Earthquake

Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner headline this entry into the 1970's lineup of disaster epics. From Universal Pictures in 1974, the storyline revolves around the interaction of an unconnected group of people living in Los Angeles after a magnitude 9.9 earthquake rocks the city. Special effects abound in the film and Earthquake has the distinction of being the first film to use a live special effect which was dubbed "Sensurround" and which used large BGW powered Cerwin-Vega speakers to pump sub-audible "infra bass" sound waves at 120 decibels into the theatre. The action revolves around multiple rescue efforts amid the chaos and aftermath of the event and culimates in a dramatic and spectacular catastrophic finale. With screenplay written by Mario Puzo of "Godfather" fame and direction by Mark Robson, the ensemble cast includes George Kennedy, Geneviève Bujold, Richard Roundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Lorne Greene, Barry Sullivan, Walter Matthau, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal and Walter Matthau.