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Topic: 14 disaster flicks that kept us riveted (Read 332 times)

lakelady
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14 disaster flicks that kept us riveted
« on: May 26^th, 2004, 8:20am »

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Disasterpiece Theater
It's the end of the world as we know it... and we feel fascinated

By Kim Morgan
MSN Entertainment

Reality is terrifying enough, so why do we crave disaster movies? Just when we thought we were safely out of the '70s Irwin Allen-drenched disaster era ("The Poseidon Adventure," "The Towering Inferno"), the '90s revived the genre with star-studded, expensive epics of Gotterdammerung. Remember "Deep Impact," "Armageddon" and "Volcano?"

Now, in 2004, with world concern at an all-time high and people reeling over the loss of "Friends," director Roland Emmerich comes along with a wallop of a film that's dead set on being the biggest and baddest disaster movie of them all.

"The Day After Tomorrow" stars Dennis Quaid as a meteorologist who tries in vain to inform world leaders that the effects of global warming are going to destroy the planet -- right now! Major cities have major problems: Tornadoes mess with Los Angeles; a massive snow storm blankets New Delhi; New Yorkers get even crankier due to severe temperature changes; and enormous hail pelts Tokyo.

As George Clooney says in "O Brother": "We're in a tight spot!"

With the world coming to an end (again), we've come up with a cursory list of movies that feed our fascination with cataclysmic fear -- in many forms -- and entertain our thirst for watching stuff blow up. It looks like we've been paranoid a lot longer than we thought.

Duck!:

"Armageddon" (199 Cool

With an asteroid "the size of Texas" hurtling towards Earth, NASA enlists a few good oil drillers (led by Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck) to crack that damn asteroid in two. This was a huge hit with a quirky supporting cast (Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare and Owen Wilson cash in) that combines odd patriotism with Aerosmith tunes. For some reason, the film goes out of its way to destroy Paris. No wonder Cannes audiences laughed at the screening -- and why did director Michael Bay decide to show it there anyway?

"Deep Impact" (199 Cool

A comet bigger than Mothra is fixing to collide with Earth, which could result in the "end of the world as we know it." NASA gets the thing chopped in half but ... the first chunk causes a massive tidal wave. The second chunk is dead set on (no, not France -- but, in the spirit of the "South Park" song) Canada! Guess the filmmakers didn't think Americans would be as horrified by the Maple Leaf getting the ax.

"End of the World" ("La Fin du Monde") (1931)
Just to prove the disaster fascination didn't start in polyester, 1970s America, French film pioneer Abel Gance directed a movie wherein a comet causes natural disasters aplenty. An unhappy ending? But of course: It's French!

Bugs, Aliens and Bad Monkeys:

"The Swarm" (197 Cool

The "master of disaster" Irwin Allen decided to direct a film, this time choosing killer bees as his doom-bringers. These meanie bees invade the United States, and scientists, including Michael Caine (in one of his famed must-pay-the-rent roles), have to intercede -- for 149 minutes! A cheesy classic that's slow moving but faster paced than say, "Speed 2: Cruise Control" and a lot more charming.

"Independence Day" (1996)
Emmerich's biggest disaster fetish film finds Earth invaded by aliens, President Bill Pullman giving horrible speeches and Will Smith full of attitude. Here, American cities are actually wrecked -- New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles -- but we don't really care. Well, apparently we did actually. The film was a massive hit.

"Outbreak" (1995)
Though pretty inane, this movie tapped directly into public fear of the Ebola virus, a considerable topic thanks to Richard Preston's best seller "The Hot Zone." After an infected monkey is smuggled into the U.S., the horrible disease (which had decimated an African village decades earlier) is threatening all of humanity. World safety is in the hands of Dustin "I'm trying to find an antidote here!" Hoffman. God help us all.

