Well, it’s been a while since I wrote anything and I got that itch. In order to scratch said itch, I needed an idea, a premise, if you will. So, I looked over a list I made of potential articles. At the same time, I was reading news headlines and saw that San Andreas (2015) was the number one movie at the box-office last week. First things first, congrats to “La Piedra,” aka Dwayne Johnson, on finally topping The Scorpion King in terms of biggest opening as a lead actor. It only took 13 years and ground-breaking, art-house films movies like The Gameplan (2007) and The Toothfairy (2010), but you finally did it, so…
Congrats Rocky!
When I started the list, I quickly realized this stuff is getting out of control. Seriously, disaster films are like Buicks. Every year they crank them out, even if people don’t want them anymore. I found over 50 movies that can be considered disaster movies and I am not talking about how they performed at the box-office; although, not surprisingly, a lot of these flicks do end up being a flop. I couldn’t figure out a decent litmus, so sought out the Oracle of Cinema: The Pinson. Together, we came up with these requirements:
A group of people trying to save a larger group from peril caused by, 1) a naturally occurring force or 2) a catastrophe on a macro scale. The catastrophe needs to happen in the movie in the film. And no monsters.
Post-apocalyptic movies like Waterworld (1995) are not counted. Neither are monster movies like Jurassic Park (1993) or Godzilla (1998); however, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) would. Got it? Good.
- Earthquake (1974)
Earthquake can be considered the prototype of the modern disaster films. You can name Airport (1970) or Poseidon (1972), but Earthquake took it to another level. Heavy on the special effects and star power and light on dialogue and plot. But obviously the formula works because this movie is still a hell of a fun ride and it has spawned copy-cats ever since. Charlton Heston, Ava Garner and a host of past their prime A-List actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood appear.
- Deep Impact (1998)
From 1995-1998, you were guaranteed to have two massively financed disaster movies each year for the summer. This was the true golden age of disaster films. Released in 1998, it was the first of the two asteroid-related mega movies released that year, the other was Armageddon (1998). Much has been written on the “bad science” in these movies, but Deep Impact wins the race due to somewhat-better science, firmer plot, and the subdued (but never missing) American Jingoism.
- Interstellar (2014)
Is this really a disaster movie or is it more a Sci-Fi movie? Well it meets the criteria mentioned above to a tee and it’s my list, so yes, it does make it. A boat load of people die due to a massive natural phenomenon and a small group of people are out to save them. This movie is so much deeper than all the others that it may be sacrilegious to place it here, but what the hell, I’m atheist. The dust storm scenes rival any of these other movies in terms of looks and detail. 
The acting is superb and the plot is great. Come to think of it, this probably should be higher.
- Outbreak (1995)
Out of all the movies on this list, this one I believe is the most likely to happen and that’s what makes it great. That and Dustin Hoffman yelling “WE’RE….NOT….MOVING!!!” at the top of his lungs. A pre-American Beauty Kevin Spacey dies. I really wish that Hollywood would stop killing the best friends in these movies. I always seem to relate to them more than the main characters. What I take from this is that I’m as good as gone if @#$% were to ever go down. Except zombies. I would totally kick ass. My PS3 tells me that.
- The Day After (1983)
The only made-for-TV movie on our list, but well deserved. If you weren’t alive in 1983, I can’t begin to tell you how badly this scared the @#%& out of everyone.
At the height of the Cold War, this movie portrayed what would happen during a nuclear exchange and it freaked out an entire nation. 800-hotlines were set up and President Reagan had a special screening that left such an impression that he actually credits the movie as having a direct influence in drafting the INF treaty. In fact, Gorbachev allowed it to be shown in the USSR four years later. Right after the movie, a live debate that featured William F Buckley, Carl Sagan, Henry Kissinger and Robert McNamara was televised. These were heavy hitters at the time and reflects the impact the movie actually had.
- Mars Attacks! (1996)
You either love it or hate it and since I am a child of the nineties wrought with cynicism and angst, I love it. More of spoof than a true disaster film, it is full of nods to early 50s space flicks and B-movies. If you don’t crack up at Tom Jones or the crazy Grandma, I just don’t know what to say, except “Wow, he just made the international sign of the doughnut.”
- The World’s End (2013)
Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright so on it in this movie. 
A pub-crawling, robot invading laugh-fest, the plot provides a much deeper and thought-provoking than most of the other movies here. The ending caused a pretty big uproar in that the hero causes the end of the world. But he does so because he is true to himself and casting off the superficial. Really good movie, go watch it before the end comes.
- The War of the Worlds (1953)
Most people know of the 1938 Orson Wells radio-adaption or the failed Tom Cruise vehicle from a few years back, but the 1953 version is the best in my opinion. Despite the heavy religious tone that differs from the source, this movie was ground-breaking in the special effects department. The movie really works when you consider the overall mood of the world at the time. Just eight years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki and start of the Cold War, paranoia was rampant. Coupled with story out of Roswell that the government had an alien in its possession, this movie took complete advantage of all of this.
- 28 Days Later (2002)
I’m pretty sure everyone has had this dream: You wake up and there are no people around, you’re all alone in the world. The first 15 minutes of this movie were so badass and the empty city so creepy, it almost made it to #1 on this list.
- Independence Day (1996)
Terrible dialogue, great CGI for the time and overtly American in scope, this is the granddaddy of them all. When this movie was released, the build up to it was nothing I had experienced before and very rarely since. 
The 90’s were ripe with alien stuff. X-Files, Alien³, Stargate; they were everywhere and this movie hit this fad spot on. And sure enough the best friend dies yet again:
RIP Harry Connick, Jr.
(Ok, so Harry Connick Jr. is not really dead. Just his music career is.)