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Here comes that sinking feeling again

What a difference 34 years can make. The 1972 movie "The Poseidon Adventure" cost $5 million to make. Warner Bros.' remake "Poseidon"? $140 million.

The new film, also about a giant wave that renders an ocean liner upside down, sports bigger sets, more fiery blasts, and water, water everywhere.

Warner Bros. Pictures (enlarge photo) A luxury ocean liner gets into titanic trouble with Kurt Russell (left) and Richard Dreyfuss (right) aboard in 'Poseidon.' Read reviews of 'Poseidon'

There's not a monumental, bow-your-head death scene à la Shelley Winters (she has a heart attack in the original after saving Gene Hackman from drowning), but the new version does display a heck of a lot of hold-your-breath-forever swimming.

Here's a comparison of a few crucial elements in old and new:

THE FIRST THING YOU SEE

"The Poseidon Adventure" (1972): An overhead view of the liner chugging across the ocean. In fact, it's a ship model floating in a tank of water. As if anyone couldn't tell.

"Poseidon" (2006): An underwater camera peers at the below-sea-level hull, making the ship look somewhat like a submarine. That's no accident. Director Wolfgang Petersen is best known for the great WWII sub saga "Das Boot."

THE CHEESY SONG YOU HEAR

"The Poseidon Adventure" (1972): Fraidy-cat Carol Lynley's character warbles the Oscar-winning "The Morning After" — twice. Lyric: "There's got to be a morning after / If we can hold on through the night."

"Poseidon" (2006): A coochie-coochie Fergie (of Black Eyed Peas, left) sings "Won't Let You Fall." Lyric: "I will be your journey and you will be my road."

HOW LONG BEFORE THE BIG WAVE HITS

"The Poseidon Adventure" (1972): 26 minutes. First, we've got to get past character introductions, back stories, quake warnings, a sermon and important ship facts ("Generators create enough electricity to light Charleston, S.C., and Atlanta, Ga.").

"Poseidon" (2006): 14 minutes (roughly). It's hey, how are you and let's keep moving to the New Year's Eve party, people — the special effects crew's got a lot of water, fireballs and fake corpses ready to start tossing about.

HOW MANY OSCAR WINNERS FIT ON A BOAT?

"The Poseidon Adventure" (1972): It stacked the deck: Shelley Winters ( "The Diary of Anne Frank," "A Patch of Blue") as a fat grandma, Ernest Borgnine ("Marty") as a cop, and Red Buttons ("Sayonara") as a goofily brave bachelor. Plus, Gene Hackman ("The French Connection"), who won his trophy eight months before the film's debut.

"Poseidon" (2006): Richard Dreyfuss ("The Goodbye Girl") as a rich gay businessman jilted by his companion and dropping $5,000 for a bottle of wine to drown his sorrows.

THERE'S ALWAYS A SUBTEXT

"The Poseidon Adventure" (1972): There's an unspoken but intimated sexual attraction between the young Pamela Sue Martin and gutsy preacher Gene Hackman. (Carol Lynley and Red Buttons find love in the film, but off-camera they despised each other.)

"Poseidon" (2006): Kurt Russell goes almost Daddy Dearest over daughter Emmy Rossum's intimacy level with boyfriend Mike Vogel. Plus, who's the big star supposed to be? It's hard to tell. Throughout, Russell and poker-playing Josh Lucas consistently vie for lead status.

Read reviews of 'Poseidon'