Rating: NR
Genres:
Action
Drama
Thriller
Release Date: 04/25/2006
Dubbed: English/Espanol/French
Sound: DDS2.0
Run Time: 177 min
Distributor/Studio: Direct Source
The superb, utterly convincing special effects in the two-part TV movie
The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake cannot be faulted. Less convincing are the scenes in which the fictional TV reporters, demoralized and in tears, can't bring themselves to describe the extent of the destruction. Part One, telecast November 11, 1990, finds seismologist
Joanna Kerns trying in vain to convince authorities that the entire LA basin will be shake-and-bake within a few days. This portion of the drama ends with "The Big One" wreaking havoc throughout Lala-land. Part Two, broadcast November 12, concerns itself with the aftermath, the rescues, the tragedies, and above all the effect the natural disaster has on
Kerns and her friends and family. Also appearing in
The Big One is
Ed Begley Jr. as the one political official willing to listen to
Kerns' warnings, and
Richard Masur as one of those "I can't bear it!" TV journalists. The video version titled
The Great Los Angeles Earthquake runs 106 minutes.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
