Arrow Video’s “Poseidon” surfaces on 4K UHD
- Kay Reynolds & Bill Kelley III
- Aug 30
- 6 min read
4K ULTRA HD REVIEW / HDR SCREENSHOTS
Left, Josh Lucas plays professional gambler Dylan Johns, who tries to save architect Richard Nelson, played by Richard Dreyfuss, after the luxury liner Poseidon is capsized by a massive rogue wave.
(Click an image to scroll the larger versions)
“POSEIDON: LIMITED EDITION”
4K Ultra HD; 2006; PG-13 for intense, prolonged sequences of disaster and peril and profanity
Best extra: “Ocean Views” new interview with production designer William Sandell
HAPPY NEW YEAR? Not if you’re one of 2,000 passengers onboard director Wolfgang Petersen’s unlucky cruise ship “Poseidon.”
You know the story from the critical and commercial success, “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972) – the No. 2 box office film of the year, right behind “The Godfather” – from disaster impresario Irwin Allen, who also produced “The Towering Inferno” (1974). Sadly, despite an excellent cast and Oscar-nominated Visual Effects, Petersen’s “Poseidon” sank at the box office, too. (It was also nominated for the 2007 Razzie, Worst Remake or Rip-Off.) It still holds a subpar 33 percent critic and 43 percent “Popcommeter” rating with audiences at Rottentomatoes.com.
The plot is simple, adventure at its best. An enormous rogue wave hits a big and streamlined cruise ship at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. It turns the ship upside-down, creating all kinds of mayhem and death. After the ship settles, the story becomes a race for survival, showcasing the two most crucial choices: stay in place and wait for help, or scramble for survival, risking injury and death.
(1) The VFX created RMS Poseidon as it makes a transatlantic crossing. (2) Jennifer (Emmy Rossum), daughter of former New York City mayor and firefighter Robert Ramsey, played by Kurt Russell, has a quiet moment with her boyfriend Christian (Mike Vogel) in her father’s suite. (3) Dylan Johns shows stowaway Elena (Mía Maestro) the way to the kitchen, where her waiter boyfriend Maro (Freddy Rodriguez) works. (4&5) Fergie, a member of The Black Eyed Peas, is the New Year’s Eve ballroom entertainment.
“Poseidon,” starring the familiar faces of Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss (he returns to the water post-“Jaws”!), Josh Lucas, Andre Braugher, and Kevin Dillon, has an enthusiastic cult following. Opinions are scattered among the fun and info-packed extras, most explaining that Petersen, known for more lucrative and popular films like “Das Boot,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Air Force One,” and “Outbreak,” decided to cut Irwin’s running length of nearly 2 hours to just over 90 minutes, eliminating all but the barest character detail to shorten the film.
Irwin’s script by Stirling Silliphant (Oscar winner, “In the Heat of the Night,” 1968), Wendell Mayes, and Paul Gallico, spends its first 30 minutes introducing the characters played by Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons, Jack Albertson, Stella Stevens, and others. Every actor gets his or her spot in the limelight so the audience can cheer those characters on, or feel the heartbreak when one of them succumbs to the deadly situation.
Petersen’s caricatures run by type: a determined Josh Lucas, that keep-moving-if-you-want-to-live guy; Andre Braugher, playing against type as the keep-calm, help-will-come captain; Kurt Russel, the heroic back-up, a retired firefighter and mayor, with a troubled daughter played by Emmy Rossum, who despairs her dad doesn’t understand her, and Kevin Dillon as Lucky Larry, the jerk. You can tell, he’s gonna be one of the first to go.
What the new interviews with director of photography John Seale, designer William Sandell, visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis, critic Heath Holland, and, of course Arrow Video believe is today’s modern audience is ready to eschew “campy” characterization for fantastic effects remastered in 4K, a bombastic DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround soundtrack, and an immediate dive into action. They all hope “Poseidon” will finally find the audience it deserves.
Arrow Video always provides an excellent physical media presentation – so why not?
(1) Johns and Ramsey have the hot hand at the poker table. (2&3) Captain Michael Bradford (Andre Braugher) and Fergie provide the New Year's countdown, while Jennifer and Christian kiss at midnight. (4&5) Officers on the bridge spot the 150-foot rogue wave, which causes the ship to capsize. People, furniture, decorations go flying. The nightclub lights drop to hit the crowd. (6&7) Ramsey survives, while young Conor James (Jimmy Bennett) finds himself on top of the piano that’s now thirty feet above what was the ballroom ceiling. (8) The captain tries to convince Ramsey to stay put in the ballroom. (9) Johns leads an effort to climb out of the ballroom toward the stern.
