Earthquake (1974) User Reviews (202)

This used to be one hell of a town, officer.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 4 March 2008]

Earthquake is directed by Mark Robson and written by Mario Puzo and George Fox. It stars Charlton Heston, George Kennedy, Ava Gardner, Geneviève Bujold, Lorne Greene, Richard Roundtree & Marjoe Gortner.

A catastrophic earthquake hits Southern California and begins to level Los Angeles...

"It's not a negative to have heart in the disaster genre of film"

Take yourself to 1974, are you there? Good, now maybe you can appreciate this film a little more? Maybe? Earthquake does suffer from old age, it's a statement we see and hear a lot, but it's a fact that some film's stand the test of time whilst others do not. In this desensitised computer age, it is easy to forget that not all the tools available in film making today were available back when film's like this were being made. So as is my want, I firmly judge this as a 1974 offering, to which it delivers enough entertainment to fully satisfy my genre leanings and entertainment persuasions.

The main complaint of many is the long build up of the characters, cries of boring can be read across internet forums and critics blogs. I just don't see it that way, yes we want the quake and the mayhem destruction that will follow it, because really this is a disaster film after all, but is it so bad that the film has heart to go with the crash bang wallop? After the build up of characters, where relationships and character traits are formed, the disaster strikes and it doesn't disappoint, utter destruction as effects and noise fill the eyes and ears, where those with a good home cinema system finding it literally does rock the house. We are then treated to a series of sequences that hold and engage our attention, upsetting passages of human sadness, punctured by heroic surges as Heston and the fabulous Kennedy set about saving life, hell! saving the town even. Then it's the film's fitting finale, where there are no cop outs, the makers choosing to go out with a darker edge than the detractors give it credit for.

Some can scoff at a blood splat effect, or rant about some of the acting on show, but Earthquake achieves two important things. One is that it entertains as a visual experience, the other is that it doesn't soft soap the devastating effects of an earthquake. As the camera pulls away from a ravaged L.A. the impact is sombre, where reflection is needed and most assuredly surely gotten. 7/10

About what you'd expect from an Irwin Allen disaster flick...except that Allen DIDN'T make this one.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 12 November 2021]

In the 1970s, Irwin Allen made a niche for himself in Hollywood by producing some big budget disaster films, such as "The Poseidon Adventure", "The Towering Inferno" and "The Swarm". In addition to folks dying and being destroyed, the films all had HUGE star-studded casts as well as a lot of soap opera-like plots. Well, you see all this in "Earthquake", though Allen was not involved in the production...but clearly they copied his formula for success, as the film has the same style AND made a mint at the box office.

The first half of the movie introduces several plots, such as the brilliant architect (Charlton Heston) who is married to an incredibly screwed up and addicted woman (Ava Gardner), the disenchanted no-nonsense cop (George Kennedy), the accident at a local dam and much more. None of these plots are especially deep and are designed to get the audience to care for some of the folks who will be tossed into this epic disaster.

Halfway through the film the Earthquake hits the Los Angeles area and the remainder of the story follows folks trying to make their way to safety. I was actually surprised that the special effects for all this were done very well for 1974...and they actually hold up well today.

So is it any good? Well, it's reasonably well made but not deep in the least...so it would make a great film to watch if you aren't in the mood for something artsy or with an involved plot. Mostly it's just folks trying not to die...and some of them doing very poorly in this department. Overall, modestly entertaining but a film that must have been MUCH better on the big screen and in Sensurround, a sound system with a heavy bass that made theaters rumble.

Nice action drama without CGI overload.

[paulclaassen · 5/10 · 15 June 2018]

I really enjoyed the practical effects before CGI took over the film industry. This is the time when making disaster films was a huge challenge. This is decent film making at its best. The visual effects are incredible and is still good by today's standard. This must have been amazing at the time of release. Charlton Heston is a likable hero as usual. I enjoyed how the characters interacted with one another and how their characters developed during and after the disaster. The film did end rather abruptly, but it was an enjoyable action drama.

A Triumph of Banality (Mild Spoilers)

[Vornoff-3 · 7/10 · 26 June 2003]

Co-written by Mario Puzo, the man who re-defined the gangster genre, `Earthquake' is the quintessential disaster movie. The elements are all there: the large, all-star cast, the pathos, the massive devastation, the many intertwined subplots, the Wagnerian heroes and the ultimate banality. For those who find nothing to enjoy in soap operas, trashy romance novels, or depictions of mass destruction on the scale of a `Gojira' film, there is nothing here. But for the rest of us…pure artistry.

`Earthquake' was the `Independence Day' of its time. I remember kids talking about how thrilling it was to be `allowed' to see this very frightening PG film (I was very young when it first was released). I remember the hype about `Sensurround' and the sensations that this new sound system was meant to induce. The 70's were an age of Disaster films, perhaps a Return of the Repressed fears that decades of the Cold War had inspired. Certainly the scale of destruction depicted in `Earthquake' is of an apocalyptic scale. Larger quakes have since hit the West Coast several times, and it is now difficult to believe that anyone ever thought a 7.0 quake could devastate LA so completely. What is shown is not the real effects of a massive quake, but the Hand of God reaching down and destroying the impure – and testing the strong.

Our heroes are heroic on a grand scale, and Charlton Heston is king of the heroes in `Earthquake.' Again and again he sacrifices and risks himself to help or rescue others, but he is not alone in his altruism. Lorne Greene, George Kennedy (and what is a disaster movie without George Kennedy?) and Fred Williamson all do their part, some sacrificing their lives for others in the process. Unfortunately, `Earthquake' suffers from a lack of interesting villains for these heroes to offset themselves against (aside, of course, from relentless Nature herself), although Marjoe Gortner's nasally National Guardsman does give George Kennedy a chance to note that `Earthquakes bring out the worst in some people.'

