Product Description

This high-intesity visually stunning story will get pulses racing as a luxury liner carrying 3700 passengers suffers 2 terrorist-induced blasts that turn the poseidon belly up & send everyone on board scrambling for a way out. Studio: Platinum Disc Llc Release Date: 11/07/2006 Starring: Rutger Hauer Adam Baldwin

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20533 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-02-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 174 minutes

Amazon.com
A made-for-television remake of Irwin Allen's 1972 disaster-movie blockbuster of the same title, The Poseidon Adventure updates the story of a capsized cruise ship whose survivors are literally walking on the vessel's ceiling in an effort to save themselves. Fans of the original movie will recognize counterparts to several characters, including Rutger Hauer as a Catholic clergyman who helps lead others through the Poseidon's upside-down maze of rooms, and Sylvia Syms as a frightened widow who finds the resolve to save her companions at a crucial juncture. Bryan Brown plays a hotshot television producer whose young wife (Tinarie Van Wyk) is uncertain of their future; Steve Guttenberg and Alexa Hamilton are a married couple whose marriage is a sinking ship of another sort; and C. Thomas Howell plays the ship's doctor whose broken arm necessitates the aid of a nursing student (Amber Sainsbury).

Peter Weller makes a nice impression as Captain Gallico (named after the author of The Poseidon Adventure's source novel) and Adam Baldwin is terrific as a Homeland Security operative. In our current political climate, the temptation is strong to attribute the Poseidon's troubles to terrorists, and that's exactly what happens this time around. Some of the action concerning Al Quaeda-like infiltration of the Poseidon's service staff, the planting of bombs, etc., is a little overdone, and a number of scenes starring British actress Alex Kingston as a senior intelligence official are a bit overwrought. But special effects, while not spectacular, make the Poseidon tragedy unnervingly believable (and visually surreal), and a solid cast keeps the accent on emotion despite the script's tendency to shove speeches in everyone's mouth. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

The Poseidon Adventure......
This made for TV movie centers around the SS Poseidon. A cruise ship that sets sail from Cape Town, South Africa to Sydney, Australia gets overturned by a terrorist bomb. A small band of survivors do their best to make it to safety before the ship sinks. Directed by John Putch, the movie stars: Steve Guttenberg, Adam Baldwin, C. Thomas Howell, Peter Weller, Rutger Hauer, and Bryan Brown. In this adaptation, the plot differs from the original book and first feature film in that the ship is overturned by a terrorist bomb and not a tidal wave. The story was altered because the makers of the film felt that the original's disaster was unrealistic and people wouldn't believe the premise.

Even though this film has generally received less than favorable reviews from TV critics and viewers, I thought the movie was pretty good myself. For it to be made on such a modest budget, it certainly delivered the goods as a 'reinvention' of the classic written by Paul Gallico. I'll agree, the original is-by far- the best movie out of them all as it stays true to the novel in almost every respect. However, on its' own merits, this movie is just as good. It kept my attention throughout the movie and never once wained that attention. Course, with Amber Sainsbury in the movie as Shelby Clarke, it's hard to look away(whew!-is it hot in here or is it me?). Anyhow, I definitely give this one a 'thumbs up' and suggest you watch this movie. Besides, this movie contains 40 minutes of extra footage that wasn't seen when it originally aired on NBC.

Interesting Movie
I felt The Poseidon Adventure was part Titanic and part Tom Clancey. For a TV movie it was well done and the acting was good. It was not entirely predictable as one would expect. If you like modern-day drama/action movies, this is worth a view.

A Few Scenes Harm this Film
Having watched all three major Poseidon films, I have to say that "The Poseidon Adventure" starring Gene Hackman is the best overall film. However, this film is probably slightly more realistic.

The 2006 "Poseidon" starring Josh Lucas and Kurt Russell is the worst of the three. (I gave it 1 star because I had to. I would have given it 0 if I could have.) Given, the 2006 "Poseidon" utilized the best special effects. However, the acting and music are VERY poorly created and hardly realistic at all.

This 2005 Hallmark "The Poseidon Adventure" utilized a terrorist attack rather than an event of nature, i.e. an earthquake or rogue wave, which are the calamities in the other two versions.

Unfortunately, this film could have been an excellent 5-star film if (1) It was not so anti-American military. In this film, the U.S. military it treated like a bunch of six year olds who cannot do anything right, and (2) A few scenes late in the film are very unrealistic. People who may soon die are not likely to spend 14 minutes crossing a metal bridge with fiery water beneath them. Also, they are likely to craw across rather than walk. Knowing the ship will sink, the long, drawn-out dialogue and fear of falling off the bridge (when the real fear was sinking with the ship) must seem inappropriate.

As a whole, this film is more realistic partly because its low budget made some of the heavily action sequences (a race against the water) impossible. In fact, the ship does not really start sinking until the end, and then it completely sinks. (It is much more like the sinking scene in James Cameron's Titanic - although not quite so elaborate.)

Overall, I thought the acting was pretty well done. No one substitutes for Gene Hackman in my opinion. Yet, I believe the acting in this Hallmark "The Poseidon Adventure" was just as good, if not better, than in the 2006 "Poseidon," which I believe is a sorry excuse for a movie.