Top 10 Disaster Movies of All Time -- Is Your Favorite on My List?

The unsinkable "Titanic" sets sail into theaters once again. This time, writer/director James Cameron remastered and converted the original to 3D format. Marking the 100th anniversary of the ship's doomed voyage, the Oscar-winning "Titanic" still stands as a great disaster film.

Any film that showcases a catastrophe as its subject with characters attempting to escape or cope with the impending or ongoing disaster belongs in the disaster movie genre. Here's my list of the Top 10 Disaster Movies of All Time.

10. "The Day After Tomorrow" -- Global warming is the culprit behind this film from director Roland Emmerich. Dennis Quaid stars as a Paleoclimatologist who discovers the looming disaster and must race against time to save his son (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who is trapped in New York. The film may be scientifically inaccurate but it still offers a plausible "what if" scenario.

9. "Cloverfield" -- Director Matt Reeves teams up with producer J.J. Abrams for this scary "The Blair Witch Project" meets "Independence Day" exercise. The shaky camera work adds tension to the horrific scenes we're seeing from the points of view of the victims.

8. "Airport" -- This 1970 film is credited for signaling the arrival of the golden age of disaster flicks. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, with Helen Hayes winning the Best Supporting Actress trophy, "Airport" offers the template for a successful disaster film -- populate the movie with familiar character actors and give them melodramatic character arcs as they navigate through a catastrophe.

7. "The Poseidon Adventure" -- Gene Hackman heads the cast of this 1972 Oscar-winning film about an ocean liner overturned by a giant wave triggered by an earthquake. Co-directed by Irwin Allen, "The Poseidon Adventure" is an all-star disaster movie that benefits from its stellar cast.

6. "San Francisco" -- The Great Earthquake of 1906 is the subject of this 1936 film featuring Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. It's a romantic movie, a musical, and a disaster film all rolled into one but somehow, the film worked splendidly. Credit goes to topnotch acting especially Jeanette McDonald as an aspiring young singer.

5. "War of the Worlds" -- Steven Spielberg's adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic novel updates the tale of aliens invading Earth. Tom Cruise heads the cast as a father who will do anything to keep his family alive. This adaptation is replete with war metaphors.

4. "Independence Day" -- Director Roland Emmerich makes a second appearance on this list with his homage to alien invasion. There's not a whole lot of character development but this film works because of its cast headed by Will Smith. Patriotism is alive and well in this movie and it's the glue that bonds the narrative together.

3. "United 93" -- Writer/director Paul Greengrass constructs this movie as a disaster flick. Put random characters together and let them face an incredible catastrophe. Only this time, the threat is real. The heroic quest of the passengers of United Flight 93 as they foil the terrorist plot on 9/11 is front and center in this gripping film.

2. "The Towering Inferno" -- Producer Irwin Allen also makes a second appearance on this list. He was known as the "Master of Disaster" for co-directing "The Poseidon Adventure" and for producing other disaster flicks such as "The Swarm," "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure," and "When Time Ran Out..." "Towering Inferno" is my favorite disaster film from the 70s because of its great "what if" scenario (a building can catch fire anytime) and effective performances (Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway).

1. "Titanic" -- The disaster movies of the 1970s focused on the characters while the 1990s films concentrated on the catastrophe at hand. "Titanic" combined both elements and came up with an effective disaster movie. The first part of this James Cameron masterpiece is about the characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet which prepares us for the impending doom and gloom of the second half. I fell in love with "Titanic" for its clever way of infusing blockbuster norms with affecting characters. I can honestly say that my heart will always go on for this film.

[moovieman]

Great lis, I need to see some of these. I guess my favorite is Titanic. Another one I really like is Twister, the 1990s movie.

[BujoldComa]

Airport 1975. It has Karen Black and a gaping hole in the cockpit of a 747. What more could you ask for?

[antiHUMANDesigns]

Man, disaster movies are my favourite genre. I've seen pretty much all of those not older than around 1970. There's a list on Wiki of "all" disaster movies, and I've pretty much been working off that list.
Best one ever? Sadly, I have no idea.
However, a one that is probably often overlooked is a 2-part TV miniseries (kind of low budget) called "impact". The science is absolute bullshit (possibly the worst of all time), but for some reason I keep re-watching it.

[arthart]

Cloverfield is NOT a disaster film. 2012 should be number 1. That's the good thing about opinions, they are just like BUTT HOLES...EVERYONE HAS ONE.

[Mega]

 The 1960s Poseidon Adventure is now legendary and a good choice. Likewise "Airport". Also Cloverfield and Independence Day great disaster films. But I thought the 1950s War of the Worlds was way superior to the Tom Cruise version.

[TheNewFactory]

"The Towering Inferno" should have been number one and "The Poseidon Adventure" number two. No one made disaster movies like Irwin Allen.

[TheAtlanticNorth]

Where's 2012??? I mean, that is the only film I've seen that everything on Earth goes to shit!

[andrewbrendan]

For the 10 Best Disaster Movies List I nominate "The Last Voyage" from 1960 starring Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone. TLV is based on real people who were on the Andrea Doria and the movie was filmed aboard the Ile de France which came to the rescue of those aboard the Doria; a remarkable mix of art and life. TLV is a great time capsule of a great liner of the past and hasn't gotten the recognition it deserves.

[dkoolscorpionx]

Please do your top 10 sci fi movies of all time!

My top 10 scifi

10. Back to the future
9. Extra terrestrial
8. Star trek(2009)
7. Source code
6. Donnie darko
5. A clockwork orange
4. Star wars SEQUEL TRILOGY
3. Eternal sunshine of spotless mind
2. The matrix
1. INCEPTION

[LePrince]

Good list. On top 20 list you could add "In Old Chicago" which ends with the fire there in 1871, "The High and the Mighty" which is about a damaged airliner trying to make it to a safe landing, and "No Highway" (or "No Highway in the Sky") which is a look at what structural defect may destroy an airliner.

[draks]

You know, here's a list of the disaster movies I've seen;

1. ) Armageddon.
2. ) The Day After Tomorrow.

The Day After Tomorrow was the most stunning and Armageddon was, and, still is, the scariest movie, EVER, that I've seen, in my ENTIRE LIFE. (At least in disaster movies).

[BujoldComa]

My picks are. The Poseidon Adventure, Airport 1975, Airport "77, The Hindenburg, Airport, Midway, Earthquake and Rollercoaster. I know Midway is a war movie but what the heck..
In the so bad there good category I would have to say When Time Ran Out, The Swarm, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, Avalanche and The Concorde Airport 1979.
I find The Towering Inferno boring to the nth degree.

[RogerWilco]

I do enjoy the movies on your Top Five. But, I have a right to my own opinion when I spend or waste money watching those others. Have a nice day!

[dkoolscorpionx]

So there's someone else like me too, who likes the day after tomorrow!

And yeah, we all know titanic is the best disaster movie ever made!

[Kandusigelaura]

Titanic is a love story, but the disaster has a big part in the movie.
And remember, without the iceberg, the story would not be the same.

[draks]

Armageddon was in the '90s and I was stunned by the special effects (I could give you an example if you've seen it).

[DralionROBLOX]

what do you mean "graphics"? if you mean special effects, check out The Towering Inferno - it not only convincingly creates a fictional tallest-building-in-world in the middle of San Francisco but burns it to a crisp aswell.

[yannickfd]

2012 was removed from this list and was put number 1 the best comedy film since nothing happened lol :P

[Thoran]

dont agree with you on titanic. i found it too much of a boring love story to be a propper disaster.

[fparks]

My top 5 in order are titanic indapendence day the towering inferno and the poseidon adventure