Disaster Films
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Disaster Films
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. These films often feature large casts of actors and multiple plot lines, focusing on the characters' attempts to avert, escape or cope with the disaster and its aftermath. The genre came to particular prominence during the 1970s with the release of high-profile films such as ''Airport'' (1970), followed in quick succession by '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972), ''Earthquake'' (1974) and ''The Towering Inferno'' (1974). The casts are generally made up of famil ...
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Film Genre
A film genre is a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film. Drawing heavily from the theories of literary-genre criticism, film genres are usually delineated by "conventions, iconography, settings, narratives, characters and actors." One can also classify films by the tone, theme/topic, mood, format, target audience, or budget. Hayward, Susan. "Genre/Sub-genre" in ''Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts'' (Third Edition). Routledge, 2006. p. 185-192 These characteristics are most evident in genre films, which are "commercial feature films hat through repetition and variation, tell familiar stories with familiar characters and familiar situations" in a given genre. Grant, Barry Keith. ''Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology''. Wallflower Press, 2007. p. 1 A film's genre will influence the use of filmmaking styles and techniques, such as the use ...
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Steve McQueen
Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He was nicknamed the "King of Cool" and used the alias Harvey Mushman in motor races. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination for his role in '' The Sand Pebbles'' (1966). His other popular films include ''Love With the Proper Stranger'' (1963), '' The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965), '' Nevada Smith'' (1966), '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968), '' Bullitt'' (1968), ''Le Mans'' (1971), '' The Getaway'' (1972), and '' Papillon'' (1973). In addition, he starred in the all-star ensemble films '' The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (1963), and '' The Towering Inferno'' (1974). In 1974, McQueen became the highest-paid movie star in the world, although he did not act in film for another four years. He was combative with d ...
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New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States, and is more than twice as populous as second-place Los Angeles. New York City lies at the southern tip of New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities, and over 58 million people live within of the city. New York City is a global cultural, financial, entertainment, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, research, technology, education, ...
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Tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) 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 (including detonations, landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances) 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. Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea waves because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide. For this reason, it is often referred to as a tidal wave, although this usage is not favoured by the scientific community because it might g ...
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Deluge (film)
''Deluge'' is a 1933 American apocalyptic science fiction film, directed by Felix E. Feist and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is very loosely based on the 1928 novel of the same name by S. Fowler Wright, with the setting changed from the United Kingdom to the United States. It follows a small group of survivors after a series of unexplained natural disasters erupt around the world and destroy human civilization, including a massive tsunami which inundates New York City. Plot Scientists discover that a violent storm is heading toward New York City and begin the warning process throughout the city. They believe that something is wrong with the natural barometer patterns and that an unprecedented event is imminent. A sudden eclipse of the sun verifies their notions and it seems that global destruction is near. Telegraphs from Rome and London explain days of unending earthquakes and state "The End of the World is at Hand." Tremendous earthquakes hit the Pacifi ...
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Noah's Ark (1928 Film)
''Noah's Ark'' is a 1928 American epic romantic melodramatic disaster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Dolores Costello and George O'Brien. The story is by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film was released by the Warner Bros. studio. It is representative of the transition from silent movies to "talkies", although it is essentially a hybrid film known as a part-talkie, which used the new Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. Most scenes are silent with a synchronized music score and sound effects, in particular the biblical ones, while some scenes have dialogue. Plot After the Great Flood, Noah and his family are seen outside of the Ark praising the Lord, followed by depictions of the building of the Tower of Babel, the worshipping of the golden calf, and then the eve of World War I, where a bankrupted trader shoots his uncaring stockbroker. In 1914, American playboy Travis and his New York taxi driver buddy Al are traveling aboard the " Oriental Express" train. Travis helps a p ...
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Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind acting upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma may be up to 15 times Earth's diameter, while the tail may stretch beyond one astronomical unit. If sufficiently bright, a comet may be seen from Earth without the aid of a telescope and may subtend an arc of 30° (60 Moons) across the sky. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many cultures and religions. Comets usually have highly eccentric elliptical orbits, and they have a wide range of orbital periods, ranging from several years to potentially several ...
