It's the End of the World as We Know It; and, I Feel Fine!
These are films of the apocalypse and post-apocalypse. We had a lot of them in the 80s, when it looked like certain world leaders thought nuclear war was something you could survive (or would want to) and others were metaphors for different anxietes. Whatever the inspiration, they ranged from the violent to the goofy. My definition of an apocalypse is a collapse of society, so just because it doesn't feature nomads racing vehicles in the desert does not mean I don't consider it to be post-apocalyptic. As always, your mileage may vary.
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- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonJoanne SamuelHugh Keays-ByrneIn a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.Let's start with Max Rockatansky, member of the Main Force Police, driver of the "last of the V-8 Interceptors." The world is crumbling quickly here, as bands of crazed outlaws are terrorizing the roads and outskirts of civilization. The police are ineffective, the courts are a revolving door. In many ways, the film epitomizes urban angst of the 70s, mixing in elements of the vigilante hero (though he is a police officer), biker hysteria, and the Western. The film is massively over-the-top, but Mel Gibson keeps things centered, as the normal guy in a crazy world. Avoid the Americanized version and stick with the original Australian audio tracks. Mel sounds too much like Cliff Robertson in the dub.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonBruce SpenceMichael PrestonIn the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community get rid of a horde of bandits.Max is back and the world is in even worse shape. It looks like, at this point, the world is completely shot. You have to kind of wonder how things fell apart that badly, in the span of time between movies; but, it's incidental. The point here is to completely strip away any last vestige of civilization and turn everything into a lawless frontier. Max is now a vagabond, salvaging what he can, when he finds himself mixed with a group that has large stocks of petroleum, who are besieged by an army of psychos. This one goes whole hog, with violence and mayhem, but without the complexity of plot in the first one (relatively speaking). Max goes from wanderer to warrior, with a sense of purpose again. The action was astounding, at the time, and still hits you with its violence and relentless pace.
- DirectorGeorge MillerGeorge OgilvieStarsMel GibsonTina TurnerBruce SpenceAfter being exiled from the most advanced town in post-apocalyptic Australia, a drifter travels with a group of abandoned children to rebel against the town's queen.Now, fully engaging the Western structure, Max encounters a frontier town, one with a semblance of law and order, but corrupt to the core. Max plays both sides, until he crosses the boss too much. Then, left for dead, he finds a group in search of a leader and he finds a calling, again. There's some good stuff here; but, it's more uneven than previous efforts and has a hard time duplicating the action of the previous film. Tina Turner makes a passable actress; but, Aunty needed more.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsTom HardyCharlize TheronNicholas HoultIn a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper and a drifter named Max.After several aborted attempts to do a new film, George Miller deliver's the next generation Max. Max meets a woman who is on the run from a gang, after she steals their most precious resource, 5 women. She needs Max's help to cross the desert. Cue engine's reving and crazies howling. Expect tons of destruction and mayhem, based on the trailer. Thankfully, they (mostly) stuck to practical effects. No official word on sequels; but, Tom Hardy did sign a 3-picture deal and you have to believe Hollywood will want to milk this, given franchise fever there.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsGregory PeckAva GardnerFred AstaireAfter a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.Film adaptation of Nevil Shute's novel of a dying world, following a nuclear war. The Northern Hemisphere has been devastated and survivors in Australia are preparing for their own end. A submarine is sent to investigate morse code signals; but, finds no hope. The are significant changes between the novel and film; but, it does maintain the bleak outlook of the book. Ultimately, its characters must decide how they want to face the end.
- DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsJason RobardsJoBeth WilliamsSteve GuttenbergThe effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas.Notorious tv film, about a nuclear attack on the US and the survivors. It was rather optimistic in its limited nuclear exchange and never gets a graphic as the reality would likely be. It was an interesting experiment; but, wasn't exactly the most memorable.
