MY TOP TEN FAVORITE DISASTER MOVIES – PART TWO

MY TOP TEN FAVORITE DISASTER MOVIES

part two

Hi gang! Welcome back. Last week I presented for your reading pleasure part one of my top ten list of favorite disaster movies. Today we have the second half containing the top five.

Now let me warn you again. This list is highly subjective and is based entirely on my personal feelings towards these films. It has nothing to do with box office, or critical acclaim, or star power. Having said that let’s go! 

Number Five

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (2004)

A sudden global super storm threatens to plunge the Earth into a new ice age. The scientist who unsuccessfully tried to warn everyone embarks on a dangerous journey to New York City to rescue his son from disaster.

This movie scared the bejesus out of me when I first saw it. I am originally from New York and seeing what happened to my city traumatized me. The ending didn’t leave me any better.

Number Four

TWISTER (1996)

A storm chaser and a meteorologist need to put their upcoming divorce on hold in order to help battle a series of killer tornadoes that are threatening to wipe out Oklahoma. 

I really liked this film and for a while it was my favorite disaster movie. A great story with a stellar cast doing what marvelous actors do best – make you believe.

Number Three

VOLCANO (1997)

A minor earthquake in Los Angeles causes a new volcano to form under the city. At first a highly skeptical and reluctant rescue worker declines to get involved but later he teams up with a gutsy seismologist to try to rescue the city.

I have a thing for Tommy Lee Jones. He is one of the few actors whose presence in a movie will make me automatically want to check that movie out. With this one I was not disappointed and neither will you be.

Number Two

ARMAGEDDON (1998)

NASA determines that a large asteroid is going to hit the Earth in eighteen days and wipe out all life. The only way to stop it is to drill a hole, plant a bomb, and get out. And the only man who can do it is an oil driller and his motley crew.

Take the Dirty Dozen, make them wildcaters, put them in a spaceship and send them up to space to save the world. Ya gotta love it! This movie came out around the same time as DEEP IMPACT – another movie with a very similar plot. Despite the fact that I saw ARMAGEDDON first and then saw DEEP IMPACT later, ARMAGEDDON is the one that made more of an impact on me (forgive the pun). I can barely recall what happened in DEEP IMPACT – while I can remember quite vividly the scenes from ARMAGEDDON.

Number One

TOWERING INFERNO (1974)

An architect helps build the world’s tallest building in San Francisco. Unfortunately a fire breaks out with 300 hundred guests at a premier party on the roof. The fire chief and the architect and rescue teams all do what they can to save the 300 and kill this monster fire.

This is the King Kong of disaster movies! This is the one that raised the bar for all other disaster movies to try to reach. I first saw this film in 1974 when it first came out and I remember liking it very much. But I did not see it again until recently. Not only does it stand the test of time but also I think it is even more impressive now than the first time. Easily the greatest disaster movie ever made!

Well there you have it, for what it is worth my top ten favorite disaster movies. And so we bid a fond farewell to Disastuary – earthquakes be damned!