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Disaster film

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
"Disaster movie" redirects here. For the 2008 film of that title, see Disaster Movie. For movies that perform "disastrously" from a financial standpoint, see Box-office bomb.

A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as a pandemic. A subgenre of action films,[1][2] these films usually feature some degree of build-up, the disaster itself, and sometimes the aftermath, usually from the point of view of specific individual characters or their families or portraying the survival tactics of different people.

These films often feature large casts of actors and multiple plot lines, focusing on the characters' attempts to avert, escape or cope with the disaster and its aftermath. The genre came to particular prominence during the 1970s with the release of high-profile films such as Airport (1970), followed in quick succession by The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Earthquake (1974) and The Towering Inferno (1974).[3]

The casts are generally made up of familiar character actors. Once the disaster begins in the film, the characters are usually confronted with human weaknesses, often falling in love and almost always finding a villain to blame. The films usually feature a persevering hero or heroine (Charlton Heston, Steve McQueen, etc.) called upon to lead the struggle against the threat. In many cases, the "evil" or "selfish" individuals are the first to succumb to the conflagration.[4] The genre experienced a renewal in the 1990s boosted by computer-generated imagery (CGI) and large studio budgets which allowed for greater spectacle, culminating in the cinematic phenomenon that was James Cameron's Titanic in 1997.[5]

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Film genre

Film genre

A film genre is a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film.

Disaster

Disaster

A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Disasters are routinely divided into either "natural disasters" caused by natural hazards or "human-instigated disasters" caused from anthropogenic hazards. However, in modern times, the divide between natural, human-made and human-accelerated disasters is difficult to draw.

Natural disaster

Natural disaster

A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake. The severity of the damage depends on the affected population's resilience and on the infrastructure available. Examples of natural hazards include: avalanche, coastal flooding, cold wave, drought, earthquake, hail, heat wave, hurricane, ice storm, landslide, lightning, riverine flooding, strong wind, tornado, typhoon, tsunami, volcanic activity, wildfire, winter weather.

Accident

Accident

An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term accident implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researchers who study unintentional injury avoid using the term accident and focus on factors that increase risk of severe injury and that reduce injury incidence and severity. For example, when a tree falls down during a wind storm, its fall may not have been caused by humans, but the tree's type, size, health, location, or improper maintenance may have contributed to the result. Most car wrecks are not true accidents; however English speakers started using that word in the mid-20th century as a result of media manipulation by the US automobile industry.

Offensive (military)

Offensive (military)

An offensive is a military operation that seeks through an aggressive projection of armed forces to occupy or recapture territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational, or tactical goal. Another term for an offensive often used by the media is "invasion", or the more general "attack". An offensive is a conduct of combat operations that seek to achieve only some of the objectives of the strategy being pursued in the theatre as a whole. Commonly an offensive is carried out by one or more divisions, numbering between 10 and 30,000 troops as part of a combined arms manoeuvre.

Pandemic

Pandemic

A pandemic is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of infected individuals is not a pandemic. Widespread endemic diseases with a stable number of infected individuals such as recurrences of seasonal influenza are generally excluded as they occur simultaneously in large regions of the globe rather than being spread worldwide.

Action film

Action film

Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life-threatening situations, a dangerous villain, or a pursuit which usually concludes in victory for the hero.

Airport (1970 film)

Airport (1970 film)

Airport is a 1970 American air disaster–drama film written and directed by George Seaton and starring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin. Based on Arthur Hailey's 1968 novel of the same name, it originated the 1970s disaster film genre. It is also the first of four films in the Airport film series. Produced on a $10 million budget, it earned over $128 million.

Earthquake (1974 film)

Earthquake (1974 film)

Earthquake is a 1974 American ensemble disaster drama film directed and produced by Mark Robson and starring Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner. The plot concerns the struggle for survival after a catastrophic earthquake destroys most of the city of Los Angeles, California.

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film The Ten Commandments (1956), for which he received his first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, and the title role in Ben-Hur (1959), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He also starred in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Secret of the Incas (1954), Touch of Evil (1958) with Orson Welles, The Big Country (1958), El Cid (1961), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Khartoum (1966), Planet of the Apes (1968), The Omega Man (1971) and Soylent Green (1973).

Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery

Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) is a specific technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in art, printed media, simulators, videos and video games. These images are either static or dynamic. CGI both refers to 2D computer graphics and 3D computer graphics with the purpose of designing characters, virtual worlds, or scenes and special effects. The application of CGI for creating/improving animations is called computer animation, or CGI animation.

James Cameron

James Cameron

James Francis Cameron is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability with his use of novel technologies. He first gained recognition for writing and directing The Terminator (1984) and found further success with Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and the action comedy True Lies (1994). He wrote and directed Titanic (1997), Avatar (2009) and its sequels, with Titanic earning him Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. A recipient of various other industry accolades, two of his films have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Origins

Disaster themes are almost as old as the film medium itself. One of the earliest was Fire! (1901) made by James Williamson of England. The silent film portrayed a burning house and the firemen who arrive to quench the flames and rescue the inhabitants.[6] Origins of the genre can also be found in In Nacht und Eis (1912), about the sinking of the Titanic; Atlantis (1913), also about the Titanic; the Danish The End of the World (1916), (about a comet); Noah's Ark (1928), the Biblical story from Genesis about the great flood; Deluge (1933), about tidal waves devastating New York City; King Kong (1933), with a gigantic gorilla rampaging through New York City; and The Last Days of Pompeii (1935), dealing with the Mount Vesuvius volcanic eruption in 79 AD.[7]

John Ford's The Hurricane (1937) concluded with the striking sequence of a tropical cyclone ripping through a fictional South Pacific island. The drama San Francisco (1936) depicted the historic 1906 San Francisco earthquake, while In Old Chicago (1937) recreated The Great Chicago Fire which burned through the city in 1871.[7] Carol Reed's 1939 film, The Stars Look Down, examines a catastrophe at a coal mine in North-East England.

Inspired by the end of World War II and the beginning of the Atomic Age, science fiction films of the 1950s, including When Worlds Collide (1951), The War of the Worlds (1953) and Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), routinely used world disasters as plot elements. This trend would continue with The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) and Crack in the World (1965). Volcanic disasters would also feature in films such as The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961) starring Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra, and the 1969 epic Krakatoa, East of Java starring Maximilian Schell.[8]

As in the silent film era, the sinking of the Titanic would continue to be a popular disaster with filmmakers and audiences alike. Werner Klingler and Herbert Selpin released the epic film Titanic in 1943. The film was soon banned in Germany and its director, Selpin, was allegedly executed. The film was a staple for all Titanic films, and scenes became stock footage for the British version. Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck starred in the 1953 20th Century Fox production Titanic, followed by the highly regarded British film A Night to Remember in 1958. The British action-adventure film The Last Voyage (1960), while not about the Titanic disaster but a predecessor to The Poseidon Adventure, starred Robert Stack as a man desperately attempting to save his wife (Dorothy Malone) and child trapped in a sinking ocean liner. The film, concluding with the dramatic sinking of the ship, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.[8][9]

Additional precursors to the popular disaster films of the 1970s include The High and the Mighty (1954), starring John Wayne and Robert Stack as pilots of a crippled airplane attempting to cross the ocean; Zero Hour! (1957), written by Arthur Hailey (who also penned the 1968 novel Airport) about an airplane crew that succumbs to food poisoning; Jet Storm and Jet Over the Atlantic, two 1959 films both featuring attempts to blow up an airplane in mid-flight; The Crowded Sky (1960) which depicts a mid-air collision; and The Doomsday Flight (1966), written by Rod Serling and starring Edmond O'Brien as a disgruntled aerospace engineer who plants a barometric pressure bomb on an airliner built by his former employer set to explode when the airliner descends for landing.[8][10][11]

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Fire! (1901 film)

Fire! (1901 film)

Fire! is a 1901 British short silent drama film, directed by James Williamson, showing the occupants of a house in Hove being rescued by the local fire service.

