Earthquake (PG)

1. Why is City Screen, York, ready to rumble this weekend?

In a world exclusive screening, or rather two exclusive screenings, the old Herald Building will shake to the sound of Earthquake, the hit disaster movie sprung upon audiences in 1974 and 1975. You know the one; an earthquake reduces Los Angeles to rubble in nine real-time minutes; the aftershocks last longer than Wagner's The Ring cycle; a dam bursts; and still Charlton Heston's wig never moves.

2. Who is behind the plan to make the earth move for you?

City Screen technical manager Darren Briggs and senior projectionist Bill Thomson, who have re-created the sound system process that shook Seventies' audiences harder than a Fran Cotton tackle. So much so that dodgy old fleapits in France had to ban the movie because all that shaking sent ceiling plaster crashing on to unsuspecting heads below.

3. What exactly have Darren and Bill done?

They are the team behind the re-introduction of 70mm high definition films - bigger-sized film stock, clearer picture, deeper colours, that kind of cinema buff thing - and now they have gone one stage further. They have spent a year re-creating Sensurround, working from scratch because they could not locate any of the original 1970s systems that used to travel around the country (but never alas to York).

Through the wonders of the Internet, they have contacted those still in the know about the original circuit diagrams for the all-important electronic effect generator. Film distributor UIP has supplied an original 70mm print; Tannoy has loaned four massive speaker units; extra cable spaghetti has been put in.

4. What is Sensurround?

"Sub-bass sound is now standard, even for sound systems in the home, but in 1974 Sensurround was this new thing, and it was not so much sub-bass as sub, sub-bass!" says Darren. "Universal had put up a massive budget for special effects in Earthquake, and Sensurround was the key to it. The system involves using very low-frequency audio sound waves that replicate the shaking sensation you would experience in an earthquake.

"Apparently the developers based their measurements on a real tremor in America in 1972."

5. So, is it a shock to the system?

Not as much as the sight of Heston's rug or a scared-looking Victoria Principal with an even scarier Afro hairstyle dodging debris in LA, but yes, the test screening for the Evening Press did add up to big shakes.

6. Do this weekend's shows carry a health warning?

Darren and Bill, and York actor Richard Massara, have put together a spoof trailer. Togged up as a pipe-smoking boffin, Massara warns viewers they are about to have an earthquake experience where "you will see, hear and feel effects that might occur in an actual earthquake". Being a spoof, the management then washes its hands of any responsibility for anyone's response to the quake. The projection team is at pains to point out modern cinemas are better designed, with improved wall insulation, and so there will be no repeat of the French farce.

7. What happened to Sensurround?

Battle For Midway, Rollercoaster and Battlestar Galactica followed in the quake of Earthquake but like Mint Cracknel, Sunderland FA Cup victories and the Bay City Rollers, it went the way of all things Seventies.

A Frankfurt cinema has found original Sensurround speakers - apparently twice as big as the Tannoy version - but a technical hitch with the 28-year-old equipment has put paid to plans for a simultaneous screening.

8. What has been the public response to the imminent return of Earthquake?

"We've had bookings from Southampton, London, and Norwich, and there's even a guy coming over from Austria because the Frankfurt screening has been cancelled," says Bill.

9. Will there be more Sensurround shows at City Screen?

"We're looking to do more films next year, such as Rollercoaster, and we may well repeat Earthquake, as this weekend is well on the way to selling out," says Bill. "We might well make it a regular occurrence, once every two months on a Saturday night."

10. When does the rumble strike York?

Earthquake (PG) will be shown at 10.45pm tomorrow and at 1.30pm on Sunday (in a 10.30am Disaster Double Bill with Krakatoa, East Of Java (PG)). For tickets, ring City Screen, York, on 01904 541144.

Updated: 09:42 Friday, November 21, 2003