Paying tribute to one of the actor’s most iconic films featuring one of his most underrated performances.
Two Cents is a Cinapse original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team curates the series and contribute their “two cents” using a maximum of 200-400 words. Guest contributors and comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future picks. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion. Would you like to be a guest contributor or programmer for an upcoming Two Cents entry? Simply watch along with us and/or send your pitches or 200-400 word reviews to [email protected].
The loss of Gene Hackman is still hard to wrap my head around. Like I mentioned in our last addition of Two Cents, even though the Oscar winner hadn’t been on the screen for over 20 years, there was still something reassuring about the fact that he was still with us. Hackman was one of the key actors who made 70s cinema as invigorating and vital as it remains to this day. His output of films would eventually reach beyond the decade he helped to define, allowing him to leave his mark on many eras of cinema that came after.
It’s no wonder that our lineup for this tribute looks the way it does. The actor’s filmography reads as a chronicle of some of the greatest American films ever made. So prolific was Hackman’s output that some titles, including The French Connection, Night Moves, Superman, and The Birdcage struggled to end up on the final roster, despite us extending the timeline to make room for additional titles.
The Pick: The Poseidon Adventure
One title that was easy to make room for was 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure. The quintessential disaster film and the centerpiece of producer Irwin Allen’s career, the film was one of the year’s top grossers, as well as a critical hit that netted nine Oscar nominations and provided the genre with a new blueprint. The tale of a group of survivors (led by Hackman’s priest) who battle uncertain elements in their struggles to get to safety after the luxury liner they’re on has capsized, continues our tribute to one of the greatest actors the screen ever saw.
The Team:
Julian Singleton
Last year was the first time I got to see The Towering Inferno, and the first time I was introduced to Irwin Allen’s particular brand of ensemble disaster mayhem. I loved it because on top of the spectacular setpieces and endless rounds of “hey, it’s that guy!” casting, it was a celebration of our capacity to possess both crippling flaws and fearless capability–that in the face of the unthinkable, we can put our collective strengths together and help save lives.
I was looking forward to The Poseidon Adventure in that capacity as part of our Hackmonth, but what caught me so off guard is how, for all of its similar disastrous splendor, The Poseidon Adventure is pretty damn mean. Legions of central casting extras are mown down by waves, never to be addressed again. Before they meet their fates, they feverishly trample each other to try and get to the chance at safety they’d dismissed moments before. As soon as a character showcases the worth we knew they possessed, they’re claimed by the sea, leaving our remaining survivors as far away from hope as much as they are closer to it.
Gene Hackman’s tempestuous and headstrong Reverend Scott, alongside an equally blusterous Ernest Borgnine, finally unlocked The Poseidon Adventure for me about two-thirds through its exciting yet bleak runtime. Encumbered with these mortal setbacks and an ever-approaching elemental terror, these two men face parallel crises of faith, questioning what to trust or what power to place their faith in. It’s The Book of Job compressed into 2 nail-biting hours with a fair peppering of The Inferno for good measure, with senseless tragedy that inspires a painful cringe as much as awe. Hackman’s priest, exiled from American clergy for his bitingly realist views, looks forward to a new life where he has the freedom to put more power and action behind his prayer–but finds his action saving survivors increasingly met with tragedy and heartbreak. Borgnine’s Rogo, a former detective newly married, loses everything he has and everyone he loves. Traveling into Hell in search of Heaven and deliverance, both men are bracingly tested–and it’s Hackman’s Reverend who, for all of his heroism and selflessness, openly questions the will of the God who would put them in these fiery bowels, inches away from freedom in the first place. It’s a gripping scene, delivered the same year as Hackman’s Oscar-winning performance in The French Connection–and it’s this achingly human fallibility that makes Scott such a memorable and winning character, a pathos that Hackman, with a twinkling mischief in his eyes, infused into many of his best roles.
It’s this faith that helped them get this far, even in an amazing scene with a single set of other survivors who are possibly headed to their doom with equal belief in their actions. And it’s Rev. Scott’s begrudging faith–coupled with the action he aspired to deliver–that earns the freedom of those left to live on.
