I showed this film to my critical viewing class to introduce a unit on special effects. I wanted to show them how it used to be done--with sweat, guts and imagination. The extras on the DVD provide a wonderful teaching experience and explain many of the stunts. The kids really liked the film. They laughed at Stella Stevens outrageous lines, thought Shelley Winters was annoying until she died saving the whole group and then they got very quiet, and thought that the characters in general were memorable. My lone freshman in the class said it was better than the remake because he felt he got to know the the people more. One thing was mentioned--why were there no fish swimming around in all that ocean water? I guess this comes from showing older films to kids today who look for extreme realism! But all in all, it was a very successful film with today's teens and its a tribute to the film makers of old.
Review of The Poseidon Adventure