VIDEO
Australian cinematographer John Seale – Oscar-winner, “The English Patient,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Rain Man,” “Witness,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” – used 35mm Panavision cameras mounted with anamorphic lenses (2.39:1 aspect ratio) to get “Poseidon” onscreen. The film was shot in Los Angeles, mostly at Stage 21 and 22 at Warner’s Burbank Studios. The ship dance club sequences were filmed at Staples Center in downtown L.A.
The 4K visuals are upconverted for the original 2K master provided by Warner. (Between the early 2000s and the late 2010s, VFX sequences were rendered in 2K due to a lack of computer power and costs. It was considered state-of-the-art at the time. Today, nearly every movie is mastered in TRUE 4K.) The wide shots in “Poseidon” lack that super resolution you see in today’s 4K movies.
Arrow handled the HDR10 and Dolby Vision grading, providing much better contrast levels and colors with slightly better onscreen clarity, while providing a nice washing of natural film grain throughout. Those award-nominated visual effects by CIS Hollywood, Scanline VFX, Moving Picture Company, and Industrial Light & Magic fill the screen so well.
AUDIO
Arrow ported over the six-channel DTS-HD soundtrack produced for its previous Blu-ray release in 2010.
It works great, delivering more balanced sound for those who have more elaborate sound systems like a soundbar or speakers throughout the room. But if you’re relying on the audio from your TV, even a new 4K setup, keep your remote close. Dialogue must be increased, while effects and music burst through the walls. No fun for those with sensitive ears or apartment dwellers. Would it have been that hard to offer a 2.0 audio option?
The original score is by Klaus Badelt, composer, producer and film score arranger, known for his collaborations with Hans Zimmer. Fergie sings in the New Year’s Eve party just as the wave hits. How’s that for applause?
(1&2) Jennifer and Elena rescue Christian, who becomes trapped beneath the debris. They manage with help from Lucky Larry (Kevin Dillon), and join the others, trying to escape the sinking ship. (3-7) Ramsy and Johns make a plan to get to the propeller room and get out through its opening near one of the shafts. Barriers, sudden floods, electrical cables, and more get in the way.
EXTRAS
Arrow almost always delivers engaging new bonus features, and “Poseidon” is no exception. There are several new featurettes – primarily with professionals who worked on the film – and an illustrated 23-page booklet with an essay in the collector’s edition.
It seems all who participated in making the film had a great time. “Poseidon” remains a fond memory for them. Among other things, we learn rogue waves sink a ship every year. Viewers who love behind-scenes and making-of info will thoroughly enjoy them.
NEW “Ocean Views” (14 mins.) – with Director of Photography John Seale
NEW “Big Sets for Big-time Directors” (13 mins.) – with Production Designer William Sandell
NEW “Surfing the VFX Wave” (18 mins.) – with visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis (“Speed,” 1994; “Face/Off,” 1997)
NEW “Bringing Out the Dead” (12 mins.) – with Make-Up Effects On-Set Supervisor Michael Deak (or how corpse-models were used from one film to another and another and …)
NEW “Set a Course for Adventure” (17 mins.) – a retrospective on the film by YouTube film critic, Heath Holland of Cereal at Midnight (always entertaining)
“Poseidon: A Ship on a Soundstage” (23 mins.) – an archival featurette with interviews from the cast and crew.
“Poseidon: Upside Down” (11 mins.) explores the challenging set design
“A Shipmate’s Diary” (12 mins.) – another archival featurette with production assistant Malona Voigt
Poseidon fell short of the studio’s hope to make hundreds of millions of dollars. It only topped $181 million worldwide, against a $160 million production budget. Even so, this is still a fun ride (at home, on land), great with popcorn and the beverage of your choice. Let us know what you think!
— Kay Reynolds and Bill Kelley III, High-Def Watch producer
(1) Johns uses a fire extinguisher to break through another blockage. (2&3) The resulting explosion starts a fire. (4) Survivors reach the propeller opening, but where do they go from there?
SPECS:
100 GB disc
2K master – upconverted to 4K with Dolby Vision
35mm Panavision cameras, 2.39:1 aspect ratio
Video bitrate: Varies from the upper 50 Megabits per second to over 110 Mbps, while most of the time running above 90 Mbps. A running time of 98 minutes.
HDR10 maximum light level: 651 nit
Max frame average light level: 306 nit