Brendan Agnew
It’s funny what you remember certain films for. The Poseidon Adventure is the first movie I recall recognizing Gene Hackman in as “Oh, it’s the bad guy from Superman!” when I caught it on TV at a friend’s house. As a younger adolescent, I didn’t have any frame of reference for Irwin Allen or ‘70s cinema, but was gripped by the seawater and steel nightmare of the Poseidon’s passengers trying to get to safety after the ship capsizes. I’d had a mild fascination with historical disasters like the sinking of the Titanic (yes, this was before the movie, which – also, yes – I was a big ol’ mark for), and the relatability and immediacy of the setting combined with Allen’s filmmaking chops had me hooked in spite of a more than mild horror at the film’s unending bleakness.
Returning to this years later with the full appreciation of the disaster subgenre, there’s a few elements that keep this near the front of the pack, even through all the permutations disaster cinema has seen through the decades. Firstly, while I’m a fan of the “cast of hundreds” approach, the focus on a smaller ensemble that gets slowly whittled down works in particular conjunction with the literal structure of the film. Having the isolation of a cruise ship heightened by this floating island being further cut off from even the “populace” of the ship not only lets the cast really flex their dynamics, but also keeps the tension sky-high as the inevitable creeps up on them. I didn’t have any familiarity with actors like Winters or McDowell, but they immortally became “Oh, from The Poseidon Adventure!” whenever I clocked them later, and I’ll always wish we had a dozen more pairings of Borgnine and Hackman.
But what really cooks about this movie is how delicately it argues with itself. Allen is raw and mean and ruthless, displaying a savagery that’s less depressed and nihilistic than The Towering Inferno, but more shocking. And yet for all that, the film continues to dangle hope and survival for the viewer and the cast tantalizingly out of reach. It fully celebrates the drive that pushes humanity past our limits in a crisis even as it shows how ready we are to turn each other into meat, and every lost soul as they ascend into the bowels of hell to reach heaven can’t be totally needless if it allowed someone to take a few more steps before falling.
Spencer Brickey
“Money Job”. This is purportedly what Gene Hackman, with a shit eating grin, told Ben Stiller on the set of Royal Tenenbaums when the young actor spoke about his love of the 1972 disaster film The Poseidon Adventure. It’s no secret, or even frowned upon fact, that actors will take paycheck roles. Hell, almost every A lister from the ‘80s and ‘90s has a bevy of Japanese commercials to their names. And Hackman was no different; he was a man who viewed himself as a craftsman over an artist, and would routinely go where the money was. Only difference was; Hackman never gave anything less than his absolute A game. And he does so with Gusto in The Poseidon Adventure, where he plays the cocksure Reverend Scott.
Now, Poseidon, and honestly the genre of ‘70s disaster films, isn’t really what people think it is. There is a general view of these films as kinda goofy, in both their effects and their drama, with no real need to examine them. Most are picturing ‘90s disaster films (which were goofy, yes, but also ruled) when thinking of their predecessors.
This would be a near wholly misreading of these films, cause, damn, ‘70s disaster films are fucking bleak. These films would routinely kill off half their cast, usually in incredibly nihilistic or cruel ways. Be it The Towering Inferno dropping an elderly woman from a glass elevator, or about 90% of the cast being killed off by a train derailment in The Swarm, or the wall-eyed national guard killing off the wounded in Earthquake, or the genuinely jaw droppingly violent ending to Two Minute Warning (for real, that one goes off the fucking rails). These films are mean and dark, and Poseidon is no different.
Following a small group of survivors as they try to escape from a flipped ocean liner, Gene Hackman plays Reverend Scott, a brash, egotistical priest who leads this group of terrified passengers towards possible escape. Easily a role that could’ve been played softly, as a holy man looking for redemption, Hackman decides to play it in the exact opposite direction. He is a priest essentially banished from the religion for his views; that God gives you nothing, and only the strong survive. He’s given a way to prove his theory as the Poseidon starts to sink, and only a few rally to his side.
What makes Hackman’s portrayal so interesting is that Reverend Scott is kind of a bastard. He is constantly combative, making sure to beat down and humiliate anyone who questions him (poor Ernest Borgnine, man; dude has to deal with surviving a sinking ship AND being cuckolded?), and only really cares about the “strong”; after trying to convince another priest to abandon a group of terrified and wounded passengers, he openly shouts at the survivors, calling them fools, before watching them drown to death.