- 19641h 35mPG8.3 (520K)97MetascoreDirectorStanley KubrickStarsPeter SellersGeorge C. ScottSterling HaydenAn unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.Nuclear paranoia turned black comedy, as a crazed general sends bombers to their targets, and some people think it might not have been a bad idea. Meanwhile, the president and his advisers have to prepare for the aftermath, if they can't stop the lone bomber still on target. The film is tremendously dark and funny; yet, scary in its far-too-plausible scenario.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaWalter MatthauFritz WeaverA technical malfunction sends American planes to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?Forget the tv movie, this is the original. Somewhat overshadowed by Dr Strangelove, this film takes a more serious tone, but with a similar plot. Instead of a crazed general, a communications problem leads a bomber to ignore the recall code and head for its assigned target. The president and his advisers must find a way to stop the plane. They try to communicate, to shoot the plane down, and a deal with the devil. Great piece of drama that serves as a cautionary tale about the idea of nuclear deterrence. A young Larry Hagman would play a Russian language interpretor, with Henry Fonda and Walter Mathau as the primary leads.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsRichard DerrBarbara RushPeter HansenAs a new star and planet hurtle toward a doomed Earth, a small group of survivalists frantically work to complete the rocket which will take them to their new home.An astronomer discovers a rogue star on a collision course with Earth and attempts to rally the world leaders around the idea of creating a space ark to deliver a chosen few survivors to the only known habitable planet, with the remnants of their civilization and to create a new start. The film adapts Phillip Wylie's novel, and focuses on the efforts to build the ark and choose the passengers, showing compromises made and how people react. The story would influence the creation of Flash Gordon (as would John Carter of Mars) and the origin of Superman, on Krypton. A sequel novel was written, After Worlds Collide, but it was not adapted.
- 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.Rather bad film about a massive meteor on a collision course with Earth. It's really more of a (sub) standard disaster film, though so is any good apocalypse.
- DirectorMichael BayStarsBruce WillisBilly Bob ThorntonBen AffleckAfter discovering that an asteroid the size of Texas will impact Earth in less than a month, NASA recruits a misfit team of deep-core drillers to save the planet.A stunningly original idea of a massive asteroid in a collision course with Earth. Enter a team of oil drilling experts to try to blow the whole thing up. Sitting through this cliche you are left hoping that the world would end. It's a shallow popcorn movie that is entertaining enough if you put your brain on hold. You can thank it for Michael Bay.
- DirectorMimi LederStarsRobert DuvallTéa LeoniElijah WoodA comet is discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. As doomsday nears, the human race prepares for the worst.Coming out at about the same time as Armageddon; but not quite having the same box office. It's the better rendered of the two, though it is largely a remake of When Worlds Collide. The difference is that we can't have an apocalyptic ending so it undercuts an other wise fine film. That said, it does explore how society would react to the civilization and the steps that would be taken to try to stop it.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsRaymond MasseyEdward ChapmanRalph RichardsonThe story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.This one is a bit of a mixture of dystopia and utopia. War breaks out and devastates the world, after years of fighting and from the use of poisonous gas. Society crumbles and the people live in ruins. In one such area, a warlord, known as The Boss, rules his people and seeks to wage war on the Hill People, using airplanes that have been salvaged. Hero John Cabal enters this region, in a high tech plane and is imprisoned and forced to aid the Boss. he is able to get a message to his cohort, Wings Over the World, a group of airmen and scientists working to save humanity. They stop the atack, bloodlessly and then build a new society underground. however, trouble brews in this utopia, when they prepare to launch a craft into space, using a giant cannon. Based on the HG Wells novel and benefiting from his input, plus the vision of director William Menzies and producer Alex Korda.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.Not exactly a post-apocalyptic film; but it fits my definition. Society is in a shambles as gangs of violent young men terrorize the fringes of civilization. The center of this is Alex Large, a bright and psychopathic leader of one of these gangs. The film is as much a social satire as it is an exploration of violence and reactions to violence. its also extremely disturbing, even today, especially when compared to more modern examples of torture porn and copycat scenes. Kubrick is a master at getting you to almost sympathize with Alex, as even the members of "polite society," are fairly despicable. However, he also shows us Alex's vicious side and his casual attitude to extreme violence. Meanwhile, when Alex undergoes an experimental procedure to rid him of violent impulses, we see the extreme reaction to the situation, rather than an effort to get to the root of the problem. Not for the fainthearted and unfortunately a favorite of some people who could use professional help.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsCharlton HestonRoddy McDowallKim HunterAn astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved.I don't think I'm giving anything away here, after nearly 50 years. Mankind has brought his own destruction and his role in nature has become reversed. Tremendous film with an iconic ending.
