The golden age of disaster movies
Everyone knows the classic 1970s disaster films such as The Towering Inferno, Earthquake & The Poseidon Adventure but what about the lesser known films. Here I try to list disaster films / people in peril / when nature attacks type films from the late 60s to early 80s, surely the "golden age" of disaster movies.
I grew up in this era seeing many of these of TV and being at the age were I found them pretty scary, I therefore have very fond memories of this genre and era.
I've added links to Youtube if the whole film is on there (some are in parts), none of the youtube clips are uploaded by me & if you're reading this months or years after I started the list then chances are that the Youtube links will be dead.
I grew up in this era seeing many of these of TV and being at the age were I found them pretty scary, I therefore have very fond memories of this genre and era.
I've added links to Youtube if the whole film is on there (some are in parts), none of the youtube clips are uploaded by me & if you're reading this months or years after I started the list then chances are that the Youtube links will be dead.
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- DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsPaul NewmanSteve McQueenWilliam HoldenAt the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIN-gf4uO-A[/link]
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsCharlton HestonAva GardnerGeorge KennedyVarious interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.[link]http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1539DD9D46AA30E9&feature=plcp[/link]
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsGene HackmanErnest BorgnineShelley WintersA group of passengers must embark on a harrowing struggle for survival after a rogue wave capsizes their cruise ship at sea.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonHenry HathawayStarsBurt LancasterDean MartinGeorge KennedyA bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
- DirectorIrwin AllenStarsMichael CaineKatharine RossRichard WidmarkDeadly African bees spread over Texas and kill thousands of people. Scientists led by Bradford Crane and Captain Helena Anderson try to find an antidote and destroy the swarm - against the advice of Army General Thalius Slater.
- DirectorJames GoldstoneStarsPaul NewmanJacqueline BissetWilliam HoldenAn active volcano threatens a south Pacific island resort and its guests as a power struggle ensues between the property's developer and a drilling foreman.[link]http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE7518E02C0625B4A&feature=plpp[/link]
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsSean ConneryNatalie WoodKarl MaldenThe U.S. must join forces with the U.S.S.R. in order to destroy a gigantic asteroid heading straight for Earth.
- DirectorAlvin RakoffStarsBarry NewmanSusan ClarkShelley WintersA pyromaniac, ex-employee of a city oil refinery creates an explosion at the facility which starts a chain-reaction of fires that engulf the entire city.Watch the whole movie here - [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6-eG2E2fT4[/link]
- DirectorCorey AllenStarsRock HudsonMia FarrowRobert ForsterThe vacationers at a winter wonderland struggle to survive after an avalanche of snow crashes into their ski resort. Their holiday then turns into a game of survival.Watch the whole movie here -
[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__B_qZzN8WE[/link] - DirectorLarry PeerceStarsCharlton HestonJohn CassavetesMartin BalsamA crazed sniper is set to kill spectators at an L.A. Coliseum football championship game and the police race against time to eliminate him.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJames OlsonArthur HillDavid WayneTop scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what killed the citizens of a small town and how the deadly contagion can be stopped.[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajIliPFHk4&feature=related[/link]
- DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsJason RobardsJoBeth WilliamsSteve GuttenbergThe effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas.[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2B7sdLPMfc[/link]
- DirectorJames GoldstoneStarsGeorge SegalTimothy BottomsRichard WidmarkA blackmailer threatens to sabotage roller coasters at various American amusement parks if he isn't paid a huge ransom.
- DirectorJohn 'Bud' CardosStarsWilliam ShatnerTiffany BollingWoody StrodeIn rural Arizona, countless killer tarantulas are migrating through a farm town, killing every living thing in their path. The town's veterinarian will do everything in his power to survive the onslaught.Whole movie -
[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXdBBDg57Pg[/link] - DirectorJerry JamesonStarsLee MajorsHal LindenLauren HuttonOn the maiden flight of the first hypersonic commercial plane which can make the flight from New York City to London in four hours, a minor disaster occurs resulting in the plane actually leaving the Earth's atmosphere and orbiting around the globe. A lack of heat-resistant tiling prevents the plane from simply re-entering the atmosphere. With oxygen (and therefore time) running out, the crew of the plane and the crew on the ground must figure out a way to return the plane and its passengers to safety.[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFTFkJITdxw[/link]
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsRichard HarrisOmar SharifDavid HemmingsA blackmailer demands a huge ransom in exchange for information on how to disarm the seven bombs he placed aboard the transatlantic liner Britannic.[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcJAQYJ-5ss[/link]
- DirectorAndrew MartonStarsDana AndrewsJanette ScottKieron MooreA dying scientist pushes forward his project to tap through to the Earth's magma layer, with results that threaten to destroy the Earth as we know it.
- DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsCharlton HestonJames BrolinYvette MimieuxA crazed Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707 in this disaster film filled with the usual early '70s stereotypes, and demands to be taken to Russia.
- DirectorCornel WildeStarsNigel DavenportJean WallaceJohn HamillAn environmental catastrophe destroys civilization. Led by father John and mother Ann, the Custance clan sets out on a quest for safety in a savage world that may just end up turning them into the very thing they are fleeing.
- DirectorEarl BellamyStarsRobert CulpMartin MilnerBarbara HersheyAfter several weeks of heavy rainfall, the dam above Brownsville is ready to burst. But the town's mayor refuses to open its gates - paving the way for disaster.[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA0mHJBY8ME[/link]
- DirectorEarl BellamyStarsErnest BorgnineVera MilesPatty DukeA convict starts a fire in a forest to cover his escape, but the fire goes out of control and threatens to destroy a small mountain community.trailer
[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAUErVRv0-E[/link] - DirectorJoe DanteStarsBradford DillmanHeather Menzies-UrichKevin McCarthyWhen flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u77drr55Q8[/link]
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsRobert ShawBruce DernMarthe KellerWhen a Black September terrorist group begins a plot to carry out a massive terrorist attack in the United States, an Israeli commando works with the FBI to identify the target and conspirators, and prevent the plan from succeeding.
- DirectorJack SmightStarsCharlton HestonKaren BlackGeorge KennedyA 747 in flight collides with a small plane, and is rendered pilotless. Somehow the control tower must get a pilot aboard so the jet can land.
- DirectorJerry JamesonStarsJack LemmonLee GrantJoseph CottenArt thieves hijack a 747, hit fog and crash into the ocean, trapping them and the passengers under one hundred feet of water.