Earthquake (Blu-ray) Now Available for preorder (1 Viewer)

[Charles Smith]

Mine gets here today, and as bad as I know the movie is, in so many ways, I really look forward to viewing it tonight.
Haven't properly seen it since right here, the week I took these:

 

[bryan4999]

Great pics, thanks for sharing. Mine came yesterday, looking forward to it this weekend.

 

[bryan4999]

Couldn't wait. Had a friend over and we watched it last night. It looked very filmlike, and I got some decent vibrations in the floor from my subwoofer. Especially given the poor home video incarnations that have gone before, I am quite pleased. I have to say that the soap opera aspects have not aged well. The special effects hold up pretty well, except for the end of the elevator sequence which had me and my buddy laughing. The hi-def reveals a lot of matte shots that I had never noticed before. Although some it looks quaint now, it is amazing what they achieved before computer tools.

 

[andySu]

Ordered though the Amazon forest, should be rumbling here in Lucasfilm Ltd THX sound system, this Thursday.

I still enjoy the laserdisc and region 2 DVD Dolby 5.1 sensurround.

I liked the opening title to EARTHQUAKE had a epic size to it in the cinema in Sensurround at the ABC screen 1, early Feb 1975.






"Pantihose take off your pantihose in Sensurround damn it".





Schauburg Celebrates Sensurround's 40th Anniversary and shows "Earthquake" in 70MM
http://www.in70mm.com/news/2014/sensurround/index.htm

The cinema is bringing in "We are bringing in - literally - a truckload of"
http://www.dbaudio.com/systems/details/j-infra-subwoofer.html#ssch-db-systems-product-data-25
Good god they'll bring the house down.

50.000kw Sensurround
http://www.in70mm.com/news/2010/sensurround/index.htm

Sensurround main page.
http://www.in70mm.com/library/process/sensurround/index.htm

 

[DP 70]

I still remember going up the Empire Projection Box in London and seeing the 70mm print running through on my favourite projector.3 x DP 70,s in 1 box those were the days...

 

[Dr Griffin]

This paragraph from Micheal Reuben's Blu-ray.com review cracked me up:

Earthquake was the first of four films released theatrically in "Sensurround", a short-lived venture between Universal and speaker manufacturer Cerwin-Vega that attempted to enhance the theatrical experience by adding low frequency effects that were intended to be felt more than heard. The format was abandoned for a variety of reasons, including the cost to theater owners and the tendency for the Sensurround vibrations to damage ceilings, especially in older structures, and cause fragments of plaster to fall on patrons' heads.

Can you imagine watching Earthquake in an older theater and having plaster fall on your head? That is realism!

 

[RolandL]

I thought there was one theatre where the combination of vibrations and a full balcony damaged it.

 

[andySu]

Arrived today bluray, EARTHQUAKE (1974) dtsHDMA 5.1 / 2.1 Sensurround.
Now being played in Lucasfilm Ltd THX Sound System.

Several waterfalls and a few things I noticed on the bluray just seconds before THE BIG ONE rumbled up! Was mild faint thumping sound around the 60Hz. I managed to capture a waterfall of it.

Then monitored The Big One LFE.1 dtsHDMA and asides from being pitched down a few cycles lower over the region 2 DVD which is PAL speed-up, I don't see any real change between the two,

I then checked the 2.1 (firstly dialouge isn't that louder as its been played with phantom stage and stereo left/right I find it a bit distracting as I prefer the solid centre channel with the common dialouge anchored to centre). The LFE.1 was milder weaker signal as the waterfalls show.

Region 2 DVD

I've aimed for a 85 to 90dbC peak which is plenty rumble loud enough (and I have had my fair share if this in Feb 1975) at Sensurround SPL db levels and over the years seeing the next Sensurround Battlestar Galactica (1979) which might have possibly resulted in mild Tinnitus, that I noticed at night time as never once settled down or gone away. It comes and goes on and off most days and often lasts for days at time on ether left or right ear, inner-ear noise. Its no fun.

I think Battlestar had the most intense amount of Sensurround over Earthquake. Had I been aware I could have taken precautions to using earplugs or simply covering my ears back in the 70's to relax easy off some of the intense low frequency pressure on the eardrums.

I can always use the shakers inside my Irwin rocker seats that gives one heck of vibration and when merged with airborne sound it provides a thrilling entertaining effect, without punishing the eardrums, which I think is just silly. Big deal I've my JBL 18" at 126dbC in the past playing EARTHQUAKE dvd and the almost 10 mins was nauseating. You get pressure on the ear, like being down under some water for ether short or long duration. In other words it feels, uncomfortable.

