''Explosion'' () is a 1973 Romanian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Mircea Drăgan Mircea Drăgan (3 October 1932 – 31 October 2017) was a Romanian film director. He directed 23 films between 1955 and 1992. His 1961 film ''Thirst'' was entered into the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Silver Prize. ...

. It was entered into the

8th Moscow International Film Festival The 8th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 10 to 23 July 1973. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Soviet film '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' directed by Vytautas Žalakevičius and the Bulgarian film '' Affection'' directed by ...

where it won a Diploma.

Plot

After a distress call a harbor master's motor boat of the port of

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

discovers the Panamanian-flagged freighter ''Poseidon'' on fire and abandoned on the Danube, aboard which is a highly dangerous cargo of 4,000 tons of nitrogen-based fertilizer, enough to level the city and a nearby steel plant. The Mayor of Galați ( Toma Dimitriu) and the Communist Party leadership headed by First Secretary Ticu Corbea (

Toma Caragiu Toma Caragiu (; 21 August 1925 – 4 March 1977) was a Romanian theatre, television and film actor. He was born in an Aromanian family from the village of Chroupista (since 1926 renamed Argos Orestiko) in the region of Macedonia in Greece on 21 ...

) argue over whether to evacuate the city, fearing mass panic. Meanwhile port officers, military firemen, academician Luca (

Radu Beligan Radu Beligan (; 14 December 1918 – 20 July 2016) was a Romanian actor, director, and essayist, with an activity of over 70 years in theatre, film, television, and radio. On 15 December 2013, confirmed by Guinness World Records, the actor receiv ...

), four volunteers from a wedding including

oil well fire Oil well fires are oil or gas wells that have caught on fire and burn. They can be the result of accidents, arson, or natural events, such as lightning. They can exist on a small scale, such as an oil field spill catching fire, or on a huge sc ...

fighter Gică "Salamander" Oprișan (

Gheorghe Dinică Gheorghe Dinică (; 1 January 1934 – 10 November 2009) was a Romanian actor. Career Dinică showed an early interest in acting, being part of different amateur theater troupes since he was 17. In 1957, he entered The National Institute of Thea ...

), and shipyard welder Gore Damian (

Vasile Boghiță Vasile is a male Romanian given name or a surname. It is equivalent to the English name Basil which is of Greek origin and means "King". It is also used by the Megleno-Romanians. As a given name As a surname *Cristian Vasile (1908–1985), Ro ...

) struggle to keep the ship from exploding. One of the ''Poseidons crew, a blonde stowaway, and a gang of looters complicate matters.

Production

The film's plot is a dramatized depiction of a real event that took place on January 10, 1971, the fire and sinking of the Greek freighter ''S.S. Vrachos'' aboard which 3,700 tons of

ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...

were loaded and threatened to destroy the city

. Screenwriter Ioan Grigorescu completed his script, initially titled "P", by the end of 1971 and production started by the spring of 1972. The gutted hulk of the ''Vrachos'' was used as the primary set for the film and was set ablaze again and towed past the Galați waterfront during filming. Almost all the stunts in the film were performed by the actors.

Release

The film was successful enough for Drăgan to film a loose sequel featuring Dinică and Beligan reprising their roles. ''

Cuibul salamandrelor Cuibul are an acoustic funk band from Chișinău, Moldova. Igor Dinga, founder and initial vocalist of the band formed the band in 1991 as a rock'n'roll funk fusion band. The band released 6 albums from 1991 to 2001, and their musical style chan ...

'' (1977), set in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

, was produced with Italian assistance and an international cast including

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. He is often remembered for his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder's ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945), which wo ...

Woody Strode Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (July 25, 1914 – December 31, 1994) was an American athlete, actor, and author. He was a decathlon, decathlete and American football, football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National ...

, and

Stuart Whitman Stuart Maxwell Whitman (February 1, 1928 – March 16, 2020) was an American actor, known for his lengthy career in film and television. Whitman was born in San Francisco and raised in New York until the age of 12, when his family relocated to ...

Cast

as Professor Luca *

Gheorghe Dinica Gheorghe is a Romanian and Aromanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to: Given name * Gheorghe Adamescu (1869–1942), Romanian literary historian and bibliographer * ...

as Gică "Salamandră" Oprișan *

as Ticu Corbea *

Dem Radulescu DEM was the ISO 4217 currency code for the Deutsche Mark, former currency of Germany Computing * Digital elevation model, a digital representation of ground-surface topography or terrain ** .dem, a common extension for USGS DEM files * Discrete ...

as Lt. Neagu *

Jean Constantin Jean Constantin (; born Constantin Cornel Jean; 21 August 1927 – 26 May 2010) was a well-known Romanian comedian of Greeks in Romania, Greek ethnicity. Constantin was born in Techirghiol, and died in Constanța. Filmography *' (2010) .... A ...

as Tilica *

George Motoi George Motoi (22 January 1936 – 4 March 2015) was a Romanian actor. He appeared in more than thirty films from 1962 to 2005. Selected filmography References External links * 1936 births 2015 deaths Romanian male film actors ...

as Lt. Cmdr. Marinescu * Toma Dimitriu as Mayor Ioanide *

Colea Rautu ''Colea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Bignoniaceae. Its native range is Western Indian Ocean, especially Madagascar. Species: *''Colea alata'' *'' Colea alba'' *'' Colea ambrensis'' *'' Colea asperrima'' *'' Col ...

as Port Commandant Anghel *

Draga Olteanu Matei Draga Olteanu Matei (née Olteanu) (; 24 October 1933 – 18 November 2020) was a Romanian actress. She performed in more than thirty films from 1967 to 2006. Born in Bucharest, she studied at the Iulia Hasdeu High School in Lugoj. After mov ...

as Angela Oprișan (as Draga Olteanu-Matei) *

Mircea Bașta Mircea is a Romanian masculine given name, a form of the South Slavic name Mirče (Мирче) that derives from the Slavic word ''mir'', meaning 'peace'. It may refer to: People Princes of Wallachia * Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418), ...

as Firefighter Colonel Coman

References

External links

* 1973 films 1973 drama films 1970s Romanian-language films Films directed by Mircea Drăgan Romanian drama films {{1970s-drama-film-stub