Poseidon - Fact or Fiction?
Above: The teaser poster for the film. Above right: Water pours into the Ballroom. Right: The Poseidon is engulfed by a rogue wave, rolling onto her port side and killing all but a few of her passengers and crew.

On May 12, 2006 the film Poseidon (1 hr. 38 minutes, rated PG-13 [US]) was released in the United States. A remake of the 1972 Irwin Allen production, The Poseidon Adventure, itself based on a novel by Paul Gallico, the film is directed by Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm, Air Force One) and stars Kurt Russel, Josh Lucas, Emmy Rossum, Jacinda Barrett, and Richard Dreyfuss. It was released onto DVD (in the United States) on August 22, 2006.

In this latest re-telling of the story, an enormous cruise liner is swamped by a rogue wave, whereas the 1972 version of the film had the ship being lost to a tsunami caused by a sub-sea earthquake. How realistic is this modern day big-screen depiction?

The answer to that question is very accurate. Rogue waves are a phenomenon that sailors have known about for many years; those who have survived them have told stories about their ferocity and incredible size, while many others have lost their lives to them. Scientists scoffed at these "fish stories" for many years, saying that waves of that nature might occur once every ten thousand years. In retrospect, it seems that the Lusitania encountered at least two rogue waves during her career, as well. (The incidents are discussed at length in Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography.)

More recently, a number of ships and their passengers and crew have survived rogue waves, bringing back hard evidence of the damage they caused, as well as photographic records of them. Lately, cruise ships have encountered these horrifying phenomena. In 1995, the Queen Elizabeth 2 was struck by a 29 meter rogue wave; in 2005 the Norwegian Dawn encountered one that was roughly 70 feet high; in 2006, the Norwegian Spirit encountered another off Tortola. Fortunately, in each case, the cruise ship survived.

However, it is probably only a matter of time before one of these rogue waves catches a cruise ship broadside, instead of head-on. What could be the outcome of such a scenario? Poseidon explores that very real threat. I have seen the film personally; it is well-acted and scripted, and the tension is enough to turn your stomach into knots the first time you see it. The special effects are phenomenal, producing what has been called "documentary-style" visual effects of a rogue wave. If you suffer from claustrophobia, however, think twice before seeing the film.

Also of interest, the History Channel aired a program called, Rogue Waves, which deals with these monsters, and discusses the accuracy of the movie itself. If you purchase the Special Edition DVD of the film, you get the History Channel documentary as a bonus on the second disc.