Avalanche Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Avalanche Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 26, 2014

Watching the competition storm the box office with disaster pictures during the 1970s, producer Roger Corman decided he had to have one too. 1978’s “Avalanche” is a low-budget take on catastrophe, this time heading to a mountain resort in Colorado experiencing the worst opening weekend in the history of the industry, with Rock Hudson, Mia Farrow, and Robert Forster playing the panicked and heroic as tons of snow descend on a collection of vacationers and athletes, each with their own domestic problems. It’s a paint-by-numbers effort from Corman, who wants a big screen emergency, but doesn’t want to pay for quality.

“Avalanche” is silly, pre-packaged for television consumption, lacking inventive craftsmanship to lend it a towering cinematic feel. Special effects look hastily assembled -- a mix of file footage and backyard filmmaking, rarely blending with the actors in a believable manner. Instead of a gut-punch sensation of doom as walls of snow barrel into the resort, giggles are triggered, taking the sting out of the movie’s ambition to suffocate its audience. The screenplay is a checklist of problems, most concerning aborted love lives and broken hearts, while time is spent trying to rub Forster and Farrow’s characters together, laboring to mute their sibling chemistry.

Avalanche Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation works through a few rough moments, most notably the main titles, which display damage, judder, and mild warping. The viewing experience calms down for the rest of the feature, with periodic displays of debris and speckling. Colors are acceptable, with bright ski gear and warmer interiors delivering the most secure hues. Soft cinematography is interrupted by sharp close-ups, providing some nice HD detail. Blacks are communicative, with satisfactory delineation during evening sequences. Grain is managed well.

Avalanche Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix arrives with pronounced hiss and a slightly sludgy quality that identifies the film's age. There's little crispness to the track, but dialogue exchanges are easy to follow, preserving passionate acting. The group dynamic is passable but never remarkable. Damage is noticeable, with one brief dip in quality along the way. Disaster footage carries a thin rumble.

Avalanche Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (6:40, HD) with producer Roger Corman targets the profitability of "Avalanche," which secured television rights before production began, and the quality of the special effects, with an initial submission of red snow hastily reworked into a light blue before delivery.

• Interview (12:29, HD) with actor Robert Forster is a no-nonsense conversation, with the co-star admitting that he's not terribly fond of the movie, sharing his enthusiasm for his work on "Alligator" (helmed by the second unit director of "Avalanche") and "The Black Hole." Forster has kind words for his fellow actors, but doesn't have many anecdotes from the shoot. There's a brief audio glitch that buries interview audio under a film clip.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:13, HD) is included.

Avalanche Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A relaxed mind should find fun with "Avalanche," which doesn't compare with the subgenre's highlights, but manages its own peaks of absurdity in a decidedly B-movie manner. If you can buy any part of the snow emergency, then the rest of the mediocre mayhem shouldn't be difficult to digest.