They thought they were making Titanic… they weren’t. Not by a long shot. They were creating something far more entertaining. Maybe not intentionally. Poseidon is a camp cult classic. Verbose action set pieces powered by the combination of director Wolfgang Petersen and cinematographer John Seale are coupled with performances and a script so arched they compete with The Rock’s eyebrow. There is never a dull moment (nor one that you can take completely seriously) in this fast-paced action juggernaut.
On its maiden voyage (Is there any other kind in these types of films?), the Poseidon, the luxury cruise liner to end all luxury cruise liners, is filled to the brim with your normal cast of toxic, terrible people who go on cruise liners.* Not just your usual gamblers, rich white men, stern boat captains, but also stowaways, annoying children, and Fergie playing what else… Fergie. Of course, the drama of these people having normal melodramatic storylines isn’t enough (I love him, daddy, there’s nothing you can do about it!) because the mother of all tsunami swells comes a bearing down on the Poseidon and flips the old bird upside down … yes. Up. Side. Down.
Now, with all the drama and even more so because you know… upside down luxury cruise liner, the remaining few passengers (all the stars credited at the beginning minus a few key personnel) fight for their lives and make tragic sacrifices for a chance to get out alive. The action is always what you would expect from Wolfgang Petersen: top-notch. There isn’t a set piece that isn’t jaw-droppingly cinematic, built for the big screen. The collaboration between Petersen and cinematographer John Seale carries the weight of a true physical production. There seems to be a true danger on these impressive sets where the reel and real meld in a way that productions now don’t dare.
It is never Poseidon’s action that is in question. It is its story and character, or lack thereof. Running at a brisk 98 minutes, there is no time for either, or what there is … is not good. A lot can be said about The Poseidon Adventure,but lacking character and story is not one of them. What the two do share is a knack for the melodramatic. Though without any context or build-up like the 70s film, the Petersen entry’s dramatic scenes come off almost comical, or worse, the characters are grating.
The prime example of this is the kid (who knows what his name is unknown) whose primary purpose is to scream and cry, and generally act scared. At a certain point in peril, one just wishes his grating, high-pitched whine would go away. When you couldn’t care less about a child’s fate, you know a film has gone terribly awry. Though when you’re actively giggling at the fate of characters, it only adds to the pile on. Poseidon remains a technologically impressive feat of physical filmmaking, but lacks the understanding of character and story needed to truly be great blockbuster entertainment. Poseidon settles for being a camp classic. Though an action-packed camp classic, but campy nonetheless.
*It should be noted that this reviewer would love to be one of those toxic, terrible people and go on a cruise. In fact, it’s one of his top ten bucket list items. Yes.
The Transfer
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) by Arrow Video is stunning. The film literally looks like it was filmed yesterday. The transfer is sharp, clean, without any hints of scratches or blemishes on the picture. The color reproduction and contrast levels, because of the Dolby Vision encoding, are both deeper in their details, giving us a darker luminous, and far more textured and beautiful image. Most of the film takes place at night or in confined spaces only lit by emergency lights, or fire never feels artificial and always feels beautifully rendered. It is free of any sort of digital artifacting or DNR to remove grain. Poseidon, in its 4K UHD iteration, is the best version ever produced for the film.
The Extras
They include the following;
Ocean View with John Seale
Big Sets for Big-Time Directors with William Sandell
Surfing the VFX Wave with Boyd Shermis
Bringing Out the Dead with Michael Deak
Set a Course for Adventure with Heath Holland
Poseidon: A Ship on a Soundstage
Poseidon: Upside Down
A Shipmate’s Diary
Ocean View with John Seale (14:23) – is an all-new interview with director of photography John Seale that begins with how working on his Uncle’s sheep ranch and making 8mm movies on the ranch turned into an obsession that eventually turned into a job at Australian TV right before the Australian New Wave that led to working with Peter Weir and his collaboration with Wolfgang Petersen that led to Poseidon. Seale goes on to discuss the work with Petersen on Poseidon and the multiple cameras set up (as many as 7 at one time) and how the director would compose what was organized chaos; the difficulty of lighting and gaffing with those multiple cameras – and how he approached it; the power he gave to his camera operator which was different on US shoots; his collaboration with production designer William Sandell and the credit he gives to his upside down sets; the challenges of working in water; the way that the film would have been easier with the smaller digital camera packages now; and much more.