 

[andySu]

I can't be asked to play it on the projector 9 feet wide for myself. CRT Sony 28" will have to suffice as I don't really see a huge improvement to warrant lamp time. (for guests, I'll run the projector)

Well at least the Universal logo is here on this, one as it was removed from the region 2 DVD that I have and replaced with that dreadful "E.T. 20th Universal logo".

They should have included the SENSURROUND warning at the start of the Universal logo opening, that is what its all about.

I like the aftershock tremor rumble during the scene above where some more LFE.1 comes on and vibrating the seats.

Why didn't Moses, just part the water?

 

[Dick]

Earthquake is such a terrible film, but I loved it when I was a kid. Saw it many times in the theater, and also had the soundtrack album. I still like the "love theme" cue. Loved Genevieve Bujold! Had a HUGE crush on her. Still do, I guess. Now I laugh at so much of this film: the elevator scene and especially Ava Gardner as Lorne Greene's daughter!! LOL. Will be picking it up for sentiment's sake.

Have never quite decided whether Bujold's first name Genevieve is supposed to be pronounced as Jen-o-veev or (as I prefer it) jon-vee-ev.

 

[clambake]

Have never quite decided whether Bujold's first name Genevieve is supposed to be pronounced as Jen-o-veev or (as I prefer it) jon-vee-ev.

It's supposed to be Jon-vee-ev, but I always think of her as Jen-o-veev too!

BTW while we're on this subject, I got this autograph last year -

 

[John Maher_289910]

I find the EARTHQUAKE Blu-ray, disappointing. Yes, it looks better than any other home video release, but there's a grittiness to the image that just seems wrong. Not at all as I remembered it in theaters. The entire audience laughed out loud, the first time Gardner said "daddy".

 

[darkrock17]

I doubt Universal would re-release this again this year for it's 40th anniversary, Shout Factory, might be better suited for that kind of proper treatment.

 

[TonyD]

I finally bought this from Amazon. Right away I notice the sensurround track is week. As mentioned about the dialog track seems to be split across the fronts and makes for a hollow sounding bit of audio. Also the Sensurround track doesn't trigger my svs sub set to auto on. Plus pressing display on the remote says the 2.1 track as 5.1

 

[Richard M S]

I love this film, it is so over-the-top in so many ways. I was about 10 when I first saw it and I can still recall telling my friends (in Brooklyn) "Ok, if an earthquake occurs, we can survive it by diving under a parked car like Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner!"

Now I look at it and think "Of course they had to costume Ava Gardner top-to-bottom in white...with a damn white hat."

 

[andySu]

Would like the CIC opening on the bluray with the Sensurround warning!

 

[trevanian]

This is great news, hopefully it will be a stellar blu-ray. Now I want Airport '75 on blu; I know it's not a great movie by any means, but I have fond memories of seeing it with Earthquake as a double feature at the drive-in. My dad took me and my brothers and it was a really fun, male bonding night.

Didn't see them as double bills but I do remember seeing AIRPORT 1975 two weekends running, then EARTHQUAKE the following week, and then I alternated them weekly till TOWERING INFERNO came out. That's around the time I started noticing Jerry Goldsmith's name on at least half of everything I saw in a theater, probably with the Bronsan/Gries BREAKOUT and BREAKHEART PASS pics (I snuck a tape recorder into the theater to get the theme on the latter ... wore that tape out for about 11 years!)


My parents fought so hard and so long over the Heston/Bujold/Gardner resolution in EARTHQUAKE that it became a joke down through the decades. Even as recently as five years ago, when they started getting mad about something during a visit, I asked, 'so who do you think stepped on Ava's fingers and caused her to fall?' and it stopped them dead in their tracks (for about 5 seconds anyway.)

 

[Dr Griffin]

Unfortunately, Sensurround has to be experienced in a theater with huge speakers moving massive amounts of air in a large space at about 105 dB+.

In the HT there is simply not enough space to replicate the experience, though I can get the subs chugging.

 

[Lord Dalek]

As far as I know (much like Baby Boom a couple years later), Sensurround didn't use true subwoofers anyway.

 

[Dr Griffin]

As far as I know (much like Baby Boom a couple years later), Sensurround didn't use true subwoofers anyway.

Yes, from what I remember (I was 12) the extra speakers the theater added looked like baffled PA speakers.