Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

gavin6942 A massive earthquake strikes the United States, which destroys the West Coast and unleashes a massive flood that threatens to destroy the East Coast as well.S. Fowler Wright, the author of the novel upon which the film was based, began pitching a script based on the book to studios in 1933. He accepted an offer from Worldwide Studios for $5,000 for the options. An independent, Admiral Productions, produced the film with a budget of $171,000. Wright later watched the final scenes being shot and was disappointed to learn that producers had made changes and chose to not use the ending of the book as the film's ending. He later wrote in his diary that he felt the film was "ghastly" and advised his children not to see it.Not being familiar with the book, I could not say what changes were made and what would make the film version "ghastly". It is, however, rather boring. For a film about a world-destroying flood, most of the short run time is about a group of men sitting around chatting, planning on how to get women to marry them. I suppose there is historic value to the film and I am glad it has gone from "lost" to restored, but it may have had a better reputation lost than actually viewed.

petrilloi Pretty interesting film with a downbeat ending. The special effects are great for 1933. By the way, the box INCORRECTLY lists running time of 59 minutes! This version actually is 67 minutes. It is unfortunate that it is dubbed (if it hadn't been found in Italy it might have retained its soundtrack). Still its great to have at all. Thank God for Forry Ackerman! We'll never see his like again. He and the late Bill Everson were truly irreplaceable Film researchers. Where in our disposable subculture will we find people interested in knowing about things that happened before a year or two ago. The internet age has wreaked havoc with fact-finding and accurate information. If you don't browse, you will never know anything beyond the narrow scope of search engine results.

danr51 Back at the start of the "talkies", in 1933, RKO Studios produced this compelling vision of the Earth destroyed by natural disasters. Until recently, this was a lost film, all prints of it presumed gone. I managed to obtain a VHS copy of this, essentially, low budget production directed by Felix Feist. For cinema historians, this is highly recommended viewing; just don't expect CGI perfection, for we're talking decades before our glorious computers were invented.The first twenty minutes are the most terrifying I can recall. For apparently no rhyme or reason, scientists discover that the Earth's weather has drastically changed: The barometers are dropping rapidly, the wind velocity is increasing, and a mysterious, unscheduled solar eclipse has occurred. Unlike most science-films, no pseudo-scientific explanations are offered. the world's officials and citizens are thoroughly baffled and horrified. To worsen the disturbing mystery, Earthquakes and tidal waves then break out, destroying and sinking most of the land on our planet, leaving the world a vast ocean with millions dead.The spectacular sequence of the destruction of New York is spellbinding and memorable. Though the effects are naturally dated, they are nevertheless convincing and frightening. Buildings crumble, people perish and a tremendous flood buries the world's largest city (though some may not consider that to be any great tragedy). The sense of doom and dread convey an overpowering deluge. The film's title conveys a double meaning; a gigantic flood and a state of being overwhelmed. As the tag line reads, EARTH IS DOOMED! And that's no phoney promo, DELUGE lives up to its hype. A one of a kind effort and an early experiment in special-effects.The story's opening is directed in an eerir Twilight Zone manner. Believable dialogue and an astute lack of sopomoric jargon enhance its credibility and effectiveness. A totally impossible nightmare plagues the human race, and no one knows how or why. Obviously, no solution to the bizzare occurance prevails. Reality and illusion converge with catastrophic results. Its grim, somber tone is undeniable and unrelenting. They don't make paranoia like they used to.However, the film's main drawback is that once the devastation is over, the excruciating tension diminishes and we're left with a standard tale of a group of survivors marooned on a strip of land that still remains above water, a few miles away from where New York once was. Though not bad (remember it was still the first of its kind), it still pales considerably compared to the powerful and unforgettable opening.If DELUGE had concentrated solely on the catastrophie, and the suspenseful events leading up to it, it could have been a great classic. As it is, it's still quite a unique effort (considering its low budget) and an interesting curio. Perhaps Irwin Allen saw this back in his childhood.Check this out, but don't expect an Industrial Light and Magic enterprise and Harrison Ford. We're talking nearly seventy years ago. It was 'Famous Monster's' Forrest J. Ackerman who uncovered the only known existing print (way back in the eighties) dubbed in Italian and sub-titled, giving it a foreign film cinema verite appearence. Very honorable deed, Forrey, but why did you wait so long to tell us?

dls-3 I only heard about this movie about two weeks ago as I was checking some distributors of science fiction movies. I enjoy sci fi movies of the 60's and before so this fell right into my lap.I bought this movie as a matter of fact today and have seen the collapse of New York 3 times today. No doubt I will be seeing it a few more times before I can put it to rest.Seeing the destruction of New York puts a lump in my throat. Even though this movie is what is considered a disaster film using paper mache models, it looks quite impressive and real. The special effects don't leave too much to the imagination. See the Empire State Building crumble in a flash as well as every other skyscraper and then watch the city get washed over by the Hudson River.This movie is quite tragic. Here we have a hero (Sidney Blackmer) who was very good to his wife and children and supposedly they had been lost by the earthquake and tidal wave.Then he meets the swimmer (Peggy Shannon). They have their trials because like any other disaster movie, there are the good guys (the people who are trying to rebuild their lives and help each other, respect each other), and then there are the renegades who try to force their will on others through violence and gangs.