Top 5 Disaster Movies you've probably never seen.
15/03/2010
Disaster movies never go out of style and strangely, seem to get released roughly around the same time. Toward the end of the 90s there were a string of big budget releases...
1996 - Helen Hunt ran away from a flying cow in Twister, while Will Smith kicked some alien butt in Independence Day.
1997 - Pierce Brosnan ran away from a volcano in Dante's Peak, then Tommy Lee Jones did the same thing in Volcano.
1998 - In '98 it was asteriod's turn, with Deep Impact and Armageddon.
But what about those disaster films that don't get mentioned anywhere near as frequently? We thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the disaster movies that you probably haven't seen... and let's face it, probably never will.
1) The Towering Inferno (1974)
Firstly, watch the trailer then scroll down to read some bizarre statistics.
Now that you've finished laughing, sit up and take note of these stats: this film earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won three. It was made for a budget of $14 million and made $116 million at the US box office alone. And for a fun stat, Steve McQueen insisted that he and co-star Paul Newman had to have exactly the same number of lines of dialogue in the script. Ah celebrities... (Source: IMDb).
2) Zero Hour! (1957)
Who could resist the film that inspired the Flying High (Airplane!) movies? And with quotes like: "Our survival hinges on one thing - finding someone who not only can fly this plane, but didn't have fish for dinner," it's no wonder this movie now has a cult following!
3) Avalanche (1978)
What is it with disaster movies attracting big name stars? This "classic" managed to get the acting services of Rock Hudson, Mia Farrow and Robert Forster and made the cut in John Wilson's book "The Official Razzie® Movie Guide," listed under the section "The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made."
4) The Swarm (1978)
Killer bees and Michael Caine - yes, please! Vintage 70s disaster film that the whole world laughed at, but not the Academy, who nominated it for an Oscar - Best Costume Design! And if Michael Caine's skivvy is anything to go by, that nomination was well deserved!
5) When Time Ran Out (1980)
Paul Newman starred in this stinker only because he was under contract with producer Irwin Allen. Newman later revealed that it was the only film in his career that he did for money and that he and the cast and crew knew it would be a bomb from day one! Makes for some great viewing! (Source: IMDb).
Check with your local store to see if any of these classic disaster movies are available to rent or buy.
Image copyright Columbia Pictures.
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