Earthquake

PG

Released Nov 15, 1974

2 hr. 2 min.

Mystery & Thriller

Action

Drama

List

44%

32 Reviews

Tomatometer

36%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When a major earthquake hits Los Angeles, the various residents of the city cope with the chaos and destruction. Successful architect Stewart Graff (Charlton Heston) argues with his demanding wife, Remy Royce-Graff (Ava Gardner), as the disaster hits. Later, when he checks in on his flirtatious friend Denise Marshall (Geneviève Bujold), they begin an affair. As the personal dramas continue, the city is threatened by aftershocks and possibly even greater quakes.

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Critics Consensus

The destruction of Los Angeles is always a welcome sight, but Earthquake offers little besides big actors slumming through crumbling sets.

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Jeff M

My cinematic weakness is 70s disaster flicks - I'll watch them no matter how horrible. In fact, their absurdities are among their strongest of attributes. And this has some doozies, although I think it's relatively well made for this genre. I had some doubts going in as I didn't think an earthquake seemed like the most cinematic of disasters. But, you know, in spite of some antiquated special effects, I was digging it. That being said, as I mentioned earlier, the fun is in the nuttiness of it all. Here we have dreadful overacting by Ava Gardner, a pre-DALLAS Victoria Principal sporting an afro taller than Billy Barty, and the audacity of the filmmakers trying to pass off Lorne Greene as Gardner's father. In real life, they were less than 8 years apart - I couldn't help but look it up. The pre-disaster expository scenes are admittedly lame and feel like night-time soap opera. But once the earthquake and aftershocks hit, the roller coaster ride has begun.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/24

Full Review

Richard C

A classic 70s disaster flick.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/17/23

Full Review

timmy b

The Stuntwork, Practical & Special Effects were incredible considering the time. It's a good, old time, Hollywood Movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/16/23

Full Review

Georgan G

Fun watching this classic action flick. The special effects are not much by today's standards, but glad to see what they did, despite this.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/08/23

Full Review

Michael W

This disaster movie was alright. Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Richard Roundtree, Victoria Principal, and the rest of the cast did a decent job in this movie. The plot of the movie was a little dramatic and shocking, but it could've been written better to make it more thrilling. It wasn't as great as I hoped it would be. If you haven't seen this movie yet, don't waste your time. It's not worth it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/05/23

Full Review

Alexander J

I am surprised that there was an actual script writer - because there is no plot. There is an earthquake. Lots of people die. My favorite deaths: Lorne green tries to help a window washer into the building, misses the catch and the window washer falls to his death. A giant pot of boiling soup falls on a chef. A plane of glass falls on a secretary leaving her with a million shards of glass imbedded in her face. Fun fact: Lorne Green is the only person to die of natural causes - heart attack. Crappy special effects. There is no point to the movie.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/12/23

Full Review

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Mark Robson

Director

Charlton Heston

Stewart Graff

Ava Gardner

Remy Graff

George Kennedy

Lew Slade

Geneviève Bujold

Denise Marshall

Richard Roundtree

Miles Quade

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Earthquake: Official Clip - The Dam Bursts

2:37

Earthquake: Official Clip - Pantyhose Drop

2:51

Earthquake: Official Clip - The Tunnel Flood

2:15

Earthquake: Official Clip - Livewires and Rushing Water

2:30

Earthquake: Official Clip - Hanging on by a Thread

3:11

Earthquake: Official Clip - Destroying Los Angeles

4:46

Earthquake: Official Clip - The Earthquake Strikes

3:43

Earthquake: Official Clip - Psycho Soldier

2:52

Earthquake: Official Clip - Cop vs. Soldier

2:47

Earthquake: Official Clip - Aftershock

2:16

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

Earthquake is a marathon of destruction effects, with stock characters spinning through.

Sep 27, 2023

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Mark Robson's Earthquake is an excellent dramatic exploitation extravaganza, combining brilliant special effects with a multi-character plot line which is surprisingly above average for this type film.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

David Parkinson

Time Out

The special effects are of a high order as Los Angeles is razed, so it is unfortunate that the same intelligent attention is not extended to either script or direction.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Steve Warren

The Barb (Atlanta)

Earthquake uses a gimmick, "Sensurround," which makes the theatre seem to tremble during the quake scenes. It's effective and makes about 10 minutes of the picture worth seeing. The rest is crudely-written formula melodrama that wastes an all-star cast.

May 9, 2023

Full Review

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

for all the bodies falling and crushed when “the big one” hits, there is never really anything at stake other than whether or not we are convinced by the effects

Rated: 2/4

Jul 27, 2022

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

The shaker-cam and visual effects are no doubt the best part of the film.

Jan 18, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

When a major earthquake hits Los Angeles, the various residents of the city cope with the chaos and destruction. Successful architect Stewart Graff (Charlton Heston) argues with his demanding wife, Remy Royce-Graff (Ava Gardner), as the disaster hits. Later, when he checks in on his flirtatious friend Denise Marshall (Geneviève Bujold), they begin an affair. As the personal dramas continue, the city is threatened by aftershocks and possibly even greater quakes.

Director: Mark Robson
Screenwriter: George Fox, Mario Puzo
Production Co: Universal Pictures, The Filmakers Group
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Action, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 15, 1974, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016

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