Earthquake

Rating:
Summary: A Fine Disaster Flick - Even by Today's Standards
Review: Earthquake realistically shows us the devastating effects of such an event on a large modern day city. Since movie studios didn't have the resources in 1974 to add expensive computerized effects, miniatures, camera trickery and a few large-scale destructions were used to simulate the quake. However, even by today's standards, most (but not all) effects are quite effective. Many of the buildings we see crumbling to the ground are actual locals in Los Angeles and anyone living is this area (myself included) would still find watching this film chilling to say the least. The sets are very impressive - they made one helluva mess of Universal Studios making this film. The acting is so-so, and the ending is a little disappointing and leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions: what ever happened to Miles and Rosa's brother anyway? But as far as pure disaster entertainment goes, this film has it all.

Rating:
Summary: Shaken, not stirred
Review: From the time that what is left of Ava Gardner roars onto the screen bellowing "60ddammit" as if she were auditioning for a dinner theater version of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe" to the end where half the cast is literally (rather than figuratively) mucking about in the sewer, this cheesy 70's disaster flick throws everything it can think of at you. Fires! Adultery! Floods! Duplicity! Electricity! Motorcycle stunts! Earthquakes! Marjoe (aieeee!)! The special effects range from great (Capitol Records building, Wilshire Collonade) to the pits (the elevator, the cows), the script is at the level of a movie-of-the-week, and the acting? Velveeta city. Charlton Heston runs all over the place looking as if he wants to part something, Ava runs around screeching her dialogue as if she were trying to read it over the sound of a departing jumbo jet, Lorne Greene looks as if he can't quite get why he was cast as Ava's father (they were the same age), Genevieve Bujold gives quite a hint of the scary elf she would late become, and best of all, Victoria Principal (in what must be the funniest wig in the history of cinema) ACTS. Yes, before she refined her craft on "Dallas" (point chest, tear up, sniffle, whine) she showed her early technique here (point chest, sneer, read line). There is also the big time debut (and thankfully, swan song) of Marjoe, as the... oh well, you'll just have to see for yourself to believe it.

Fans of Debralee Scott's scenes will be disappointed- they are not included, since this is the theatrical version, not the padded version that was shown on NBC. This is a great loss, since I would love to see her big scenes; reacting to the card reading she gives her husband (who knew that an ordinary deck of cards could say "the plane will not crash, but your career will") and her loooooooooooooooooooooong scene reacting to the same piece of film showing the runway her plane is trying to land on cracking over, and over, and over, and over.

As a side note- the night before the 94 Northridge quake, I had the flu. I was watching this very same movie. My roomate asked me why I didn't go to bed if I was sick. I replied that "I like the part where LA falls apart". I had quite the wake-up call at 5 am.

I have seen this movie since, but I still get a little twinge falling alseep after.

Rating:
Summary: Shaken, not stirred
Review: From the time that what is left of Ava Gardner roars onto the screen bellowing "60ddammit" as if she were auditioning for a dinner theater version of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe" to the end where half the cast is literally (rather than figuratively) mucking about in the sewer, this cheesy 70's disaster flick throws everything it can think of at you. Fires! Adultery! Floods! Duplicity! Electricity! Motorcycle stunts! Earthquakes! Marjoe (aieeee!)! The special effects range from great (Capitol Records building, Wilshire Collonade) to the pits (the elevator, the cows), the script is at the level of a movie-of-the-week, and the acting? Velveeta city. Charlton Heston runs all over the place looking as if he wants to part something, Ava runs around screeching her dialogue as if she were trying to read it over the sound of a departing jumbo jet, Lorne Greene looks as if he can't quite get why he was cast as Ava's father (they were the same age), Genevieve Bujold gives quite a hint of the scary elf she would late become, and best of all, Victoria Principal (in what must be the funniest wig in the history of cinema) ACTS. Yes, before she refined her craft on "Dallas" (point chest, tear up, sniffle, whine) she showed her early technique here (point chest, sneer, read line). There is also the big time debut (and thankfully, swan song) of Marjoe, as the... oh well, you'll just have to see for yourself to believe it.

Fans of Debralee Scott's scenes will be disappointed- they are not included, since this is the theatrical version, not the padded version that was shown on NBC. This is a great loss, since I would love to see her big scenes; reacting to the card reading she gives her husband (who knew that an ordinary deck of cards could say "the plane will not crash, but your career will") and her loooooooooooooooooooooong scene reacting to the same piece of film showing the runway her plane is trying to land on cracking over, and over, and over, and over.

