THE BEST DISASTER CRUISE FILMS

 From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

        DAY  USA  WORLD   Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9    1093     4732        1185        246        82

July    22     1205     7128        1293      1120       572

Aug    12     1504     6556        1242       835       130

Sept     9     1208      6222       1136      1168        82

Oct     21     1225      6849         571       703        85

Nov    25     2304    12025        620       518      118

Dec    30     3880    14748      1224       299      465

Jan     14       4142    15512       1151         189      712              

          20      4385    17350      1382        152     566

          28       3908   16388      1439       162     555 

Feb      1       1904     9265        609         94     235

            2       3632   14673       1240        113      547 

            3       4005   14265      1209        107     398

Summary:  Well, not as bad as last month, but the decline seems to be lagging.  The USA is continuing to do poorly, but we are not the worst.  In terms of deaths/million population (I've left out the really small areas, like Gibraltar and San Marino, which have higher numbers):

1. Belgium                          1822
2. Slovenia                          1714
3. UK                                  1606
4. Czechia                           1563
5. Bosnia/Herzegovina    1452
6. USA                                 1391

Taiwan is at 0.3 death/million, Thailand at 1 and China at 3.  Our Diamond Princess cruise ship stopped in Taiwan in December of 2020 and I took a trip to Thailand in February, when it was #2 to China in deaths from COVID-19, before it was known by that name.

I indicated that I would get into the hoopla of the Super Bowl today.  However, I'll begin tomorrow, first focusing on geography, Tampa Bay and Florida, then on Saturday, all those crazies propositions, best commercials and cuisine of the day.  At this time, I'm contemplating, and appreciate that the game begins at 1:30 EST (or 8:30AM in Hawaii), an appetizer brunch beginning with some foie gras, caviar and more, with special beverages, followed, perhaps at halftime, by a Miyazaki Wagyu Beef sandwich with a Kosher dill, jalapeno and just a beer.

I will very shortly post on the best ocean cruise films, but today will start with three disasters, two from nearly a half century ago, and the 1997 Titanic.  I had in the past recorded the first pair, and took a look at them yesterday.  I'm wondering if I will still watch Titanic (Rotten Tomatoes: 89/69) for it is 3 hours and 15 minutes long.  According to Cosmopolitan mag, the "best" of the lot is The Perfect Storm, from 2000.  However, this was a simple fishing boat, not a cruise liner, and, anyway, only got 47/64 reviews from Rotten Tomatoes. While they all give pause about not remaining a landlubber, I remain interested in including an ocean adventure into my next around the world trip.

I already reviewed the first two last year.  Today, a different look.  In 1972 came The Poseidon Adventure.  Rotten Tomatoes gave 80/76 scores.  The Queen Mary, moored in Long Beach, was the setting.  The story is based on the Sea Fox, which actually did capsize in the Caribbean, where four people, after waiting three days, were similarly rescued, way back in 1821.  This same Queen Mary, when it was in operation, ferried troops during World War II, and on one trip, carrying more than 16,000 troops, was struck by a rogue wave estimated to be 90 feet, and tipped 52 degrees.  Three more would have capsized it.

Good cast, featuring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons, Stella Stevens, Jack Albertson, Leslie Nielsen and Carol Lynley, who was seen singing the Oscar winning song, The Morning After.  However the real voice was that of Renee Armand.

In 1979 there was a sequel, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, for the ship did not sink, and salvagers came looking for gold and plutonium.  Involved were Michael Caine, Sally Field, Telly Savalas, Jack Warden, Shirley Knight, Shirley Jones, Karl Malden and Slim Pickens.  Directed and produced by Irwin Allen.  However, don't watch it, for Rotten Tomatoes reviewers skipped it and audiences only bestowed a 20 score.

There was a TV re-make in 2005, with again a decent cast:  Adam Baldwin, Rutger Hauer, Steve Guttenberg, Bryan Brown and Peter Weller.  Pretty much the same script, but RT reviewers did not bother to rate it, and audiences only gave it a 35.  This is why you can watch on You Tube the whole movie.

