The Dandy Six: The Disaster Movie List

As 2012 opens today in an all-out effort to clobber your senses with visions of the world “eating it”, it’s time to reflect on a lineage of disaster that spans back almost 40 years. Some highlight the local disaster, others global– but no matter their scale, nine out of ten movie-goers agree: watching lots of people die for fakes is fun.

Nowhere? There is no “nowhere” any more. (Dan)

The Day After (1983)

Directed by Nicholas “Star Trek II” Meyer, The Day After was controversially set and released in the absolute height of the Cold War and presented a realistic scenario of an America before, during and after an all-out nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union.  As a kid, even seeing the promotional images of heartland American skies streaked with missile plumes on their way to Russia were haunting and unnerving. Having viewed it again as an adult– and even with its dated effects– The Day After remains a frightening, deeply affecting and ultimately depressing account of disaster that doesn’t even have a whiff of happy ending.

Money shot:

It is unsinkable. God himself could not sink this ship. (Andy)

Titanic (1997)

Titanic is easily the greatest disaster movie ever made. Not only is it the all-time highest grossing domestic release ($600 million), but it also has two prestigious Oscars to boot, Best Picture and Best Director. And why? Simple: It’s a great film. It’s spoken of with derision quite often, but Titanic is full of action, humor and romance. And then you have the last third of the movie, which depicts with grim detail the sinking of the ship on April 15, 1912 and the subsequent deaths of 1,517 people on board, including Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) who, much to the teary-eyed chagrin of teenagers everywhere, sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic.

The Trailer:

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