AllMovie

On October 17, 1989, San Francisco was devastated by an earthquake registering a 7.0 on the Richter scale. The horrifying drama that unfolded included the collapse of the double-decker Interstate 880 freeway, which trapped rush-hour motorists under tons of asphalt and concrete. Desperate measures were taken by Dr. Jim Betts and rescuers to free 6-year-old Julio Beruman and his sister as their father waited anxiously for them to return home with their mother. Meanwhile, longshoreman Buck Helm remained imprisoned in the rubble for several days, just inches from freedom, as his wife and family waited for word of his fate. This powerful, dramatic film is based on the true story of these events, and the heroism of ordinary people in the aftermath of the earthquake. Ruben Blades (Crazy from the Heart), Tony Award®-winner Len Cariou (Broadway's Sweeney Todd, Lady in White), David Morse (TV's "St. Elsewhere") and Sandy Duncan (TV's "The Hogan Family") star in this made-for-television movie directed by Robert Iscove (Breaking the Silence), based on a story by Leo E. Arthur and Teleplay by Leo E. Arthur and Casey Kelly. Newly remastered.