He also has a real strained relationship with God, which is kinda fascinating for ‘72. He’s presented as a man who has a “new” view on the faith, but, as the world descends into chaos and the Reverend is pushed to his limits, Hackman reveals Scott to almost loathe God, viewing him as a deity who’d rather watch his faithful die than help in any way. His push for “only the strong survive” takes on new meaning as he continues to shout to God about his inaction, becoming “be stronger than God”. Even in his (spoiler for a film released during the Nixon administration) final moments, Scott never has a revelation, or proof of his faith. Instead, it is he, the individual, who must save the day. As he hangs from a steam pipe, he curses God one last time, before falling into a river of fire (there’s…a lot of symbolism going on here).
All of this, from the asshole charm to the death of faith, only works because of Hackman’s abilities as an actor. He is able to bounce between charming, cocky, steadfast, and helpless effortlessly, and it’s a central reason why The Poseidon Adventure still works today. It might’ve been a “money job”, but Hackman always gave you every dollar’s worth.
Austin Vashaw
I miss the era of big but grounded disaster epics in the fashion of Irwin Allen. We still get disaster movies, sure, but they tend to be big CG sci-fi spectacles like those of the Emmerich-Devlin mold (which got considerably less compelling after Independence Day), or connected to heightened concepts with apocalyptic themes or zombie outbreaks.
But those 70s movies like The Towering Inferno and Earthquake had relatable stakes, and terrific practical sets and effects. They were raw and tactile in a way that the modern ones can’t compare, and typically stacked with huge ensemble casts of stars and character actors.
The Poseidon Adventure is a classic example, boasting an incredible cast led by Gene Hackman as an unusual hero: a surly clergyman who assumes natural leadership when most others panic. Hackman’s abrasive personality and argumentative approach are tempered by his genuine care. And while he’s convinced he’s the smartest man in the room, well– he is, and the convictions he fights for turn out to be correct.
A mix of other characters with different motivations, ages, and relationships brings more stories to the table, and while there’s a constant bickering among the group, each of the characters has an understandable viewpoint and they don’t feel one-dimensional. They’re all trying to survive, even if they don’t agree on how to do so.
The film has great moments of both heroism and tragedy. I was particularly moved by Shelley Winters’ character, who perceives herself as overweight and a burden to the group, but pulls out an unexpected talent and courage when the moment requires.
And while I almost take it for granted now, the concept – traversing an inverted cruise ship – is just a really compelling and imaginative backdrop for this kind of storytelling.
Frank Calvillo
There’s so much to dig into with a movie like The Poseidon Adventure. The all-star cast (in what other on-screen world would Hackman and Shelley Winters meet?), the groundbreaking special effects, that dreamy theme song, and the highly involving journey the audience takes with these desperate survivors as they try with all their might to get to safety; all of these components would make the film worth remembering today. But it’s the fact that The Poseidon Adventure utilizes all of these elements so effectively that it helps elevate what would ordinarily be a standard actioner into a genuinely great motion picture.
The capsizing sequence remains as spectacular as ever with its mix of effects, suspense and incredible stunt work. After such a huge and explosive set piece, most would think the movie has already shown its hand. However, the subsequent action sequences carry enough thrills and tension to make every single one of them memorable in their own way. The suspense during these scenes is only amplified by our growing attachment to the characters, all of whom are given enough moments to make them feel more like people instead of the kind of archetypes the genre would late produce. What’s more, every person is given moments of reflection as the film forces both philosophical and actual questions of life and death onto them.
At the heart of it all is Hackman, whose Reverend Scott is the unlikely hero tasked with guiding this group of people through to safety using nothing but his instincts and his faith. The actor’s natural (if slightly unconventional) leading man presence is perfect for a story whose harrowing adventure truly is harrowing in every sense of the word. The Poseidon Adventure pulls no punches when it comes to the fates of the characters, but Hackman’s performance- full of determination, motivation, and belief- keeps us going. Plenty of Reverend Scott’s key moments, such as his last one with Winters’ Belle Rosen, shows some great character work on the actor’s part, while his final scene is the perfect culmination of a man now battling the faith that has defined him for most of his life. There are a great many elements that make The Poseidon Adventure a bonafide classic, but it’s Hackman’s performance that gives it its soul.