Those who have celebrated the everyday selflessness of rescue workers in the 9/11 tragedy will find the depictions of lazy and selfish rescuers a bit surprising here, although, again, this was a comment on perceptions of the times. The 1970's was a time of renewed selfishness in American culture, with former Hippies turning away from love and LSD, and towards profit and cocaine. By the 1980's, Americans had become comfortable with the new `Me Generation,' but there was still lingering guilt to work out when `Earthquake' was released. Perhaps this is why Charlton Heston, portraying a successful engineer, must repudiate his trade, saying `I'm ashamed of my profession,' and why businessmen and CEOs must die in their towers of glass and steel. Secretaries, suspended cops and unsuccessful actresses are saved, and the meek inherit the Earth.

Not really that bad

[kevcom · 7/10 · 23 March 2001]

Earthquake almost realistically shows us the devastating effects of such "an event" on a large modern day city. Since movie studios didn't have the resources in 1974 to add expensive computerized effects, miniatures, camera trickery and a few large-scale destructions were used to simulate the quake. However even by today's standards, most (but not all) effects work pretty well. Many of the buildings we see crumbling to the ground are actual locals in Los Angeles and anyone who ever lived is this area (myself included) would still find watching this film chilling to say the least. The sets are very impressive - they made one helluva mess of Universal Studios making this film. The acting is so-so and the ending is disappointing and leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions: what ever happened to Miles and Rosa's brother anyway? And the scenes with Jody the weirdo are just plain uncomfortable. But as far as pure "end of the world" disaster entertainment goes, this film has it all.

Aw, comeon, it's not [that] bad!

[jimbo700 · 15 March 2001]

I saw this movie on the big-screen when it was released and I actually found the Sensurround (R) to be annoying, but the film isn't as bad as critics made it out to be. I agree, the casting could have been better (the Ava Gardner/Loorne Green argument is a good one), but this is a special effects movie, and the special effects were pretty good by 1974 standards. Besides, how can a movie about the destruction of LA be so bad?

Awful, awful casting...and worse acting!

[garrard · 5/10 · 9 May 2006]

With the success of Irwin Allen's "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno" for Fox and Warner Brothers, every other major studio was clamoring to jump on the "disaster bandwagon." "Earthquake" was Universal's contribution to the genre and while it sports some impressive special effects, it also has one of the best examples of poor casting on film.

Genevieve Bujold looks too young and demure for "old man" Chuck Heston. He, on the other hand, is perfect as the husband of a very, haggard-looking Ava Gardner, who should have been cast as the sister of Lorne Greene, as opposed to being his daughter. Marjoe Gortner is forced to wear, aside from Samuel L. Jackson in "Pulp Fiction," one of the worst hairpieces in film history.

And, thankfully, for Victoria Principal, a little show named "Dallas" came along a few years later, to help viewers forget how badly she acted in "Earthquake."

Richard Rountree was on hand, solely to provide some "color"; thus, his role could have been called "heroic Negro on motorcycle". A poor letdown for such an actor that had flaunted his African-American masculinity so well in the series of "Shaft" films.

Obviously, Walter Matthau was smart enough to have his contribution to this turkey uncredited.

Even John Williams' score seems to be recycled from his composition for both of Allen's films.

The Earth Moves

[clydestuff · 6/10 · 17 March 2004]

Sensurround! How I do miss it! How this movie misses it! It was the best thing it had going for it when it was released in special theaters with sound equipment designed to vibrate your fanny as it sat snugly in those theater seats. Unfortunately, without the vibrations, Earthquake just ain't as much fun.

As disaster films go, Earthquake is certainly not the worst, but is far from the best. Charlton Heston, fresh from having saved a 747 from certain disaster in Airport 1975, now does his best to save the city of Los Angeles. To be fair though, we knew he wasn't going to stop the earthquake, leaving that for Christopher Reeve in Superman some years later. But we just knew that as Construction Engineer, Stewart Graff he'd do his best to save a lot of L.A. citizens stuck in precarious situations. Why else would he be here? And just for fun, he even brought George Kennedy over from Airport 1975 with him although he's a cop named Lew Slade now instead of tinkering around with jetliners. What a treat!

It seems that Lew Slade was chasing a bad guy who had been drunk driving and run down a kid. Unfortunately the bad guy crashes his vehicle right on the property of Zsa Zsa Gabor, which is out of Slade's jurisdiction. When another officer who is in the proper jurisdiction berates Slade for messing up Miss Gabor's shrubbery, Slade let's the young officer know how much he cares about plant life by landing a right cross. This lands him a suspension, and supposedly helps us get to know his character a little better while we pat our foot waiting for the big rumble to start. Did you really think they were going to open a disaster film with the actual disaster? There's a code in the screenwriter's handbook that says that's not allowed. At least that's what I'm told.

Meanwhile somewhere else in L.A., Stuart Graff is married to Remy Royce-Graff(Ava Gardner) who was fathered by Sam Royce(Lorne Greene) when he was seven I think. Sam is also Stuart's Boss. Stuart is having an affair with Denise Marshall(Genevieve Bujold) who happens to be the widow of a former co-worker of Stuart. We are not told whether Stuart had anything to do with the death of Denise's husband so he could put the moves on her but they could have added that to the plot too. Generally in these types of films they throw everything in but the kitchen sink anyway so why not?

Then on the other side of town we have motorcycle daredevil Miles Quade(Richard Roundtree) along with partner Sal Amici(Gabriel Dell) getting ready to put on the show of his life. His sister is Rosa Amici(Victoria Principal, before Dallas)who has about the funkiest curly hairdo I think I've ever seen on film. Think Shirley Temple with coal black hair. Then there's supermarket manager, weekend warrior, Jody(Marjoe Gortner)who happens to be a fanatic about women with curly coal black naturally curly hair as you'll soon discover. Now all this might sound interesting on paper, and might make a good soap-opera. In this film it's all useless information since this is a film about an earthquake and after it hits we could care less about what happens up to that point. Think of it as the filler before the thriller.

