Juggernaut (1974)

Some unknown maniac is threatening a navigation company to blow up one of its luxury transatlantics, the "Britannic", now in high sea with 1200 passengers. He is asking for a £500,000 ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

Alan Plater (additional dialogue), Richard Alan Simmons

Stars:

Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, David Hemmings

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Harris	...	Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Fallon
Omar Sharif	...	Captain Alex Brunel
David Hemmings	...	Charlie Braddock
Anthony Hopkins	...	Supt. John McLeod
Shirley Knight	...	Barbara Bannister
Ian Holm	...	Nicholas Porter
Clifton James	...	Corrigan
Roy Kinnear	...	Social Director Curtain
Caroline Mortimer	...	Susan McLeod
Mark Burns	...	Hollingsworth
John Stride	...	Hughes
Freddie Jones	...	Sidney Buckland
Julian Glover	...	Commander Marder
Jack Watson	...	Chief Engineer Mallicent
Roshan Seth	...	Azad

Storyline

Some unknown maniac is threatening a navigation company to blow up one of its luxury transatlantics, the "Britannic", now in high sea with 1200 passengers. He is asking for a £500,000 ransom, otherwise the 7 bombs aboard will explode. An experienced anti-bomb squad is sent to the "Britannic", but although all the bombs are located, a very high skill level will be necessary to dismantle them. Perhaps that task is impossible...

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Plot Keywords:

bomb | sea | water | ship | extortion | 

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Taglines:

The greatest sea adventure in history has just begun!

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terreur sur le Britannic

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

David V. Picker Productions, Two Roads Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Richard Lester joined the project some cast members had already been signed.

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Goofs

The scene where the Indian steward brings tea and toast to the children's and their mother's cabin (immediately after the pot of nails is knocked over in the corridor) he leaves immediately followed by the kids. Instantly outside, the steward is approaching from the far end of the corridor carrying a tray.

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Quotes

[Fallon and Braddock are trying to disable two of the bombs. Braddock's hand slips while turning a screw]
Charlie Braddock: I don't even know the man and he's trying to kill me.
Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Fallon: Haven't I told you about death? It's nature's way of saying you're in the wrong job.

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Connections

Spoofed in Otto - Der Katastrofenfilm (2000)

User Reviews

Tough, unforgiving, unsentimental suspense thriller...

Richard Lester directed this mad-bomber saga with such a cold, jaded eye, one might assume his approach totally unsympathetic or indifferent. Instead of being heartless, Lester is actually straightforward and compact, and the film is very involving. A transatlantic ocean-liner with 1200 people aboard no sooner leaves England's port then a genius-psychotic alerts the ship's representative that 7 booby-trapped bombs are set to go off in a matter of hours if he's not paid a fortune in ransom. Getting the bomb-experts aboard the ship via parachutes was a great touch--though once they're all in place, the movie has to bide a lot of time until the inevitable wire-cutting gets under way. Still, this is an exciting journey, filmed in bleak, damp colors, and Lester has done a terrific job at scaling down his actors. Omar Sharif (looking sensational in his Captain's uniform) had not been this real and human in years; Richard Harris, though he does his usual drinking and spouting off, successfully portrays the chief bomb-detonator as a swaggering man awash in a series of inconsistencies, acting with focus and tightly-wound energy. Good show! **1/2 from ****