Ed Travis
Growing up, maturing, if you will, is watching The Poseidon Adventure as a child and thinking Shelley Winters is the most annoying character, then, as an adult, realizing she’s the beating heart; a major contributor to this masterpiece of studio filmmaking. Yes, I did use the “M” word. This go-round with Poseidon struck a deep chord within me. I must admit I revisited it amidst the passing of my mother, so the exploration of the sanctity of life, the questioning of God that is present within it, and the unqualified heroism and self sacrifice demonstrated by many characters resonated more profoundly as I wrestled with loss in my own life, and witness the gutless and self serving nature of our country’s current leadership.
This big studio blockbuster that set so much of the template for dozens of imitators with its massive scale and dazzling set design and impressive action set pieces doesn’t just sprinkle in some character development along the way, but instead feels like a gottdamn blockbuster that’s actually ABOUT something. Shelley Winters IS kind of annoying as she frets and verbalizes her fears of being too old, or too fat, to make it through this catastrophic shipwreck. But when the moment arrives for her to step up and be brave, her sacrifice compels the survivors forward and galvanizes them. She sacrifices for them, for her family, so her husband can live on, and meet their grandchild. This Oscar nominated role infuses her Jewish roots into her tenacious sacrifice. Then there’s Ernest Borgnine’s cop character, who fights endlessly with his wife, but loves the former prostitute like Don Quixote loved Dulcinea, warts and all. The tough, angry cop who loves dangerously. And of course, there’s the man himself Gene Hackman: a pastor! Not many big screen pastors like this one exist: A man at odds with his God, questioning, doubting, taking life by the balls and leading people through it. Hackman also gives up his own life for the survival of his impromptu flock, doing so amidst an angry tirade of a prayer, asking God where he is, why he won’t help them, and why he seems to be actively working against them. It’s a potent, character-defining moment of sacrificial heroism and servant leadership that resonates profoundly in my weary American heart. The Poseidon Adventure is grand, epic, thrilling, and exciting. And amidst the spectacular thrills are Oscar-caliber tales of humanity that send us out of this adventure reassured that human life is precious and worth fighting for.
Justin Harlan
Since I was the last person to finish my weekly contribution, I decided to get the last word in… even if this is Frank’s post. Perhaps it was watching this film that left me to feeling like being dramatic. Perhaps it’s because the formatting for the rest of the post is already done and I don’t feel like messing that up. I guess you’ll never know…
But one thing is for certain. Hackman was an acting god. Despite this incredibly stacked cast, somehow he steals the show in nearly every scene he’s in. While disaster films aren’t generally my favorite action/adventure subgenre at all, Hackman and the rest of the ensemble truly elevate a tale that I probably wouldn’t have cared too much about (again, based on my preferences… not saying there wasn’t a ton of solid action or compelling story beats if this kind of film is your thing).
Beyond my further emphasis that the acting is what makes this one worth it, I feel like the rest of the crew hit all the important beats, so I’ll simply note that I’m looking forward to a great excuse to keep diving into Hackman’s filmography this month plus. There are several I haven’t seen until now (including this one) and I’m genuinely excited to see wha tI’ve been missing.
Goodbye to a Great: TWO CENTS Celebrates Gene Hackman
To make the passing of a cinematic legend, we at Cinapse are putting together a titanic selection of some of the late Gene Hackman’s biggest and best performances. From sports dramas to military thrillers to bone-fide classics, here’s a list of what we’re watching:
April 21 – Unforgiven – (Paramount + – 2 hours 10 minutes)
April 28 – Crimson Tide – (Digital Rental / Purchase – 1 hour 56 minutes)
May 5 – The Conversation – (Prime Video – 1 hour 53 minutes)
May 12 – Enemy of the State – (Prime Video – 2 hours 12 minutes)
May 19 – The Royal Tenenbaums – (Digital Rental / Purchase – 1 hour 50 minutes)