Even without the oscillating seats, the earthquake itself is still fun to watch. We get skyscrapers crashing to the ground, buildings falling on people, shards of glass piercing the good citizen's skins, people scalded by stoves, houses explode, freeways cave in, Stuart, Remy, and Sam get trapped in a high rise, a bar comes crashing down around Lew, Miles big motorcycle stunt comes crashing down, Rosa loses her popcorn in a movie theater, Denise's son takes a dive on his bike, and good boy Jody gets to put his uniform on and show us just how psychotic and messed up he really is. This is cool stuff folks even for 1974 type special effects. Unfortunately, the Earthquake momentarily subsides and we are left to deal with some of the silly plotting the film started out with. Guess you can't have everything.

If you can overlook the usual silliness and terrible dialog which seems to go with the territory in disaster films, you might be entertained by some close calls and daring rescues after the earthquake. You'll certainly get a few laughs out of Marjoe Gortner's cracked-up soldier performance. George Kennedy is pretty darn good as the cop. Heston is better than he was in that Airport thingy, and though his romance with Bujold is an obvious mismatch, it doesn't come near to equaling the absurdity of his relationship with Karen Black on that 747. Ava Gardner plays the bitchy Remy as if she were competing for the Shrew Olympics. Lorne Greene looks as if he wishes he was back on the Ponderosa with Hoss, Adam and Little Joe. Richard Roundtree is fun as the daredevil, but we see little of him after the earthquake. Tiger Williams as Denise's son Corry spends most of the film unconscious and we are grateful for that. Usually the kids in disaster films are scripted to be overly cute and annoying. I think there's a rule in the screenwriter's disaster film handbook about that too.

If I have one suggestion to make it would be avoid the version of this film with the added TV footage at all costs. For those of you familiar with Welcome Back Kotter, if you see any footage of Rosalie 'Hotzie' Totzie(Debralee Scott)riding an airplane, change the channel, remove the tape, just do what you have to do. Why this goofy footage was ever added is beyond me.

In it's original form my grade for Mark Robson wiping out L.A.: C- Hotzie Totzie gets an F and it's back to the sweat hogs for her.

The Actual Earthquake Was Pretty Good - Otherwise, We Wait - And Wait

[sddavis63 · 3/10 · 25 April 2016]

To give credit where credit is due - those special effects people managed to put together a pretty good depiction of this massive earthquake that strikes Los Angeles. And it goes on and on for quite a long time. And buildings collapse and houses explode as gas lines break and a massive dam is threatened and people are buried in the debris, and they tumble to their deaths or the elevator that they're on crashes down, and ... and ... and ... By the standards of 1970's special effects that was really well done. Unfortunately, you also have to sit through the rest of the movie, which ... well ... ain't so well done!

We get almost an hour of soap-ish type filler before the actual earthquake hits. Yes, I know that's mandatory in these kinds of films. It's as if somebody in the 1970's decided that adding all these personal subplots about the characters would make viewers more interested; maybe we'd get to know the characters and their lives better and we'd care more. Uh. No. I just really wanted to get to the earthquake and its aftermath. I didn't really care who was having an affair with who, or any of the other numerous subplots that got going in that first hour - although it was rather fun to watch one cop punch out another in an apparent dispute over jurisdiction and - believe it or not - Zsa Zsa Gabor's hedge (not that she makes an appearance.) Basically, I spent almost an hour thinking, "can't we just get to the earthquake. Please. PLEASE!" And then it comes - and it's great, and it lasts for a few minutes - and then it's over, and we get back into many of those soap-ish subplots, through which we see the aftermath of the earthquake. This was perhaps a little more interesting than the lead-up. For example, although it wasn't graphically depicted, I was a bit surprised to see a movie from this era depict a soldier apparently trying to rape a young woman. But really - the movie had telegraphed for a long time that the real suspense was going to eventually come from the dam bursting and how many were going to be saved and who was going to die as a result. So in that second part of the movie, we waited for that to happen. There was a lot of waiting for things to happen in this movie.

This had a decent cast. These 70's disaster movies always seemed to be able to attract well known names, and even a few truly big stars. Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner are in this, for example. There were secondary movie stars like George Kennedy and Walter Matthau (in an inexplicably and totally unnecessary role as a drunk at a bar who basically just wants another drink no matter what's happening around him.) There was Lorne Greene (much better known for his TV work as Ben Cartwright in "Bonanza.") And there was Victoria Principal (still a few years away from TV stardom as Pam Ewing on "Dallas") as the almost rape victim - who I didn't even recognize, as she was made up in this really far- out curly sort of hairstyle. (I had seen her name in the credits and was actually looking for her and didn't recognize her until the closing credits revealed which character she was. I had to go back and look. Now - knowing her character - I could recognize her.)

Some of those 1970's disaster type movies are a lot of fun, and pretty well done. I'd say this one doesn't exactly rank at the top (or even near the top) of that list. But the actual earthquake is fun. No doubt about that. (3/10)

Fine Destruction

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 20 March 2016]

Remy (Ava Gardner) and Stuart Graff (Charlton Heston)'s marriage is falling apart. She ODs once again after another fight. During a small earthquake, she jumps up and reveals that she's faking. He's a construction engineer working for his father-in-law Sam Royce (Lorne Greene). He starts an affair with the widow of his friend and single mom Denise Marshall (Geneviève Bujold). There is a mysterious drowning at a local dam and other disturbing signs. LAPD cop Lou Slade (George Kennedy) gets suspended for punching a clueless county cop. Miles (Richard Roundtree) is a motorcycle rider perfecting a new stunt. Grad student Russell predicts the big one in 48 hours.

