Earthquake: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Earthquake: Collector's Edition

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I guess disaster movies have been going on for longer than most of us can remember. The 70s was really the start of this genre movement, with films like Airport, The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno being just the start of Universal and Fox’s push forward with those types of movies. Earthquake came out the same years as The Towering Inferno, and according to the special features was actually rushed out in hopes of beating said film to the punch. While it’s crammed to the gills with big name actors of the time, and certainly rushed to production, Earthquake really doesn’t FEEL rushed, as it’s a solid 70s thriller with a ton of special effects and chaos considering the time period. It’s a bit stiff and stodgy when compared to disaster thrillers of the modern era, but back in 1974 this was cutting edge technology. Still, it feels a bit goofy and…..well...70s in nature if you’re more used to the fast paced disaster extravaganzas of today.

For the time Earthquake really was an amazing film. It combined miniatures, matte backgrounds, huge set pieces, and even some practical optical effects as well. It also was the film that Cerwin Vega created Sensurround audio technology for, which allowed for low rumble LFE effects to be blended into a 2.0 audio track for theaters. Sadly sensurround was ahead of its time technologically speaking, and was only used for a handful of other movies before petering out. While it was a huge technological marvel of the time, Earthquake tried a little bit TOO hard to be a dramatic film as well, spanning huge portions of the film with character development for over 8 main characters and their varying subplots. A move which kind of hurts the movie as for the first hour of the 2+ hour film we’re waiting around for the chaos to start, and by the time the chaos starts, its’ over before you know it.

A disaster movie is the sum of it’s character parts, and Earthquake is more so than most disaster films of the time. There is almost 15 major characters in the film, ranging from the ex football star turned businessman Stewart Graff (Charlton Heston) and his whiny wife Remy (Ava Gardner), to the stunt motorcyclist Miles Quade (a very young Richard Roundtree), and even Walter Matthau makes an appearance as the town drunk (barely mumbling a few lines throughout the entire film). It’s a movie of crossed paths, with each of the characters in the film being 7 ways from Kevin Bacon in their relationships.

The film starts out innocuously enough, with a tiny tremor interrupting the pleasant world of L.A., only for a graduate student to realize that the small tremor was just a front runner for the massive earthquake to follow. Ignored by his peers, Walter (Kip Niven) continues to push forward with his theories of a major quake to come in hopes of alerting the populace, but by the time that his peers believe him, it’s too late to stop what’s coming.

The Quake itself is only about 10 minutes of the movie at the halfway point, but once it happens the entire world of Los Angeles is turned upside down as the city folk turn to absolute chaos. The city is in an uproar with the army and national guard called in to quell the looting and insanity, and individuals are forced to make split second decisions that will define how the city survives the after effects of the apocalypse.

Earthquake is heavily character driven, with much of the film spent delving into WHY everyone acts the way they do. Miles is a daredevil rider who will stop at nothing to save people, Lew Slade (George Kennedy) is a touch as nails cop with a heart of compassion, and Stewart Gaff is still the hero that he was back on the football field. As the film unfolds each of these people display their inner heroism, and some even devolve into baser instincts as elements of power are given to them during the insanity.

The film itself is a bit weak comparatively, with too much time spent on special effects and melodrama. The entire film feels very “70sish” in nature, and is given to hippie music, too many cuts of the camera, and not enough actual time spent with the quake itself. Director Mark Robson was a veteran filmmaker of the time, going back to heavy dramatic work on films like Citizen Kane, but his dramatic leanings sometimes bog down the flow of the movie. Too much individual character drama leads to a confusing 2nd act, where too much time is spent on character interactions and NOT enough time setting up the disaster itself. The third act kicks into high gear with everyone trying to save t he survivors, but at that time it’s a little too late to pull itself out of the middle of the pack




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

I never did get to see Universal’s Blu-ray of Earthquake some 6 years ago, but from what I gathered it was rather lacking in the video department. Shout Factory has gone back and done a full 2K scan of the interpositive for both the theatrical cut as well as the TV cut of the film which incorporates 20 extra minutes of footage (most of it is standard deleted scenes that just bloat the film a bit, but some people do like the extra footage). This release may not be sub par, but it IS just “good” at the end of the day. The film shows a solid grain structure throughout, but fine details are mixed. Some scenes are razor sharp and show ever line and pore on a face, while others are soft and smeary, with a distinct lack of texture and detail. Colors are bright and clean, with orange and and a pink push for skin tones being the most prominent. Black levels are actually really good, with strong shadow detail and only moderate crush. However, that lack of fine detailing is the real Achilles heel of the disc and it keeps it from being a great looking disc.







Audio:

Earthquake was one of the VERY first films to incorporate the Sensurround technology of the day, and that 2.1 Sensurround track is include as well as the 5.1 remix and the 2.0 track (all in DTS-HD MA lossless). While I like the 5.1 mix enough the real treat is the 2.1 Sensurround mix, which is what the theatrical mix was back in 1974. It incorporates a heavy dose of LFE into the mix as the Sensurround technology did back in the day, and it’s a very good track. Dialog is strong and clean, and the LFE really adds so much texture to the low end feel of the track. The ambiance is strong and the surrounds get a mild workout in the remixed 5.1 track. Switching between the tracks over and over I have to give the 2.1 track the nod, as it sounds the most evenly balanced (the 5.1 is basically a 3.1 for the most part) and is the one purists would want on the disc as well.






Extras:

Disc One
• BRAND NEW 2K REMASTER OF THE THEATRICAL CUT OF THE FILM
• Audio Options: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.1 w/Sensurround audio and 2.0
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Original TV Spot
• Original Radio Spots
• Vintage audio Interviews with Charlton Heston, Lorne Greene and Richard Roundtree
• Still Galleries – movie stills, posters and lobby cards, behind-the-scenes photos and matte paintings and miniatures

Disc Two
• BRAND NEW 2K REMASTER OF THE TV VERSION, featuring over 20 mins of made-for-broadcast footage (presented in 1.33:1)
• NEW Sounds of Disaster: Ben Burtt talks about SENSURROUND
• NEW Scoring Disaster: The Music of EARTHQUAKE
• NEW Painting Disaster: The Matte Art of Albert Whitlock
• Isolated TV scenes – Play them without watching the TV version of the film
• Additional TV scenes (taken from best available film elements)

Final Score:
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Universal Pictures released Earthquake back in 2013 on Blu-ray, and it was a fairly barebones release that really didn’t do the film justice. Shout Factory has actually gone back and done a 2K scan from the interpositive for not only the theatrical cut that was on the 2013 disc, but also for the TV cut which adds in extra scenes not privy to the regular theatrical cut (although in the TV format of 1.33:1 instead of scope). Then add onto the fact that the disc is crammed with extras makes this EASILY the definitive edition of the classic blockbuster. It may not hold up to films like The Towering Inferno after hindsight, but it is a solid adventure/drama and the release is way better than I ever could have expected after Universal’s “meh” release. Decent Watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Green, Genevieve Bujold, Marjoe Gortner, Richard Roundtree, Barry Sullivan
Directed by: Mark Robson
Written By: Mario Puzo, George Fox
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.1 Sensosurround, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: PG
Runtime: 123 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 21st, 2019

Recommendation: Decent Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I do like disaster movies so will check this out. I don't think I ever saw this in the past..