Earthquake (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | earthquake |
| Original title | Earthquake |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1974 |
| length | 123 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Mark Robson |
| script |
George Fox Mario Puzo |
| production |
Jennings Lang Mark Robson |
| music | John Williams |
| camera | Philip H. Lathrop |
| cut | Dorothy Spencer |
| occupation | |
| |
Earthquake (original title: Earthquake ) is a disaster film from 1974 . Directed by Mark Robson , it starred Charlton Heston , Ava Gardner , George Kennedy , Lorne Greene , Geneviève Bujold and Richard Roundtree . The script was written by Mario Puzo .
The film was the first ever to be released in cinemas using the so-called Sensurround sound system. By using several amplifiers and ten specially adapted subwoofers , a sound pressure was generated that made the seats and walls in the cinema vibrate. This gave the impression of a real earthquake; this went so far that some moviegoers fled the hall.
action
The metropolis of Los Angeles is shaken by several small earth tremors. Nobody suspects, however, that these are only intended to be the harbingers of a catastrophe of devastating proportions that will strike the city within 24 hours. At the Hollywood Dam (Mulholland Dam) an employee drowned during a patrol. The incident is being investigated, but initially there is no explanation. Inexplicably, the level of the reservoir rises . Then cracks in the dam are discovered; an aftershock finally causes it to collapse and large parts of the city are flooded. The day is depicted from the perspective of different people; the individual storylines are intertwined several times.
The marriage of Stewart Graff and his wife Remy has failed. Remy is addicted to alcohol , while Stewart seeks happiness in a romance with the young actress Denise. Remy tries to stop this by asking her father, Sam Royce, Stewart's boss, to promote Stewart if he ends his relationship with Denise in return. Eventually the situation comes to a head when, during a rescue operation in a flooded sewer shaft, Stewart has to decide whether he should try to save Remy or whether he should get to safety and start a new life with Denise. Stewart chooses the former, and both he and Remy drown.
Police officer Lew is suspended from duty because he has lost his temper again during an operation due to his hot-headedness and his keen sense of justice. In the face of the catastrophe, however, he surpasses himself and can thus save the young Rosa from being raped . In the devastated city he meets Stewart and helps him rescue several people who have been buried in an underground car park, including Remy and Denise.
Miles and Sal are having their big day: They want to give an artist agent from Las Vegas their motorcycle stunt show and are hoping for a contract. Because they are a little short of money, they borrow money from Lew, she with Sal's sister Rosa bewitch . Just as they are about to begin the demonstration, the earthquake breaks through the city and destroys the course .
The shy, feminine Jody is a manager of a supermarket where Rosa also regularly goes shopping. He is very fond of her, but does not dare to reveal himself to her. Some guys in his neighborhood constantly tease him about his looks and call him a fagot . When he catches these guys as looters while on duty for the National Guard , he shoots them without further ado. He takes Rosa, who is also suspected of looting, under his wing and becomes intrusive. She defends herself and wants to flee; Just at this point, Stewart and Lew appear. Rosa begs Lew for help, who shoots Jody in self-defense .
Walter Russell, a young employee at the Seismological Institute in Los Angeles, has calculated that a major earthquake will be imminent in the near future. But since there are no proven calculation methods so far, one does not believe him immediately. His supervisor fears that a possible false report will ruin the reputation of the institute and the mayor is afraid that a public warning might trigger unnecessary panic . Ultimately, however, reservists are called up just in case.
background
The real star of the film in 1974 was the Sensurround sound. In some cinemas, up to three rows of seats were removed to make room for the sound system that produced the appropriate sound effect.
Universal Studios and Jennings Lang wanted the film Earthquake to be an event film, now a blockbuster , and to attract audiences to the cinema several times. After a few performances, styrofoam stones were thrown down on the audience in order to make the film more effective and to make the impression of an earthquake more real. The Universal Sound department also used a newly developed processor called Sensurround, as well as a series of large loudspeakers with an amplifier output of 1,500 watts , developed by the US company Cerwin-Vega . These worked in the sub-audible ( infra - bass ) sound wave frequency range at around 120 decibels ; this corresponds roughly to a jet at take-off. This gave the viewer the feeling of an earthquake just taking place. The processor was tested in several theaters across the United States prior to the film's release, with mixed results. A famous example is Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood , California , where Sensurround was causing the plaster to come off the ceiling. The same cinema theater premiered Erdbeben three months later, with enormous success, but with a newly installed net over the audience to catch falling debris.
The Sensurround sound turned out to be a great crowd puller, but also led to controversy. For example, there have been cases of nosebleeds caused by the sound waves. When the film was due to premiere in Chicago , Illinois , the building and safety director refused to approve the system, fearing it could cause structural damage.
Sensurround was used again for the films Battle for Midway (1976), Roller Coaster (1977) and Battlestar Galactica (1978/79).
Movie versions for the home
Earthquake was first evaluated for home theater in 1978. Universal Eight, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures , released the film in an 18-minute version on both Super 8 and 16 mm. The short version only contains the storyline with Denise, Remy and Stewart. The short version was also published in German and French when VHS and DVD did not yet exist. In the broadcasts on television and the publications for home (Super-8, VHS), the feeling of an earthquake never came through due to the poor sound quality.
On the DVD of "Universal Home Video" from 2003, the English soundtrack version has a similar "Sensurround" soundtrack to that of the original movie from 1974. The DVD version does not achieve the sound effect as it did in the cinema in 1974 because the soundtrack only in mono sound and directed towards the 3 front speakers (left, center and right sound channel) instead of an effective 4.1 sound track mix. So there is no real subwoofer use . The German original dubbed version from 1974 is available on the DVD in Dolby Digital 2.1. The original soundtrack of the film was in surround - sound 5.1 developed with certain movie scenes are re-edited and mixed had.
In 2013 Universal released earthquakes in a visually and tonally revised form on Blu-ray . This release contains the German sound in DTS Digital Surround 5.1 and the English sound both in the losslessly compressed DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 and in DTS 2.1 Sensurround, which should give home cinema owners a slightly better feeling than before for the film. However, for technical and cost reasons, real Sensurround is only possible in an appropriately equipped cinema.
Trivia
Walter Matthau plays a small supporting role as a drunken guest in a bar. Originally intended as a short cameo , his name shouldn't actually appear in the credits. With the finished cut, it became clear to Matthau that his appearance was more like that of a supporting role and that his name would be mentioned. This was not his intention, so he made sure that he appeared in the credits as Walter Matuschanskayasky . As a result, Walter Matthau made use of this pseudonym a few more times.
criticism
“Disaster film with amazingly realistic scenes of destruction and a comparatively differentiated plot. A technically perfect show. "
“Although pretty much everything is on the cast list that (still) had rank and name in Hollywood in 1974, e. B. Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, the real stars of this ripper are the special effects. [...] Detailed models overlook the poor quality of the background matte paintings . "
Awards
The film won an Oscar in 1975 for special effects and sound , and received three other Oscar nominations. In 1975 he was nominated for the sound for the BAFTA Award . In 1975 he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for the screenplay and for Best Picture .
Web links
- Earthquakes in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Earthquake in the online film database
- Earthquake atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- Comparison of the cut versions FSK 12 TV - FSK 12 of earthquakes at Schnittberichte.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ earthquake. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ http://www.tvspielfilm.de/filmlexikon/?type=filmdetail&film_id=17653