In Nacht und Eis

In Nacht und Eis

In Nacht und Eis, also called Der Untergang der Titanic and Shipwrecked in Icebergs in the US, is a 1912 German adventure-disaster drama film about the sinking of RMS Titanic. The filming began in May 1912, and the film premiered in August 1912. This is the earliest surviving film of the Titanic disaster.

Comet

Comet

A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or coma surrounding the nucleus, and sometimes a tail of gas and dust gas blown out from the coma. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the outstreaming solar wind plasma acting upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma may be up to 15 times Earth's diameter, while the tail may stretch beyond one astronomical unit. If sufficiently close and bright, a comet may be seen from Earth without the aid of a telescope and can subtend an arc of up to 30° across the sky. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many cultures and religions.

Noah's Ark (1928 film)

Noah's Ark (1928 film)

Noah's Ark is a 1928 American epic romantic melodramatic disaster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Dolores Costello and George O'Brien. The story is by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film was released by the Warner Bros. studio. It is representative of the transition from silent movies to "talkies", although it is essentially a hybrid film known as a part-talkie, which used the new Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. Most scenes are silent with a synchronized music score and sound effects, in particular the biblical ones, while some scenes have dialogue.

Deluge (film)

Deluge (film)

Deluge is a 1933 American apocalyptic science fiction film, directed by Felix E. Feist, and released by RKO Radio Pictures.

New York City

New York City

New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), New York City is the most densely populated major city in the United States and more than twice as populous as Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest city. New York City is located at the southern tip of New York State. It constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities, and over 58 million people live within 250 mi (400 km) of the city. New York City is a global cultural, financial, entertainment, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world.

King Kong (1933 film)

King Kong (1933 film)

King Kong is a 1933 American pre-Code adventure horror monster film directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, with special effects by Willis H. O'Brien. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, it is the first film in the King Kong franchise. The film stars Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot. In the film, a giant ape dubbed Kong attempts to possess a beautiful young woman.

Gorilla

Gorilla

Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos.

Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km (5.6 mi) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera, resulting from the collapse of an earlier, much higher structure.

John Ford

John Ford

John Martin Feeney, known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. Ford made frequent use of location shooting and wide shots, in which his characters were framed against a vast, harsh, and rugged natural terrain.

1906 San Francisco earthquake

1906 San Francisco earthquake

At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). High-intensity shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley, an agricultural region to the south of the San Francisco Bay Area. Devastating fires soon broke out in San Francisco and lasted for several days. More than 3,000 people died, and over 80% of the city was destroyed. The event is remembered as the deadliest earthquake in the history of the United States. The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history and high on the lists of American disasters.

In Old Chicago

In Old Chicago

In Old Chicago is a 1938 American disaster musical drama film directed by Henry King. The screenplay by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti was based on the Niven Busch story, "We the O'Learys". The film is a fictionalized account about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and stars Alice Brady as Mrs. O'Leary, the owner of the cow which started the fire, and Tyrone Power and Don Ameche as her sons. It also stars Alice Faye and Andy Devine. At the time of its release, it was one of the most expensive movies ever made.

1970s peak

The golden age of the disaster film began in 1970 with the release of Airport.[3] A huge financial success, earning more than $100 million ($713 million in 2022-adjusted dollars) at the box office, the film was directed by George Seaton and starred Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Jacqueline Bisset and Helen Hayes. While not exclusively focused on a disaster—in this case, an airplane crippled by the explosion of a bomb—the film established the blueprint of multiple plotlines acted out by an all-star cast. Airport was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning Best Supporting Actress for Hayes.[12]

The 1972 release of The Poseidon Adventure was another huge financial success, notching an impressive $84 million in US/Canada gross rental theatrical rentals ($592 Million in 2022-adjusted dollars); the disaster film officially became a movie-going craze. Directed by Ronald Neame and starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Red Buttons, the film detailed survivors' attempts at escaping a sinking ocean liner overturned by a giant wave triggered by an earthquake. The Poseidon Adventure was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Shelley Winters, and winning for Original Song and receiving a Special Achievement Award for visual effects.[13]