Big Sets for Big-Time Directors with William Sandell (13:08) – is an all-new interview with production designer William Sandell that opens with Sandell discussing his beginning in the business with a mentorship under producer Fred Weintraub. Sandell goes on to discuss his time with Roger Corman that eventually led to working with Producer Jon Davidson, then onto his collaboration with Wolfgang Petersen beginning with Outbreak; the big sets that Petersen preferred to work in; the studio-bound work and the reasons why they built everything for Poseidon; the various “guests” that showed up to the studio to see these massive and complex sets; a great anecdote about a studio exec question about the sets were built the way they were; the ease of working with Petersen because of his prep work not just in pre-production but during production; and much more.
Surfing the VFX Wave with Boyd Shermis (18:23) – is an all-new interview with visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis that opens with how he got into special effects. Shermis goes on to discuss learning digital FX work because of his work with TV commercials that led to working with directors like Jan De Bont, and Wolfgang Petersen. The VFX supervisor goes on to discuss the opening single shot and the work that was done to accomplish that; the difficulty and work done with the CG water and that they accomplished with rendering and water simulation – including working ILM; the push to move the resolution up to 4K – the fight they had during the pre-production to bring the resolution up from 2K to 4K; his work and collaboration with John Seale; the CG and Model use on the production – and why they alternated between the two; and much more.
Bringing Out the Dead with Michael Deak (11:47) – is an all-new interview with make-up effects on-set supervisor Michael Deak that opens with how he got into the film business with Day of the Dead – meeting Greg Niccotero and eventually working with KNB. Deak discusses how KNB was hired for the dead bodies in Poseidon, including the movie that the bodies were initially used for, and the work that they did to maintain those bodies; the massive sets and the safety measures they used to ensure that people did not get hurt in these massive sets; a great anecdote about a set and rotting food; and much more.
Set a Course for Adventure with Heath Holland (17:09) – is an all-new retrospective on Poseidon by Film Historian and host of Cereal at Midnight, Heath Holland. Holland discusses the film’s origins as a novel and the history of novelist Paul Gallico and where he came up with the story – a true-life event he was a part of on a cruise liner – for the film. Irwin Allen, the prolific TV Producer and the grandfather of the disaster film (giving the examples of Allen’s work in the genre), and what made them so appealing. The original film and how it is structured vs. the remake/reimagination and how that is changed. Holland does a great job of giving a dissection of what makes the remake entertaining and also context for its stars, its director, the writer, the production, and more.
Poseidon: A Ship on a Soundstage (22:43) – is an archival behind-the-scenes featurette looking at the film’s production. This featurette from the DVD era does a pretty thorough job looking at all aspects of the production, including the real-life events of the tsunami waves, pre-production, production (shooting in continuity), post-production, VFX work, physical production and work, and much more. There is a great wealth of b-roll footage from all aspects of the film. Featuring interviews with stars Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Jacinda Barrett, Kevin Dillion, director Wolfgang Petersen, producer Mike Fliess, producer Duncan Henderson, screenwriter Mark Protosevich, and much more.
Poseidon: Upside Down (10:46) – is an archival featurette diving into the film’s challenging physical production and specifically the issues caused by the film’s action as it relates to set design and shooting the film. The featurette is very much an accompanying piece to the archival making-of, though it focuses on the various ways they brought the cruise liner to life.
A Shipmate’s Diary (12:23) – is an archival featurette following production assistant Malona Voigt on the set of Poseidon. One of the most interesting of the archival featurettes included here this though a bit too flashy, does offer a glimpse into being a PA.
The Final Thought
Arrow Video continues to produce wonderful Upgraded 4K UHD editions for new cult classic titles. Poseidon is no different. Recommended!
