Review of Juggernaut

Introduction

Mysteriously, this ripping 1974 adventure yarn has somewhere along the line acquired an also-known-as US title "Terror Aboard The Britannic". As far as I know, it has always been called "Juggernaut" (the codename of the bomber), and is labelled as such on both the R1 version of the picture and the test disc I`m reviewing here. The only place I`ve seen it identified by the other title has been a pre-release artwork that turned up on Play.com. So just be warned that MGM may be flogging this picture under its pseudonym.

Juggernaut is a tense thriller, and unique as the only British attempt at making one of the then-popular disaster movies. As the latter it lacks the gloss of Irwin Allen`s Poseidon Adventure or Towering Inferno, but as the former it outclasses either, admirably directed by former Beatles movie director and Anglophile Richard Lester. Heading the cast list is Richard Harris, in possibly one of his most charismatic roles, that of Tony Fallon, head of a Royal Navy bomb disposal team. When seven high-explosive mines are placed aboard the liner Britannic, a full-scale security operation is set in motion.

The supporting cast list is littered with familiar and well-loved faces, many of them typical Richard Lester casting. Anthony Hopkins lends support as the investigating Scotland Yard officer whose family happens to be aboard the ship. Omar Sharif plays the Captain of the stricken vessel. Among Fallon`s bomb disposal team are David Hemmings and Kenneth Cope.

In a typical piece of Lester casting, the one and only Roy Kinnear plays the long-suffering cruise director who has to keep the atmosphere light when the ship`s predicament is revealed to the passengers. Jack Watson plays the gruff chief engineer and a very young Roshan Seth (the Prime Minister of Pankhot from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) shows up as a cabin steward.

If you`re expecting sunny Love Boat shenanigans, forget them as the Britannic lurches through heavy seas and leaden skies. The atmosphere aboard the stricken vessel goes from tense to breaking point as Fallon and his bomb disposal team are air-dropped into mid-Atlantic (or rather the paddock tank at Pinewood) and have to defuse Juggernaut`s fiendish boobytraps without sending the Britannic to the bottom.

Video

The film is transferred in its original 1.66:1 as letterboxed 4:3. It was shot at a time when film stocks were slow enough to make anything shot in the UK look about as dreary as they could. The picture shows some signs of wear and tear, indicating little has been done to restore the movie beyond a bit of noise reduction.

Audio

The movie comes with its original mono soundtrack reproduced via Dolby Digital 2.0. The sound tends to be on the tinny side, as is rather typical of the era.

Features

Although MGM have sprung for HOH and multilingual subtitles, that`s your lot.

Conclusion

I have a soft spot for this movie. Richard Harris`s performance as Fallon is one of his most charismatic, and the tension generated by director Dick Lester can be cut with a knife. There are no square-jawed heroics in the movie, just a band of professionals at work, knowing that the smallest slip will see their wives widowed. Back on land, the hunt for "Juggernaut" has special importance for the copper in charge as his family is on the emperilled ship. Of course, the bloke from the Ministry is a hard-nosed ba.. politician who would only be interested in brokering a deal if voters were aboard the ship.