Screenwriter Bryce Zabel, who wrote the THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE mini-series, compares and contrasts all three film versions of Paul Gallico’s novel. Among his observations:
All I can say about that is that it’s a good thing that the original
film, my mini-series take and the current feature only used it as a
springboard. It’s not that great and some things in it are just nuts.
Like one of the characters gets raped and feels bad, after the ship
capsizes, for the man who raped her. I’m not sure how that was
acceptable in 1969, but it sure is out of the mainstream in 2006.
UPDATE 5-15-06: The feature POSEIDON sunk at the boxoffice…and Bryce has some thoughts on that, too.
Well, I enjoyed Gallico’s novel a lot more than he did. Being a huge fan of the original – I pop the DVD into the player every New Year’s Eve – I must say that I adored Wolfgang Petersen’s high octane upgrade. Yes the characterizations are paper thin, what little story seems to be about talking props overcoming a series of life threatening, and taking, obstacles. So, how exactly does that differ in any way, shape, or form from the disaster movies of the seventies? Poseidon is a fun ride, and the capsizing sequence is just flat out amazing. I’ll probably wind up watching both theatrical versions on New Year’s Eve from now on, because watching one will always put me in the mood to watch the other.
I thought the first one was dumb…why the remakes?
Like one of the characters gets raped and feels bad, after the ship capsizes, for the man who raped her.
I would have never remembered reading that book until that quote.
God, I’m old.