The trend reached its zenith in 1974 with the release of The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and Airport 1975 (the first Airport sequel). The competing films enjoyed staggering success at the box office, with The Towering Inferno earning $116 million ($697 million in 2022-adjusted dollars), Earthquake earning $79 million ($475 million in 2022-adjusted dollars), and Airport 1975 earning $47 million ($282 million in 2022-adjusted dollars) in theatrical rentals.[14]

Arguably the greatest of the 1970s disaster films, The Towering Inferno was a joint venture of 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. and was produced by Irwin Allen (eventually known as "The Master of Disaster", as he had previously helmed The Poseidon Adventure and later produced The Swarm, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure and When Time Ran Out...). Directed by John Guillermin and starring Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden and Faye Dunaway, the film depicts a huge fire engulfing the tallest building in the world and firefighters' attempts at rescuing occupants trapped on the top floor. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, winning for Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Original Song.[15]

Earthquake was also honored with four Academy Award nominations for its impressive special effects of a massive earthquake leveling the city of Los Angeles, winning for Best Sound and receiving a Special Achievement Award for visual effects. The film was directed by Mark Robson and starred Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, Geneviève Bujold, George Kennedy and Lorne Greene. It was noted as the first film to utilize Sensurround, where massive subwoofer speakers were installed in theaters to recreate the vibrating sensation of an earthquake.[16] Several made-for-TV movies also capitalized on the craze, including Heatwave! (1974), The Day the Earth Moved (1974), Hurricane (1974), Flood! (1976) and Fire! (1977).[17][18][19][20][21]

The trend continued on a larger scale with The Hindenburg (1975), starring George C. Scott; The Cassandra Crossing (1976), starring Burt Lancaster; Two-Minute Warning (1976), starring Charlton Heston; Black Sunday (1977), starring Robert Shaw; Rollercoaster in Sensurround (1977), starring George Segal; Damnation Alley (1977), starring Jan-Michael Vincent; Avalanche (1978), starring Rock Hudson; Gray Lady Down (1978), also starring Charlton Heston; Hurricane (a 1979 remake of John Ford's 1937 film), starring Jason Robards; and City on Fire (1979), starring Barry Newman.

Skyjacked (1972) was a less-successful entry into the disaster film canon, following on the heels of Airport but preceding its sequel Airport 1975. The Airport series would continue with Airport '77 (1977) and The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979), with George Kennedy portraying the character Joe Patroni in each sequel. The Poseidon Adventure was followed by the sequel Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979).

The genre began to burn out by the late-1970s when the big-budget films The Swarm (1978), Meteor (1979), Hurricane (1979), The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979), Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979) and When Time Ran Out... (1980) performed poorly at the box office, signaling declining interest in the disaster film product.[22][23][24]

Although The Big Bus (1976), an earlier disaster film spoof, had failed to be a hit, the end of the trend was marked by the 1980 comedy Airplane!, which fondly spoofed the clichés of the genre to surprising box-office success, producing a sequel of its own, Airplane II: The Sequel, in 1982.[25]

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Airport (1970 film)

Airport (1970 film)

Airport is a 1970 American air disaster–drama film written and directed by George Seaton and starring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin. Based on Arthur Hailey's 1968 novel of the same name, it originated the 1970s disaster film genre. It is also the first of four films in the Airport film series. Produced on a $10 million budget, it earned over $128 million.

George Seaton

George Seaton

George Seaton was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theatre director.

Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster

Burton Stephen Lancaster was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex, and challenging roles over a 45-year career in films and television series. He was a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and he also won two BAFTA Awards and one Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor. The American Film Institute ranks Lancaster as #19 of the greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema.

Dean Martin

Dean Martin

Dean Martin was an American singer, actor, and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool." Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio, television and in films.

George Kennedy

George Kennedy

George Harris Kennedy Jr. was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role and being nominated for the corresponding Golden Globe. He received a second Golden Globe nomination for portraying Joe Patroni in Airport (1970).

Academy Awards

Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the film industry. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Academy Awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry in the United States and worldwide. The Oscar statuette depicts a knight rendered in the Art Deco style.