Walter Matthau's getup is hilarious. That bar is a weird place and that T-shirt is super fine. I like that group of characters. They're a little off-beat and slightly fun. I care a lot less about the affair and the jealousy within the Graff marriage. They could drop into the earth for all I care. The earthquake action is as much as can be expected with shaking cameras, miniatures, falling styrofoam and other stuntwork. This is good special effects for its times and satisfies the need for destruction. It's nowhere near as visually compelling as CGI but it feeds the same animal instincts. There is a good 15 minutes of continuous destruction. The aftermath is a mix of good rescue scenarios and bad melodrama.

"Mirthquake"

[mdouglasfresno · 1/10 · 16 January 2007]

Ah yes, watching this movie is a real nostalgic trip back to the mid-Seventies...when disaster movies were all the rage (making money no matter how badly slopped-together the result); "spot-the-star" epics answered questions of whatever happened to old actors ("Did you see Gloria Swanson in Airport 1975? Why, I thought she'd been dead for YEARS!"); Sensurround was new and fun (except if you happened to own the business right next to the neighborhood theater); loud plaid slacks and sport coats were fashionable (so were neckties 2 feet wide); and Shirley Temple mop-tops were "in" (even for guys).

Seems to me Earthquake garnered quite a few Oscars in it's day, as well. Let's see, there was "Most Ludicrous Casting in Movie History" (an old, haggard Ava Gardener playing Lorne Greene's DAUGHTER...guess he fathered her while still in diapers); "Most Painful Performance by a Major Star in a Cameo Role" (Walter Matthau's "hilarious" turn as a dancing wino who entertains the poor survivors in a parking garage); "Most Excruciating Rescue Scene" (getting a hundred people down a broken stairwell, ONE AT A TIME, using an office chair and a fire hose); and "Most Boring Screen Couple of All-Time" (the newlyweds on the incoming jumbo jet)....oh, wait, that last one was an Emmy-winner, since it was not included in the original theatrical release, but tacked on for the network premier. Gee but AM I GLAD somebody thought of including 45 minutes on this subplot -- the movie might have actually been boring without the inclusion of these fascinating rejects from a deodorant commercial.

Let's see what else Earthquake has to offer. Oh, yes there's small-time operator Richard Roundtree's "thrilling" death ride on a motorcycle (He jumps thru a ring of fire. WHOA! Move over, Evel Knievel). And Marjoe Gortner's wide-eyed lunatic Guardsman with the hots for afro-wearing Victoria Principal (upholding his honor by shooting two dudes who insinuated he was gay). Then there's some riveting scenes between bored-looking Charlton Heston and drunkard wife Ava Gardner (I recall the biggest laughs in the theater occurring when he forsakes cute Genevieve Bujold for shrewish Ava, heroically plunging down a raging storm drain to his death in a vain attempt to save her). George Kennedy virtually reprising his character from TV's "The Blue Knight" (wait a minute, wasn't he supposed to appear as Joe Petroni in the jumbo jet subplot? Somebody goofed). Oh yes, the gripping rescue of Genevieve's kid in an open storm drain from (gasp!) a power line AND onrushing water! (The brat is unconscious thru this whole ordeal, mercifully for him and the audience). Folks, it just doesn't get any better than this. Earthquake definitely constitutes "must see" TV!

"Earthquake" of the human mind.

[TruPretender · 9/10 · 29 May 2005]

"Sometimes, earthquakes bring out the worst in people."

Thus is a line spoken by Sgt. Lew Slade in the last reel of the film "Earthquake." The earthquake(s) in this film are not so much metaphysical, as they might appear to be, but rather in the mind of the average human being in society as we know it today. The human mind is a fragile, and intricate creation, and we as a society must do our best to bring the human living standards to punctilious means.

L.A.: A high place for society and people of all types, and a place for the danger! The story begins with a high profile roster, starting with Stuart Graff(Charlton Heston) who is a top-of-the-food-chain executive in engineering and constructing "monstrosities" in Los Angeles. He is in a desolate marriage to Remy Royce- Graff(Ava Gardner.) He is carrying a friendship-and nothing more-with beautiful actress Denise Marshall(Genevieve Bujold), who lives near Sgt. Lew Slade(George Kennedy) who is being hassled by work and former charges Miles Quade(Richard Roundtree) and Sal Amici(Gabriel Dell) and his sister, Rosa(Victoria Principal.) All people are living frivolous, and in some ways, inspiring lives, of daredevil antics and blithe lifestyles. Then, as the title so perceptively puts it, an earthquake hits L.A. causing reckless mayhem to the buildings and petrifying danger to city inhabitants. But the story doesn't stop there. There are many quakes, and plenty of danger to go around, and that is where the story takes flight. The focus of this film is not the quake itself, but how it affects the people of L.A.

The film, being extremely Hollywood driven(note: the all-star cast; menacing "sensurround" effect) might appear to be presented as a top of the league disaster film of the trend which was popular at the time, and special effects driven, and it might have been, but there are also many artistic qualities to be found here. One has to examine it first. The scariest thing about this film is that it is plausible, though not probable. The other disaster films at the time were all man made disasters(boats upside-downing; Fire spreading through out a sky- scraper) but "Earthquake" was the first disaster film to show a disaster that might actually happen, and present characters that people can relate to, in such a treacherous situation. These are real people, and most of them are affected in ways beyond psychological apprehension. But director Robson still manages to make it a fun and enjoyable film without making the situations seem too grim.

