The original 1972 version of The Poseidon Adventure is infinitely better than the 2006 ‘reimagining’ of the story. It is still, fundamentally, a popcorn disaster movie, that requires a certain amount of suspended disbelief, and clearly the special effects are no match for the remake, but the advantage the original has over the subsequent version is that you actually do find yourself caring about the fates of the characters. Which is pretty key to enjoying a disaster movie in my experience.
There were some good actors in the remake and it’s probably not their fault that the script did them no favours, but even so, the combination of Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine and a superb Shelley Winters in this version is quite a high bar for any movie to compete with.
Score for Christmasishness
As with the 2006 version, this is set on New Year’s Eve, but the key difference is that it actually looks like New Year’s Eve. And a massive Christmas tree is quite pivotal in the plot as it serves as an escape route from the ill-fate ballroom for the survivors of the disaster. So it’s quite Christmas(ish) as far as disaster movies set on cruise ships go.
James Proclaims! 
Some good continuity and factually impossible errors to spot in this one!
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Ernest Borgnine- he acted via his eye-brows, with a demented grin thrown in now and then to try to drag your eyes away from the eye popping show. A good example of the cast-of-hundreds disaster movies that were around at the time. I was never keen on cruise ships before this movie, and after Covid- they can keep their Love Boat.
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Ah, the old Christmas Tree as escape route trope. Classic.
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The film always gives me that sinking feeling
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