The Poseidon Adventure

The Poseidon Adventure, directed by Ronald Neame is an adventure, action and disaster film based on a novel written by Paul Gallico. It is about how a group of survivors find struggle their way to the bottom of the hull when S.S. Poseidon overturned on a New Year Eve killing thousands of passangers. The luxurious ocean liner was hit by a mother of all tidal waves killing most of the people in it when on her way across the Atlantic from New York City to Athens on its last voyage. The survivors included young Reverend Frank Scott (Gene Hackman) who believes that strength is related to your faith, as well as bickering Detective Lt. Mike Rogo (Ernest Borgnine) and his beautiful, foul-mouthed and ex-prostitute wife Linda Rogo (Stella Stevens). Alongside are an elderly couple Manny Rosen (Jack Albertson) and his obese wife Belle Rosen (Shelly Winters) that are going to Israel to meet their grandson, a bachelor Haberdasher James Martin (Red Buttons) who takes numerous vitamin pills ever, a pop singer Nonnie Parry (Carol Lynley), and two children Susan Shelby (Pamela Sue Martin) and her brother Robin (Eric Shea) are traveling to meet their parents in Greece. The actors did a good job at acting their parts, the emotions and tension the actors and the sound effect provoked the viewer in a way or another. The director is smart to blend in tension, honor, humor and teamwork in the movie. While watching the movie, I suddenly realized that my hands are griped tightly to the side of my chair as could feel that I was going to fall off the “deck” when the explosions accrue. The lost, sacrifices that were made just to help each other were touching. The time when aged Mrs. Rosen jumped down to free Scott from being trap in the water was a heart-touching scene when she decides to sacrifice herself knowing that she is not capable of swimming anymore, but yet for the sake of everyone and Scott, she did it anyway. It was sad in the end that she had a heart attack and died after saving Scott. There were also parts where I could see so much pressure and intensity in the movie, I could feel the fear in each character’s heart and yet want to burst out into laughter at the same time when the conversation in the movie was funny. The people there are so serious when they are determining to get out safely but yet, there are parts where the way they talk makes me laugh. Those parts were mostly conversation that involves Mrs. Linda Rogo. The scene where people were in the air, here and there when the ship capsized, and after everything was over, and people started to pick themselves up and look for survivors, Mike Rogo went looking for his wife, after finding her she questioned him “Hi... where the hell have you been?” and Mike Rogo answered her “Where do you think? Flying around on my ass.” That particular scene made me laughed just after I felt the tension of the whole chip capsizing.