As a side note- the night before the 94 Northridge quake, I had the flu. I was watching this very same movie. My roomate asked me why I didn't go to bed if I was sick. I replied that "I like the part where LA falls apart". I had quite the wake-up call at 5 am.

I have seen this movie since, but I still get a little twinge falling alseep after.

Rating:
Summary: Goodtimes doesn't 'make' movies. Oh, and this one is awful
Review: Goodtimes is a small VHS/DVD distributor, usually of long forgotten bad movies and that's why their sooooooooo cheap.
Of course you get what you pay for.
And what do you expect with Charlton Heston?
Eventually all 'Chuck's movies' will wind up in the Goodtimes bin!
Because Charlton Heston can't act his way out of the proverbial paer bag.
Chuck once had muscles (just like Popeye) and his biceps got him into the movies. But he always needed to be stuck in big budget epics like this brain fart. Why? Because if you pay attention to all the DTS Dolby stereo High definition yaddas then you won't notice the huy can't act!
Even most Hollywood reviewers who like the poor big dumb fella have written that this is one of his worst.
Yuk

Rating:
Summary: The pinnacle of the 70's disaster movie genre.....
Review: Hollywood in the 1970's was the era of the disaster movie. With advances in special effects and stereo sound, they were a wonderful showcase for these advances. By 1975 when Earthquake was filmed, the standard for the genre had been set and Earthquake took it to new heights.

Centering around the usual big name stars and relationship melodrama, the storyline actually works hand in hand with the 'earthquake' rather than overshadowing or hindering it. It is not long until the big earthquake hits and we see the characters deal with the consequences in their own ways.

Whilst the technology of the day was tame by today's standards, the special effects in Earthquake are nothing short of spectacular, if somewhat imperfect on places (the badly edited dam bursting sequence and the elevator - blood on lens scenes being 2 that come to mind). Though the big drawcard was the sound. A new system had been developed called sensurround (basically big massive bass speakers installed in the theatres to give a realistic impression of being there), and it is here where the auditory senses become overwhelmed with the deafening rumble of the earthquake (especially with a good home theatre set up). Towards the end, when Charlton Heston is crawling through the tunnel to pick up a rock to mark an 'X' on the wall, shivers are sent up the spine as the scraping of rock on rock is reproduced with exceptional clarity.

The picture on the DVD is almost perfect - considerably effort has been made to clean up the original 70's grainy film. Perhaps a little too perfect in places - slight shimmering and anti-aillising can be seen occasionally throughout the movie. Extras are disappointing though - only a trailer is included (which shows the best bits of the earthquakes' special effects). If there was no 'behind the scenes' documentary made at the time, it would have been nice to have an interview with a member of the original FX team to discuss how the effects were created.

Whilst tame by today's standards, and perhaps a little too '70's' in feel, Earthquake is at the pinnacle of 70's disaster movies - a genre that at its height of popularity, made the studios a lot of money, and gave the audience thrill of a ride.

Rating:
Summary: According to Leonard Maltin, this film is a BOMB
Review: I am writing this review to one of my favorite childhood films as an act of furious rebellion against Leonard Maltin's unjust "BOMB" rating in his Movie/Video Guide. Is the 1974 disaster classic "Earthquake" a BOMB? (Shaking head "No" in best Maltin fashion) Certainly not! Is "Earthquake" a five star film? (Shaking head "Yes") Of course it is!

"Earthquake" lovers across the globe must unite. We cannot allow Maltin's terrible injustice to continue a day longer! I say lobby for two stars today. Tomorrow? Perhaps four. But the "Earthquake" rebellion is still in its infancy, and we must take whatever star we can get.

Granted, we cannot watch this film in Sensurround (as I did as a child), but we can turn the volume up to maximum power during the main earthquake sequence. For those unaware, "Earthquake" won two Academy Awards for special effects. And the special effects, even by today's computer generated standards, are extraordinary. From dams bursting, to building's collapsing, to Walter Matthau trying to sip his giggling shot of whiskey, the action sequences in this film are unforgettable.

