The Poseidon Explosion (1973)

Original title: Explozia

Director: Mircea Dragan

Writer: Ioan Grigorescu

Composer: Theodor Grigoriu

Starring: Radu Beligan, Gheorghe Dinica, Toma Caragiu, Dem Radulescu, Jean Constantin, George Motoi, Toma Dimitriu, Colea Rautu, Draga Olteanu Matei

More info: IMDb

Plot: When a big ocean liner's cargo of fertilizer catches fire, it causes an explosion and pretty soon, the whole ship is ablaze. A helpful newlywed passing by in a canoe and a stowaway help try to fight the fire.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Based on an actual event, this isn't all that bad but the presentation (crappy VHS fullscreen print with a not-so-good English dub) keeps it from being anything too watchable.  I'm not sure if the English dubbers took liberties with the dialogue but there are odd moments of humor thrown in that don't fit with the picture.  On one hand you've got an action thriller that starts immediately and doesn't let up until the film ends and yet there's almost slapstick-y humor every once in a while that completely takes you out of it.  The shitty print never allowed me to care much but considering it's a Romanian disaster film, and my knowledge of the Romanian film industry of the 1970s is limited, I think they did a pretty good job and a major motion picture.