The characters could all be discussed in a psychology class, to be analyzed even, as each one has his/her own story to tell. However, one of the main characters, the "quake" itself gets credit too. As there are two jolts, the big quake, and then an unexpected aftershock to boot, there is more than enough rumble to go around. The "rumble" though, is lasting through out the characters minds, as each one goes a little crazy after the shake, be it irrational, or rational, as there are many different types of people in society. There is parallel destruction going on as well. As the city is torn apart, so are these people and the way they view life, as one character loses it and blows away some fellow roommates who have mistreated him, while others are healed, as a Sgt. who is a drunk and louse, who shapes up and becomes really responsible after the quake. These specifications may or may not be apprehensive to the average audience, and true, opinion is opinion, but "Earthquake" is a good film that demonstrates how we as a society have allowed for far too long the deterioration of our world and all that affects it. This world is not a toy, it needs to be taken care of, and when we as a society are mean to it(and each other for that matter) mother nature strikes back at us.

Be it a big Hollywood Blockbuster, or social commentary, which ever you choose, this film is a great, and overlooked gem in Hollywood history, and an interesting one to read up on(the special effects were outstanding and won a well deserved Oscar) and study in film classes. Great performances by all as well. Mario Puzo wrote the precursor to the "Superman" earthquake with this one, and Mark Robson has a guilty pleasure tone to his directing.

Great fun.

Classy disaster of the 70s with big name cast and decent special effects

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 25 May 2019]

Ordinary catastrophe movie in soap opera and vintage style with all star cast dealing with a huge earthquake outbursts at a noisy city. It has a long prologue presenting Charlton Heston, his drunk wife, Ava Gardner, and his lover, Genevieve Bujold. As well as other characters as a spectacle motorcycle rider, Richard Roundtree, a drunken man, Walter Matthaw, an avenger military, Marjoe Gortner, a besieged beautiful girl, Victoria Principal, and several others. As an earthquake causing death, destruction and wreak havoc. This impressive quake has an awesome and destructive power enhanced by the sensorround sound.

Acceptable disaster movie paced in fits and starts with a great cast, though a little wasted. The impressive cast cannot save this passable film , at all. It lacks deep characterization , displaying some boring moments and a tiring script that was presumibly well paid . This was a successful catastrophe movie that belongs to disaster movie genre of the 70s and 80s such as Towering inferno, Poseidon, Beyond Poseidon, The swarm, Avalanche, The Russian rollercoaster, Avalanche express , Airport I, II, III.. and whose main representative was producer Irwin Allen. It packs primitive and traditional special effects by LB Abbott , with no computer generator effects . It contains an atmospheric and adequate cinematography by Philip H. Lahtrop. And a sensitive and enjoyable musical score by the always great and incombustible John Williams. Main cast is pretty well, giving understanding interpretations as Charlton Heston, Genevieve Bujold, Ava Gardner and Lorne Greene. Support cast is frankly excellent such as Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Barry Sullivan, Pedro Armendariz Jr, John Randolph, Scott Hylands, Donald Moffat, brothers Jesse, Alan Vint, Walter Matthaw, George Murdock and usual in catastrophe movies, George Kennedy, among others.

The motion picture financed by Jennings Lang who produced Airport series was professionally directed by Mark Robson. He was a classical director. Robson had a prolific career, delivering classic movies, as well as hits and flops. He directed some classy terror movies as Ghost ship, Bedlam, The seventh victim ,Isle of dead, all of them produced by Val Lewton. Subsequently, he directed all kinds of genres in films as Peyton Place, The harder they fall, Edge of doom, Champion, Bright victory, Trial , Bridges at Toko-Ri, Return to Paradise, The inn of the sixth happiness, Valley of dolls, Von Ryan express, Last command , The prize, From the terrace, among others. Rating 6/10. Acceptable, passable and decent disaster movie.

Comments on two versions on Earthquake (contains spoilers)

[Abies · 4/10 · 29 August 2003]

I first saw "Earthquake" in a small-town theater newly equipped with Sensurround, and it was a pretty fun experience, at age 14.

I might be able to clarify an issue or two for people who may have only seen the movie recently and who may be confused. At this time, most are probably seeing "Earthquake" on AMC. This is a bloated version that one of the networks (NBC?) cobbled together in the mid-70s when it first showed "Earthquake" on TV. My recollection (from almost 30 years ago, mind you) is that the network added a lot of poorly-done footage, specifically the entire subplot with the interminable scenes of the newlywed couple on the airplane!. It wanted to broadcast the movie as a big, two-night ratings extravaganza, but messed it up by adding airplane! scenes that were boring, cheap and cheesy. Not that the movie is all that great in any version, but in its original form it was tighter and had better production values.

Watching the AMC (NBC?) version recently, I am reminded that the network did a horrible editing job. Early on, the airplane! is passing over a smoggy and uninspiring Grand Canyon, en route to LA, with an ETA of, what, 45 or 50 minutes? Cut back to the original LA scenes, where Charlton Heston goes through enough experiences involving his career and love life to occupy several ordinary days, and is leaving the office when the earthquake starts. Sometime later, we cut back to the airplane!, which is just landing in LA at this point. The airplane! scenes look as though they were filmed for about $500, with talent that should have stuck with doing deodorant ads. The rest of the movie isn't too bad, although as '70s disaster movies go, I much prefer "The Poseidon Adventure."

Good at the time but time wearies.

[druidman · 25 December 2000]

In 1974 I was 29 years old when I first saw this movie. At the time I didn't question the suitability of the lead stars as I had grown up with them appearing in other films. Considering all the various genre of films I had seen up to that time, I must confess that it didn't seem a bad effort at that point in time. I grew up with various westerns and others and one film in particular I remember well is the classic "King Kong".

Critics who knock this film must remember that 1974 was a transitional period where techniques were still being learned. Without the benefit of computers, I might add. When you have grown up with computer wizardry, that is, since the start of the seventies, it it far easier to find fault than to see the merit in what these people achieved.

