JUGGERNAUT (UK 1974) Directed by Richard Lester

Although released in 1974, I never had the pleasure of watching this fantastic crime-thriller disaster flick until it's wonderful Blu-ray release courtesy of Eureka Video. And what a breath of fresh air! Even after 50 years later, it just felt good to see a slice of classic British cinema from director Richard Lester, one of the most influential directors of the 60s, 70s and 80s delivering titles such as A Hard Day's Night (1964), A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966), The Three Musketeers (1973) and their sequels, Superman 2 (1980) and Superman 3 (1983) as well as many others. Prior to him coming onboard for Juggernaut, it was said that two other directors had already started and left the project due to it's complexities – but Lester made it happen. Laced with plenty of cheeky British humour and an all-star cast, Juggernaut tells the tense and dramatic story of a cruise liner travelling through the North Atlantic unknowingly carrying a number of explosives. Placed on the ship by a man who calls himself Juggernaut, the terrorist makes a call to the police demanding a hefty ransom, claiming that he can stop them from going off if they deliver the money by noon the following day. Now, in a race against time, a team of explosives experts are flown out to sea to disarm all the explosives and save everyone onboard!

I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping cinematic gem, beautifully restored by Eureka and definitely a movie I will return to again in the near future. Inspired by the real-life bomb threat against the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner on May 17th 1972, the film is superbly done and very real on many levels. There's no CGI here! What you see on screen is happening – a real cruise liner, borrowed for the film from it's Soviet Union owners, that was filmed off the coast of Devon and close to Iceland. When you see the weather conditions and rough seas, you know there was no faking things -but this is what helps make Juggernaut an even more exciting, nail-biting suspense thriller. And that final moment indeciding to either cut the red or the blue wire... I've seen it so many times in different movies over the years, but this really had me on the edge of my seat at this point.

Directed with visual flair and superbly edited to keep you gripped, Juggernaut also offers viewers the pleasure of an incredible cast which was an absolute highlight for me. The scene stealing and late Richard Harris stars as the Royal Navy Officer that leads a team of bomb disposal experts on a mission to save the ship. Cynical, angry, yet often hilarious, Harris plays his role with confidence and charm and was a complete joy to watch. The same must be said for the entertaining Roy Kinnear, the prolific television and film actor who stars as the determined social director in charge of distracting the passengers from the threat onboard. Delivering many of the films more comedic moments, Kinnear almost steals the show from Harris – but not quite. Lord Of The Rings star, Ian Holm, appears as the boat owner who first learns of the bombs onboard and is the target of the ransom who is then guided by a government official. The legendary Omar Sharif co-stars as one of the ships captains, while a young Anthony Hopkins impresses as the London cop who has more to lose with his wife and children onboard. The prolific and late Shirley Knight stars as one of the passengers, and love interest to Sharif, while others such as Clifton James, David Hemmings, John Stride, and Kenneth Colley – Admiral Piett from the original Star Wars movies – help flesh things out...

Sitting right up there with classics such as The Poseiden Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), and Airport 1975 (1974), Juggernaut stills holds strong today and deserves to be seen by any fan of modern CGI-heavy disaster flicks for a lesson in how less is more – and the experience of 110 minutes of gripping entertainment. The new Blu-ray release from Eureka also features a great audio commentary by British cinema experts Melanie Williams and James Leggott, as well as two featurettes with film historians Neil Sinyard and Sheldon Hall discussing the movie, a trailer and a stills gallery. Inside the Blu-ray, a neatly put together 24 page booklet adds to things. Overall, it's a fantastic release of a 1970s classic that deserves to be picked up! (4.5/5) George @invincibleasia

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