The Cassandra Crossing Rating: Release Date: 23 April, 2002 Retail Price: $14.98 OUR Price: $12.99 You SAVE: $1.99! Cast: Sophia Loren Richard Harris Martin Sheen Burt Lancaster Complete Cast (14 total)

The Cassandra Crossing Reviews

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First Rate Thriller
What distinguishes "The Cassandra Crossing" from latter day thrillers is that it emphasizes story and characterization over pyrotechnics. The film moves along crisply with enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. The imperiled passengers are full-bodied characters whose fate you actually care about. There were many disaster films from the seventies that were more concerned about body counts(i.e. which celebrity would bite the dust) that they bordered on exploitation. "Cassandra Crossing" elevates the genre and makes a case for it's respectability.

One of the better 70's era disaster films
One of the better films amoung the 1970's disaster movie genre; centering around a European train infected with a contagious virus. Interesting film to compare to more recent fare such as Outbreak.

Amoung the "all-star" cast few actually qualilfy, with only Richard Harris and Sophie Loren adding genunie star power; while Burt Lanchaster basically just phones in his performance. Also seeing O.J. Simpson as an INTERPOL officer gunning down terrorists in a priest uniform is more then jarring. The direction is taut and the Jerry Goldsmith score is strong as always. Despite its cheesy moments (the hippies singing in the train car) its a good watch.

The DVD itself is nice deal for [$], although Artisian's presentation doesn't rank as high as some of its other older catalog film. Sadly its presented in fullscreen which is a major mark against it and there isn't even a trailer to accompany it. Oddly enough it sports motion menus which surprised me. The transfer isn't anywhere near reference quality but its watchable with a few spots where the film goes soft. The mono soundtrack isn't strong at all and the dreaded mono hiss is audible if you're using your sorround system.

If you're a fan of the movie its hard to turn down at a bargain price, otherwise rent it.

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