Wow, it's been a long time since I've written. The main reason I set up this blog was for class purposes with Professor Halliday, but now it will become a true blog!
This is the first edition of my new "assignment" of sorts. I'm calling it "The Best Entertainment You Haven't Seen!" This will not only be posted here on Blogger, but it will be linked through The Rotunda Online, where I'm hoping the Longwood University community and many others will drop by and read this!
I was going to explain "The Best Entertainment You Haven't Seen!" but I think I'll just start it right here, right now.
Happy reading, and please post comments! I'm open to any suggestions and comments you may have! Thanks for reading and look for a new Best Entertainment piece to be posted about every week!
"Rollercoaster" (1977)
Who likes roller coasters? I know I do. One of my dreams one day is to go to Cedar Point, the amusement park with 16 roller coasters in Ohio. Couple roller coasters with suspense and impending disaster? I think we may have a pretty good movie. The summer of 1977 brought such a movie to the silver screen, and it's one of the most interesting films I have seen in a while.
I actually stumbled upon the movie through Wikipedia, looking for roller coaster movies or ones that had local amusement parks that I have been to, such as Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Kings Dominion near Richmond.
I searched it on YouTube and was engrossed in watching the 10-part installation for a few hours.
This is a summer disaster film directed by James Goldstone about an extortionst who leads a ride inspector and the FBI on a cross-country chase to find him. The extortionist places bombs on several roller coasters and leads the inspectors and authorities with a one-million dollar ransom to try and catch him.
The movie stars Timothy Bottoms, George Segal, Henry Fonda and Richard Widmark. This movie also marks the film debut of both Helen Hunt and Steve Guttenberg. It was one of four films to be created in Sensurround by Universal Studios. This technique was used to create the infamous 1974 disaster movie "Earthquake," along with 1976's "Midway" and the 1978 theater version of "Battlestar Galactica."
One of most interesting parts of the movie was it actually satisfied my desire of seeing amusement parks I knew in the film. It also gave me a glimpse of what the old Ocean View Amusement Park used to look like in Norfolk, about 20 minutes from where I live. The film also showed the Rebel Yell roller coaster at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Wonder World in Pennsylvania, as well as the Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California.
Though the plot was typical of 1970s disaster movies with overplayed drama and funny-looking clothes, Rollercoaster was genuinely entertaining and kept me in suspense the entire time.
If you're a roller coaster fan and like suspense and being on the edge of your seat, then "Rollercoaster" is for you!
I welcome comments and suggestions for movies to discuss! Thanks for reading!
-Laura Beth :)
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