Earthquake (1974)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

George Fox (written by)
Mario Puzo (written by)

Release Date:

15 November 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

An Event...

Plot:

Various stories of various people as an earthquake of un-imagineable magnitude hits Los Angeles.

Plot Keywords:

Earthquake | Policeman | Police | Widow | Daredevil

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Stewart Graff
Ava Gardner	...	Remy Royce-Graff
George Kennedy	...	Sgt. Lew Slade
Lorne Greene	...	Sam Royce
Geneviève Bujold	...	Denise Marshall (as Genevieve Bujold)
Richard Roundtree	...	Miles Quade
Marjoe Gortner	...	Jody
Barry Sullivan	...	Dr. Willis Stockle
Lloyd Nolan	...	Dr. James Vance
Victoria Principal	...	Rosa Amici
Walter Matthau	...	Drunk (as Walter Matuschanskayasky)
Monica Lewis	...	Barbara
Gabriel Dell	...	Sal Amici
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Officer Emilio Chavez (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)
Lloyd Gough	...	Bill Cameron

Also Known As:

Erdbeben (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Jordbävningen (Sweden) [sv]
Jordskælv (Denmark) [da]
Maanjäristys (Finland) [fi]
Seismos (Greece) [el]
Terremoto (Italy) [it]
Terremoto (Spain) [es]
Tremblement de terre (France) [fr]
Trzesienie ziemi (Poland) [pl]
Zelzele (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

Runtime:

123 min | USA:160 min (TV version) | Canada:121 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | Sensurround (70 mm and 35 mm magnetic prints) | Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1976) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG (Certificate #24032)

Filming Locations:

1329 Carroll Avenue, Central Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

The Filmakers Group

Trivia:

The producer, Jennings Lang, offered a cameo role to his friend Walter Matthau, which Matthau accepted without compensation, on the condition that he be billed under his "real name" (which its not), "Walter Matuschanskyasky". Matthau's role was originally scripted as "a drunk sits at the end of the bar", which was expanded by writer George Fox, giving the character lines of dialogue (involving toasts to celebrities). When the film was completed, as agreed by Lang and Matthau, "The Drunk" was credited as "Walter Matuschanskayasky". This lead to a long-standing, but false, rumor that "Matuschanskayasky" was Matthau's real name.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Miles try to perform his stunt on the track after the first went wrong, you can clearly see him riding out of the loop again, since the footage used to show the beginning of his new attempt is the same of the first one.

Quotes:

Remy Royce-Graff: You know, if it wasn't 7:30 in the morning I would have a drink.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the '70s: Volume 2" (2006)

even Sensurround didn't make this a good movie

I saw Earthquake on the big screen, complete with the giant "Sensurround" sub-woofer installation. Everyone went, to see the spectacle and feel Sensurround, but the only good thing about the movie was that it sold lots of tickets. Walking in, we wondered how cool Sensurround would be. Half way through, we wondered when something interesting would happen. Walking out, we wondered if it was bad enough to kill the disaster genre entirely.

The Sensurround didn't feel like an earthquake (as anyone who has experienced a real one would know), it felt like a giant sub-woofer. Worse, it could rumble at only one tone and loudness -- it was either on or off. Even though I was a kid, I wondered why the Sensurround speakers couldn't make us feel the difference between the little "warning" earthquake, the Big One, and the aftershocks. The only difference between the quakes was how long they lasted. What does it say about the movie when kids in the audience are thinking about the deficiencies of the movie's big gimmick, rather than caring about what was happening in the movie?

On the small screen, without even the gimmick attraction of the flawed Sensurround, I can't imagine this movie being entertaining, except as an object of audience mockery. Unless you're in the mood to laugh at bad movie-making, see The Poseidon Adventure instead.