These are Resurfaced short or quickie reviews written in 2002 or earlier. For more information, please visit this link: Resurfaced Reviews.

Deliverance (1972)

Rating

Director

John Boorman

Screenplay

James Dickey (Novel: James Dickey)

Length

1h 49m

Starring

Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Ed Ramey, Billy Redden

MPAA Rating

R

Basic Plot

Four men from the city adventure to the backwoods to take a canoe trip down a dangerous river.

Review

Deliverance is a cinematic gem. It’s filled with drama, brilliant acting and masterful direction. This film is what films of the ’70s were about. It was made during a high-quality, low-gloss, gritty film era. Deliverance captures the essence of the rapids of the river, with a talented cast. There are long interludes of silence, with only the crash of the waves and the chants of success. Deliverance takes nature and brings it to life with masterful realism.

Review Written

Unknown

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

Rating

Director

Robert Stevenson

Screenplay

Ralph Wright, Ted Berman, Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi (Book: Mary Norton)

Length

1h 57m

Starring

Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jaffe, John Ericson, Bruce Forsyth, Cindy O’Callaghan, Roy Snart, Ian Weighill, Tessie O’Shea, Arthur E. Gould-Porter

MPAA Rating

G

Basic Plot

A mythical voyage of the imagination is waiting for two children whose new nanny helps them escape the insanity of a war-torn Europe.

Review

Angela Lansbury gives this film an exciting lift and retains her title as one of the foremost actresses of any time period. She plays Eglantine Price, a nanny that uses the children’s bed to skip around between exciting animated/live-action sequences. The film took home an Oscar for Special Visual Effects and rightly so. The film is stylish and brilliant, a sure-fire classic for children.

Review Written

Unknown

The Towering Inferno (1974)

Rating

Director

John Guillermin

Screenplay

Stirling Silliphant (Novel: Richard Martin Stern, Thomas N Scortia, Frank M. Robinson)

Length

2h 45m

Starring

Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Flannery, Sheila Mathews, Normann Burton, Jack Collins

MPAA Rating

PG

Basic Plot

The world’s tallest tower, made of glass is having a party on its uppermost floor. There’s a problem, however. The building is on fire half-way to the ground. The denizens of the building must flee for their lives or be engulfed by the inferno.

Review

Probably the best of the ’70s disaster films Towering Inferno is high on drama and levity while keeping its actors in good form and churning out a believable and enthralling story. Fred Astaire is one of the primary actors in the film and leads the rest in performances. Paul Newman and Steve McQueen hold the title of lead, but both occasionally feel out of place, while Faye Dunaway and especially Jennifer Jones are superb.

Review Written

Unknown

Earthquake (1974)

Rating

Director

Mark Robson

Screenplay

George Fox, Mario Puzo

Length

2h 02m

Starring

Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Genevieve Bujold, Richard Roundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Barry Sullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Walter Matthau, Monica Lewis, Gabriel Dell, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Lloyd Gough, John Randolph, Kip Niven, Scott Hylands, Tiger Williams, Donald Moffat

MPAA Rating

PG

Basic Plot

Earthquakes bombard a city and its residents must survive the threats of more.

Review

The acting in this film isn’t as superb as in Poseidon Adventure, but it is acceptable. The plot devices are adequate and the film is entertaining. One of the better films in the disaster era.

Review Written

Unknown

Airplane! (1980)

Rating

Director

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker

Screenplay

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker

Length

1h 28m

Starring

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Lorna Patterson, Robert Stack

MPAA Rating

PG

Basic Plot

Ex-Navy pilot Ted Striker has been nervous about flying ever since THAT incident during the war. He’s on a flight which would cause anyone concern: he seems to be the only sane person aboard. When the entire flight crew and several passengers contract a fast-acting virus from the fish served for dinnerre’s no one left to fly the plane except striker.

Review

While the plot has some major problems, Airplane is one of the funniest comedies to date. Hilarious situation after situation arises that cause the entire plane peril and cause us some laugh-aching. There are no truly good performances in this comedy of errors film, but you’ll delight in seeing Beaver’s mother converse in Jive with two fellow passengers.

Review Written

Unknown