Earth, Wind and Fire:

"Earthquake" (1974)
In the tradition of a '70s roll call (you'd think Robert Altman was casting these disaster flicks), Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, Genevieve Bujold and Richard Roundtree star in a movie most notable for its debut of Sensurround. The cinematic technology claimed viewers would be able to feel the rumbling in their seats (that just sounds wrong). Still, the camp factor is high. After all, director Mark Robson also helmed "The Valley of the Dolls."

"Twister" (1996)
Bill Paxton is a TV weather man.

Helen Hunt is the brainy tornado chaser in a too-tight white T-shirt. They're verging on divorce until a Level 5 Tornado metaphorically blows away those pesky papers. Dumb? Yep. Especially when Paxton and Hunt are both running from the "suck zone" and bad corporate storm chasers. But what about the effects? Well, they are convincing and it is tough to dislike a movie that incorporates a flying cow into its mis-en-scene. Particularly when the flying cow makes more sense than many of the lines delivered.

"The Towering Inferno" (1974)
Irwin Allen's greatest film (hey, it was nominated for Best Picture!) and one of the genre's finest, if silliest. The world's tallest skyscraper is enjoying its inaugural night when it catches fire during a ritzy party. Why? Faulty wiring. Oops. Hundreds of glam partygoers are in jeopardy. But when you've got the screen power and, let's just face it, phenomenal looks of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman at hand, well, your fire just got a little hotter, baby. And if they aren't enough, you've got some William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain and Jennifer Jones thrown in for good measure. Did we mention O.J. Simpson also stars? "It's getting hot in here, so why not take off all your..." Oh, all right, we'll stop.

"Volcano" and "Dante's Peak" (1997)
What was with 1997 and volcanoes anyway? In "Volcano," Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche discover that the La Brea Tar Pits are releasing mucho lava, creating a new volcano in Los Angeles. To be as simple as the title, this disaster was bad, boring and, worse, no fun. "Dante's Peak" had a little more old-school charm going for it. Maybe it was that appealing Pierce Brosnan playing scientist. Maybe it was the cute little town (and not the entire freaking world) that's set to be laden with lava. Maybe it was Linda Hamilton. Oh, we remember: It was the 108-minute running time.

Flying the Unfriendly Skies:

"Airport" (1970)
This one kicked off the '70s trend of calamity cinema with its almost distressingly large cast (Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, George Kennedy and Helen Hayes, who won an Oscar) and dueling disasters. A bomb's on board a Boeing 707, but that's not the only problem: A blizzard has to hit the Manhattan airport as well. Three sequels were born, as well as, of course, the hilarious spoof "Airplane!" which temporarily put a nail in the disaster-movies coffin.

"The Hindenburg" (1975)
This film examined the famed crash in which a zeppelin bursts into flames. The cause of the real-life crash is fictionalized here (darn Nazis!) but the film remains watchable, if only for Robert Wise's direction and the crusty George C. Scott, whose powerful voice can sound cataclysmic on its own.

All Wet:

"The Poseidon Adventure" (1972)
Another Irwin Allen classic. Another bloated budget, star-studded cast (Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons and Roddy McDowall) and camp with a capital C -- you gotta love this movie. On New Year's Eve, a tidal wave (created by an underwater earthquake no less) capsizes a luxury liner leaving 10 survivors. Though much more fun than "Titanic," it bears a similar distinction in winning an Oscar for best song -- though "Poseidon's" song is much, much better.

"Titanic" (1997)
A rather unhealthy obsession followed this Oscar winner's smash success. Though the film depicts a major historical tragedy, it's best remembered for a horrid Celine Dion song, the love story between Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio and a Las Vegas virtual reality ride for the Titanic Resort (yeah, good taste there). Falling more firmly in the tradition of "Gone with the Wind" than "The Poseidon Adventure," the film does contain some fine moments -- the best when little-kid-turned-director James Cameron gets to break his boat in two. Still, the 1958 Roy Ward Baker version "A Night to Remember" remains the superior Titanic movie.

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