- DirectorTed PostStarsJames FranciscusKim HunterMaurice EvansThe sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission searches for the only survivor of the previous expedition. He discovers a planet ruled by apes and an underground city run by telepathic humans.First we saw the aftermath of mankind's destruction. Now we watch as man and ape crash headlong into their own destruction, in the form of an underground colony of mutants, who have a doomsday bomb. Not as powerful as the original film; but, it has some great moments.
- DirectorDon TaylorStarsRoddy McDowallKim HunterBradford DillmanThe world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a U.S. spacecraft. They become the toast of society, but one man believes them to be a threat to the human race.After the events of the previous film, we learn that Cornelius and Zira have escaped their world and moved into the past, where the shoe is on the other foot. They try to hide their knowledge of the future; but it slips out and they find themselves the hunted, to prevent their unborn child from bringing about man's downfall. It is one of the more criticized installments, based on certain events in the plot; but, it is one of my favorites.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsRoddy McDowallDon MurrayRicardo MontalbanIn a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity.Mankind has been riddled with a plague that has killed domestic animals and apes are being used as servants. The film is largely a metaphor for slavery, as the apes turn upon their masters and you cheer them on. It is hampered by budget, though not by ambition. Not quite apocalyptic; but, it is the spark of it.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsRoddy McDowallClaude AkinsNatalie TrundyTen years after a worldwide series of ape revolutions and a brutal nuclear war among humans, Caesar must protect survivors of both species from an insidious human cult and a militant ape faction alike.The apes have won out over man, but face internal and external struggles, as Caesar must defend his people against the mutants and a power-hungry gorilla. Weakest of the bunch, plot and budget-wise.
- CreatorAnthony WilsonStarsRoddy McDowallRon HarperJames NaughtonTwo astronauts and a sympathetic chimp friend are fugitives in a future Earth dominated by a civilization of humanoid apes.A new group of astronauts find themselves in the future, where apes rule. Unfortunately, after the pilot episode, things devolve into The Fugitive, with ape costumes. It wasn't that good and departed from the films by having the humans be intelligent and able to speak. The stories weren't particularly imaginative.
- CreatorDavid H. DePatieFriz FrelengStarsAustin StokerPhilippa HarrisHenry CordenWhile on a mission, three astronauts in their spaceship get caught in a time vortex. They return to Earth in the year 3979 A.D. and discover that intelligent apes are now the highest form of life.Animated entry into the Apes saga, with the human astronauts finding a more technologically advanced ape civilization than in the films. It has some good stories; but, it is hampered by stiff animation, bland voicework, and too many cutesie ideas. It is a little more in keeping with the Boulle novel, though.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsMark WahlbergHelena Bonham CarterTim RothIn 2029, an Air Force astronaut crash-lands on a mysterious planet where evolved, talking apes dominate a race of primitive humans.Horrible remake with little to offer, apart from the make-up. Tim Burton totally lost the point.
- DirectorRupert WyattStarsJames FrancoAndy SerkisFreida PintoA substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.Modern reboot of the Apes franchise. Not quite as original; but, it does a much better job than Tim Burton.
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsGary OldmanKeri RussellAndy SerkisThe fragile peace between apes and humans is threatened as mistrust and betrayal threaten to plunge both tribes into a war for dominance over the Earth.Pretty much a remake of Conquest, and by most accounts a very good one.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsDennis QuaidJake GyllenhaalEmmy RossumJack Hall, paleoclimatologist, must make a daring trek from Washington, D.C. to New York City to reach his son, trapped in the cross-hairs of a sudden international storm which plunges the planet into a new Ice Age.Badly made disaster-porn from Roland Emerich. You can write a whole thesis about the bad science in the film, not to mention the coincidences.