Avalanche (1978)

[James Luckard]

AVALANCHE, with Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow, coming 9/16 from Kino Lorber, according to Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00LC4PB8O/

I saw this once on TV when I was a kid, all I remember is that some of the avalanche scenes ended up reused in METEOR the following year.

[The Great Owl]

Avalanche is far from the best disaster movie of the 1970s, but it's still a heck of a good time. Count me in for this Blu-ray.

[Tiger Tanaka]

i am a rock hudson fan and enjoyed this one, good way to replace my fullscreen dvd

[Dubstar]

wasn't there a longer TV cut of the film - or am I thinking of another 70's disaster movie?

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

wasn't there a longer TV cut of the film - or am I thinking of another 70's disaster movie?

Many of them did have longer TV cuts - Earthquake, Two Minute Warning, Airport 77, The Towering Inferno... The Towering Inferno includes the TV scenes on the BD. I don't know if this film had a longer cut though.

[Arkadin]

wow, never even heard of this one.
guess I missed it somehow when I had my disaster movie marathon.

[phoenixandrew]

I remember this movie came out in the late summer of 1978 in New York during the newspaper strike. I saw an ad for this movie in the substitute paper we were getting during the strike. Noticing that the movie featured has-been actors, was distributed by New World Pictures and was being released to theaters in run-down neighborhoods in my city, I knew this film was going to be real cheese, not in the same league as "Towering Inferno," "Two Minute Warning" and the "Airport" movies.

I saw it on HBO in 1979. I thought the scene where the avalanche hit the figure skater was about as cheesy as the cartoon blood spurt scene in "Earthquake" when the elevator came crashing down.

[donidarko]

Originally Posted by phoenixandrew

I remember this movie came out in the late summer of 1978 in New York during the newspaper strike. I saw an ad for this movie in the substitute paper we were getting during the strike. Noticing that the movie featured has-been actors, was distributed by New World Pictures and was being released to theaters in run-down neighborhoods in my city, I knew this film was going to be real cheese, not in the same league as "Towering Inferno," "Two Minute Warning" and the "Airport" movies.

I saw it on HBO in 1979. I thought the scene where the avalanche hit the figure skater was about as cheesy as the cartoon blood spurt scene in "Earthquake" when the elevator came crashing down.

Same here. That newspaper strike was so annoying. I remember those thin replacement newspapers. Yes, saw this at the movies. Probably the worst 70s disaster movie made, though "Concorde: Airport '79 might top this as the worst. I remember the snow coming for the figure skater also, pretty amusing, if I remember correctly, it didn't even interrupt her skating routine, just snow coming at her from both sides of the screen, she wasn't even knocked down...pretty awful special effects on display here. I don't remember enjoying this, as it was way too cheesy. The plot was terribly boring and I kinda felt embarrassed for the lead actors. No one looked comfortable acting in this. However, I'm sure Rock and Mia got nice pay checks.

[James Luckard]

What I remember from seeing it on TV when I was a kid obsessed with disaster movies is that it's basically Jaws, only with the greedy businessmen unwilling to admit the danger their resort faces from snow, instead of a shark:

Rock Hudson - " Avalanche " Trailer - 1978 - YouTube

[Dubstar]

^ the same was said about 'Dante's Peak' - the comparison to Jaws that is.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

^ the same was said about 'Dante's Peak' - the comparison to Jaws that is.

But then also Jaws has been accused of borrowing that idea from an Ibsen play about a vacation spa that has waters that may be turning poisonous, with the owners hiding this fact:

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2...r-henrik-ibsen

[The Great Owl]

I just pre-ordered Avalanche for $17 and change from Amazon.

I loved watching the movie during childhood, and I also enjoyed the DVD before I sold it last year when I was cleaning out my DVD collection to make room for Blu-rays. I figured that it was just a matter of time before it saw the light of day on Blu-ray.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I figured that it was just a matter of time before it saw the light of day on Blu-ray.