Kurt Russell leads an all-star cast in Wolfgang Petersen’s Poseidon. New to 4K UHD from Arrow Video.
The Film
They thought they were making Titanic… they weren’t. Not by a long shot. They were creating something far more entertaining. Maybe not intentionally. Poseidon is a camp cult classic. Verbose action set pieces powered by the combination of director Wolfgang Petersen and cinematographer John Seale are coupled with performances and a script so arched they compete with The Rock’s eyebrow. There is never a dull moment (nor one that you can take completely seriously) in this fast-paced action juggernaut.
On its maiden voyage (Is there any other kind in these types of films?), the Poseidon, the luxury cruise liner to end all luxury cruise liners, is filled to the brim with your normal cast of toxic, terrible people who go on cruise liners.* Not just your usual gamblers, rich white men, stern boat captains, but also stowaways, annoying children, and Fergie playing what else… Fergie. Of course, the drama of these people having normal melodramatic storylines isn’t enough (I love him, daddy, there’s nothing you can do about it!) because the mother of all tsunami swells comes a bearing down on the Poseidon and flips the old bird upside down … yes. Up. Side. Down.
Now, with all the drama and even more so because you know… upside down luxury cruise liner, the remaining few passengers (all the stars credited at the beginning minus a few key personnel) fight for their lives and make tragic sacrifices for a chance to get out alive. The action is always what you would expect from Wolfgang Petersen: top-notch. There isn’t a set piece that isn’t jaw-droppingly cinematic, built for the big screen. The collaboration between Petersen and cinematographer John Seale carries the weight of a true physical production. There seems to be a true danger on these impressive sets where the reel and real meld in a way that productions now don’t dare.
It is never Poseidon’s action that is in question. It is its story and character, or lack thereof. Running at a brisk 98 minutes, there is no time for either, or what there is … is not good. A lot can be said about The Poseidon Adventure,but lacking character and story is not one of them. What the two do share is a knack for the melodramatic. Though without any context or build-up like the 70s film, the Petersen entry’s dramatic scenes come off almost comical, or worse, the characters are grating.
The prime example of this is the kid (who knows what his name is unknown) whose primary purpose is to scream and cry, and generally act scared. At a certain point in peril, one just wishes his grating, high-pitched whine would go away. When you couldn’t care less about a child’s fate, you know a film has gone terribly awry. Though when you’re actively giggling at the fate of characters, it only adds to the pile on. Poseidon remains a technologically impressive feat of physical filmmaking, but lacks the understanding of character and story needed to truly be great blockbuster entertainment. Poseidon settles for being a camp classic. Though an action-packed camp classic, but campy nonetheless.
*It should be noted that this reviewer would love to be one of those toxic, terrible people and go on a cruise. In fact, it’s one of his top ten bucket list items. Yes.
The Transfer
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) by Arrow Video is stunning. The film literally looks like it was filmed yesterday. The transfer is sharp, clean, without any hints of scratches or blemishes on the picture. The color reproduction and contrast levels, because of the Dolby Vision encoding, are both deeper in their details, giving us a darker luminous, and far more textured and beautiful image. Most of the film takes place at night or in confined spaces only lit by emergency lights, or fire never feels artificial and always feels beautifully rendered. It is free of any sort of digital artifacting or DNR to remove grain. Poseidon, in its 4K UHD iteration, is the best version ever produced for the film.
The Extras
They include the following;
Ocean View with John Seale (14:23) – is an all-new interview with director of photography John Seale that begins with how working on his Uncle’s sheep ranch and making 8mm movies on the ranch turned into an obsession that eventually turned into a job at Australian TV right before the Australian New Wave that led to working with Peter Weir and his collaboration with Wolfgang Petersen that led to Poseidon. Seale goes on to discuss the work with Petersen on Poseidon and the multiple cameras set up (as many as 7 at one time) and how the director would compose what was organized chaos; the difficulty of lighting and gaffing with those multiple cameras – and how he approached it; the power he gave to his camera operator which was different on US shoots; his collaboration with production designer William Sandell and the credit he gives to his upside down sets; the challenges of working in water; the way that the film would have been easier with the smaller digital camera packages now; and much more.
