The Poseidon Adventure

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3:14

The Poseidon Adventure

PG

1972

1h 57m

Adventure

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

34 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

En route from New York City to Greece on New Year's Eve, majestic passenger ship the S.S. Poseidon is overtaken by a tidal wave. With the captain (Leslie Nielsen) dead, surviving passengers, including the passionate Rev. Scott (Gene Hackman), band together in the ship's ballroom. The group struggles to avert fires, flooding, structural instability and mechanical malfunctions as they make their way through a maze of ladders and tunnels in their desperate attempt to escape a watery grave.

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Critics Consensus

The Poseidon Adventure exemplifies the disaster film done right, going down smoothly with ratcheting tension and a terrific ensemble to give the peril a distressingly human dimension.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Sep 29, 2023

The picture would be more fun if we cared about who got killed and who survived.

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Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

May 8, 2006

3/4

What the glittering, star-driving survivalism of Poseidon Adventure actually presents is a nightmarishly schematic fantasia of guiltless discomfort.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Apr 19, 2006

B-

Neither as exciting nor as unintentionally funny as one would like it to be.

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Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

May 19, 2026

4.5/5

A masterclass of a disaster film filled with characters you care about, nail-biting suspense and some truly revolutionary special effects. The Poseidon Adventure has it all, folks.

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

May 13, 2026

4/5

Shelley Winters deserves all the praise for bringing humanity and pathos to her character. It's no surprise why this Oscar-winning disaster movie kick started a trend or that it holds up 50+ years later

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Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

Jan 7, 2026

2.5/4

Disaster movies had already taken place on an airplane so a sea-going vessel seemed a natural evolution. The Poseidon Adventure was the result, a star-studded voyage of death, survival, and courage.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 5, 2026

The Poseidon Adventure = a *4* star Movie

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AC C

@Mon_Alisa Sep 3, 2026

Gene Hackman was yelling a bit too much for my tolerance. I believe this is the original Poseidon movie so it deserves props there and was overall a good (if simple) watch.

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Valens S

@RT80184552 Aug 6, 2026

I think this movie was an amazing movie as I entertained to the very end of it. I felt very attached to the characters and felt sad when they died. A great action packed escape from a capsized ocean liner. The only reason I did not rate it 5 stars is just because now it does look a bit outdated and the death scenes look pretty fake. Would totally recommend it.

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Shizue Leigh H

@RT72406249 Jul 26, 2026

Capsized ocean liner with an all-star cast. Not one wasted moment, Enjoyable from start to finish. That's why we old timers went to the movies for back in the 1970s.

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thiago S

@Thiagostone Jun 16, 2026

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Jeff M.

@Jmo54 Jun 11, 2026

The Godfather of disaster movies.

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Ronald Neame

Director

Irwin Allen

Director

Gene Hackman

Rev. Frank Scott

Ernest Borgnine

Det. Lt. Mike Rogo

Shelley Winters

Belle Rosen

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Synopsis

En route from New York City to Greece on New Year's Eve, majestic passenger ship the S.S. Poseidon is overtaken by a tidal wave. With the captain (Leslie Nielsen) dead, surviving passengers, including the passionate Rev. Scott (Gene Hackman), band together in the ship's ballroom. The group struggles to avert fires, flooding, structural instability and mechanical malfunctions as they make their way through a maze of ladders and tunnels in their desperate attempt to escape a watery grave.

Director: Ronald Neame, Irwin Allen
Producer: Steve Broidy
Screenwriter: Paul Gallico, Wendell Mayes, Stirling Silliphant
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 1972, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 3, 2016
Runtime: 1h 57m

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