Notebook Reviews: EARTHQUAKE

Mark Robson – 1974.

Earthquake is a damn good disaster movie – one of the genre’s finest. Mark Robson’s film is a hugely entertaining action epic and there’s a fine lead role from the great Charlton Heston (doing what Chuck does best).

As with a lot of these ’70s disaster flicks, this 1974 release has a very impressive cast list – Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Geneviève Bujold, Richard Roundtree, Victoria Principal and Walter Matthau (going by the name Walter Matuschanskayasky!) and others all put in an appearance. 

Earthquake‘s visual effects still hold-up incredibly well (even by today’s standards) and the action set pieces are exceptionally well staged. Things get a little too melodramatic every now and then, but there’s no doubt that the spectacle is the thing – and Earthquake has plenty of that.