Academy Award for Best Picture

Academy Award for Best Picture

The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in which every member of the Oscars is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot. The Best Picture category is traditionally the final award of the night and is widely considered as the most prestigious honor of the ceremony.

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Supporting Actor winner.

Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman

Eugene Allen Hackman is an American retired actor and novelist. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Hackman won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs and one Silver Bear.

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular performer, he also appeared as a guest on numerous talk shows and as a panelist on several game shows.

Academy Award for Best Original Song

Academy Award for Best Original Song

The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film. The performers of a song are not credited with the Academy Award unless they contributed either to music, lyrics, or both in their own right. The songs that are nominated for this award are typically performed during the ceremony and before this award is presented.

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects

The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects.

1990s revival

The resurgence of big-budget productions of the genre—aided by advancements in CGI technology during the 1990s—include such films as Twister, Independence Day, Daylight, Dante's Peak, Volcano, Hard Rain, Deep Impact, and Armageddon. In 1997, James Cameron co-produced, wrote and directed a version of the epic story of the Titanic. The film combined romance with intricate special effects and was a massive success, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time (which it remained for twelve years) with over $2.1 billion worldwide;[26] it won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.[27]

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Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery

Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) is a specific technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in art, printed media, simulators, videos and video games. These images are either static or dynamic. CGI both refers to 2D computer graphics and 3D computer graphics with the purpose of designing characters, virtual worlds, or scenes and special effects. The application of CGI for creating/improving animations is called computer animation, or CGI animation.

Independence Day (1996 film)

Independence Day (1996 film)

Independence Day is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Roland Emmerich and written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. It stars an ensemble cast that consists of Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, and Harvey Fierstein. The film focuses on disparate groups of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a worldwide attack by a powerful extraterrestrial race. With the other people of the world, they launch a counterattack on July 4—Independence Day in the United States.

Daylight (1996 film)

Daylight (1996 film)

Daylight is a 1996 American action thriller disaster film directed by Rob Cohen and starring Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, Stan Shaw, Jay O. Sanders, Karen Young and Danielle Harris. The film was released by Universal Pictures on December 6, 1996, in the United States, and on December 26 in the United Kingdom. It received mixed reviews and grossed $159 million worldwide.

Dante's Peak

Dante's Peak

Dante's Peak is a 1997 American science fiction natural disaster thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson, written by Leslie Bohem, and starring Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, and Charles Hallahan. The film is set in the fictional town of Dante's Peak where the inhabitants fight to survive a volcanic eruption from a long dormant stratovolcano that has suddenly woken up. The film was released on February 7, 1997, under the production of Universal Pictures and Pacific Western Productions. It received negative reviews from critics and became an average success. It was the last film in which Charles Hallahan starred before his death nine months later in November 1997.

Hard Rain (film)

Hard Rain (film)

Hard Rain is a 1998 disaster heist action thriller film directed by former cinematographer-turned director Mikael Salomon, written by Graham Yost, produced by Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, and Gary Levinsohn, and starring Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver, and Ed Asner. An international co-production among the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, and Japan, the plot centers around a heist and man-made treachery amidst a natural disaster in a small Indiana town.

Deep Impact (film)

Deep Impact (film)

Deep Impact is a 1998 American science-fiction disaster film directed by Mimi Leder, written by Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin, and starring Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell, and Morgan Freeman. Steven Spielberg served as an executive producer of this film. It was released by Paramount Pictures in North America and by DreamWorks Pictures internationally on May 8, 1998. The film depicts the attempts to prepare for and destroy a 7-mile (11 km) wide comet set to collide with Earth and cause a mass extinction.

Armageddon (1998 film)

Armageddon (1998 film)

Armageddon is a 1998 American science fiction disaster film produced and directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film follows a group of blue-collar deep-core drillers sent by NASA to stop a gigantic asteroid on a collision course with Earth. It stars Bruce Willis with Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, Will Patton, Keith David, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Stormare, and Steve Buscemi.

