Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Rruffin83 I gave it a 3 because of Robert Forster's acting. Mia Farrow was horrible and Rock Hudson was annoyingly bad. The director must have given them one take per scene, Forster nailed every one and the stars missed big time. The snow that someone kept throwing across the windows every 2 seconds was hilarious. Do chunks of snow really bounce off you? lol

Woodyanders Roger Corman might have been a tad late when it came to jumping on the 70's disaster flick bandwagon, but what this item lacks in fancy large scale scope it more than compensates for with a deliciously tacky surplus of cheap'n'cheerful exploitation cinema thrills.Loud and huffy millionaire David Shelby (broadly essayed with blustery brio by Rock Hudson) is on the verge of opening his posh new ski resort in the Colorado mountains. Crusading environmentalist photographer Nick Thorne (a solid and engaging performance by the ever-reliable Robert Forster) tries to warn Shelby about the threat of a possible avalanche to no avail. Among the guests attending the gala event are Shelby's estranged wife Caroline (a winningly warm portrayal by a radiant Mia Farrow) and Shelby's sassy fireplug mother Florence (Jeanette Nolan, who brings plenty of delightful spark to her role).Director Corey Allen, who also co-wrote the compact script with Claude Pola, keeps the familiar, yet still engrossing and entertaining story moving along at a brisk pace, makes neat use of the breathtaking rocky and wintry landscape, and pulls out all the hysterically absurd and exciting stops once the titular catastrophe occurs. And boy does this baby kick into priceless kitschy overdrive when that happens: Cocky champion skier Bruce Scott (hunky Rick Moses) tries (and fails) to outrace the avalanche, a pretty figure skater gets taken out while in the middle of her swirling routine, and a sexy neurotic gal (foxy brunette Cathey Paine) winds up buying it just as she's about to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. Barry Primus acquits himself well as smooth reporter Mark Elliott. Steven Franken also contributes a sound turn as uptight book keeper Henry McDade. The (far from) special effects are hilariously hokey: The massive chunks of snow are clearly made out of Styrofoam and the poorly matted in snow has an odd bluish hue in several scenes. A wild sequence depicting a snow mobile race in which the participants play dirty rates as a definite sidesplitting highlight; the fact that the folks in charge of rescuing any survivors prove to be even more dangerous than the avalanche supplies additional unintentional belly laughs. Both William Kraft's lively score and Pierre-William Glenn's crisp cinematography are up to par. As a yummy extra plus, there's even a decent sprinkling of tasty gratuitous female nudity. A real campy hoot and a half.

nogimmicks Fun and entertaining low-budget disaster epic produced by the king of low-budget, Roger Corman (His style: Light, and get away...). Obviously made on the heels of disaster blockbusters like The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, and Earthquake, Avalanche is a pretty standard disaster film -- it gathers a large number of broadly portrayed characters to a location, then proceeds to put them into deadly peril. But since this is Corman, we don't have the big-name cast here -- the biggest name is Rock Hudson, not exactly Heston or Newman, but you work with what you got. The special effects are cheap but effective -- they may be double exposures, stock footage, and Styrofoam blocks but the editing is tight and the shots are generally well composed. The acting is middle of the road, TV melodrama kinda stuff, but wholly serviceable for the genre. Plus, at about 90 minutes, it doesn't ever drag on -- Corman's efficiency at work. And watch for a scene involving a pot of soup which is downright hilarious.This film really deserves a 6, but it made me smile, and was original enough (there's not that many disaster films out there about avalanches, after all!) for me to grant that extra point. If you like disaster films, then check out Avalanche.

Poseidon-3 Checking in rather late, though not at the tail end, in the 1970's disaster movie cycle, this Roger Corman cheapie is only entertaining in fits and starts. Hudson (looking ragged and drunk at times) has just built a huge winter paradise in the mountains of Colorado. His ex-wife (Farrow) comes to the opening, for old times sake, while employee Forster foresees danger in the snow caps. Hudson's mother (Nolan, in a white fright wig) wines and dines with abandon. There are also trite and annoying plot threads about a studly skier, a TV show host (Primus) and his unfaithful wife and a nervous ice skater. Aside from having less than stunning production values, the film's main problem is that it takes an hour for the title event to occur and then races through all the resultant carnage with choppy editing and distorted timing. The viewer must endure a shabby, clichéd script and some bad acting while waiting for the Styrofoam chunks and plastic snow to may their way down the hill. Hudson is bad. He barks and yells inappropriately when he isn't wooden. Farrow looks idiotic much of the time and is completely mismatched with Hudson. (She learned nothing from this experience as she was soon to film the disastrous "Hurricane", another career killer. Thankfully, for her, Woody Allen was just around the corner!) Forster actually outshines the others with his charm and conviction in a thankless part. Nolan shamelessly hams up her role in a desperate attempt to add life to the often dull proceedings. She is funny, but not always in the way intended. Primus had worked for Corman before, so he should have known what he was in for. On the plus side, there are a few hooty lines of dialogue and some unintentionally hilarious, overwrought, emotional scenes among the lesser players. Also, a few of the ice and snow effects and destruction scenes are solid (most, however, are shoddy.) One hilarious scene has a skater spinning obliviously while snow encompasses her. In another, folks digging a hole out of an enclosed lodge keep knocking against the rubber "snow" so that it springs back! Then there's the rescue workers who, after witnessing an electrocution, allow the victim to fall onto the ground instead of into their net, which is right under him! There's also an ambulance door that apparently flies open simply by leaning against it. One distinction: This has to be the only 1970's disaster film that has nudity. Hudson (in a bid to reinforce his heterosexual image?) has a secretary that walks around his chalet naked! If the film had spent a half hour getting to know the people and an hour rescuing them (instead of the opposite), it might have been more entertaining. The way it stands, viewers wind up not really liking the characters and can barely keep up with the rescues!