List of disaster films

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This list of disaster films represents over half a century of films within the genre. Disaster films are motion pictures which depict an impending or ongoing disaster as a central plot feature. The films typically feature large casts and multiple storylines and focus on the protagonists' attempts to avert, escape, or cope with the disaster presented.

Contents

Man-made disasters

See also: List of films about nuclear issues

Natural disasters

End of days

Airplanes

The atomic age

Epidemics and pandemics

Shipwrecks

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsunami</span> Series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water

A tsunami is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Unlike normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are in turn generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water from a large event.

<i>Titanic</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film by James Cameron

Titanic is a 1997 American epic romantic disaster film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. Incorporating both historical and fictionalized aspects, it is based on accounts of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio star as members of different social classes who fall in love during the ship's maiden voyage. The film also features an ensemble cast of Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, David Warner, Suzy Amis and Bill Paxton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural disaster</span> Major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth

A natural disaster is the highly harmful impact on a society or community following a natural hazard event. Some examples of natural hazard events include: flooding, drought, earthquake, tropical cyclone, lightning, tsunami, volcanic activity, wildfire. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves economic damage in its wake. The severity of the damage depends on the affected population's resilience and on the infrastructure available. Scholars have been saying that the term natural disaster is unsuitable and should be abandoned. Instead, the simpler term disaster could be used, while also specifying the category of hazard. A disaster is a result of a natural or human-made hazard impacting a vulnerable community. It is the combination of the hazard along with exposure of a vulnerable society that results in a disaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster film</span> Film genre

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, 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.

<i>Twister</i> (1996 film) American film by Jan de Bont

Twister is a 1996 American disaster film directed by Jan de Bont from a screenplay by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin. It was produced by Crichton, Kathleen Kennedy, and Ian Bryce, with Steven Spielberg, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, and Gerald R. Molen serving as executive producers. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck, Todd Field, and Jeremy Davies as a group of amateur but spirited storm chasers trying to deploy a tornado research device during a severe outbreak in Oklahoma. Twister was released in theaters on May 10, 1996. It is notable for being among the first films to be released on DVD in the United States.

<i>The Poseidon Adventure</i> (1972 film) 1972 film by Ronald Neame

The Poseidon Adventure is a 1972 American disaster film directed by Ronald Neame, produced by Irwin Allen, and based on Paul Gallico's 1969 novel of the same name. It has an ensemble cast including five Oscar winners: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Albertson, Shelley Winters, and Red Buttons. The plot centers on the fictional SS Poseidon, an aging luxury liner on her final voyage from New York City to Athens, before it is scrapped. On New Year's Day, it is overturned by a tsunami. Passengers and crew are trapped inside, and a preacher attempts to lead a small group of survivors to safety.

<i>Category 6: Day of Destruction</i> 2004 television film directed by Dick Lowry

Category 6: Day of Destruction is a 2004 four-hour television miniseries that was broadcast in the United States on CBS in two parts, with the first part aired on November 14 and the second on November 17. It was later released to DVD on February 15, 2005. The miniseries focuses primarily on the city of Chicago as three unusual storm systems approach from the west, north and south and combine over the city to form a massive hurricane. At the same time a hacker-induced power outage cuts communications leaving a journalist and power officials scrambling to find the cause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak</span> 1980 windstorm in Grand Island, Nebraska, USA

The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak, also known as The Night of the Twisters, was a tornado outbreak that produced a series of destructive tornadoes that affected the city of Grand Island, Nebraska, on Tuesday, June 3, 1980. Seven tornadoes touched down in or near the city that night, killing five people and injuring 200.

<i>Titanic</i> in popular culture Overview of the RMS Titanic in popular culture

The Titanic has played a prominent role in popular culture since her sinking in 1912, with the loss of over 1,500 of the 2,200 lives on board. The disaster and the Titanic herself have been objects of public fascination for many years. They have inspired numerous books, plays, films, songs, poems, and works of art. The story has been interpreted in many overlapping ways, including as a symbol of technological hubris, as basis for fail-safe improvements, as a classic disaster tale, as an indictment of the class divisions of the time, and as romantic tragedies with personal heroism. It has inspired many moral, social and political metaphors and is regularly invoked as a cautionary tale of the limitations of modernity and ambition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Look Studios</span> American film distributor

First Look Studios was an American independent film distributor, that specialized in home video releases of films and television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twister...Ride it Out</span> Defunct theme park attraction

Twister...Ride It Out was an indoor special effects attraction based on the 1996 film Twister, located in the New York themed area at Universal Studios Florida. It replaced Ghostbusters Spooktacular and opened to the general public on May 4, 1998. Hosts Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, stars from the original film, were featured in recorded video footage and audio narrations throughout the attraction. Guests experienced a life-like encounter with a simulated tornado in the main show area which included water, fire, and the movement of objects across the stage among other audio and visual effects. Declining popularity due to a lack of long-term cultural significance led to the attraction's permanent closure on November 2, 2015. Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon opened in its place two years later in 2017.

<i>Titanic II</i> (film) 2010 film by Shane Van Dyke

Titanic II is a 2010 American drama disaster film written, directed by and starring Shane Van Dyke and distributed by The Asylum. Despite the title, it is not a sequel to the 1997 critically acclaimed film, but is a mockbuster of it. It was released direct-to-TV in Australia on 7 August 2010. It premiered on Syfy, on Sky in the UK and Ireland on 9 August. It was released on 25 August in the United States to critically negative response, though the film's ensemble cast performances, particularly that of Bruce Davison, received praise.

Nature Unleashed: Earthquake, or simply known as Earthquake, is a 2005 American-British-Canadian-Lithuanian direct-to-video disaster film that is directed by Tibor Takács and written by Andy Hurst. It stars Fintan McKeown, Jacinta Mulcahy, and Michael Zelniker.

<i>13 Minutes</i> (2021 film) 2021 film directed by Lindsay Gossling

13 Minutes is a 2021 American disaster film written, directed and produced by Lindsay Gossling, in her feature debut film, and starring Trace Adkins, Thora Birch, Peter Facinelli, Anne Heche, Amy Smart and Paz Vega.

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