Poseidon Adventure
Disaster films that were so popular in the 1970s essentially were what they were, movies that featured epic scenes of wanton destruction while basing their stories on people trying to survive, but always with a big, all star ensemble of names who had all pretty much accepted the fact that winning an Oscar was going to be out of reach for them here but at least they were getting a nice payday to look distressed while battling insurmountable odds. The redeeming factor of most of these films (as it was with their more recent counterpart made in 1999, Armageddon) was in the human element, that of giving these characters enough development in the script to make them likable so that when the shit hit the fan, whenever it was time for any of these characters to die (and some always did), the emotional impact would resonate greatly with the audience (and Armageddon certainly did its job of working the viewer over until he or she was an emotional wreck by the end which contributed to its greatness). This 1972 release back during the heyday of disaster cinema is widely considered a classic today even if its overall impact is really depressing rather than cathartic in its depiction of survival against the odds. But the interesting thing that is noticeable (and goes against the grain for the genre) is that while the requisite all star ensemble cast is indeed here, the film winds up taking its two best actors with the two strongest personalities and makes both of them the de facto leads. In fact, they wind up dominating the film so much playing off of each other that the rest of the cast is literally reduced to being passive bystanders. These two actors being referred to of course are two of the greatest to ever lace em up and act in front of a camera in Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine. At times working together to lead the others to safety and during other times at each otherâs throats whenever they vehemently disagree over which course of action to take next, watching Hackman and Borgnine essentially team up together here is a joy to watch (even if Hackman usually turns out to be right). The story involves an ocean liner (back in the day when taking a cruise was just about as much fun as flying) that we are told is getting ready for the scrapheap with a clearly incompetant captain (Leslie Nielsen playing it straight even as his character is still an idiot) who is unwisely taking his marching orders from a suit and tie corporate dweeb onboard who knows nothing about running a ship but still tells Nielsen to use unsafe nautical tactics in order to help save money (or something). Meanwhile, we meet the two main characters as Hackmanâs Rev. Frank Scott has come to be known as a ârenegade preacherâ, having been sent as a missionary to Africa for reportedly having radical views and when we actually get to see Hackman preach (in what reportedly reflected his own real life beliefs), the message is that of taking action on your own to be the best person you can be so that the little piece of God that is inside all of us can be allowed to steer us in the right direction which comes across as being an alternative to constant praying and blind faith without solving anything on your own. Meanwhile, Borgnineâs Mike Rogo is a New York City cop on a second honeymoon with his gorgeous younger wife (Stella Stevens). The problem? Borgnineâs wife is also an ex hooker whom he met while busting her (aka âsavingâ her) and she continues to have sensitivity issues to this day about someone either recognizing her from the old days and / or seeing her with her older husband and wondering whatâs up, so obviously Borgnine has his hands full with that. The official exact moment for the shit hitting the fan comes literally right after the stroke of midnight on New Yearâs Eve of all times, so while all the partiers are celebrating in the dining area, Nielsen is up on deck steering the ship directly into a giant tidal wave with a severe lack of urgency in his demeanor. By the time that Nielsen finally figures out that heâs about to die, the wave has completely overtaken the ship, capsizing it and turning everything upside down including the New Yearâs revelers, killing many and leaving several others alive. Hackman assumes responsibility (with Borgnine keeping him in line) and declares that they have to start climbing to the top (what was once the bottom) of the ship in order to survive. However, a still living crew member insists that they stay down there and wait for help to come, an idea that most of the survivors agree with (and which results in their deaths when the place floods out shortly after Hackman and the others leave) except for a small handful that join Hackman on his pilgrimage to the top of the ship including Borgnine and his ex hooker wife, a meek ship steward (Roddy McDowall), an even meeker lifelong bachelor and health nut (Red Buttons) who wears his loneliness so plainly on his sleeve to the point of embarrassment, a pretty teenage girl (Pamela Sue Martin) with a sweet crush on Hackmanâs preacher, her obnoxious little brother (Eric Shea) who (lucky us) has an intricate knowledge of how ocean liners are built, the lead singer (Carol Lynley) of the shipâs New Yearâs band who lost her brother in the initial disaster and has to be practically dragged along by an obviously horny Buttons and an old Jewish couple (Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters) on their way to Israel to visit their grandson for the first time. Of this group, if anybody manages to stand out and shine alongside the Hackman / Borgnine combo, itâs Winters, who garnered a Supporting Actress Oscar Nomination here by playing her character as a kindly matron to the group who always insists on being left behind because as a larger woman she doesnât want to drag the rest of them down (Winters reportedly gained 35 lbs specifically for this role and later complained that she was never able to take it off) before becoming a hero herself and while her and Albertsonâs overt âJewishnessâ threatens at times to cross the line into offensive stereotypes, Winters manages to temper it by always playing her character as being above all a nice person. Of course as expected the death toll continues to rise as the film goes on (although this is not Towering Inferno by any means which seemed to purposely stockpile as many characters as possible being played by big names so that we could gleefully watch one of them die every 20 minutes or so) but the major dynamic here continues to be on the often contentious relationship between Hackman and Borgnine with Hackman usually being the one to âgo on aheadâ at the risk of his own life to scout out and find the next passageway to the surface while Borgnine stays with the others and if it turns out that Hackman is right on the money about where to go next, itâs usually Borgnine that does the heavy lifting in shepherding the rest of them through the various danger zones. The obvious biblical allegory of leading the lambs through the valley of death becomes ever so blurred as Hackman begins to doubt his own faith as he witnesses various members of the group meet their demise despite his best efforts while Borgnine continues to shoulder on refusing to even consider the religious overtones of any of this (and in many ways having the better attitude for survival in doing so). The trick is that once the group has made it to another level, thereâs no time for celebration or even rest because as the capsized ship sinks more into the ocean, the water levels continue to rise and just where exactly is the right direction to go in is a gamble in and of itself especially when their group meets up with another (much larger) group of survivors whom are headed in another direction even as Hackman compels them that they are going the wrong way towards certain death (which it turns out is true) but seeing as many people early in the film had looked upon Hackman with mistrust due to his reputation of being a ârogueâ preacher, his pleas are ignored and he is still left with the much smaller flock that he calls his own. In the end, the film still retains that human element that makes us truly care about who lives or who dies, but almost on a smaller, more intimate scale and despite some of the onset relationships (reportedly Winters and Albertson disliked each other in real life as did Buttons and Lynley who were also paired off here) which failed to negatively affect much of the acting that we see onscreen, this remains one of the saddest of disaster flicks, one which questioned just how strongly we would want to go on after seeing our loved ones perishâŚ
8/10