The Great Los Angeles Earthquake
by Larry Elikann
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alan Autry, Bonnie Bartlett, Dan Lauria, Joanna Kerns, Lindsay FrostDirector: Larry Elikann
Writer: Michael Petryni
Writer: Paul Huson
Writer: William Bast
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 177 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Direct Source Label
Movie Reviews of The Great Los Angeles Earthquake
Movie Review: The way a disaster movie should be made!
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember this movie when it was first broadcast as a mini-series in 1990. After that, I didn't see it again until 1992 and then a lot of the sub-plots had been removed to shorten the running time. For the record, this is the full version - 177 minutes long.
It begins in a remote area near Los Angeles City, where a series of small earthquakes are being noticed. An attractive seismologist with the USGS, Dr. Claire Winslow (Joanna Kerns)has just returned from a qukae zone in Mexico, and soon finds that the patterns leading to the giant quake in Mexico City are almost identical to those in Los Angeles. When an interview with an unscrupulous reporter, Kevin Conrad (Richard Masur) leads to a hornet's nest of controversy, it touches off a conflict between Claire & her husband, Steve (Dan Lauria), who is trying to land a contract as a landscape architect in a Huntingdon Beach development engineered by developer Wendell Cates (Robert Ginty). The small earthquakes continue, and Cates threatens to get Claire fired through her boss (Richard Herd of 'T.J. Hooker') by putting pressure on the governor through his aide, Chad Spaulding (Joe Spano). In the meantime, the would-be president-elect of South Africa (the late Brock Peters) becomes the target of would-be assassins who want to put the brakes on South African reforms. Amid all this, Claire discovers that the big quake will not come from the San Andreas, but from a smaller fault called the Elysian Park that runs right under the city. It will culminate in a quake of over 8 on the Richter scale, and 20,000 people may perish...
The acting is solid in most place, especially Kerns & Lauria who turn in a stellar, believable performance as a family. Ed Begley Jr. & Brock Peters also turn in solid performances, as well as Lindsay Frost & Alan Autry as Claire's sister & her future fiance.
While the main focus of the story is the Winslow family & Claire's fight to get her message out, the movie also features multiple subplots including Claire's housekeeper Sonia & her son Miguel, Claire & Laurie's parents Anita & Dr. Owen Parker, and the prominent subplots of developer Cates & his manipulation of Chad Spaulding and Claire's boss, as well as the assassination plot.
The visual & special effects make the earthquake itself seem believable & realistic (remember this was before CGI and digital imaging). This movie is far superior to 1974's 'Earthquake!' in almost every way. Highly recommended for anyone interested in disaster films.
Summary of The Great Los Angeles Earthquake
The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (View amazon detail page) ASIN: B000F4RHT8 Binding: DVDSimilar DVD Movies
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