Earthquake
EARTHQUAKEÂ (15)
D: Mark Robson
Universal (Jennings Lang & Mark
Robson)
USA 🇺🇸 1974
123 mins
Adventure/Drama
W: George Fox & Mario Puzo
DP: Philip Lathrop
Ed:Â Dorothy Spencer
Mus: John Williams
PD:Â Alexander Golitzen & E. Preston
Ames
Charlton Heston (Stewart Graff), Ava Gardner (Remy
Royce-Graff), Lorne Greene (Sam Royce), Marjoe Gortner (Jody Joad), Barry Sullivan (Willis Stockle), George Kennedy (Lou Slade), Richard Roundtree (Miles Quade), Genevieve Bujold (Denise
Marshall)
Dreary soap opera set around an earthquake in Los
Angeles, where the lives of the various characters intertwine.
It takes a while to get going, with a large cast of
characters all getting a bit of screen time before things get shaky.
The special effects range from impressive (at least
for the time) to rather poor (particularly the moments when it's clearly a stagehand shaking a mirror). You can't say the same about the performances, most falling under the latter
category, or worse.
As far as disaster pics from the 70's go, this is one
of the more memorable ones, with the added gimmick of using a new technique of sound recording and amplification to get bums shaking on the cinema seats.
As a cinematic event, it has its place in history, and
that's where it belongs.
6/10
