The 411 Movies Top 5 11.13.09: Week 190 - Top 5 Disaster Movies

Posted by Trevor Snyder on 11.13.2009

Who doesn't love explosions and wholesale destruction?? We here at 411 sure do, and that's why this week we're singing the praises of the best disaster movies ever made!



This week's big release is the apocalyptic movie 2012, a film which – and I'm really going out on a limb here – promises to feature all sorts of mass destruction and demolishing of famous landmarks. We already know from Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow that director Roland Emmerich is more than capable of delivering this kind of gigantic chaos…but that doesn't necessarily mean that 2012 will actually be any good. In fact, it seems like the movie is already fighting an uphill battle, given some early negative buzz and the fact that most feel the disaster movie genre's best days are far behind it. Even if you don't subscribe to that theory, it's still hard to believe that 2012 will actually end up being one of the better disaster movies. After all, although the genre can be quite shallow and superfluous, it has produced its fair share of classic films. Like what? Why, we're glad you asked.

THE TOP 5 DISASTER MOVIES

TREVOR SNYDER

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Airport ‘77, Earthquake, War of the Worlds (2005)

5. Airplane! (1980)

Some might scoff at this choice, but the fact is Airplane! is probably one of the most famous (and yes, best) disaster movies ever. Sure, it is mainly a parody of both the Airport films and, more specifically, Zero Hour!. But in parodying those films, Airplane! does have to conform to all the same clichés that the genre is known for. And while many disaster films are hilarious because they are played with a straight face, seemingly not knowing how ridiculous they are, Airplane! is the exact opposite. It's the disaster film that is all too happy to point out how absurd disaster films are. I mean, surely you don't think the other films couldn't have benefited from a similar sense of humor. (Go ahead…you can finish the joke yourself)



4. The Birds (1963)

Not a disaster film, you say? Au contraire, it actually fits the formula quite well. Not only is there mass destruction on an almost epic level, but because it is never quite explained what set the birds off, it ends up coming across like some sort of natural phenomenon – which in turn makes it just as much a natural disaster as something like an earthquake or a volcano. Technically, this is actually the best made movie on my list, but I am admittedly placing the following films ahead of it simply because they are do fit the classic disaster movie mold a little more. But still, The Birds is exactly what you would expect from a Hitchcock take on the genre – absolutely amazing.



3. Outbreak (1995)

Remember that brief period in the ‘90s when everyone was scared shitless of the Ebola virus? The symptoms made Swine Flu look like child's play, and although it never became quite the epidemic that was feared, it was certainly nothing to scoff at. A lot of the paranoia was stoked by Richard Preston's brilliant account of the virus, The Hot Zone, which is one of the most intense non-fiction books I've ever read. A movie version was put into the works, set to star Jodie Foster, but it pretty much fell apart after being beat to the punch by Outbreak. This fictionalized version of the tale is a much more Hollywood-ized take on the story…but it's also an incredibly effective movie, as it does a great job playing off of our fear of disease and contamination. This movie is exactly what a lot of us worried that Ebola would lead to. We could only hope that, if that did happen, we would have Dustin Hoffman around to save us.



2. The Towering Inferno (1974)

Witness…the combined might of Robert Wagner and Robert Vaughn!! In all seriousness, though, I think this film and Earthquake (as well as my #1 choice) are the movies that most often pop into people's heads when they think of the classic definition of a disaster movie. I'm giving Towering Inferno the edge over Earthquake because earthquakes, while scary as hell, are something only certain parts of the world have to worry about. But fire? We should all be afraid of fire. Plus, no offense to Charlton Heston, but Towering Inferno has Paul Newman and Steve McQueen for its two leads. How freaking awesome is that?



1. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

When I saw this movie as a kid, I thought it was a perfect example of great filmmaking. As I got older, I started to realize it's actually kinda corny…but who cares? What's important is that it's incredibly fun (an odd thing to say about a film that depicts an awful tragedy, but you know what I mean). And hell, it still seems like a masterpiece compared to the lackluster sequel and remakes that followed. The coolest thing about The Poseidon Adventure is how shockingly effective its simple premise is. It turns out all you have to do is take something that we're all used to and consider "normal," and then flip it upside down and suddenly it's a scary, hostile environment. Add that with an all-star cast, and you've got one heck of an exciting movie – not to mention the best disaster movie ever made.

STEVE GUSTAFSON

HONORABLE MENTIONS: The Hindenburg (1975), Outbreak (1995), San Francisco (1936)

5. Twister (1996)

With modern day disaster films, you pretty much get the same thing. Special effects blasted all over the screen, with plot and script coming in last. But, to me, a disaster film succeeds on it's characters. You should care about them, or be invested in the situation that they are in. I switched my list around a number of times and finally decided to go with Twister in the top 5 because of its characters. And while it went a little nuts with the tornado effects at times (I'm pointing to the flying cow), it wasn't overbearing and I really enjoyed seeing this in the theater. I enjoyed, and believed, Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt as tornado hunters, working together, who also happen to be on the verge of divorce. Nice little tweak to the script. Chasing tornados and struggling with the group set up the dynamic until the main character shows up. The tornado! Throw in Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cary Elwes and you have a "just right" disaster...movie.



4. Airport (1970)

I first saw this when I was a youngling and it hung around with me for years! So much that I didn't fly until after I graduated high school. This movie ushered in the 70s era style of disaster film and had...three sequels...I think. I will say that Airport '77 was just as good, if not better than the original. But the first always gets the nod because it paved the way. Not just for the sequels but the many, many imitators. Good and bad. So why is this one so awesome? Attention to details! The film focuses on an airport manager trying to keep his airport open during a blizzard, while a suicidal bomber plots to blow up a Boeing 707 in flight. Oh, a nice little piece of trivia: This film earned over $100,000,000 at the box office. In 1970.



