Goliath Awaits (1981)

The Worst Film Ever

Memorable, crazy movie

Absolutely the worst movie.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

When I saw this mini-series in 1981 I was very young and it made a real impact on me. The idea of a ship that sunk 42 years ago (1981-1939) and still had survivors is a great idea for a movie, or mini-series in this case. As a viewer you have to buy a lot of unbelievable stuff to still enjoy it. First the enormous pressure at a depth of 300 meters to which the ship sank in matter of minutes. Somehow this pressure was no issue for all the people aboard but for the divers in 1981 it was because they have to compress and decompress for days! Then somehow the ship didn't leak at all at this depth and didn't so after 42 years in saltwater! Air, drink water, food and electricity made possible by the genius leader of the survivors. If you buy in to that, you are set to go. Oh, and there are the bow people who can survive by stealing from the others for years despite being hunted down with guns. How difficult would it be to just bar the entrances to the bow? Then, nobody - NOBODY- is happy to see the divers after 42 years. The leaders OK, they have their little empire to lose, but the hundreds of people who are treated as slaves? No cheers, laughs, clapping or happiness at all? And the first two questions what comes to mind, -who won the war and how is this rescue mission going to be organized- are addressed only after a day or so.BUT, as a film lover you must have a flexible mind and then a very interesting en nice story will unfold. If some producer would remake this movie, it surely must address the plausibility I wrote above. The story of people stranded together making a new society with all the good and bad human qualities is worth any storytelling. Therefore it is after 35 still a good story to tell and to watch with good actors like a young Mark Harmon and Christopher Lee.

These might not be spoilers, but better safe than sorry."The Goliath Awaits" appears to be loosely based on the science fiction novel "The Watch Below" by James White. In it, a few passengers and crew of a trading vessel sunk in World War II manage to survive because their supplies include pedal-operated electric generators, light bulbs, bean or pea plants for food and air replenishment, and a huge trove of powdered eggs and powdered milk. Water is collected from condensation and, if I remember correctly, also distilled from brine somehow. To pass the time and keep sane they play a memory game, recalling every detail of their lives including everything they've ever read, seen, and learned. And so they pass on their knowledge to their children who pass it on to theirs.Unlike in "Goliath" there is a science fiction element to the story: 150 years after the sinking their descendants are rescued by aquatic aliens who fled their dying world hoping to find refuge in Earth's oceans. The crew of the spaceship were similar to the denizens of the wreck in that they were descendants of the original crew, who had discovered that repeatedly entering suspended animation caused crippling brain damage. The shipwrecked Earthlings use their well-trained memories to learn the aliens' language and plead their new friends' case to wary Earth authorities. (The novel all along cross-cuts between similar events in the wreck and the spaceship, such as the breaking off of rival factions and their later reconciliation.)A major technical flaw in a story like "Goliath Awaits" is that a sinking ship is basically a falling object. The Titanic, for instance, did not settle on the ocean bottom 12,000 ft. down, it SLAMMED into it. I don't have the figures for how fast it was determined to have been moving just before impact, but these vessels are found lying in pieces. (The ship of "The Watch Below" was in much shallower water and was visible from low-flying observation aircraft.) If the people on board aren't killed or badly injured in the crash it is doubtful that there would be enough integrity in the hull to maintain air pressure for long.The movie was diverting if predictable. The lack of pallor of the people and the good condition of their clothes was an omission typical of American TV of 1981. Ridley Scott-type production design had not yet penetrated television and wouldn't really start to until MTV's influence was felt (in shows like "Miami Vice"). It takes more time and money, so the financiers would not budget for it until forced to do so by competition.

I recently watched this movie again for the first time in 20 years! I purchased a VHS tape of the movie on Ebay for around 14 dollars.I first watched this movie when I was 11 years old. I remember my buddy and me were laughing all the way through it. Needless, not much has changed in 20 years! The movie quickly opens up with the Mark Harmon character investigating the wrecked ship when he sees a very beautiful woman peer though a small portal window. Some how he manages to convince the US Navy that he is not mad and that he actually saw a woman inside the ship! Thus, a full blown research dive unfolds! The Christopher Lee character is simply funny! I kept waiting for him to pull out a light saber and go mad! What really cracks me up is all the shooting of guns inside the hull? Did anyone think about a bullet piercing the weak frail hull under 1000 feet of water? I don't need to explain what would happens next if a round pierced the hull. Even more funny are all the sun tans the survivors have. None of em have pale skin and they look like they all got back from a vacation in the Florida Keys. The knock out blow for the movie revolves around the "Hitler" like society the survivors made for themselves.... all led by the Christopher Lee Character.... In addition, the Mark Harmon character is simply awful! He screams and hollers throughout the movie... and I just couldn't stand him! Never the less, this movie makes a nice addition to my collection. It's worth a good view, but I doubt I'll revisit this movie anytime soon. Ah yes.... "happy days are hear again... da da da blah blah blah"

This was the film that first introduced me to the actor, Duncan Regehr, who played the leader of the Bow people. His performance and that of Christopher Lee as the conflicted leader of the sunken Goliath were the only bright spots in this sci-fi thriller. It could have been a great picture for the idea was fascinating, but the writing was heavy-handed. Even such top-notched character actors as Jeanette Nolan, John McIntire,John Carradine, and Jean Marsh were hampered by the insipid dialogue. I love Frank Gorshin but his performance here was a comic book caricature and unworthy of him. Both Mark Harmon and Emma Samms were pretty to look at, but bland. Duncan Regehr came across as sexy and powerful, and one of the film's implausibilities was that the heroine would prefer Mark Harmon over him! Duncan Regehr and Christopher Lee, were the only actors who gave a three-dimensional performance to what was written as one-dimensional characters. Still it's not a bad picture-- it is a interesting picture, but not a compelling one!