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Juggernaut (1974) [VHS] | ![Juggernaut (1974) [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51A41TJ979L._SL160_.jpg) | Director: Richard Lester
Actors: Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins, Shirley Knight
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: Video
List Price: $14.95
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Seller: karenskitchenandgifts
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 5312
Format: Color, NTSC
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Discs: 1
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6302658578
UPC: 027616307033
EAN: 9786302658576
ASIN: 6302658578
Theatrical Release Date: September 25, 1974
Release Date: September 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
One of director Richard Lester's least-known films, Juggernaut was part of the wave of disaster movies of the early 1970s--and one of the only ones with a sense of intelligence. Richard Harris, in one of his most controlled performances, plays a bomb expert called aboard a luxury liner in midocean; the ship has been commandeered by an anonymous terrorist, demanding money before he starts setting off bombs he has planted around the vessel. The cast, which includes David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins, and Omar Sharif, is a solid one, and the suspense is thick enough to cut through, with Lester's nasty sense of humor working at full throttle as the countdown gets into the single digits. --Marshall Fine
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
 the talkative demolitions expert . . . August 25, 2010
trebe
Unfortunately terrorism has today, become a very real part of everyday American life. Back in the 70's, this was not the case, however in Europe and England, the decade saw the rise of the phenomenon of terrorism, with the incident at the Munich Olympics, being one glaring example. In books and the movies, political thrillers, espionage, and terrorism were very hot topics. Some of the more noteworthy among many cinematic efforts during this period, were The Day Of The Jackal (1973), Two Minute Warning (1976), and Black Sunday (1977).
Set in Britain, Juggernaut (1974) is one of the early entries in the genre, and involves a threat to a luxury cruise ship, the Britannic. There are no political overtones, the mysterious bomber known as Juggernaut just wants money, in return for providing information on how to safely diffuse seven bombs that are aboard the ship. The shipping line is willing to pay the ransom, but is prevented from doing so by the Government, who send in a team of naval explosives experts led by Lt. Commander Anthony Fallon (Richard Harris) to disarm the bombs. Fallon is a vocal, confident type who enjoys rising to the challenge, and it turns out that he just happens to have a personal relationship with Juggernaut. The British government had a hard no negotiation stance regarding matters like the unrest in Northern Ireland, and that same attitude is reflected here in dealing with the terrorist treat.
This is not an action film. The few action sequences are mostly related to damage caused by the detonation of explosives. There are no shootouts. It's mostly about Fallon and his team. The most exciting thing they do is parachute from a plane, land in the ocean, and nearly drown boarding the ship.
Omar Shariff gets second billing as Alex Brunel the Captain of the Britannic, but as the commander of a ship that is turning circles, his role lacks real substance. The same can be said of the crew and passengers, and most of those on shore. Anthony Hopkins (The Silence Of The Lambs), Shirley Knight, and Clifton James (Live And Let Die), are among the many with little to do. Eventually the authorities develop a lead to Juggernaut's identity, leading to a confrontation of sorts with Fallon that takes place via radio.
With ample opportunities to pontificate about the task at hand, and engage bold outbursts, this role is tailor made for Richard Harris, an experienced thespian. Fallon's continuous babbling gets a little tiring, but he and for a while, team member Charlie Braddock (David Hemmings), are the only ones doing anything productive. While competently executed and perhaps "realistic", Juggernaut may be a little too slow for today's audiences, used to spectacular over the top action. The tone is low key, the dialog is often stuffy, and with no action scenes to speak of, this isn't a movie that grabs your attention.
A more entertaining film made around this same period that features terrorism aboard a ship, and also stars Richard Harris, is Golden Rendezvous (aka Nuclear Terror) (1977). It's not presently available on DVD, but is based on a 1962 novel by Alistair MacLean, and features David Janssen, John Vernon, and Harris's then wife, Ann Turkel. Another entertaining film involving terrorists at sea is Ffolkes (1979), starring Roger Moore and Anthony Perkins.
Disaster With A Stiff Upper Lip May 16, 2010
David Baldwin (Philadelphia,PA USA)
"Juggernaut" is certainly an exciting exercize with more than it's share of thrilling moments. The mostly British cast acquit themselves well probably the best being Richard Harris as an Irish munitions expert. The film is good and competently directed by Richard Lester. My qualm, through no fault of it's own, is that it falls short of classic status. If you go into "Juggernaut" with less than heightened expectations your enjoyment level will be enhanced immeasurably.
 Sorry....Technical mistake overlooked!! - BOOM! July 4, 2009
Dufus (Arizona, USA)
This is a great film. I've watched it many times and enjoy it each time. Great acting. Great plot. However, there is a major technical "glitch". Realizing that they know the bombmaker knows what they know, and they know he knows...well, they are thinking like the bombmaker thinks. The mistake is the photocell. If light hits it....BOOM! So they work in the dark, find the photocell...and CUT THE WIRES! They did not check to see what kind of circuit it was, either normally "open" or "closed". The bombmaker could have easily made the device to be a dummy so when you cut the wire it would explode.
Well, it's still a great film. Enjoy the ride!
Nautical Juggernaut September 10, 2008
Gregor von Kallahann
Richard Lester's 1974 thriller JUGGERNAUT has often lumped together with the "disaster films" of the era. I trust it's not too much of a spoiler to say that it would be more accurately termed a "disaster narrowly avoided" film. Come to think of it, what's WRONG with calling it a plain old "thriller." "Disaster film" has always implied hundreds, even thousands dead or maimed. In a movie like THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE--so emblematic of the genre--a mere handful of survivors live to tell the tale. The body count in JUGGERNAUT is substantially less. The tension, however, is actually higher.
