[Herman]

Strictly for cool disaster/destruction F/X.....

1. The Day After Tomorrow

2. Deep Impact

3. Armaggeddon

4. Dante's Peak

5. The Sum Of All Fears

6. Twister

7. Independence Day

8. Titanic

9. The Perfect Storm

10. Pearl Harbor



Feel free to specify the scene in the film you're referring to. It could be a scene from any genre of film as long as it depicts people suffering in some type of disaster...natural or otherwise.


Remember plot/story is not an issue....only cool special f/x.


Herm

 

[RobertWood]

My favorite natural disasters are tornados. So I suppose the sequence in Twister with the tornado approaching as the characters scramble to get under the shelter is my favorite of what's been put in a movie so far.

My favorite actual video is a tie. One, the video of the people scrambling to get under the highway overpass with the tornado seen approaching a short distance away and then finally passing directly over them. The other being the video shot by the Texas deputy sheriff which shows several vehicles spinning around the vortex, 3-400 feet off the ground.


My favorite man-made disaster is high rise building fires.

I've not yet seen that depicted in a compelling way in a movie.

My favorite actual video is that of the fire in the Joelma Building in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

 

[Artisn]

The classic - Posiden Adventure

 

[TCB]

Favorite Scene:

In "The Posiden Adventure" seeing Shelly Winters swimming through the hatches. Wow. What a babe. What a body.

 

[Monstermile]

I like scenes in movies that make you feel as if it were really happening.


Two of my favorite disaster scenes:


When the transport machine explodes in Contact.


The scene in Volcano when they are watching the eruption of lava from the OEM command center.


My favorite disaster movies or movies with scenes of disaster/destruction:


-Deep Impact

-Independence Day

-The Day After Tomorrow

-Volcano

-The Perfect Storm

-Die Hard With a Vengance

-Godzilla

 

[kevinp8192]

Just mentioned it in another thread, but I think the effects in Dante's Peak and (to lesser effect) Twister are most convincing.


I had no idea that the mountain in DP (even before exploding) was totally F/X until I read about it afterward, and the final explosion cloud ripping through the town still looks completely real to me. Similarly I just recently watched Twister again, and I couldn't believe it was over 8 years old. The effects are better than most of the stuff I see released today.

 

[IAM4UK]

Glad you mentioned "Titanic" in your opening post. The sinking was convincingly realized--Cameron went to great lengths (and exorbitant expense) to recreate that event.

 

[AcuraCL]

Not exactly a natural disaster, but I bought "The Fugitive" just for the train wreck in the beginning. I find myself ducking and trying to avoid the derailed train ....

 

[Bert]

Quote:

Favorite Scene: In "The Posiden Adventure" seeing Shelly Winters swimming through the hatches. Wow. What a babe. What a body.

Remember she looked surprisingly graceful underwater though!


Although there have been numerous plane disasters that were convincing, I like the beginning one in CAST AWAY; it's intimate because there aren't that many passengers, when they hit the water it totally makes you feel like you're in it, and the Hanks character still has to desperately fight to escape the wreck even after the crash.

 

[JohnFR]

There was a spate of disaster movies in the 70s, and I loved them -- Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake,The Towering Inferno, and I guess you can add the Airport movies. The f/x don't hold up by today's standards, but they were a lot of fun. Especially The Poseidon Adventure with the upside down sets and Earthquake, where during the first run they installed subwoofers of some kind in the theaters to give you the rumble sensation of the quake.

 

[ChrisMcCarthy]

Robert, have you ever seen the Towering Inferno?


That was an excellent skyscraper on fire movie.


Chris.

 

[RobertWood]

From the time I first heard that Towering Inferno was being made I was slobbering until I saw it, Chris. Then as I watched it, I thought the exterior shots of the building on fire had a "that sure looks like a miniature model" look to it. But I realize at the time the movie was made that was about all that was achievable.

And now that the world has been witness to the most incredible event imaginable, another movie of this kind would be difficult for any of us to take seriously.


I was impressed too with the airplane crash sequence in Castaway, and the train wreck in Fugitive. Both were spectacular and had me on the edge of my seat.

 

[JohnFR]

If you want to see an amazing airplane crash, check out Alive!, the story of the rugby players stranded in the Andes who resorted to cannibalism. The Fugitive train was great, and looked like it was done full scale, although I assume miniatures were used.

 

[orljustin]

Titanic is one of my faves. Although my favorite effects are all the subtle ones at the beginning when she is leavng port. The CG breath of every character at the end is pretty impressive.

Who can not love the dam bursting in Superman ;>...