Let's not forget Charlton Heston's modified Blazer (complete with telephone!), which has to be one of the coolest movie autos since Steve McQueen's "Bullitt" Mustang. Of course, I have always tried to figure out how Lorne Greene could have fathered Ava Gardner at the tender age of seven. But hey! Weirder things in cinema history have happened (Kevin Costner following "Waterworld" with "The Postman" comes to mind).

But I digress. What I love about "Earthquake" is the beautiful Genevieve Bujold ("You made love to me with such anger.") as Chuck's mistress. She's a great cinema beauty. I love the salty George Kennedy as the tough cop we would all like to have on our block ("Earthquakes bring out the worst in people."). I love the seedy bar he goes to after a bad day on the job, complete with bald pool sharks, beads hanging in the doorway and the already-mentioned Mr. Matthau ("Bobby Riggs!") adorned in plaid bell bottoms and maroon pimp hat. Let's not forget Richard Roundtree as motorcycle daredevil Miles Quade ("Baby I'm tuned to just the right pitch!"), preparing for his loop-de-loop stunt just as the earthquake hits.

And finally, the moral choice Charlton Heston is forced to make by the film's conclusion. His wife (Ava Gardner) is being swept away in a flood, a few dyed hairs out of place, her white pants suit literally getting soaked! Chuck looks up through the manhole opening, where he can see the lovely Ms. Bujold staring back with concern. Paradise. Passion. A new start with the woman of his middle age dreams. What's he gonna do!?

By the film's final scene, the distinguished Lloyd Nolan stares at the crumbled buildings amidst the smoke and fire, dirt and sweat covering his tired face. He says to no one in particular, "This used to be a hell of a town." George Kennedy, tears in his eyes, shakes his head in agreement as John Williams' terrific musical score closes the show.

To call "Earthquake" a BOMB is entirely missing the point of why we watch and love films. "Caligula" is a BOMB. "Earthquake" is an immensely watchable, loveable pet. A testament of an era, line after quotable line, glorious like a funhouse at the local carnival. A few mirrors may be cracked and the hinges may squeak, but Mr. Maltin, this funhouse makes me smile. If "Earthquake" is a BOMB, then I wish Hollywood would make more of them.

Rating:
Summary: Could have had better sound
Review: I first watched this movie when it came out in 1974. With todays home theater I was surprised to learn that this version does not have the wonderful sound that was on the origional movie. We own a wonderful home theater with a terrific huge sub-woofer. It would have sounded great, had the movie not been reproduced cheaply. Mono sound on a Supposely Dolby D. surround. Other wise if you do not mind a plain sounding earthquake, buy this DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Shakey!!
Review: I found the sensuround effects to be of good quality. But when it came to the dialogue, it appears that they lower the volume when it comes to hearing the voices of the Stars. I also found it weird that Walter Matheau who was in the Production was NEVER mentioned either in the opening, nor was he mentioned in the Closing Credits. (PRETTY STRANGE). Other than the low vocal quality, and they not mentioning Walter, I found the F-X during the Earthquake Scenes pretty impressive!!

Rating:
Summary: PATHETIC! DVD IS 'EDITED FOR CONTENT'!
Review: I originally purchased this DVD about a year ago and when I watched it I thought there was something odd.

I recalled seeing a scene at the theaters - the Marjoe Gortner/Victoria Principal 'peep' scene - that was strangely not present. I just figured it was something that I had imagined and wrote it off as a kid memory.

UNTIL last night. I was watching AMC during their broadcast of 'Earthquake' and sure enough - there was the scene. Minus the nudity, of course. DAMNIT - I *knew* I didn't imagine that scene!

Look I'm not some adolescent hoping to scope a one-second boob shot. Any cheesy web search brings a horde of incredibly worse imagery. What I am is a film fan wanting to see the movie *as it was intended*.

This screams of 'moral censorship' or just as bad - professional incompetence on the part of Good Times Video! Either way:

STAY AWAY FROM THIS DVD! What a complete and utter waste of hard-earned money! }:(

Rating:
Summary: earthquake
Review: I purchased this dvd for my collection to enjoy the sensurround effect with my home theater set up. It was not up to par with what I remember in theatrical release but on a smaller scale, it was enjoyable.
What I found most disturbing was the fact that an entire scene had been omitted from this printing. The airport scene with the plane landing on a crumbling runway. Debralee Scott was a featured passenger on the plane, but I did not even see her name in the credits
Because of the omission of that scene, I am giving the dvd my rating of 2 stars.