
————–
LOL. I would have tried to sit in the back row so I could watch everybody's reactions to their seats moving around!
I think Hackman and Borgnine are both solid actors and both do a really good job here. Borgnine is always a likable Joe. Though, I have to disagree that Carol Lynley is underrated. Of course, it all comes down to opinion and taste, but I think Lynley is a terrible actress.
I kinda hate "The Towering Inferno". The only thing I liked in it was the Jennifer Jones character and she got killed off in a terrible way. Watching what happened to Robert Wagner and Susan Flannery was horrifying. Seeing them burn up was worse than all of the deaths in the entire "Friday the 13th" franchise. There was something very nasty about it. It wasn't like death scenes in most other disaster movies. I always thought these movies were supposed to be thrilling, but also fun. The manner in which these three characters got killed off was coming from a different place. The filmmakers were trying to be realistic and gruesome at the same time and it made a really bad impression.
Steve McQueen was never much of an actor (also Clint Eastwood) and I have always found Paul Newman a bit on the boring side.
If I had watched "Earthquake" first, then next week went to see TTI and could hear the earthquake machine rumbling in the next room, I would have thought how wonderfully silly the L.A. movie was and how woefully serious the San Francisco movie was taking itself in comparison. That kind of sums it up.
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
I love hutch — 3 years ago(May 13, 2022 06:42 PM)
"Earthquake" - ***
"The Poseidon Adventure" - ***
"The Towering Inferno" - *1/2
I enjoy "Earthquake" just a bit more than "The Poseidon Adventure".
I agree with Toasted Cheese about TTI. Long and boring with a nasty spirit. It's my least favorite of all 70s disaster flicks.
An interesting poll from AnthonyRocks!
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(May 14, 2022 03:10 AM)
I enjoy "Earthquake" just a bit more than "The Poseidon Adventure".
That is interesting. What aspects of
Earthquake
do you find preferable over
Poseidon Adventure
?
I do like the bittersweet ending of
Earthquake
and the depiction of the devastation created was stunning for its time. I enjoy the characters more in Poseidon and its also kind of surreal.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
I love hutch — 3 years ago(May 14, 2022 03:45 AM)
I really like the 70s southern California milieu in "Earthquake". It's kind of a tacky movie and I think that suits the disaster genre really well. You could even say the movie is on the ridiculous side at times, with all the goofy subplots and characters, e.g., Marjoe Gortner, Victoria Principal, Richard Roundtree, Walter Matthau, Ava Gardner and the list goes on. (This element is precisely why "Airport 1975" is my number one favorite disaster movie. That plus Karen Black, who actually does a really good job.)
As far as actual good acting, I would say that Genvieve Bujold and George Kennedy come off best.
"The Poseidon Adventure" does a better job with the actual disaster scene (though I like that the earthquake actually goes on for a while) and once disaster strikes, the movie is exciting to the end. I wouldn't call "Earthquake" exciting necessarily (though it does have its share of exciting moments), but it is just a lot of fun.
I had never considered any surreal element in TPA, but I guess watching the characters roaming around in the bowels of a ship
is
pretty surreal at that.
In the end, the 1972 film is more serious and the 1974 film is more silly. They are both enjoyable films. But I have to pick the one where the affable George Kennedy can't keep his eyes off Victoria Principal's big boobs and ends up giving her a cute puppy!
Also, Ava Gardner cracks me up!
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(May 14, 2022 06:02 AM)
The surrealness of
Poseidon Adventure
I find is within the design of the ship after it has capsized. Its production design deservedly earned an Academy award nomination. I wouldn't have quibbled over it being regarded as best picture of the year either. It certainly is a lot easier to watch than
The Godfather
or
Deliverance
and its one of Hackman's best roles, even though he apparently only went into it for the mula.
Gardner reminds me a little of a Elizabeth Taylor. That she made her cheesy "Goddam it!" work is to her credit as an actress.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
Woodyanders — 3 years ago(May 14, 2022 01:07 PM)
Definitely "The Poseidon Adventure." I really cared about the characters in that one.
"The Towering Inferno" is seriously mean-spirited while "Earthquake" is kinda hokey, but still fun.
You've seen Guy Standeven in something because the man was in everything.