In the 1970s, disaster flicks were where vintage movie stars went to die. Really.
Shelley Winters perished famously in “The Poseidon Adventure.” Jennifer Jones came to a fiery end in “The Towering Inferno” (1974, below).
In a competing disaster project from Universal “Earthquake,” also in 1974, Charlton Heston’s architect met his end along with his estranged wife, played by Ava Gardner. (In Denver, “Earthquake” was presented in underwhelming but amusing Sensurround at the long-gone Aladdin theater on East Colfax Avenue.)
With the release of “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Towering Inferno” two-disc Special Collector’s editions (each $19.98), Fox Home Entertainment has made it easy to see how all-star casts face mortal peril.
Included on both: a featurette called “The Heart of Disaster.” The add-on takes a look at Sterling Silliphant, who wrote the screenplays for the films. An apt title: Its heart needs a defibrillator in the new “Poseidon.” – Lisa Kennedy
