I first saw "Earthquake" in a small-town theater newly equipped with Sensurround, and it was a pretty fun experience, at age 14.
I might be able to clarify an issue or two for people who may have only seen the movie recently and who may be confused. At this time, most are probably seeing "Earthquake" on AMC. This is a bloated version that one of the networks (NBC?) cobbled together in the mid-70s when it first showed "Earthquake" on TV. My recollection (from almost 30 years ago, mind you) is that the network added a lot of poorly-done footage, specifically the entire subplot with the interminable scenes of the newlywed couple on the airplane!. It wanted to broadcast the movie as a big, two-night ratings extravaganza, but messed it up by adding airplane! scenes that were boring, cheap and cheesy. Not that the movie is all that great in any version, but in its original form it was tighter and had better production values.
Watching the AMC (NBC?) version recently, I am reminded that the network did a horrible editing job. Early on, the airplane! is passing over a smoggy and uninspiring Grand Canyon, en route to LA, with an ETA of, what, 45 or 50 minutes? Cut back to the original LA scenes, where Charlton Heston goes through enough experiences involving his career and love life to occupy several ordinary days, and is leaving the office when the earthquake starts. Sometime later, we cut back to the airplane!, which is just landing in LA at this point. The airplane! scenes look as though they were filmed for about $500, with talent that should have stuck with doing deodorant ads. The rest of the movie isn't too bad, although as '70s disaster movies go, I much prefer "The Poseidon Adventure."
I might be able to clarify an issue or two for people who may have only seen the movie recently and who may be confused. At this time, most are probably seeing "Earthquake" on AMC. This is a bloated version that one of the networks (NBC?) cobbled together in the mid-70s when it first showed "Earthquake" on TV. My recollection (from almost 30 years ago, mind you) is that the network added a lot of poorly-done footage, specifically the entire subplot with the interminable scenes of the newlywed couple on the airplane!. It wanted to broadcast the movie as a big, two-night ratings extravaganza, but messed it up by adding airplane! scenes that were boring, cheap and cheesy. Not that the movie is all that great in any version, but in its original form it was tighter and had better production values.
Watching the AMC (NBC?) version recently, I am reminded that the network did a horrible editing job. Early on, the airplane! is passing over a smoggy and uninspiring Grand Canyon, en route to LA, with an ETA of, what, 45 or 50 minutes? Cut back to the original LA scenes, where Charlton Heston goes through enough experiences involving his career and love life to occupy several ordinary days, and is leaving the office when the earthquake starts. Sometime later, we cut back to the airplane!, which is just landing in LA at this point. The airplane! scenes look as though they were filmed for about $500, with talent that should have stuck with doing deodorant ads. The rest of the movie isn't too bad, although as '70s disaster movies go, I much prefer "The Poseidon Adventure."