But that was not it, for in 2006 came another, entitled Poseidon, with Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss.  Got 33/43 scores from Rotten Tomatoes.

Juggernaut in 1974 earned 83/56 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes starring Richard Harris, Omar Shariff, David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins and Shirley Knight, and directed by Richard Lester.  A German cruise ship Hamburg was used, which was later sold to the Soviet Union and renamed Maxim Gorkiy.  No sinking this time, as the storyline was a ransom, where the bombs were defused.  Based on a real event that occurred on the Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1972 when Royal Marines were parachuted onto the ship because of a bomb hoax.  If nothing else, see how these actors looked 47 years ago.

There was another film, entitled Juggernaut, in 2018.   However, it had nothing to do with a cruise.

So did I watch Titanic again?  That was an adventure.  I finally last night at 9 PM decided, okay, let me make this posting complete by actually seeing this film.  Went to Netflix.  Nothing.  Prime had it, at half price, from $20, but cut to $10.  Well, not worth that much money.  But I remember once subscribing to Redbox.  

• I recalled fussing around trying to get connected, but I finally succeeded.  Movies are generally for around $3.  

• 
  But the channel kept saying that my credit card had expired, and go to Redbox.com.  
• So I did, and, indeed, it was so long ago that I had previously linked.  Got all the current info in.  
• Tried to check in several times, and still failed.
• Finally, five minutes of this, attempted one more time.  Success!!!
• One new development is that Redbox now has a lot of channels like your home cable system.  A range of them that were only vaguely familiar, and featuring music.  Not bad.
• But went to search, found Titanic and had two choices, $4 for high definition and $3 for standard.  Actually, it was something like $4.12, for they now add a tax charge.  

Rotten Tomatoes gave 89/69 scores.  A thousand people were credited for the production, indicating James Cameron a dozen times.  Starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Bill Paxton and Kathy Bates.  Some memorable facts:

• Was the highest grossing film of all time, until dethroned by Cameron's Avatar in 2009.
• For the record, the highest grossing film ever is still Gone with the Wind at $1.8 billion, #2 Star Wars $1.6 billion, #3 The Sound of Music $1.4 billion, #4 ET $1.33 billion, #5 Titanic $1.29 billion.  I don't see Avatar in the top ten.
• Gwyneth Paltrow and Matthew McConaughey were originally set to star.
• Lindsey Lohan almost got the part of the 8-year old.

• 
  In the movie, DiCaprio draws Winslett, but the person who did the actual sketching was Cameron.  As I said, he was quite involved.
• Confusing, but the roles by Winslett and DiCaprio were made up, yet they later found that there was a real Jack Dawson (played by Leonardo) on the ship.  His gravesite is very popular today.  Many of the actors looked like their real life counterpart on the Titanic.

• 
  Cameron did not want a song with words.  But Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On (it did win an Oscar) changed his mind.  Here, from the film.
• Dion, incidentally, was already famous, having had that hit with Peabo Bryson in Beauty and the Beast, which also won an Academy Award, and Power of Love.
• After a difficult shoot, those who consumed the lobster chowder threw up...but because someone had spiked the soup with PCP.
• There was no Blue Diamond necklace on the real ship.  But there was a Blue Sapphire original, which was never found.

In the film, Ross Dewitt (Kate Winslet) is still alive at the age of 103 when the Titanic was found, and while on that expedition cruise, drops her Blue Diamond necklace into the sea just above the wreck.  All this was for dramatic effect.  First, she lived through the disaster, then she always had that necklace, and never told anyone.  But, this was show business.

My personal feelings came into play when identifying with the bottom-class DiCaprio character, derided by the upper crust on the ship.  I thought about my years at Stanford, where it should have been similar.  However, on campus, the situation was totally different.  Maybe rich students there are nicer, but never in my 3.75 years in Palo Alto was I ever in any way discriminated against, including financially.  Some of my classmates came from wealthy families, and we remain friends today, and that relationship just continues as equals.

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