Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)

User Rating:

3.8/10   

Director:

Irwin Allen

Writers:

Paul Gallico (novel)
Nelson Gidding (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 May 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The story is not yet over. Before her fate is sealed by the deep... the superliner Poseidon will reveal one last secret.

Plot:

Adventurers return to the overturned ship, seeking a fortune.

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Sea | Disaster | Sequel | Ocean Liner

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Captain Mike Turner
Sally Field	...	Celeste Whitman
Telly Savalas	...	Captain Stefan Svevo
Peter Boyle	...	Frank Mazzetti
Jack Warden	...	Harold Meredith
Shirley Knight	...	Hannah Meredith
Shirley Jones	...	Nurse Gina Rowe
Karl Malden	...	Wilbur Hubbard
Slim Pickens	...	Dewey 'Tex' Hopkins
Veronica Hamel	...	Suzanne Constantine
Angela Cartwright	...	Theresa Mazzetti
Mark Harmon	...	Larry Simpson
Paul Picerni	...	Kurt
Patrick Culliton	...	Doyle
Dean Raphael Ferrandini	...	Castorp (as Dean Ferrandini)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:12 (re-rating) (2006) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) (uncut) | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The movie was filmed based on the ending of the movie The Poseidon Adventure (1972) when the ship still remains afloat. The original script called for the ship to sink after the survivors take off in a helicopter, but when it did not turn out right, it was therefore decided to keep the ship afloat.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Only 50 metres (approximately) of the hull of the Poseidon remains above water when boarded by the salvage/medical team because the front of the ship is sinking lower and lower into the water. Yet all the decks inside the ship are horizontal. For the decks to be horizontal, the ship would have to be sitting level in the water.

Quotes:

Celeste Whitman: That prayer you did up there... what religion would that be?
Captain Stefan Svevo: Greek Orthodox.
Celeste Whitman: No kidding? I'm Greek Orthodox... suddenly!

Movie Connections:

Edited from The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

My favorite disaster/adventure movie ever!

How many movies get the chance of being made by the extraordinary,proficient,astonishing Allen and/or having Caine,Mrs. Field,Savallas,Shirley Jones in the cast?

Caine's role,in itself,is a jewel;he just fits in.He is energetic, lucid,sharp, intelligent,manly,as fit as a fiddle.Caine knows how to make a super-action flick,without needing to be Willis or Ford.He should be very proud of his role in "Beyond ...".For me,this is one of the most cherished Caine shows.(Caine is himself a cinema,he did an incredible number of good flicks.)Mrs. Field is enchanting,natural, inventive, fresh, luminous, spontaneous,funny,resourceful.(How do I miss an actress like her when I see that imbecile girls in so many cheap-looking shows!With few exceptions,such as Miss Rachel Luttrell,Miss Torri Higginson,or Mrs. Blalock,did you notice how many imbecile-looking girls crowd to fill the sets of the shows?)

The action does not stagnate for a moment.

Savallas got his bigger/better roles elsewhere;but the villain he does here is,as such,memorable and a landmark for the genre.He coins a comic strip villain.(I mean,Nero in Die Hard 2 ,Alan Rickman in Die Hard ,are zero compared to Savallas in "Beyond ...".)

The colors of this movie are delightful.

And how many shows offer so much fun?For me,only the first two episodes of Stargate Atlantis (Rising (Part 1)&Rising (Part 2)).

Many people,who commented "Beyond ...",have expressed a lot of reserves and reticence,about various things;I think they were unjust,and way too exacting.

Between 56 and 64 years,Allen made (i.e,directed and/or produced) several disaster movies:the diptych The Poseidon Adventure ,1972,and The Towering Inferno ,1974—for the movie theaters;then, another diptych—for TV this time: Flood! ,1976,and Fire! ,1977;then a trilogy,for the big screen again: The Swarm ,1978, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure ,1979, When Time Ran Out... ,1980—an activity that was ambitious and often successful.In '80,Allen was 64 years old.In his disaster movies that he made during the '70s,Allen uses the entire palette of the genre.His main merit is,of course,that of creating a very pure form of adventure movies.During '72-'80, The Master of Disaster also found time for some important TV work.So,he was for disaster,he was for Sci-Fi,sometimes he was for both of them—and always for fancy,adventure and fun. Fortunately ,he had the opportunity to develop fully his thoughts and to express himself plenary.

Some fans complain that The Master of Disaster's work was uneven,unequal;anyway,his best films are matchless in their genre.The man made at least 9 remarkable feature movies (of which some 6 are very good—the 5 feature films made between '72 and '80,and also Five Weeks in a Balloon ,1962;but the movies from '59-'61 are worth watching as well …),several interesting TV movies (in the '70s and '80s),and also several TV series and/or miniseries.I do not know any other director to be able of such a continuity in a couple of genres (the disaster/adventures,and Sci-Fi).