For viewers in the new millennium, a film JUGGERNAUT may even hit harder than a "forces of nature" or "failure of technology" type disaster flick from almost 40 years ago. The film revolves around an act of terrorism, and even if this particular perp's objective is plain old extortion, and NOT some twisted ideology, he proves just as cold and calculating as any brand of political terrorist familiar to us today.
And, as it turns out, he feels just as aggrieved, and am I alone in sensing that the filmmakers seem to demonstrate something like sympathy for the would-be extortionist's plight. I really don't want to go into great detail and once again be the spoiler I am wont to be. So let me just say that there's a brief, but fascinating moment in which one of the main characters hurls a version of the then still popular bromide that society itself may be at least somewhat to blame. 1974 might well be the last time a scriptwriter could get away with that one. In fact, had the film been an American (and not a British) production, that kind of 60s sentiment would probably not have been articulated at all. The Nixon/Agnew "Silent Majority" years had pretty much put the kibosh on all that kind of thinking.
Of course, all Lester and his writers are really saying is that sometimes heinous acts are, at least on some level, comprehensible. We can understand motives, even when we are appropriately appalled by the crime. Heck even we Americans are at least THAT sophisticated.
It's actually a bit frustrating in fact that we never really get to know what makes this mad bomber, uh, tick. But then, the filmmakers admittedly have a fine line to tread. They don't want to tip their hand plot-wise. On the other hand, when we do finally find out who the villain is, his psychological and personal history are presented all too hastily and way too sketchily. It's the kind of rushed psychological profile movies tend to hand us (usually voiced by "an expert in the field") when they haven't actually introduced us to the character sufficiently well.
In Richard Lester's defesne, I will say that the fact that there is no obvious suspect for at least the first half of the movie does add to the suspense. I had some fairly off-the-wall guesses re: Juggernaut's true identity. Suffice it to say that just because a given actor went on to play one of the most sinister villains in movie history--and just because he has a few moody moments in this film--doesn't necessarily mean that he's anything more than the honest Joe he's first presented as.
Richard Lester still had some clout at this point in his career, and the top flight cast he was able to assemble for this film is evidence of that. Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, Ian Holm, David Hemmings and Anthony Hopkins are all fine. The supporting cast includes such talents as Shirley Knight, Roy Kinnear and Roshan Seth(the latter two providing some genuine comic relief sometimes, while simultaneously suggesting something much deeper below the surface). As your not-so-atypical -70s anti-hero/hero, Harris is really quite good, but you may find yourself wishing that even his character had been a bit better developed. We learn way too late that he and the bomber have a history--one that could have been played off of significantly better than it is here.
Back stories don't get in the WAY of a good story. They help flesh `em out, and make you care about the characters. The screenwriters for JUGGERNAUT either disagreed with that premise, or some of their best scripted scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. You may find yourself caring about the fates of these people because of the sheer enormity of the threat. But it's much less likely that you'll care about them as individuals.
Sort of a shame, because with just a little tinkering, it could have been otherwise.
"Of course there's a God" - Goldfish August 22, 2007
TheBandit (SEA-TAC)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This '70s disaster thriller has been rather unjustly forgotten over the years, while it is in fact far superior to other films of it's kind - such as the Oscar-winning megahit "Airport." The dry realism of "Juggernaut" is one its most winning elements - there is a relative lack of soap opera melodrama, with the focus kept squarely on the tense drama.
Basically this is a precursor to "Speed 2," as others have pointed out, in that it involves an act of terrorism carried out on a cruise liner. Instead of the over the top nonsense of that more recent movie, the filmmakers behind "Juggernaut" go to great pains to craft a meticulously detailed suspense thriller. Richard Lester - who, contrary to some accounts, directed the entire movie after two different directors were replaced during preproduction - allows for many quieter moments that help establish the great amount of work being invested by both the police and the crew members on board the ship. The result is a story that may seem slow-moving by today's standards. Make no mistake, this is not an action movie but rather a suspense thriller. That said, the initial boarding of the bomb experts (who must first parachute into the stormy ocean waters) is a prime example of some of the excitingly staged sequences.
One of the more conventional "disaster movie" aspects that "Juggernaut" adheres to is the all-star cast. Here you will find excellent performances from Richard Harris, Ian Holm, Anthony Hopkins, and Omar Sharif. As has been oft-noted, Mr. Harris in particular delivers srong work. One of the weaker plotlines involves the lead female character, portrayed by Shirley Knight. It is no fault of the actress, who seems to struggle with a rather ill-defined role. The problem lies in the "romance" between her character and the ship's captain (Sharif). Once we know the two are involved in a tryst, not much is developed throughout the film despite numerous scenes dealing with their involvement (or rahter, lack thereof as the captain appears utterly disinterested in the woman). Basically it seemed like a tacked-on attempt to appease the need to include a leading lady.
In a movie with such a palpable sense of realistic doom, there are still flashes of very sly humor. I particularly enjoyed the Titanic references that occasionally popped up. Roy Kinnear is highly amusing as the ship's activity director who must continue trying to bring good cheer to the 1,200 passengers who are well aware of the peril they face.
Definitely worthy viewing for fans of disaster movies (thrillers in general, really) OR of any of the distinguished actors that make up the excellent cast.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
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