Big Sets for Big-Time Directors with William Sandell (13:08) – is an all-new interview with production designer William Sandell that opens with Sandell discussing his beginning in the business with a mentorship under producer Fred Weintraub. Sandell goes on to discuss his time with Roger Corman that eventually led to working with Producer Jon Davidson, then onto his collaboration with Wolfgang Petersen beginning with Outbreak; the big sets that Petersen preferred to work in; the studio-bound work and the reasons why they built everything for Poseidon; the various “guests” that showed up to the studio to see these massive and complex sets; a great anecdote about a studio exec question about the sets were built the way they were; the ease of working with Petersen because of his prep work not just in pre-production but during production; and much more.
Surfing the VFX Wave with Boyd Shermis (18:23) – is an all-new interview with visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis that opens with how he got into special effects. Shermis goes on to discuss learning digital FX work because of his work with TV commercials that led to working with directors like Jan De Bont, and Wolfgang Petersen. The VFX supervisor goes on to discuss the opening single shot and the work that was done to accomplish that; the difficulty and work done with the CG water and that they accomplished with rendering and water simulation – including working ILM; the push to move the resolution up to 4K – the fight they had during the pre-production to bring the resolution up from 2K to 4K; his work and collaboration with John Seale; the CG and Model use on the production – and why they alternated between the two; and much more.
Bringing Out the Dead with Michael Deak (11:47) – is an all-new interview with make-up effects on-set supervisor Michael Deak that opens with how he got into the film business with Day of the Dead – meeting Greg Niccotero and eventually working with KNB. Deak discusses how KNB was hired for the dead bodies in Poseidon, including the movie that the bodies were initially used for, and the work that they did to maintain those bodies; the massive sets and the safety measures they used to ensure that people did not get hurt in these massive sets; a great anecdote about a set and rotting food; and much more.
Set a Course for Adventure with Heath Holland (17:09) – is an all-new retrospective on Poseidon by Film Historian and host of Cereal at Midnight, Heath Holland. Holland discusses the film’s origins as a novel and the history of novelist Paul Gallico and where he came up with the story – a true-life event he was a part of on a cruise liner – for the film. Irwin Allen, the prolific TV Producer and the grandfather of the disaster film (giving the examples of Allen’s work in the genre), and what made them so appealing. The original film and how it is structured vs. the remake/reimagination and how that is changed. Holland does a great job of giving a dissection of what makes the remake entertaining and also context for its stars, its director, the writer, the production, and more.
Poseidon: A Ship on a Soundstage (22:43) – is an archival behind-the-scenes featurette looking at the film’s production. This featurette from the DVD era does a pretty thorough job looking at all aspects of the production, including the real-life events of the tsunami waves, pre-production, production (shooting in continuity), post-production, VFX work, physical production and work, and much more. There is a great wealth of b-roll footage from all aspects of the film. Featuring interviews with stars Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Jacinda Barrett, Kevin Dillion, director Wolfgang Petersen, producer Mike Fliess, producer Duncan Henderson, screenwriter Mark Protosevich, and much more.
Poseidon: Upside Down (10:46) – is an archival featurette diving into the film’s challenging physical production and specifically the issues caused by the film’s action as it relates to set design and shooting the film. The featurette is very much an accompanying piece to the archival making-of, though it focuses on the various ways they brought the cruise liner to life.
A Shipmate’s Diary (12:23) – is an archival featurette following production assistant Malona Voigt on the set of Poseidon. One of the most interesting of the archival featurettes included here this though a bit too flashy, does offer a glimpse into being a PA.
The Final Thought
Arrow Video continues to produce wonderful Upgraded 4K UHD editions for new cult classic titles. Poseidon is no different. Recommended!
Arrow Video’s 4K UHD Edition of Poseidon is out August 12th
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