However, with the passage of time, one realizes the major fault with this film was the poor casting. This should not detract from the efforts of the special effects people. They have led the way and shown the young people coming along what can be done with skill and imagination. 3/10 for casting, 6/10 for special effects.

Earthquake

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 13 August 2016]

LA is rocked by a series of quakes, leading to the city collapsing into rubble, fire, and damaged structural integrity. The population endures danger and death as a result. To make matters worse: the nearby dam is on the verge of bursting!

Get this out of the way: critique this based on plot and characterizations, besides how people suffer at the aftermath of quakes, and Earthquake is a rather unimpressive enterprise. Marjoe Gortner is a supermarket checkout in the National Guard who turns out to be an unstable psycho sexually obsessed with Victoria Principal (rocking a fro), who herself is the sister of a tag-along of stuntman Richard Roundtree (who had made his name in the Shaft films). There's Ava Gardner starring as Charlton Heston's shrill, noisy wife (sadly a far cry from that curvy seductress who made heads turn, showing up in her first scene bitching Heston out!) and Lorne Green's "daughter" (ha!). Pretty Bujold is the "other woman" who Heston eyes as a future squeeze. George Kennedy comes off best as a suspended cop who punches out a county officer for challenging his pursuit of a dirtbag in a convertible leading an incredible high speed chase that nearly claims innocent victims along the way.

The money was well spent on the effects. The major city quake and subsequent dam break are knockouts. While the supporting subplots generate less enthusiasm, I couldn't say I wasn't entertained. There's a good sense of humor (the bar fight, Matthau taking shots at the bar as the city collapses around him!), well developed suspense (Bujold braving loose electrical wires to rescue her injured son, Greene lowering down his employees on a chair using a fire hose as the stairs on his floor were gone), and decent foreshadowing (seismologists Barry Sullivan and Kip Niven discussing recent evidentiary findings that support scary quakes ahead, the folks at the dam realizing the structure could disrupt at any moment) really deliver where it counts.

The plot is busy with moving parts but it is the effects and heroism that this disaster film hangs it's hat on. Looking for intricate plot development and strong performance art wasn't on the agenda. This was aimed for butts in seats and an audience looking for shock and awe. Heston's former football star, now a rising architectural exec getting promotions by papa-in-law Greene to appease constantly- griping Ava isn't exactly a subplot that leaps off the screen pleasantly. But Kennedy organizing a rescue operation on the outset of catastrophe is. Jesse Vint and his homophobic goons haranguing Gortner, later machine-gunned by him is a stunning scene. Bujold is lost on a film such as this, but her beauty is tapped instead of her talent. The falling bodies and debris as the city crash and burns is incredible. One gripe: the cartoon blood during an elevator collapse!

On shaky ground

[Chase_Witherspoon · 6/10 · 27 October 2012]

Middle of the road disaster movie attempt has all the elements, but just misses the right tone needed to assure the momentum for a two-hour shakedown. Heston (hot on the heels of "Skyjacked" and moments away from "Airport 1975") and Gardner are beyond their prime in roles perhaps better suited to younger performers, nevertheless, there is ample youth displayed in Marjoe Gortner playing an unhinged national guardsman taking his duty far too seriously, Richard Roundtree riding the "Shaft" wave as a self-styled Evel Kneivel, and beauties Genevieve Bujold and Victoria Principal in shallow, supporting roles.

The story revolves around the destruction of Los Angeles following a series of tremors, claiming the lives of many of the cast and sparing some who probably should have perished. Lorne Greene plays Ava Gardner's dad (apparently he was 4 or 5 when she was conceived), Barry Sullivan is a seismologist, and for some unknown reason Walter Matthau plays a barfly who's too sozzled to know what's happening when the big one razes the bar (so to speak). There's the usual solar system worth of stars and character actors in varying roles ranging from George Kennedy as an LAPD cop with plenty on his plate, to HB Haggerty and Lonny Chapman in an uncredited role.

Made at a time when these type of films were in vogue, you didn't need to think too hard about the back stories and soap opera melodrama, just recline and enjoy the ensuing pandemonium, here, focused mainly on the post-earthquake looting and usual stories of heroism, survival and sometimes, tragedy. Nothing heavy nor sentimental with which to contend, it's just plain old meat and drink, take it or leave it, disaster movie 101.

Cheesy

[Sam_Owens · 5/10 · 13 October 2004]

Lorne Green as Ava Gardner's father? Did I get that right? Worth watching too see Pam Ewing aka Victoria Principal. She showed more acting ability though then she ever did on Dallas

The effects were bad...Hey Man! I want more camera shake!

Marjoe Gortner? When did he work last?

Lots of sterotyping going on. George Kennedy is always a cop. Good period piece though to see what people were wearing.

Really though as far as disaster movies go this wasn't much of a disaster. Unless you consider cramming a movie lot with lots of styrofoam bricks and concrete.

Better than most disaster films, not as good as Towering Inferno

[randjaky · 7/10 · 21 April 2022]

Mario Puzo must have worked with his collaborator about a day to come up with the script for this film. It's that bad, EXCEPT for the humor in a few scenes, mostly those in the seedy bar where everyone gathers to hang out. George Kennedy is surprisingly amusing as a disillusioned cop. Victoria Principal runs around dressed in a fright wig looking like Katherine Cleaver. She spend most of the film watching Clint Eastwood movies and fighting off sex pervert Marjoe. Making lapsed real-life Evangelist Marjoe the only true baddie in the film must have been some kind of in-joke.

The biggest joke of all: Ava Gardner as Lorne Greene's "daughter" when she looks like his grandmother. Getting old in Hollywood when you're a woman isn't pretty.

