Surviving the Apocalypse: Worth It?
by alioth4 | created - 19 Oct 2016 | updated - 26 Oct 2016 | PublicWould you rather survive an apocalypse or perish in it? It probably depends on the type of apocalypse, and the ruin it creates, whether struggling in that ruin is better or worse than dying before having to experience it. Here is a list of films and TV series which deal with post-apocalyptic scenarios. Which would you dread surviving to see the most?
(Note 1: I'm not including stuff involving zombies, at least for now.)
(Note 2: By "apocalypse" I mean an event that has drastically reduced the population of the Earth or (in BSG's case) home planet(s), i.e. where most people did die. Thus no dystopias where population is still comparable to now, or greater, even if the unpleasantness is caused by environmental crisis or massive war/takeover by tyrants which one may deem "apocalyptic" in a manner of speaking.)
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1. Threads (1984 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 112 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
The effects of a nuclear holocaust on the working class city of Sheffield, England and the eventual long-term effects of nuclear war on civilization.
Director: Mick Jackson | Stars: Karen Meagher, Reece Dinsdale, David Brierly, Rita May
Votes: 20,074
2. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community escape a horde of bandits.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps
Votes: 193,649 | Gross: $12.47M
the Mad Max world in general
3. The Book of Eli (2010)
R | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A drifter fights his way across a ravaged, post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book that holds the secrets to humanity's salvation.
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Gary Oldman
Votes: 339,288 | Gross: $94.84M
4. The Stand (1994)
Not Rated | 90 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
After a deadly plague kills most of the world's population, the remaining survivors split into two groups - one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a malevolent being - to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.
Stars: Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 38,402
5. On the Beach (1959)
Approved | 134 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
After 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.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins
Votes: 14,408 | Gross: $11.00M
6. The Road (I) (2009)
R | 111 min | Drama, Thriller
In a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.
Director: John Hillcoat | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall
Votes: 254,158 | Gross: $0.06M
7. Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009)
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.
Stars: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, James Callis
Votes: 175,512
8. Waterworld (1995)
PG-13 | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a future where the polar ice-caps have melted and Earth is almost entirely submerged, a mutated mariner fights starvation and outlaw "smokers," and reluctantly helps a woman and a young girl try to find dry land.
Director: Kevin Reynolds | Stars: Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dennis Hopper, Tina Majorino
Votes: 209,882 | Gross: $88.25M
9. The Postman (1997)
R | 177 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A nameless drifter dons a postman's uniform and bag of mail as he begins a quest to inspire hope to the survivors living in post-apocalyptic America.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams
Votes: 78,298 | Gross: $17.63M
10. Snowpiercer (2013)
R | 126 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In a future where a failed climate change experiment has killed all life except for the survivors who boarded the Snowpiercer (a train that travels around the globe), a new class system emerges.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris
Votes: 388,927 | Gross: $4.56M
11. Planet of the Apes (1968)
G | 112 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
An astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans
Votes: 193,107 | Gross: $33.40M
12. The Day After (1983 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 127 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
The effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas.
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Cullum
Votes: 18,152
13. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Jack 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.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum, Dash Mihok
Votes: 475,940 | Gross: $186.74M
14. Virus (1980)
PG | 108 min | Adventure, Drama, Horror
After a virus devastates the global human population, survivors in Antarctica desperately try to find a cure and save the human race.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Masao Kusakari, Tsunehiko Watase, Isao Natsuyagi, Shin'ichi Chiba
Votes: 3,041
15. The Quiet Earth (1985)
R | 91 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A scientist awakens to find himself alone in the world. In a desperate attempt to search for others, he finds only two who have their own agenda.
Director: Geoff Murphy | Stars: Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith, Anzac Wallace
Votes: 27,616 | Gross: $2.12M
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