[7]

A gaggle of Oscar-winners go topsy-turvy and fight to survive when a luxury liner capsizes at sea in the trend-setting disaster flick, The Poseidon Adventure. The film delivers on producer Irwin Allen’s desire to blow shit up (think of him as the proto-Michael Bay), but also manages to give its venerable cast plenty to chew on. The characters are engaging and no one is safe — you really don’t know who will survive and who will die. (I was personally hoping Roddy McDowall would have lasted a bit longer.) The film swept up a slew of Oscar nominations, including best sound, score (by John Williams), cinematography, editing, costume design, art direction, and a supporting actress nod for the ever lovable Shelley Winters. It won for best song and earned a special achievement award for visual effects. The rest of the Academy-caliber cast includes Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, and Jack Albertson. Leslie Nielsen also appears as the ships captain.