3. A Night to Remember (1958)

Oh man, don't take this the wrong way. Nothing against Titanic. I'm not slamming it. But A Night to Remember, other than special effects, is vastly superior to Jim Cameron's blockbuster. Director Roy Ward Baker took a documentary style to showcasing this disaster on film. We all know the story; the Titanic was the largest vessel around...believed to be unsinkable...iceberg...disaster! The sinking of the grand boat brought out every aspect of human nature. Positive and negative, and this movie makes room for both.



2. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The disaster film that still defines a genre! Only 10 passengers survive when a tidal wave, caused by an under sea earthquake, capsizes a luxury ocean liner on New Year's Eve. Gripping and tense, this disaster movie balanced an all star cast and human drama. Led by Gene Hackman's Reverend Frank Scott, they struggle to navigate their way to the top...or is that bottom...of the ship. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, and won for Best Song. Plus, you know it's good when it spawns a number of sequels, remakes, and television movies. Plus, you get to see Ernest Borgnine chew up the scenery as only he can. Modern filmmakers should watch this (AND my number one!) on tips how to do disaster films right!



1. Towering Inferno (1974)

Every disaster film I see gets compared to this one. That's why I have little hope for 2012. This may not have the slam-blam effects that we are used to today but it has two very real fears that the vast majority of audiences have. Fear of fire. Fear of heights. And no one is safe. The human factor is punched way up and they establish that anyone can go at any time early on with the death of Robert Wagner's character. Oh, sorry, Spoiler Alert. Anyways, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen rock it out in this multiple Oscar winner (Cinematography, Editing, and Song). When a fire breaks out on an upper floor, Newman's architect and McQueen's fire chief scramble to evacuate the guests. An all-time classic!

SHAWN S. LEALOS

There are a lot of definitions of disaster movies, but I am using the criteria that DisasterFlicks.com uses. It can be natutal disasters, alien invasions, disease, plagues or even rogue asteroids. It can be small scale (tornado hits a state) or large scale (the entire world goes up in flames). With that said...

5. Twister

There have been movies about hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes and blizzards. However, none of those movies really do much for me because I live in the middle of Oklahoma and none of that means anything to me. Back in 1999 I was driving home from work at two in the morning, heading back to my apartment in Norman because I had a final the next morning. The reason this was such a big deal was because there was a big tornado that night. At work, we were all watching the skies, waiting to run to a "safe place", but we were lucky. I drove through Moore, Oklahoma and it was a complete disaster. Rubble everywhere, one lane of the three lane Interstate was open. Buildings were destroyed and people were all gathered at a church, seeking shelter and help. A lot of people laugh at a movie like Twister and there are moments in the movie that are eye-rolling, but the movie (made here in Oklahoma) hit home. From the weather man on the TV's (played by Oklahoma's best weatherman Gary England) to the devestation it left, everything in the movie seemed real to me as far as the carnage I remember from my 39 years living in the state. And yes, the tornado chasers do, and always have existed here.



4. 28 Weeks Later

This is often referred to as a zombie movie but it is not. This is a movie based on a disease that swept through Britain and destroyed the entire country. Few survived and they found themselves fighting for their lives against the infected and the infection. The first movie is a post apocalyptic movie with a man waking up and finding himself alone in an empty country. However, the second movie is a disaster flick because they are rebuilding their society and then the outbreak happens again. While the first movie gives us the aftermath, this one gives us the actual disaster of the outbreak itself. Plus, I consider it better than the first movie.



3. Independence Day

This is the most obvious disaster movie on my list. Aliens attack from outer space and Roland Emmerich set up his template he would follow up and through this weekend's 2012. What makes this movie so much better than 2012 is the fact it is an inspirational fight for survival whereas 2012 is just about destroying everything and everybody. There are deaths in Independence Day but they are noble deaths and you can still cheer as the survivors fight for survival. The difference with 2012 is that the cheering is for the deaths and not for the survivors. Along the way, the White House gets blown up, the Eiffel Tower gets brought down and Will Smith becomes a superstar.



2. Children of Men

This is a movie about a world that has resigned itself to extinction. The disaster here is there is only around 80 years or so left before the human race is extinct and that is a scary thought. The entire world becomes impotent and no one knows why. What makes this movie ranked so high is that it is in my Top 5 movies of all time and I find it a brilliantly constructed, masterfully directed movie. Alfonso Cuarón is one of the greatest young directors working today and Children of Men is his masterpiece. The movie is tinged with hope that society has a chance when a pregnant woman is found. The storyline circles around this woman as everyone wants her for different reasons and it is up to Clive Owen's character to get her safely to a group of scientists who are working to save the world.



1. Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

While Children of Men is in my Top 5 all-time favorite movies, I can never argue that Dr. Strangelove is the better film. Stanley Kubrick takes a serious story about the cold war and the end of the world and makes a satire, a comic film starring Peter Sellers as a mad scientist, the president of the United States and the only man who realizes that the end of the world is only coming because of one crazed General (Sterling Hayden). What makes it a disaster movie? The men in the war room argue and bicker while one single plane drops the bomb that annihilates the world (with Slim Pickens) riding the first bomb as it drops like a bucking bronco.

So were we on the mark? Feel free to share your own thoughts or Top 5 lists in the comments below (not that you need my prodding to do so). Till next time, have a great week.

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