This essential 1970s disaster epic, with a script co-authored by Mario Puzo (THE GODFATHER), centers around a devastating earthquake in Los Angeles and the shocking aftermath it causes. The all-star cast is led by Charleton Heston as a construction engineer whose marital problems supply him with plentiful stress before the quake even hits. The film was presented theatrically with a sound process known as "Sensurround," which caused cinemas to physically vibrate during quake sequences.

The lives of several Angelenos are shaken up when the Big One hits Los Angeles. Heading the gigantic, star-studded cast is Charlton Heston as an adulterous engineer and Ava Gardner as his jealous wife. Other characters include an Evel Knievel-like daredevil, a psychotic grocery store manager, and a hot-tempered cop -- all of whom respond to the disaster in a variety of ways, ranging from heroic to deranged.

Academy Award Nominations: 4, including Best Cinematography. Academy Awards: Best Sound.

Color by Technicolor.

Originally released in Sensurround, a sound system which creates low-frequency vibrations that simulate the sensation of small tremors in the theater. Universal charged exhibitors $500 a week for use of the system. A warning for the faint-hearted flashed on the screen before the film began.

Additional cast members: Scott Haylands (Assistant Dam Caretaker); Tiger Williams (Corry Marshall). Walter Matthau is credited under his real name, Walther Matuschanskavasky.

Additional technical credit: Jack McMasters, special effects.

Waldon O. Watson, Richard J. Stumpf, Robert J. Leonard and the Universal City Studios Sound Department received a Class II Technical Award for the development and engineering of the Sensurround System for motion picture presentation.

The disaster movie was a unique phenomenon of the 1970s. "The Poseidon Adventure," about the sinking of a giant ocean liner, was the movie that launched (no pun intended) the mini-genre. Other entries, besides "Earthquake," include "The Towering Inferno" and the "Airport" movies. All disaster movies conformed to a similar plan: a vast array of characters (portrayed by movie stars and celebrities), usually trapped in one place together (airplane, skyscraper, ocean liner), confront a major calamity. Though these characters are plagued by a variety of personal problems, they are all linked by their common fight for survival.

Copyright 1974 Universal Pictures.

Excerpt: "I know you'll laugh, but -- I think we're going to have a really big quake."

DVD Features:

Region 1
Note: This release also includes the original Theatrical Sensurround Audio.
Snap Case
Single Side - Dual Layer
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Sensurround 3.1 - English
Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional

Distributor Notes: Charlton Heston leads an all-star cast in an epic film about ordinary citizens who must come together in the face of an unstoppable natural disaster!

When the most catastrophic earthquake of all time rips through Southern California, it levels Los Angeles and sends shockwaves through the lives of all who live there. Now strangers must become heroes as the city struggles to get to its feet before the next terrifying aftershock hits!

Also starring Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Victoria Principal, Genevieve Bujold and Richard Roundtree, Earthquake combines outstanding performances with Academy Award-winning sound and groundbreaking special effects.

Source: Universal Studios Home Video

Charlton Heston: Oscar-winning American actor, BEN HUR (1959)
Ava Gardner: American actress, NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, MOGAMBO
George Kennedy: American actor, COOL HAND LUKE
Geneviève Bujold: Canadian actress, ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS, EARTHQUAKE
Lorne Greene: Canadian television actor, narrator
Richard Roundtree: American actor, SHAFT (1971)
Victoria Principal: American film & television actress, EARTHQUAKE, DALLAS
Marjoe Gortner: Actor, evangelist, EARTHQUAKE (1974), THE FOOD OF THE GODS
Barry Sullivan: American film & television character actor
Pedro Armendariz: Mexican Actor, LA LEY DE HERODES
Walter Matthau: American actor, THE ODD COUPLE/I'M NOT RAPPAPORT
Monica Lewis: American actress, singer, EARTHQUAKE (1974)
Lloyd Nolan: American actor, MICHAEL SHAYNE series
Gabriel Dell: Actor, THE DEAD END KIDS
Tiger Williams: Actor, EARTHQUAKE
Don Wilbanks: American film & telelvision actor

Mark Robson: Director/producer/editor

Mark Robson: Director/producer/editor

Mario Puzo: Oscar-winning novelist, screenwriter, THE GODFATHER
George Fox: SCREENWRITER\"EARTHQUAKE"

Dorothy Spencer: Editor

"They really don't make 'em like this anymore." -- Rating: B
"There wasn't a boy in the 1970s who didn't get all giddy over this pleasing and plot-light demolition derby..."