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The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

PG  |   |  Action, Adventure, Drama  |  13 December 1972 (USA)
7.1
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Ratings: 7.1/10 from 31,337 users  
Reviews: 245 user | 72 critic

A group of passengers struggle to survive and escape when their ocean liner completely capsizes at sea.

Directors:

, (uncredited)

Writers:

(novel), (screenplay), 1 more credit »
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Title: The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) on IMDb 7.1/10

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Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 13 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Fred Sadoff ...
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Nurse (as Sheila Mathews)
Jan Arvan ...
Byron Webster ...
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Storyline

A passenger ship, on her way to the scrap yard is pushed to her limits by the new owners to save on the dismantling fees. A tidal wave hits her, flipping her over so that all the internal rooms are upside down. A priest takes a mixed band of survivors on a journey through the bowels of the ship in an attempt to survive. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Combining the talents of fifteen Academy Award Winners See more »


Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

13 December 1972 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

La aventura del Poseidón  »

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$93,300,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Shelley Winters trained with an Olympic swim coach so that her character, who is a former award-winning swimmer, would come across more realistically in the underwater scenes. See more »

Goofs

When Belle tries to talk Reverend Scott out of swimming, you can see her medal is above her waist, but in close-ups the chain is shorter and above her chest. See more »

Quotes

Mr. Manny Rosen: My wife can't stand to see anybody not married.
Mrs. Belle Rosen: No, it comes from caring.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The ending credits are shown on a bright-blue background. See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Wrecking Crew (2008) See more »

Soundtracks

Give Me the Simple Life
(1946) (uncredited)
Music by Rube Bloom
Played softly offscreen by the band aboard ship
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
The Best Natural Disaster Film
3 April 2000 | by (Manchester, NH) – See all my reviews

The Poseidon Adventure is one of those movies I have seen at least once a year as long as I have been alive. I lived in Maine when I was a kid and we loved our natural disaster flicks. Of all the great disaster movies from the 70s, this has got to be the best one. Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelly Winters, Roddy McDowall, Leslie Neilson, and the list goes on.

The basic plot goes like this. The Poseidon is a cruise ship out for its last voyage and it is New Year's Eve. The guests are all celebrating while deep beneath the ocean's surface an earthquake is happening. The earthquake sets off a huge tsunami and the ship is knocked upside down. In order to be saved, a small group of people heads for the engine room at the bottom (make that top, since the ship is upside down) of the ship. At first, the ocean claims hundreds of the passengers until they are whittled down to about 10 people left. From here there are plenty of tense moments and a power struggle for control of the survivors. Typical disaster movie fare but done rather well.

This movie is a great main event for a disaster film weekend.


34 of 44 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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