Hollywood in the 1970s is known for being one of the best decades in cinema history. The decade is where many young up-and-coming directors got their start, which lead to the release of many challenging, intelligent films. But, it's also the decade of the disaster film. There was Airport, The Towering Inferno, and The Poseidon Adventure---which were all well-regarded in their own right. But Earthquake, which came out in 1974, is widely considered to be lowpoint in the disaster genre. The movie starred Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, and Walter Matthau and it tells the story of how an Earthquake of massive magnitude affects the lives of various people living in Los Angeles. The film was widely panned when it was released, although it still managed to become a box office hit. It also managed to receive four Academy Award nominations for Best Editing, Production Design, Cinematography, and Sound. Its sole Oscar win was for Best Sound, which was actually understandable considering its innovative use of Sensurround, which according to wikipedia, created the sense of actually experiencing an earthquake in theaters. No wonder why audiences flocked to see it.
