The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

1972 • 117 minutes

About this movie

With Oscar®-winning special effects and an all-star cast (including Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Roddy McDowall, Shelley Winters, Leslie Nielsen and many more), The Poseidon Adventure is the mother of all disaster movies. The Poseidon is the largest ocean liner ever, bigger than the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary combined. A ship full of passengers are celebrating New Year's Eve. Just after the New Year is rung in, the Captain spots a tidal wave. A huge tidal wave. Soon, everybody else sees it, too. For almost all of the passengers and crew, it will be the last thing they ever see. The ship is capsized, turned completely upside-down, and only ten people have survived. Now those survivors must make their way from the capsized top of the ship up to the bottom before they drown as well.

Ratings and reviews

Do not watch the remake. It is uninspired and the characters are insipidly annoying. This film makes you feel for every character as they struggle to survive a rogue wave that has capsized their cruise ship, turning it into a death trap. It's rare that disaster films are so truly heartbreaking. It will keep you guessing until the very end. I highly recommend it.

I haven't downloaded the film, but I do own a physical copy. This is literally my favorite movie ever. Each time I watch it I just want to get on an actual cruise. The acting was flawless and the suspense really keeps one engaged.

One of my favorite movies from my childhood. The disaster films of the '70 include Earthquake, Towering Inferno, Airport and it's sequels, and of course this movie.