One can readily concede that the 1971 Irwin Allen-directed made-for-TV sci-fi film CITY BENEATH THE SEA is dated in a lot of ways: acting (overripe at times); plot (old-fashioned); special effects (extremely dated, especially if one thinks of special effects only in terms of CGI). And yet there is still a fair bit to recommend about this TV endeavor, which can be seen as the bridge between Allen's own TV series "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" (which ran from 1964 to 1968), and the pair of big-budget disaster films (THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE; THE TOWERING INFERNO) he would produce in just a few short years that would make him Hollywood's "Master Of Disaster", for better or worse.The basic plot, set in the year 2053, involves a vast underwater city named Pacifica, watched over by a veteran admiral (Stuart Whitman). Whitman is then charged by the President (Richard Basehart, returning from "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea") to take care of a large gold supply (which is about to be stolen by his underhanded brother, played by Robert Wagner), and a supply of the highly explosive H1-28. To add to his responsibilities, in a turn that predates films like METEOR, NIGHT OF THE COMET, Armageddon, and DEEP IMPACT, a planetoid of considerable size is on a collision course with Earth, and Pacifica specifically.All of the aforementioned is, by our 21st century standards, ridiculously old-fashioned, even in comparison to what we'd get from Allen in his disaster films. But in the ensuing years and decades, as the special effects have gotten more and more spectacular, and the films have gotten more and more expensive, reaching ridiculous budgets of $250 million at times now, are the plots really any better than something as "cheesy" as an Irwin Allen TV pilot like this? Having seen this a number of times on TV as a re-run, I'd have to say "Not necessarily." There's no question that CITY BENEATH THE SEA is predictable to a large degree, but the same can be said for most everything being made today for the big screen, whether in IMAX or 3-D. It still works all the same, if one is willing to accept it as a relic of its time.This is why I'm giving CITY BENEATH THE SEA a 7 out of 10.

Despite reading a couple of poor reviews about City Beneath the Sea, I quite enjoyed this. It was a pilot for a TV series that was never made.It is about Pacifica and the lives of its residents. It has its own Fort Knox where gold is kept but there are plans to steal this. Worse still, there is an asteroid on a collision course with the Earth and is due to strike near Pacifica, so an evacuation is ordered immediately. Luckliy, a way is devised to destroy this body, some missiles are sent up and it changes course and both Pacifica and the Earth are saved.City Beneath the Sea is directed by Irwin Allen (Lost In Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Towering Inferno). As well as one of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea's stars, Richard Basehart, the Flying Sub from that series also appears in this.Other cast members include Stuart Whitman, Robert Wagner (Titanic), Joesph Cotten (The Third Man), Rosemary Forsyth, Whit Bissell (I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, Creature From the Black Lagoon), Robert Colbert, James Darren and boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.Though not brilliant, City Beneath the Sea is worth viewing, especially if you are a fan of Irwin Allen like myself.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Unfortunately City Beneath The Sea has not been aired as far as I know for several years. I scan listings regularly for it. Effects as I recall were way ahead of its time. Plot was terrific and acting was great. The original version is ripe for showing on TV again as well as a DVD release. And with re-makes being all the rage lately, this would be a good one to remake as well. This movie was listed in one of Blockbuster's annual movie guides, indicating that it was due for release, but it never happened. If it is ever aired again, don't miss it! If it is ever released on DVD, buy it! You will not be disappointed.

This is a TRUE Irwin Allen classic!! a underwater city that can fight off hazards from outer space, handle dangerous unstable nuclear material, store all the gold from Fort Knox, and has a man who can breathe, and talk underwater, who helps deal with sabotage, and a major gold theft!! WOW!!!!,but WOW!!!! Stuart Whitman makes a great city leader!!, Robert Colbert[Doug Philips of TIME TUNNEL fame] makes wonderful second in command!!, Richard Basehart[ADM Nelson of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea] as President[I would have voted him for the OVAL OFFICE!!], and Robert Wagner was a absolutely great villain!! I even liked the props especially the FLYING SUB[from Voyage To The Bottom Of The SEA]!! Yes Mr. Allen outdid himself on this one!! I am sorry that this movie did not become a series, either as a T.V. series or a movie series, either one would have been THE greatest series of all time!!! However I do feel that this movie should be released for DVD video because I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A COPY OF MY OWN THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!