Director: Mark Robson
Year: 1974
Rating: PG
Rating: * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Charlton Heston, Richard Roundtree, Ava Gardner
You know, I think I'll start things out by borrowing Charlton Heston's famous
quote from the 1968 classic
Planet of The Apes and apply it to the movie I'm currently writing about. "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty quake!" ahh, couldn't resist.
Heston is just one of the big name stars featured (a large cast takes precedent
over this film) in
Earthquake, a 1970's disaster flick that depicts the
biggest, most destructive natural disaster to ever hit the city of
Los
Angeles.
Of course you know what I'm talking about. The title of the film says it all.
It is a somewhat effective exercise in that there is a strong sense of realism
for its subject. "Quake" shows mass destruction and carnage in a way
in which I believe things would actually go down in a crisis situation. Truth
be told, its got spectacular special effects that surely don't need the CGI
stuff. But I'm not gonna sugarcoat it for you; this is a very depressing movie.
Call it cinema of the antihero kind if you will. The characters in
Earthquake
are mostly unlikable. Most of them don't have many redeeming values and the
ones that do have them actually die. Added to that,
"Quake"
doesn't have much of a happy ending. In fact, it doesn't really have an ending
at all. You don't really know if everyone is truly okay, who really survived,
and who didn't. The movie leaves the question opened that maybe the plight of
everyone involved might suffer another small aftershock or tremor after the
credits roll. Alas, this is something that is left up to the viewer's
imagination.
When you watch this 1974 picture, you'll find that it is split into three
standard acts. This first is character development, or should I say getting to
know the whole cast (George Kennedy, Ava Gardner, and Victoria Principal just
to name a few). The second act is the earthquake sequence which for me, is the
most effective part (it lasts a good ten minutes, it's brutal and graphic in
detail, and it's very well done). Then there is the third act which shows the
aftermath of destruction (or aftershocks, hint hint) and how the people in the
city deal with the sadness of
L.A.
in ruins.
Another aspect you'll notice when watching Earthquake
is how the MPAA ratings board was so forgiving in handing this thing a PG
rating. Along with the graphic violent images that accompany the film (a
handful of people perish in an elevator scene and it's a doozy) there is a lot
of adult themes (mild drug use, suggested inappropriate language, adultery,
attempted rape) that would ultimately disturb or turn off a lot of younger
viewers in the PG rated crowd. Then there is the cringe worthy moments that
truly don't belong or fit. I mean this in the strongest way. You got a cameo of
who I think might be Walter Matthau, getting drunk at a bar and falling asleep
at every possible moment. He says things like, "where can I get a drink in
this place?" and calls out random actor's names (Peter Fonda for example).
When the quake hits and everything is being destroyed around him, he continues
to drink his whiskey shots and act like a buffoon. It's a comedic element
thrown in and an unnecessary one at that. Also, after the strongest jolts of
the quake, when everybody is dying and suffering in a random L.A.
hospital, there is a clown character that goes around and tries to make people
laugh by doing clown tricks. Believe it or not, there are actually people
laughing nervously. I almost had to turn the DVD off. It's the movie equivalent
of nails on a chalkboard.
While I'm a sucker for disaster movies in general, I am going to give a mixed
review on Earthquake. It's effective in the special effects department
but that doesn't compensate for a mediocre script and less than stellar acting.
Truthfully, it's hard to care about the people in this movie even when harmful
things happen to them. They aren't underdeveloped, they are just unlikable. I
don't know if this was the director's vision, you know to make something that's
not by Hollywood's standards. But nevertheless,
this method doesn't bode entirely well on screen. As I said earlier, the script is
problematic in that while it's heavy on detail and protocol for people involved
in a natural disaster, there is an emotional center missing and it costs this
film a shot at greatness. I guess it's frustrating when you have to
imagine what happens to a character when a scene cuts away right before learning
their fate. An example would be Richard Roundtree (playing Miles Quade) driving
his motorcycle away from an exploding dam of water caused by the seismic burst.
Right as the gushing water threatens to drown him, the camera cuts to something
else and we never see or hear from him again. Then there is the character of
Walter Russell (played by Kip Niven). This guy discovers the threat of the
quake, tells his superiors (including the mayor) to warn everybody and then
that's it. 30-40 minutes into the film and we also never see or hear from him
again. This, along with the cringe worthy moments mentioned earlier in the
review, make it very difficult to garner my recommendation. All in all, you
desperately root for this film to be great, you really do. But you surrender to
its misguided approach. And that's the kiss of death for me as a movie critic.
With all that being said, there is a positive note to
observe when watching this past box office blockbuster. No one and I mean no
one, looks cooler in dark sunglasses than the late Charlton Heston.
Written by Jesse Burleson
Director: Tobe Hooper