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The End Of The World (1916 Film)
''The End of the World'' ( da, Verdens Undergang) is a 1916 Danish science fiction drama film directed by August Blom and written by Otto Rung, starring Olaf Fønss and Ebba Thomsen. The film depicts a worldwide catastrophe when an errant comet passes by Earth and causes natural disasters and social unrest. Blom and his crew created special effects for the comet disaster using showers of fiery sparks and shrouds of smoke. The film attracted a huge audience because of fears generated during the passing of Halley's comet six years earlier, as well as the ongoing turbulence and unrest of World War I. The film is also known as ''The Flaming Sword''. It was restored by the Danish Film Institute and released on DVD in 2006. Cast * Olaf Fønss as Frank Stoll - Mine Owner * Carl Lauritzen as Mineformand / Mine Forman West * Ebba Thomsen as Dina West * Johanne Fritz-Petersen as Edith West * Thorleif Lund as Minearbejder / Worker Flint * Alf Blütecher as Styrmand / Ship's Mate Reymers ...
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RMS Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making it the deadliest sinking of a single ship up to that time. It remains the deadliest peacetime sinking of a superliner or cruise ship. The disaster drew public attention, provided foundational material for the disaster film genre, and has inspired many artistic works. RMS ''Titanic'' was the largest ship afloat at the time she entered service and the second of three s operated by the White Star Line. She was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. Thomas Andrews, the chief naval architect of the shipyard, died in the disaster. ''Titanic'' was under the command of Captain Edward Smith, who went down with the ship. The ocean liner carri ...
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In Nacht Und Eis
''In Nacht und Eis'' (English: "In Night and Ice"), also called ''Der Untergang der Titanic'' ("The Sinking of the ''Titanic''") and ''Shipwrecked in Icebergs'' in the US, is a 1912 German adventure-disaster drama film about the sinking of RMS ''Titanic''. The filming began in May 1912, and the film premiered in August 1912. Plot The film starts out with the passengers boarding at Southampton. The lives of the passengers on board the ill-fated ocean liner are depicted. On 14 April, ''Titanic'' strikes an iceberg, throwing the diners in the Café Parisien to the side. Panic strikes the passengers. The crew ready the lifeboats, despite the fact that there are not enough of them. Women and children are loaded, while the men are held back. The radio operators (who take up most of the sinking part of the film) send out an SOS. Fire blows out of the funnels during the sinking and then the boilers explode. The radio room floods, and finally the operators and captain jump ship and ''Ti ...
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Silent Film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of intertitle, title cards. The term "silent film" is something of a misnomer, as these films were almost always accompanied by live sounds. During the silent era that existed from the mid-1890s to the late 1920s, a piano, pianist, theatre organ, theater organist—or even, in large cities, a small orchestra—would often play music to accompany the films. Pianists and organists would play either from sheet music, or musical improvisation, improvisation. Sometimes a person would even narrate the inter-title cards for the audience. Though at the time the technology to synchronize sound with the film did not exist, music was seen as an essential part of the viewing experie ...
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Fire! (1901 Film)
''Fire!'' is a 1901 British short silent drama film, directed by James Williamson, showing the occupants of a house in Hove being rescued by the local fire service. Description This five tableaux film, according to Michael Brooke of Screenonline, "was one of the very first films to make use of multiple shots edited together to create a chronological sequence propelling a coherent narrative along. Williamson also creates suspense by showing the audience the extent of the fire in the first shot, which heightens the sense of urgency as the fire crew (who lack this privileged information) leave the station and rush to put it out." It was released along with '' Stop Thief!'' (1901), "indicating the direction Williamson would take over the next few years, as he refined this new film grammar to tell stories of unprecedented narrative and emotional sophistication." "Brooke also states that it was "a major influence on a pioneering American film, Edwin S. Porter Edwin Stanton Po ...
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