Earthquake
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Actor: Ava Gardner, Charlton Heston, Geneviève Bujold, George Kennedy, Lorne GreeneBrand: Goodtimes
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 123 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-05-01
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Good Times Video
DVD Reviews of Earthquake
DVD Review: Great Use of Intertwined Storylines
Summary: 4 Stars
The year 1974 saw the emergence of the "Disaster Movie" hit the Silver Screen. The two big "Disaster Movies" that were released were "Earthquake" and "The Towering Inferno". In addition to both taking place in California, both had great success at the box office thanks to two of the great all-time cast ensembles ever. While both of these disaster movies had great special effects, they are very different stories. "The Towering Inferno" would completely revolve around the storyline involving a fire on a 135 story skyscraper in San Francisco. While "Earthquake" indicates the movie is about the impact of a catostrophic earthquake, the movie "Earthquake" builds a series of smaller intertwined storylines together around the disaster. The result makes for a very entertaining movie. But "Earthquake" still is a very different movie than "The Towering Inferno" in that it has a much "darker" ending by most disaster movie standards.
First the all-star cast. And for 1974, this read like a Hollywood Who's Who. Some of these were already legendary Hollywood names - while others were still to emerge as Hollywood names. The cast includes: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Richard Roundtree, and Genevieve Bujold. Also included in the cast is Victoria Principal. "Earthquake" would be the big breakthrough role for Principal - and this would contribute to Principal landing the role on "Dallas" as Pam Ewing. Finally, a "cameo" type appearance is made by Walter Matthau. Matthau plays a drunk. There isn't a better person to play a drunk than Matthau - and he doesn't disappoint in this film.
The plot-line involves a bunch of sub-plots of people's lives in Los Angeles, California: Before, During, and After the Earthquake. The Earthquake is obviously the central storyline. In the early part of the movie, we see some small earthquakes start to impact Los Angeles. It turns out a young College Graduate has made some findings that demonstrated he could predict these earthquakes. He also predicts the major earthquake that is going to hit Los Angeles. We are told that this is a 9.9 earthquake - the most devastating earthquake to ever be measured in modern times. As mentioned, the movie has some incredible special effects - especially for 1974. But one thing that adds to the movie are the sub-plots. Here is a quick synopsis of the main ones:
-Charlton Heston plays Building Engineer Stewart Graff who is estranged from his wife Remy (played by Ava Gardner). Heston is having an affair with a young widowed mother, Denise Marshall (played by Genevieve Bujold). Heston works with his father-in-law, Sam Royce (played by Lorne Greene) at an Engineering Firm. Remy is using her influence with her father to stop Stewart's affair with Denise. The Engineering angle involving Earthquakes will come into play here.
-George Kennedy plays Lew Slade. Slade plays a Los Angeles Police Officer who has been put on suspension and now is contemplating whether he wants to remain a Police Man. The role of the LA Police in the Earthquake will come into play here.
-Victoria Principal plays Rosa Amici. Rosa is being stalked by a Psychotic Grocery Store Worker who also is a National Guard Volunteer. Good performance by Marjoe Gortner playing "Jody" the Psychotic.
-Rosa's brother, Sal is a manager for a Motorcycle Daredevil (played by Richard Roundtree).
-There is a whole story involving a Dam. There was a mysterious death in an elevator shaft at the Dam as a result of the one of the earlier minor quakes. When the major quake hits, the Dam holds up....at least until later in the movie.
- There is an airplane bound for Los Angeles. There is an interesting story involving the plane landing in Los Angeles as the major quake hits. Within this subplot, there is another interesting plot involving a couple on their honeymoon and how the earthquake is impacting the beginnings of their marriage.
For almost the first hour of the movie, we get to know the characters and are introduced to many of these subplots. When the actual Earthquake hits, we see how each of the main characters lives are impacted. After the main Earthquake, we begin to see the subplots come together. We see different connections of the characters - for example, Lew Slade knows Rosa. We also see different characters come together - for example, Lew Slade stops Stewart Graff, who is searching for Denise and her son and takes his car (this leads to Stewart and Lew working together). I happen to be a big fan of the intertwining storylines. "Earthquake" does a good job at this. The only problem is that when the Earthquake hits - that becomes the central storyline and you are almost left for wanting more in several of the subplots.
Perhaps the best character in the movie is George Kennedy's Lew Slade. Slade undergoes a terrific transformation following the Earthquake. At the beginning we see Lew Slade - renegade cop. One who doesn't follow the rules - and even drinks on duty. But after the Earthquake, we see Lew Slade transform into a leader in Los Angeles. Kennedy delivers the most solid performance of the movie.
It's ultimately the triangle involving Stewart, Remy, and Denise that is going to become the main story of the movie. Toward the end of the meeting, we see this triangle reach an emotional climax that unfolds during this disaster. I still felt there could have been more dynamics between Remy and Denise as they are trapped in the building together - that would have made things more interesting.
The ending to this movie is going to be most interesting. It is definitely one of the "darker" endings you will see in a disaster film. It is worth noting, the film opens with a brief education lesson on California Earthquakes - most interesting. Overall, this is a film that will keep you interested from start to finish. It is definitely one worth checking out.
Description of Earthquake
The disaster-movie trend of the early and mid-1970s was starting to wear out its welcome when Earthquake was released in 1974. It?s another one of those enjoyably mindless all-star marathons, and the title tells you all you need to know about the plot. Charlton Heston offers his trademark brand of macho courage as the citizens of Los Angeles brace for the Big One--an earthquake that rattles the city to its crumbling foundation. It's got all the sophistication of a Love Boat episode, but the movie's momentum scores high marks (at least on the Richter scale), and the Oscar-winning sound design and special visual effects are still impressive, especially when you consider that advanced computer-graphics effects were still two decades in the future. Genevieve Bujold adds a touch of class to the all-star ensemble, and of course, what self-respecting disaster flick would be complete without a role for George Kennedy? In more ways than one, this cheesy movie rocks! (If you want to re-create the movie's original sound process known as "Sensurround," you?ll just have to crank up the bass and subwoofer on your home theater system until plaster cracks and windows shatter!) --Jeff ShannonBestsellers in DVD
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