This 4K Ultra HD “Limited Edition” will be released by Arrow Video on August 12th, 2025.
You might be surprised to learn this, but disaster pictures have been around since the early days of film production. In the 1930s, movies like Deluge, San Francisco and The Rains Came took full advantage of the cinematic possibilities of presenting floods, earthquakes and other phenomena on the big screen. The genre truly exploded with the release of The Poseidon Adventure in 1972, a box office smash (grossing roughly $125 million on a budget of less than $5 million) about a group of passengers attempting to survive after a rogue wave overturns the cruise liner they are vacationing on. It spawned a wave of titles through the 1970s like The Towering Inferno, Earthquake and many more.
By 2006, a string of new disaster movie successes over the past decade (Twister, Titanic, Armageddon, The Day After Tomorrow), as well as vast improvements in special effects technology, inspired noted filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, The Neverending Story, Enemy Mine, In the Line of Fire, Outbreak, Air Force One, The Perfect Storm) to mount a new edition of The Poseidon Adventure.
Poseidon was a massive production, costing more than $160 million. It was among the most expensive movies of the year (although Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Superman Returns were pricier), but the feature didn’t make as big an impression as hoped for at the box office. Truth be told, it barely recouped its production budget, leaving it about $100 million in the hole from marketing expenses. While a fine director with a steady stream of hits up until that point, Petersen never made another film in America.
The movie did make up some of its losses and gained popularity after its home video release, enough to help build a cult following over the years. Arrow Video is now presenting a “Limited Edition” 4K Ultra HD edition that really shows just how epic and lavish a film it was. Admittedly, the movie has plenty of story problems, but the action is exceptionally well-handled, and the visuals are awe-inspiring when the scenes involve practical effects. If you own a large television and 4K player and want to want to enjoy a spectacle, Poseidon delivers this in spades.
As the opening credits roll, viewers are introduced to the massive ship making a transatlantic journey from London to New York. On board are basic characters quickly introduced in only a scene or two. There is gambler Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas), former mayor and firefighter Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell), as well as his daughter Jennifer (Emily Rossum) and her boyfriend Christian (Mike Vogel). Robert isn’t a fan of Christian and is unaware that the pair are now engaged.
Additional voyagers include single mother Maggie (Jacinda Barrett), her son Conor (Jimmy Bennett), sleazebag ‘Lucky’ Larry (Kevin Dillon) waiter Marco Valentin (Freddy Rodriguez), stowaway Elena (Mia Maestro), and architect Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss). After a wave knocks the ship upside down, these characters decide to locate one another, then climb and escape the ocean liner through a bow propeller. Captain Michael Bradford (Andre Braugher) advises them against it, remaining with other passengers including performer Gloria (Stacy ‘Fergie’ Ferguson). The group’s journey is perilous and some perish as they try to find a way out.
Disaster movies typically introduce a wide variety of characters who share their troubles, resulting in some melodrama before tragedy strikes. Then, they fight for their lives while dealing with their personal issues. As mentioned, there isn’t much development here. In fact, the rogue wave strikes only 17 or 18 minutes into the picture. One feels that there must have been more material shot. Despite only staring each other down at the casino table for one scene, after the major event Robert Ramsey immediately starts referring to gambler Dylan by his first name. All of the important facts about every role are breezed over in a line or two, and it seems obvious that early character-building moments didn’t play and were trimmed down to focus on delivering thrills.
Admittedly, there is a subplot or two that does recur, with the most significant being the mayor coming around to accept Chirstian as a decent guy worthy of his daughter. The rest seems to simply fall by the wayside. As a result, viewers aren’t as emotionally invested in the leads. And while the digital effects were very good for their day, the elaborate opening shot, the rogue tidal wave, as well as flames expanding down hallways aren’t as seamless today.
Thankfully, a lot of the work in the film is largely practical and looks stunning. So much so that those just wanting to see incredible sets and impressive action will be more than satisfied. The group must climb up and out of the ballroom, then again in the grand lobby, as well as cross elevator shafts and swim through waterlogged parts of the ship. All of this looks incredible, and you can see that the performers were made to do a lot more than they likely bargained for. For genre movie fans, the filmmakers also deliver some memorably horrific death sequences, with several characters falling great heights or being flattened by falling instruments. One scene, involving a central character drowning, is the film’s most wince-inducing moment.