James Cameron

James Cameron

James Francis Cameron is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability with his use of novel technologies. He first gained recognition for writing and directing The Terminator (1984) and found further success with Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and the action comedy True Lies (1994). He wrote and directed Titanic (1997), Avatar (2009) and its sequels, with Titanic earning him Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. A recipient of various other industry accolades, two of his films have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

List of highest-grossing films

List of highest-grossing films

Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights, and merchandising. However, theatrical box-office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in assessing the success of a film, mostly because of the availability of the data compared to sales figures for home video and broadcast rights, but also because of historical practice. Included on the list are charts of the top box-office earners, a chart of high-grossing films by calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-grossing film record, and a chart of the highest-grossing film franchises and series. All charts are ranked by international theatrical box-office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights, and merchandise.

Academy Awards

Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the film industry. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Academy Awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry in the United States and worldwide. The Oscar statuette depicts a knight rendered in the Art Deco style.

Academy Award for Best Picture

Academy Award for Best Picture

The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in which every member of the Oscars is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot. The Best Picture category is traditionally the final award of the night and is widely considered as the most prestigious honor of the ceremony.

Academy Award for Best Director

Academy Award for Best Director

The Academy Award for Best Director is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the film industry. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Director winner.

Source: "Disaster film", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 28th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster_film.

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Further Reading

Miniature effect

Airplane!

The Towering Inferno

The Poseidon Adventure (1972 film)

Earthquake (1974 film)

Maureen McGovern

Airport 1975

Poseidon (film)

Beyond the Poseidon Adventure

When Time Ran Out

The Grass Harp (film)
See also
References
  1. ^ "Film Sub-Genres". Filmsite.org.
  2. ^ "Subgenre - Disaster Film". AllMovie.
  3. ^ a b "BookRags, Disaster Movies". bookrags.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  4. ^ "Disaster Films". www.filmsite.org. Archived from the original on 2007-10-29.
  5. ^ "Disaster Film Movies and Films - Find Disaster Film Movie Recommendations, Casts, Reviews, and Summaries - AllRovi". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  6. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Fire!". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  7. ^ a b "Filmsite, Greatest Disaster Film Scenes". filmsite.org. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  8. ^ a b c "Filmsite, Greatest Disaster Film Scenes". filmsite.org. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  9. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Awards for The Last Voyage". imdb.com. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  10. ^ "CultMovies, Disaster Epics". cultmovies.info. Archived from the original on 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  11. ^ "Internet Movie Database, The Doomsday Flight". imdb.com. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  12. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Airport". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2006-03-28. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  13. ^ "Internet Movie Database, The Poseidon Adventure". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2005-05-17. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  14. ^ Wallechinsky, David (1977). The Book of Lists. Bantam Books. pp. 197. ISBN 0-553-12400-5.
  15. ^ "Internet Movie Database, The Towering Inferno". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  16. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Earthquake". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  17. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Heat Wave!". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2006-04-20. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  18. ^ "Internet Movie Database, The Day the Earth Moved". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  19. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Hurricane". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2006-05-19. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  20. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Flood!". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  21. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Fire!". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  22. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Box office/business for The Swarm". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2004-12-30. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  23. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Box office/business for Meteor". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2005-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  24. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Box office/business for When Time Ran Out...". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  25. ^ "Internet Movie Database, Box office/business for Airplane". imdb.com. Archived from the original on 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  26. ^ "Box Office Mojo, Worldwide Grosses". boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on 2001-07-16. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  27. ^ "Filmsite, Most Oscar Wins By Film". filmsite.org. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
Further reading
  • Annan, David (1975). Catastrophe, the End of the Cinema?. Bounty Books. ISBN 0-517-52420-1.
  • Broderick, Mick (January 1992). Nuclear Movies: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of International Feature Length Films Dealing With Experimentation, Aliens, Terrorism, Holocaust. McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-89950-543-0.
  • Dixon, Wheeler Winston (1999). Disaster and Memory. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11316-1.
  • Keane, Stephen (2006). Disaster Movies: The Cinema of Catastrophe. Wallflower Press. ISBN 1-905674-03-1.
  • Newman, Kim (February 2000). Apocalypse Movies: End of the World Cinema. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25369-9.
External links
Categories

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