Earthquake (1974)

The disaster-movie trend of the early and mid-1970s was starting to wear out its welcome when Earthquake was released in 1974. It’s another one of those enjoyably mindless all-star marathons, and the title tells you all you need to know about the plot. Charlton Heston offers his trademark brand of macho courage as the citizens of Los Angeles brace for the Big One--an earthquake that rattles the city to its crumbling foundation. It's got all the sophistication of a Love Boat episode, but the movie's momentum scores high marks (at least on the Richter scale), and the Oscar-winning sound design and special visual effects are still impressive, especially when you consider that advanced computer-graphics effects were still two decades in the future. Genevieve Bujold adds a touch of class to the all-star ensemble, and of course, what self-respecting disaster flick would be complete without a role for George Kennedy? In more ways than one, this cheesy movie rocks! (If you want to re-create the movie's original sound process known as "Sensurround," you’ll just have to crank up the bass and subwoofer on your home theater system until plaster cracks and windows shatter!) --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Great movie, terrible DVD package

This is one my favorite movies but Universal blew it again with the DVD transfer. They fail to realize the potential revenue that can be made from these classic films. The picture quality is pretty good for a 70's movie but the movie is still heavily edited from the original version. There are so many scenes missing I couldn't even begin to list them all. There are NO extras, not even a trailer! The DVD was so poorly authored there is not even an audio or chapter menu! The sensuuround audio track is way too low even with the subwoofers maxed out. Universal should have released a 2 disc version with all existing footage included. A very disappointing release from Universal June 22, 2008

Superb video quality.

Despite what others have said about this DVD, the excellent quality of the video itself makes it a "5". We do have to remember that this is an old movie, but I feel that I've just seen it as it originally was in theaters. I used a 1080p hi-def TV and a blu-ray 1080p player, and I doubt that an actual blu-ray disk would be much better! The sound is fine, too, but I did not like the "sensurround" track, as it was flat except for the scenes containing earthquake noise, in which case it rattled the walls. The 5.1 track was good/loud enough, and was realistic. May 15, 2008

When the ground is shaking

A super quake hits L.A. everyone goes for the elevaders! The first time I saw it was in 3-D! great cast too. April 23, 2008

GOOD DISASTER FILM OK DVD EDITION!

By the time Earthquake came out the "Epic Disaster" films were starting to slide a little. This is a good one but, not as good as Poseidon or Towering. Lets face the facts.....these movies are not great classic movies in the traditional sense, but they are highly entertaining soap operas with tons of stars that look like a TV movie with a bigger budget. The FX range from great to laughable and the acting is about the same! I enjoy these movies, but only the ones I mentioned above and this one.....OK Airport is another good one! Did I leave any out? The DVD edition has a very good transfer,but nothing extra.....bummer! It deserved some attention...oh well........ September 9, 2007

Earthquake, LA rocks and rolls

I fell for this movie (ha,ha) because in early 1974 Universal was filming Earthquake and I was on the studio's backlot during that production.
The special effects are a bit "old" for these computer graphic times, but it's still scary to see the Capitol Records building shake and fall apart.

This version is the best to get...DO NOT buy the version by Good Times Video, their picture is widescreen tiny (on ANY TV)and the color is not as good as it is on this version.
Enjoy! September 5, 2007

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