(Shudder) I can't imagine selling a DVD until I actually have the BD release of the title in my hands

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by phoenixandrew

I remember this movie came out in the late summer of 1978 in New York during the newspaper strike. I saw an ad for this movie in the substitute paper we were getting during the strike. Noticing that the movie featured has-been actors, was distributed by New World Pictures and was being released to theaters in run-down neighborhoods in my city, I knew this film was going to be real cheese, not in the same league as "Towering Inferno," "Two Minute Warning" and the "Airport" movies.

I saw it on HBO in 1979. I thought the scene where the avalanche hit the figure skater was about as cheesy as the cartoon blood spurt scene in "Earthquake" when the elevator came crashing down.

that is one of the worst moments in cinema... of all time! I can't believe that Universal execs allowed that shot prior to release!

[javi92]

Somehow I missed that this was being released until now. It looks like this is through the regular Kino line and not KL Studio Classics. Wonder why?

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching this Scorpion Releasing Blu-ray of Avalanche, and I never expected this movie to look as great as it does on this disc.

It's always refreshing when I see a stunning Blu-ray transfer of a movie that is generally dismissed by the masses in this day and age. Avalanche is a second-tier effort when compared to the best disaster movies of the 1970s, but my lifelong appreciation of this film went a few notches higher after tonight's high definition viewing.

I used to watch Avalanche on television all of the time during my childhood, and I owned the scrappy DVD release that was put out over a decade ago. I've always enjoyed the movie's combination of free-wheeling 1970s relationships during the first half and total destruction during the second half. Roger Corman mentions in the supplementary interview that this was a hugely successful movie in financial terms at the time, and this does not surprise me, because the star power in the movie belies its comparably low-budget approach.

Rock Hudson, the beautiful Mia Farrow, and Robert Forster are all fun to watch in this movie, and I have to give them credit for putting sincere effort into a film that was obviously beneath their talents. In his supplementary interview, Forster describes Avalanche as the "middle ground" when it comes to the quality of his movies, but it's certainly one of the most fun films of his canon.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

that is one of the worst moments in cinema... of all time! I can't believe that Universal execs allowed that shot prior to release!

Yes, that's terrible. The scene as originally shot was considered too graphic and would have earned the film an R-rating, so instead of cutting it entirely, the ended it with the cartoon blood. I wished they'd re-instate the original end to the scene, but it's probably lost.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Tiger Tanaka

i am a rock hudson fan and enjoyed this one, good way to replace my fullscreen dvd

I'm a Rock Hudson fan too, but this hasn't got English subtitles and it's putting me off a bit from purchasing the Bluray.

[sarah_wentworth]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just finished watching this Scorpion Releasing Blu-ray of Avalanche, and I never expected this movie to look as great as it does on this disc.

It's always refreshing when I see a stunning Blu-ray transfer of a movie that is generally dismissed by the masses in this day and age. Avalanche is a second-tier effort when compared to the best disaster movies of the 1970s, but my lifelong appreciation of this film went a few notches higher after tonight's high definition viewing.

I used to watch Avalanche on television all of the time during my childhood, and I owned the scrappy DVD release that was put out over a decade ago. I've always enjoyed the movie's combination of free-wheeling 1970s relationships during the first half and total destruction during the second half. Roger Corman mentions in the supplementary interview that this was a hugely successful movie in financial terms at the time, and this does not surprise me, because the star power in the movie belies its comparably low-budget approach.

Rock Hudson, the beautiful Mia Farrow, and Robert Forster are all fun to watch in this movie, and I have to give them credit for putting sincere effort into a film that was obviously beneath their talents. In his supplementary interview, Forster describes Avalanche as the "middle ground" when it comes to the quality of his movies, but it's certainly one of the most fun films of his canon.

i just watched and i loved it. it is a fun movie. now i hate snow

[dune1984]

PG film with nudity, you have got to love the 70's.