This is the latest instalment in our From the Vault feature series, in which we reflect on culturally significant movies celebrating notable anniversaries.
It was supposed to be a modest B-movie. The elevator pitch: โMad Max โ on waterโ. But somewhere along the line, Waterworld โ which turns 30 this month โ morphed into the most expensive blockbuster of its era, and one of Hollywoodโs most legendary flops.
Fresh from the 1991 smash hit Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, star Kevin Costner and director Kevin Reynolds had the world at their feet. But the project they chose next, a 1980s script by Peter Rader, rewritten by David Twohy (The Fugitive), was much riskier.
So risky, in fact, that Jaws director Steven Spielberg urged caution. As Rader recalled: โSpielberg was unequivocal: โDo not shoot on water!โโ
In the year 2500, with most of Earth flooded, The Mariner (Costner) sails the world in a souped-up trimaran, trading dirt with fellow survivors and drinking his own urine.