This 26-minute episode of the AMC TV series provides an engrossing and illuminating glimpse at the making of the all-star disaster classic "The Poseidon Adventure." Among those interviewed are stars Ernest Borgnine, Stella Stevens, Red Buttons, and Roddy McDowall, production designer William J. Creber, Irwin Allen's widow Sheila, and director Ronald Neame. Although based on a bestselling book, this film nonetheless took almost two years to get greenlit. Moreover, we also learn that acclaimed writer Stirling Silliphant was specifically hired to add depth to the characters, the budget was five million (Irwin Allen put up half of said budget), the capsizing of the ship was done by tilting the set, all the special effects were done practically, 125 stunt people were used in the movie (the cast did as much of their own stunts as possible), Shelley Winters refused to use a double for her underwater swimming scene, a bunch of scenes were shot on the Queen Mary, two country club friends of Allen were investors in the picture, and the film was finished two days ahead of schedule. Recommended viewing for fans of the film.
2 Reviews
Fun Episode
Michael_Elliott1 May 2015
Backstory: The Poseidon Adventure (2000)
This episode in the series takes a look at Irwin Allen's THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, which was nearly canceled before it even got filmed. We learn about how Allen came up with the idea but a recent string of Fox bomb office bombs had the studio wanting out of the disaster picture. We get interviews with the likes of Roddy McDowall, Sheila Allen, Stella Stevens, Al Gail and Ernest Borgnine as they discuss what it was like making the film and of course the various dangers that went along with it. If you're familiar with this series then you already know that it's basically just a behind-the-scenes documentary explaining various aspects of the production. This one here is certainly one of the better episodes as we get a good number of the cast members interviewed and there's some nice behind-the-scenes video of the special effects being done. It's amazing to see how much was actually done on such little money.
Episode: A
This episode in the series takes a look at Irwin Allen's THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, which was nearly canceled before it even got filmed. We learn about how Allen came up with the idea but a recent string of Fox bomb office bombs had the studio wanting out of the disaster picture. We get interviews with the likes of Roddy McDowall, Sheila Allen, Stella Stevens, Al Gail and Ernest Borgnine as they discuss what it was like making the film and of course the various dangers that went along with it. If you're familiar with this series then you already know that it's basically just a behind-the-scenes documentary explaining various aspects of the production. This one here is certainly one of the better episodes as we get a good number of the cast members interviewed and there's some nice behind-the-scenes video of the special effects being done. It's amazing to see how much was actually done on such little money.
Episode: A
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
