''The Poseidon Adventure'' is a 2005 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as ...

based on

Paul Gallico Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictu ...

's 1969 novel of the same name. It is a loose

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the 1972 film of the same name and its 1979 sequel.

Plot

The plot centers on the SS ''Poseidon'', a 135,000-ton state-of-the-art luxury

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

on a cruise from

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

as well as the stories and dramas of some of the 3,700 passengers and crew. A terrorist operation plans to sink the ship. Four terrorists take two bombs aboard to sink the ship. Sea Marshal Mike Rogo is assigned to the ship to search for any suspicious activity. Passenger and father, Richard Clarke, is having an affair with Shoshanna, a crew member. His family is drifting away from him, and his wife Rachel kicks him out of the family's stateroom. Dylan, their 12-year-old son, witnesses this and is devastated. His older sister, Shelby, is in nursing school and falls in love with the ship's doctor Ballard. On New Year's Eve, a bomb planted by the group of terrorists explodes, blowing open a hole in the ship's hull. The officers on the bridge and the captain are all shot and killed by rogue waiters. Before the second bomb can explode, it is dismantled by Rogo who also shoots one of the terrorists. Because water is now entering only one side of the ship, the ship tips over, throwing many people to their deaths. As the ship continues to tilt, the center of gravity on the ship causes it to flip completely into an upside-down position. Many passengers and crew are injured, crippled, or killed. Ballard's arm is seriously injured. Shelby and one of the showgirls are trapped on a table that is secured to the floor, which is now the ceiling. They are both rescued. Shelby and Ballard then begin helping the injured. A small group of survivors, including Shelby's mother, prepare to escape the sinking ship through the hole left by the bomb. The cruise hotel manager convinces most survivors in the ballroom to stay, claiming the ship is not sinking. Shelby decides to stay and help the injured, but knows her mother and younger brother need to leave before it is too late. The others leave the ballroom as Shelby's mother promises to leave traces where the group has gone. They then painfully depart and Shelby waves to her mother with a bloody hand as episode one ends. Episode two begins with the navy realizing that the SS ''Poseidon'' has gone missing, and they send out a rescue team. In one of the ''Poseidon'' crew quarters, Richard and Shoshanna reach the ballroom through an air vent. Shelby confronts Shoshanna, as Richard decides to follow Rachel and the others with Ballard, Shelby, and Shoshanna. Meanwhile, the other group slowly move towards the hole, with a few people being killed. Rachel uses a damaged computer to send a

mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...

. Back in the ballroom, Richard's group finally decide to leave. Shelby tries to convince more people to come along but to no avail. As they leave the ballroom, a huge amount of water rushes into the ballroom, killing everyone who did not listen to Shelby. Meanwhile, Rogo's group splits up, with Rogo taking the terrorist into deeper water to question him, while the rest of the group continues on the path to rescue. Rogo meets up with Richard's group and they all meet up again in the area where the bomb exploded. The debris is too packed to get through. When the navy arrives, their explosives make it even more impossible to get out that way. They are forced to go through the engine room to detonate the other bomb and blast their way out. As they cross a fallen catwalk over a fiery abyss left by the engines, Shoshanna and the terrorist fall into the flames and die as the others escape. They find the other bomb, detonate it and successfully open a hole in the hull. The survivors jump into the water, and swim to nearby rescue boats. The survivors watch as ''Poseidon'' sinks bow first, while Suzanne Harrison, a British agent who had been helping out, laments the fact that there are only nine survivors.

Cast

Production

The film was made for television by Larry Levenson Productions, directed by

John Putch John Putch (born July 27, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his recurring role as Bob Morton on the 1970s sitcom '' One Day at a Time'' and as Sean Brody in the film ''Jaws 3-D''. Life and career Putch was born in C ...

, written by Bryce Zabel, starring

Adam Baldwin Adam Baldwin (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in '' Full Metal Jacket'' (1987) as Animal Mother, as well as in the television series ''Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 ...

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

and

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men a ...

. It was first aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

as a single three-hour event on November 20, 2005. It also aired in 2005 on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

in Australia (with the name ''The New Poseidon Adventure''), and in 2006 on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In this adaptation, the plot differs from the original book and first feature film in that the ship capsized because of a terrorist act. Though many of the characters remained the same, several were added. Some were dropped altogether. The character of Mike Rogo was changed to a sea marshal who works for the

U.S. Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

. The film's final scenes include details from the novel of the ''Poseidon'''s sinking that were not part of the 1972 film adaptation. The final shot was from the air as the ship's

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s slipped beneath the surface, which, by design or coincidence, matches several photographs taken by a news plane of the final moments of the SS ''Andrea Doria'' in 1956.

Home Video

The film was released on DVD on August 22, 2006.

References

External links