If you're in the mood for a 1970s disaster epic, you could do a lot worse. The first hour is boring, as they tend to be in this genre. But the special effects, although primitive by today's standard, are pretty effective, on a par with those in some of the best Godzilla films. If you've never seen a disaster film, I recommend starting with The Towering Inferno, not this. Better effects, better script, better acting, with Richard Chamberlain as a nasty villian as an added bonus.

There are worse ways to spend two hours...but not too many.

[Gideon24 · 5/10 · 13 March 2015]

Disaster movies were all the rage during the 1970's and one of the biggest hits of the genre was 1974's Earthquake, whose self-explanatory title lets you know what you're in for, but unlike similar fare like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, only about a third of the film really works.

As with most films of the genre, the film opens with silly exposition scenes introducing a group of disparate characters that have no connection to each other and provide no reason for us to care about them. The primary players include an architect named Stewart Graff (Charlton Heston) trapped in a marriage to a grasping and desperate woman named Remy (Ava Gardner), who is the daughter of Stewart's boss (Lorne Greene). We also learn that Graff is having an affair with a struggling actress named Denise (Genvieve Bujold) who has a young son. We also meet a motorcycle daredevil (Richard Roundtree), his assistant (Victoria Principal) and an ex-marine turned sex deviate who works in a grocery store (Marjoe Gortner), not to mention a recently fired police officer played by George Kennedy, who I think, by law, appeared in all disaster films made in the 70's.

The scenes when the earthquake actually hits and destroys Los Angeles are pretty effective, but the final third of the film involving the actual rescue efforts is dull and extremely hard to get through. The performances range from shrill to annoying and some of the casting is really hard to swallow (Ava Gardner as Lorne Greene's daughter? Seriously?), but I guess if you're really, really, bored, there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours. BTW, Walter Matthau makes a cameo appearance as a drunk in a bar and is billed under his real name, Walter Matuschanskayasky.

The Big One Flattens The Big Orange

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 30 September 2011]

Although the great Earthquake predicted does not sink California into the Pacific Ocean the one in this film does a pretty good job of flattening Los Angeles and putting in peril a whole lot of movie names with varying degrees of recognition. In that respect Earthquake is your typical Seventies disaster film.

The leads are an unhappily married Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner. Heston married the boss's daughter when he was working his way through college on an athletic scholarship, but now he's a top man in his field of architecture and can leave any time he wants, a fact that his boss and Ava's father Lorne Greene appreciates. In the meantime Ava's pill popping and gin swilling has caused Heston to be carrying on with young widow Genevieve Bujold.

That's the main story line, but Earthquake also has various and sundry interesting characters such as Policeman George Kennedy, Daredevil cyclist Richard Roundtree with brother and sister assistants Gabriel Dell and Victoria Principal. And of course playing a National Guardsman with some real issues is former evangelist Marjoe Gortner.

That famous Sensurround sound which shook movie theaters back when Earthquake was in theatrical release guaranteed an Oscar in that department. The film also won another Oscar for Visual Effects. It's now a popular ride at Universal City in Orlando, Florida with Charlton Heston's canned narration still being used.

Walter Matthau in a god awful pimp's outfit has a really funny bit as a drunk in a bar totally oblivious to what is happening around him. Maybe he was the smartest of the characters in the cast.

Earthquake in terms of plot and acting is a cut above some of the great disaster films of the era. But it really has to be seen in theaters to get the right appreciation.

even Sensurround didn't make this a good movie

[steve.schonberger · 4/10 · 22 June 2000]

I saw Earthquake on the big screen, complete with the giant "Sensurround" sub-woofer installation. Everyone went, to see the spectacle and feel Sensurround, but the only good thing about the movie was that it sold lots of tickets. Walking in, we wondered how cool Sensurround would be. Half way through, we wondered when something interesting would happen. Walking out, we wondered if it was bad enough to kill the disaster genre entirely.

The Sensurround didn't feel like an earthquake (as anyone who has experienced a real one would know), it felt like a giant sub-woofer. Worse, it could rumble at only one tone and loudness -- it was either on or off. Even though I was a kid, I wondered why the Sensurround speakers couldn't make us feel the difference between the little "warning" earthquake, the Big One, and the aftershocks. The only difference between the quakes was how long they lasted. What does it say about the movie when kids in the audience are thinking about the deficiencies of the movie's big gimmick, rather than caring about what was happening in the movie?

On the small screen, without even the gimmick attraction of the flawed Sensurround, I can't imagine this movie being entertaining, except as an object of audience mockery. Unless you're in the mood to laugh at bad movie-making, see The Poseidon Adventure instead.

Great fun and a little bit educational.

[HeartMonger · 10/10 · 5 May 2005]

What can I say about "Earthquake" that hasn't already been said before? A cast that includes Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, Lorne Greene, Genevieve Bujold, George Kennedy, and Victoria Principal, head this great story of Los Angeles and the lives that are affected by those who live their after a tremor registers at 7,1! The lives and lifestyles of these people, some pleasant, and some not, are put to the test as they are forced to deal with the cause and effect of having a thriving city on tectonic plates, that are rapidly moving. A gem of a film, ridiculed to no end because of varying opinions that should not matter to one of those inquiring minds! Ugh! And they say smoking is bad for you. People need to open their minds, and see. See that this film is not half as bad as most say it is. True, this film is a big Hollywood monopoly fest, and their are no unknowns to be seen, as you have Charlton Heston(Ben-Hur); Ava Gardner(MGM actress); Genevieve Bujold(Anne of a Thousand Days); among others, and even co-stars as Richard Roundtree(Shaft) and Victoria Principal(Dallas.) The cast works really well together, and the print shines.

There are a lot of facts explored here, such as animals crying out or running away moments before the quakes, that really give chills out of the reality of it. These are the really great things that happen, and give excitement, not artificial scares made up for the ongoing monopoly that this film has such a reputation for, but rather realistic knowledge that shows what might happen would such a quake strike the earth at such force. Also of note are the scenes with the dam, and the water rising after each "pre-shock" while a man falls out of an elevator full of water, drowned from it.