Due to the lack of character development, this is a silly movie, but a fun one that does wow and is always inviting to look at. The new 4K remaster of the film is presented in Dolby Vision and looks absolutely perfect. The image in incredibly sharp and clean. Of course, this means that some of the digital effects aren’t quite as convincing as they once were, but the upside-down, multi-story sets and various ship environments are full of detail. It’s hard to image this movie ever looking any better than it has been presented here. This is top-notch transfer.
The disc also comes with some great bonus features. This includes a new interview with talented cinematographer John Seale (Witness, The Hitcher, Rain Man, The English Patient, The Perfect Storm, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Mad Max: Fury Road) who goes over his experiences working on the movie. The figure notes that he was offered his first gig with the filmmaker after meeting him at a Hollywood party thrown by Harrison Ford. He also talks about the multi-camera, almost TV show-like shooting set-up and what he did to try and make the film look like it was shot with one or two cameras (he easily succeeded).
Additionally, you’ll get a wonderful interview with production designer William Sandell, who created the phenomenal sets, which really define the look of the picture. He also worked on The Perfect Storm with Petersen and discusses how he got his start, and his specific efforts on this film, as well as some other visually striking efforts, including Robocop, Total Recall, Hocus Pocus, The Flintstones and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
There is also a discussion with visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis, who talks about his storied career and how this production pushed the boundaries of CGI at the time. Both are great to listen to and are informative chats.
The discussion with make-up effects on-set supervisor Michael Deak is a great deal of fun too. He discusses how he got his start at KNB and received a request for the various corpses lying about through the ship. He used the 100+ bodies from another film he had just finished on called The Island, adding burns and other wounds, as well as making them able to work in water. All were impressed by the work and he was contacted and asked to provide the same carcasses for an explosion scene in the movie Déjà Vu. These bodies really got around.
All of the individuals interviewed noted just how impressive the multi-story sets were and the dangers of working in such an unusual environment. Deak recalls that safety was emphasized and production assistants were constantly telling him not to approach the edges of the upside-down areas. He states he was actually more worried about them falling off. They all note what a great experience shooting the movie was and that Petersen was a nice man to work with. Several also discuss their disappointment at the film’s lackluster performance at theaters. While he was very proud of his work, Deak does note that the original film is so beloved and that he is such a fan that this redo didn’t really stand a chance of topping the first feature.
There is also a new retrospective piece on the movie, in which a defensive critic sticks up for the picture. He first admits that the film doesn’t have strong female characters, but that it is still excellent and that it intentionally abandons character development. The individual insists this is why the moniker is simply the name of the ship, because the boat is to be taken as the main character. It’s a questionable assertion, and as mentioned I’m certain footage must have been cut. I find it hard to believe that the epic production was always intended to do away with character building and be less than 90 minutes in length (not including credits).
As for the title change, I have a friend (author Michael Rose), whose amusing comments on the name might be a little more authentic. He always found the original title misleading, stating that the film’s events were hardly what would be defined as an “adventure”, adding that the few who survived would likely be seeking therapy and/or taking part in a massive lawsuit. Despite my disagreements with some of the arguments presented by the critic in this extra, he does make some interesting points, particularly about the film’s casting and streak of eliminating several of its characters in shocking ways.
You’ll get ton of archival featurettes from the movie’s original release with all the cast and crew sharing their thoughts on the production. Additionally, there is a reversible sleeve with new and original artwork for the title, as well as an illustrated booklet with new writing on the film.
Poseidon isn’t among the best disaster movies ever made, but it is certainly entertaining for its jaw-dropping sets, impressive action sequences and memorably unsettling moments of carnage. Arrow Video’s “Limited Edition” 4K Ultra HD disc really helps the movie shine on home theater systems, with an incredible picture and impressive soundscape. If you are a fan of the film or the disaster genre in general, this disc is definitely worth picking up.