Beyond the Poseidon Adventure Blu-ray Review

Jenny from the Block

A safe full of gold is enough onus to revisit the upside down rooms inside a cruise ship. Hidden weaponry is another. Even nuclear materials can justify this sequel. Beyond the Poseidon Adventure uses them all.

Add in a doctor’s grave diagnosis for a character, multiple romances, murder, a blind survivor, and celebrities in this spot for a paycheck to summarize this sequel. Credit goes to the writing team who pen a sensible story for a follow-up to an overturned boat, having two rival salvage teams stumble upon the crippled vessel, both seeking fortunes of different kinds.

Beyond the Poseidon Adventure recycles the danger, at times to a point of parody

It’s not a great start though. Star Michael Caine steers his tugboat in the same storm that doomed Poseidon Adventure’s ship, but rather than convincing audiences of the danger, someone is clearly spraying a stream of hose water just off screen, splashing it across the captain’s window. Once discovering the cruise ship, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure recycles the danger, at times to a point of parody.

When facing a potential disaster with Airplane II, creators the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams declined involvement. Nearly all of the jokes were identical as a result – and that was the joke, riffing on the Hollywood sequel. If any film inspired that dopey idea, it’s Beyond the Poseidon Adventure. At times, it’s a shot-for-shot remake, only with different people like Slim Pickens as a stereotypical Texan.

The only genuine heart in this follow-up comes from Caine and co-star Sally Field, who banter and argue like a married couple. They aren’t married, but their bickering means they inevitably will be from the first frames. It’s the only thing of note as the absurdity ticks ever upward, inflaming an already preposterous idea.

Field stated publicly this was the least favorite movie of hers. Caine apparently learned nothing and still chose to do Jaws the Revenge later in his career, learning about the “paycheck movie” almost certainly from Beyond the Poseidon Adventure. Irwin Allen never directed for the theatrical market again after this sequel sunk at the box office more than the boat itself in the movie.

Video

A moderate success, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure looks fine, even with only so-so resolution. Intact grain allows detail to show where possible behind overall softened visuals. Texture struggles to make it out of the film stock.

The best asset is the color, wonderfully bold and saturated. Flesh tones hold a minor warmth to give them energy, while primaries shine. Before going inside the boat, exteriors bring blues and reds, Once inside, the consistent flames bring a stellar orange into the mix.

Those fires also allow the contrast to pop, keeping the imagery bright even inside the dying boat; it’s remarkable how much light remains, considering. Regardless, that rather stupid plot point benefits the Blu-ray though. Black levels help, lessened from true black ever so slightly, and more than likely at the source.

Audio

DTS-HD performs better than anticipated, at least where the major action is concerned. Explosions produce acceptable bass considering the era (water rushing in provides its own surprising drop into the low-end), muddy but sufficient. When the score peaks to add drama, it does so cleanly, the highs precise and clean.

Dialog shows the age, roughened and coarse as per the usual given the era. Every line is audible, just with the natural flatness that came with audio recording in the ’70s.

Extras

Shout includes the extended cut (SD only), a trailer, stills, TV promo, and a clip from a Beyond the Poseidon Adventure sweepstakes commercial, but sadly that’s without audio.

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided to us for review. This has not affected the editorial process. For information on how we handle review material, please visit our about us page to learn more.

The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 37 full resolution, uncompressed HD screen shots grabbed directly from the Blu-ray: