By Jason Dean
August 4, 2003
Going with a list based on the week’s current releases has the advantage of being topical, but it also has the disadvantage of not being the most unique thing to write about. This week’s column was in progress when MSN placed their best wedding movies on their front page. Having an idea pre-empted by another site isn’t necessarily the end of the world, but it has created the need for a bit of scrambling as well as a delay in this week’s A-List, which takes its inspiration from that bit of encouragement. So this week, we take a look at movies that deal with the end of the world as well as the slightly cheerier scenario of the end of the world as we know it.
On the current release side of things is 28 Days Later, which is an excellent movie that I highly recommend. The end has come via some type of virus as our small bad of survivors try to stay alive against the fastest zombies that movie world as ever seen. Yes, I know that one could argue that it’s not necessarily the end of the world but things are never going to be the same for our protagonists.
I guess no list on this topic would be complete without at least a passing mention of the post apocalyptic movies such as Damnation Alley, not to mention the better Mad Max movies and The Matrix. However, I’ve always kind of liked the movies showing the world actually ending or the immediate aftermath rather than showing how humans will carve out a new existence.
Another brief mention goes out to all the films that believe that we will go out like dinosaurs when a big rock hits the world. Actually, well before the summer of Deep Impact and Armageddon, there was a film called Meteor. I have fond memories of Meteor that are undoubtedly rose-tinted due to the young age at which I saw the film. However, it did have Sean Connery (I think as the Russian expert) and Natalie Woods. The movie has plenty of fun stuff, with little rocks hitting the Earth that cause tidal waves and other havoc. Both the Russians and the US have space based ICBM’s that will be used to save instead of destroy the world. Also memorable are the feelings of, “Oooh, she’s pretty” with regards to Natalie Woods.
War of the Worlds
Long before Independence Day, the Martians of this Academy Award (it was for special effects but still well deserved) winning movie kicked humanity’s ass in spectacular fashion. This ‘50s adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic story featured effects that generally still hold up, stereotypical science fiction characters, and lots of “It’s the end of the world, so let’s all vainly try to escape and loot!” footage. However, the manta ray-like space ships as well as a very distinctive sound effect for their primary ray weapon are archetypal parts of science fiction movie making. The movie also provides a glimpse of things to come such as when the Martian is finally glimpsed -- one has to wonder if Spielberg saw this film before designing E.T. -- or the fact that the footage is of a flying wing bomber when the US finally decides to nuke the aliens.
Night of the Comet
Falling squarely into the “end of the world as we know it” category, Night of the Comet is a highly dated mid ‘80s film that follows two Valley Girls as they are among the few survivors after a passing comet leaves the majority of the human population reduced to ash or mutated into bloodthirsty zombies. The movie is actually more enjoyable than that synopsis would seem to indicate. A good, fun flick that belies its ‘80s origins at nearly every turn with regards to fashion and music. Robert Beltran is our male hero long before he will be known as Chakotay on Voyager.
Miracle Mile
This 1988 movie set in the Los Angeles area (hence the title), has Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham in a combination love story/end of the world movie. I read once that part of Anthony Edwards’ motivation for making this movie was karmic balancing for Top Gun. As things unfold, one can see that the film shows the danger of our military might as much as Top Gun was a Navy recruiting tool. The movie starts off with a rather sweet and “only in the movies” type of chance meeting between our two stars as they are destined to be with each other. After a series of coincidental events, Edwards’ character is left with the knowledge that in just over an hour, a nuclear war will start. The movie then unfolds in real time as the characters desperately race through the city in early morning in an effort to fly off to a hopefully safer location (Antarctica). On closer examination, some of the events bend the limits of logic but the movie is still done well enough to be a completely gripping experience. The end of the Cold War has dated the basic premise, but I recently saw the movie on one of the cable channels and thought that it held up rather well.