Great sets as well. Many sets are being torn apart in the quake scenes, while maintaining the reality of sets the tone.

The effects, which won a very deserved Oscar, are what really opens the audience's eyes. We see the valley, we see Capital Records, we see Wilshire, and even Zsa Zsa Gabor's bushes get totally eschewed during the disaster. What is really amazing, is that such matting and blue screen was put to use, that to this day, I still scratch my head on how it was all done. It would really be nice to see a featurette on how they did it all. Those scenes, in which there is an after shock, show millions of people running from a huge building that is literally falling to pieces before our very eyes! Amazing stuff. There is truly beauty in this film when looked for. An event... as the tagline reads is right. Every one knows earthquakes cause damage, but how much damage is seen? It was amazing to see Los Angeles fall to pieces, and show the rest of the world what it would be like were a 7.1 ricter scale.

Equally great is the Mario Puzo script. The first thing that drew me to this film was how well it pulls the audience into the drama between the characters. Think, in recent films, "Magnolia" meets "Volcano." The relationship between Heston and Gardner, while, can be laughable due to the nature of two divas facing off, is still capable of being appreciated. George Kennedy as a worn out cop plays strictly for drama, and even though he is inter cut with Walter Matthau as a sleazy barman cameo, he gets some seriousness for himself in the end. The structure of the film, from the setting up of the characters some fun(like Principal as Rosa Amici with her friend Roundtree as a daredevil) or characters that you can relate to(Bujold is great as aspiring actress.) As for the development of the disaster itself, the way the tremors start as small, and then the big shake, and then the after shock, builds really well, and the characters, with their emotional baggage and structured emotions deep, intertwine and create a great story that is fun for all.

Sensurround was a fast growing mechanism used in films and was fully extent in this one. Many people see this technique as the only reason this film was made, and yes, this was a big Hollywood picture made for monopoly purposes, but there was art in it from the artists who those big wigs hired.

There is a really good film here, and it still stands to this day. Great score by John Williams and there is a website you can go to to further understand the film as it is.

In the end, even though the reviews have not given this film the justice it deserved, the loyal filmmakers that appreciate art and the joy of dedication and film-making have kept this film where it belongs, with the reputation it deserves.

Better than its reputation, actually better than Towering and Airport

[Chricke-2 · 7/10 · 6 November 2005]

As being fascinated by 70s disaster movies I kept scores on the ratings of films such as Airport, Towering Inferno, Poseidon adventure and ...Earth Quake. I heard negative things about the latter one, and the scores on IMDb indicate likewise. When I by chance found a DVD-copy of this film in a bargain bin for a very low price, I reasoned that the price was affordable enough given its bad repute. Therefore, I was surprised to be quite bitten by the movie almost instantly after the initial credits were rolling. In terms of production values, I judge Earthquake at least as professional and detailed as Towering inferno, if not even more realistic. Those who actually live in L.A. perhaps now how they faked the geography, etc, but the film does manage to draw the spectator in the scenery and create a certain realistic presence. The effects of the Towering Inferno were actually cheesier, this goes especially for the skyscrapers scenes, which are definitely more convincing here than in Towering. Maybe the extras used for the hospital scenes are a bit too rehearsed for the next "surpise" after shelve, but this is also the case in most other disaster flicks.

Plot wise then, and in narration, it has perhaps some shortcomings, there is not a definite apocalyptic climax, and the end may to certain spectators appear to be somewhat sudden, although I actually felt that it offered some moral logic. Because, as is the case for all true big Hollywood disaster flicks from the era, the story is actually a pretext for supplying old-fashioned morality lessons in an era that had already ceded to sins and secularity. All sinners get theirs here, but I noted that the film spares no-one, the extremist weapons fetishist as well as the middle class adulterer will meet their horrific destiny. One may almost call this cynicism, because the inner moral voice of this film does not appear to have taken a rightist or leftist side. It is rather resigned and world-weary. Once again an interesting comparison to Towering can be made, since Towering on the surface takes on a more middle-class leftist approach, where Paul Newman as center of moral gravity, the angry and aware intellectual. Here, the corresponding character is perhaps George Kennedy's antihero, the tired copper who does not carry moral cookies in his pockets, but on the other hand acts humanly to those in need. The same moody resignation you will find in the way the marriage between Ava and Charlton is presented, a sad failure, they don't hate it each other, he just cannot find any ounce of feeling for his alcoholic, middle aged wife. So, when it comes to characterization, I would definitely give Earthquake a higher score than both Towering and Airport, which are dominated by more shallowly drawn characters.

Speaking about score finally, the lovers of John Williams will be satisfied; his strings are used effectively here. As always, I have many more things to say, requiring many thousands of words more, but I stop here to not get tedious.

A gaudy rumble in the concrete jungle

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 2 September 2002]

Bummer disaster epic with truly stupefying casting: Lorne Greene plays Ava Gardner's father (what was he, a horny seven-year-old?) while Marjoe Gortner is Victoria Principal's stalker (he's a grocery manager and part-time soldier who...oh, never mind). "Earthquake" does just what it promises--destroys Los Angeles--and it certainly has the requisite ingredients of a hammy disaster flick, yet it is relentlessly downbeat. The actors are kept angrily grinding their teeth, barking orders at each other (star-hero Charlton Heston leads with his granite jaw, only loosening up when flirting with single mom Geneviève Bujold). Shock effects galore, but the picture wears down the audience in a depressing way. Bujold is lovely, and Richard Roundtree has a fun role as a motorcycle-riding daredevil but, at this point, Heston and George Kennedy were getting a bit too ubiquitous in these type of surroundings. For the sheer spectacle of the thing: ** from ****