Opening Statement

Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that the most popular films of the Nixon era were epic disaster movies. Of all such action-adventures, however, none was as big [or as entertaining] as Ronald Neame's The Poseidon Adventure – by John Gilpatrick, November 28, 2016

The Aesthetic Dangers Facing Cinema

What I’ve begun to realize is that The Poseidon Adventure is not a good film in any critical sense of the word, but it’s praiseworthy nonetheless. The egregious exposition, the excessive emotionality, and the banal action combine into an exploration of any viewer’s most primal instincts – by Alex Moore, November 29, 2016

Rules for Surviving Disaster Movies

The years and decades that followed would see dozens of similar movies tread this path—but we can look to The Poseidon Adventure for at least a few baseline rules for how to avoid the inevitable death traps that will claim the lives of many a disaster movie character – by John Gilpatrick, November 30, 2016

Related Review: The Wave

What The Wave does differently than those modern disaster flicks draws it closer to the height of the 1970s mainstays. Through a small group of characters and an isolated event, the film is no less harrowing than its globe-trotting counterparts – by Aaron Pinkston, December 1, 2016

Further Streaming: Disaster Films

As we’ve talked about throughout this week’s look at disaster films, they can be the ultimate popcorn movies, warts and all. There is no lack of the genre available on streaming services, including the prominent run from the mid-1990s that are highlighted below – by Aaron Pinkston, December 2, 2016

The Cinessential Podcast, Episode 4

In our fourth episode, The Cinessential editors John Gilpatrick, Sarah Gorr, and Aaron Pinkston board the Poseidon. Will John's nostalgic for the disaster film win over his co-hosts?