Saturday, August 13, 2022, 7:30 p.m., Dryden Theatre
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The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Photofest.
(Ronald Neame, US 1972, 117 min., DCP)
Notable for its incredible practical effects, The Poseidon Adventure is a classic tale of a disastrous inverted cruise. Ernest Borgnine and Gene Hackman lead a cast of stars through a watery labyrinth as they struggle to escape their ship, which has been flipped upside down by a freak wave and corporate incompetence. The film was by necessity an expensive production, requiring specially built sets that could tilt and flood. It became a massive success and helped to spawn the “disaster movie” craze popular throughout the rest of the 1970s. Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson, Roddy McDowall, Stella Stevens, and Pamela Sue Martin round out the cast.