With buzz already building for The Road, a post-apocalyptic movie starring Viggo Mortensen set to come out sometime in 2009, Science Not Fiction decided to take at look at some of our favorite after-the-end-of-the-world scenarios. I excluded the various incarnations of War of Worlds because the book is basically an extended flashback from the safety of a rebuilt future, and the movies are apocalyptic rather than post-apocalyptic. Similarly Independence Day and Deep Impact are about averting armageddon. Twelve Monkeys and Oryx and Crake have post-apocalyptic scenes, but the back bone of their narrative is firmly in the pre-apocalyptic world–the selections below are all about life in the no-holds-barred aftermath. So in chronological order:
- A Canticle for Leibowitz (1950) Echoes of Walter Miller Jr.’s novel have popped up in science fiction for decades, notably in Babylon 5 and Anathem. Canticle features a monastic sect devoted to preserving technology in the centuries following the fall of civilization.
- Lord of The Flies (1954). Set in the aftermath of a nuclear war* a group of boys are stranded on a tropical island. An allegory for the collapse of civilization as a whole, things soon turn ugly and shades of Lord of the Flies are found in many later post-apocalyptic works.
- Mad Max (1979) Although the argument could be made that the sequels were better than the somewhat disjointed original (in particular Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome), Mad Max’s iconic look and feel has been copied by countless other movies, in many ways defining the visual vocabulary of the post-apocalyptic.
- The Day of The Triffids (BBC TV adaptation, 1981) Based on John Wyndham’s 1951 novel of the same name, The Day of The Triffids featured a double whammy–a nation struck by blindness and the escape of the deadly Triffid plants. The scenes of a deserted London inspired 28 Days Later, and the clacking noise made by approaching Triffids in the BBC adaptation became one of the scariest sounds ever.
- Threads (1984) Continuing the BBC’s 1980′s love affair with the end of the world, Threads is an uncompromising and utterly bleak tale of life in a British city (Sheffield) before and after nuclear armageddon. Incorporating documentary style elements, the script pulled no punches and was noted for its technical accuracy, including the effects of a nuclear winter.
- The Quiet Earth (1985) I mentioned this film before in Science Not Fiction’s list of the 10 Most Underrated Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies, but it deserves to appear again — a scientist awakes to find a world in which (almost) every human being has been mysteriously killed instantly.
- The Postman (Original 1985 novel, not the Kevin Costner film adaptation) The movie version was weak, but the novel remains one of my favorite books. Without sugarcoating life in a destroyed United States, the book nonetheless is unusual among post-apocalyptic fiction for its moving and believable optimism.
- Cherry 2000 (1986) Yes, it’s a classic B-movie. But this hero-quest romp had some standout touches, including the idea of a world that can’t afford anything new and the memorable and mentally unbalanced Lester (a sort of psychopathic self-help guru.)
- 28 Days Later (2002) Confirming the fall of nuclear war and the rise of biological disaster as the standard route to a post-apocalypse, 28 Days Later also breathed new life into the zombie genre. A gripping and intelligent plot packed a huge emotional wallop.
- I am Legend (2007 movie adaptation). Based on the 1954 novel, the amazing visual storytelling and convincing performance of Will Smith in an empty New York City knocked this tale of humanity’s twilight out of the park.
ETA *(Or not, there’s an alternative explanation for the precipitating events that force the boys’ original evacuation, see the comments below. But it still stands as a microcosm of life after global civilizational collapse)
November 10th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Waterworld. Now there’s a believable post apocalyptic world—the ice caps have melted and Kevin Costner has gills.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
What about The Lathe of Heaven? It’s the creepiest apocalypse ever conceived — a socio-psychological one. Based on Ursula K. LeGuin’s short novel, the movie is about a man whose dreams mysteriously come true, and the two-bit public-service psychiatrist that uses him to create an empire devoted to himself. Fantastic.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
It’s tricky coming up with post armageddon stories. Most of the ones I can think of are about the actual armageddon. The best stories of the armageddon-in-progress I’d put Oryx & Crake, The Parable of the Sower (Octavia Butler), and Galapagos (Kurt Vonnegut). I wonder if the Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood) qualifies? That one is also told from the safety of a later perspective, but was pretty scary in-narrative.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Re: 28 Days Later and I Am Legend. I’ll argue that zombie and/or plague movies probably deserve their own category, including the Romero movies leading the list for zombies and Children of Men for plagues.
And an interesting related question: Does Battlestar Galactica count as an apocalypse story? I would argue yes.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Children of Man is certainly a favorite of mine and a rather unique perspective. The loss of hope when it appears that we are finally in our last generation. The sadness gripped when the youngest person dies in a bombing. It’s really quite a moving post-apoc tale.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Chernobyl – a post-nuclear holocaust world without Homo sapiens is a nice place.
Sub-Saharan Africa – low-tech stuffed with people is not a nice place, ditto Medieval Europe.
Urban Washington, DC, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles… One cannot abide 21st century population densities framed in 19th century physical and intellectual squalor. Make Room! Make Room!, Harry Harrison. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Phillip K. Dick then Blade Runner.
Too many too primitive people too close together are the apocalypse, as are too many elderly as a large fraction of a population. We are not passengers on Spaceship Earth, we are crew. March or die.
November 11th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
…what about the matrix series. That’s an obvious one. Not the BEST PA movie out there, but it has an interesting base for it’s “universe.”
November 11th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
[...] Magazine has a list of 10 Best Post-Apocalypse Films, on which Day of The Triffids comes in at number [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 2:52 am
Cool piece. Threads is a great one for the list. It’s really quite disturbing. But you forgot On the Beach, the original movie and the novel. All those people waiting for the inevitable….
For those that are interested, check out my list: http://www.igp-scifi.com/dystopic-futures.html
November 12th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
What about The Stand? And the I Am Legend movie adaption is pure shit. The book is fantastic! But the movie is a disgrace.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
You think Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was a better sequel than The Road Warrior? Are you crazy?
The Road Warrior is the model for latter day post-apocalyptic novels, films, and games (Fallout 1 and 2 come to mind at the moment).
November 12th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
The Stand, by Steven King. While not strictly *post*-apocalyptic, it’s still one of the best in this general genre that I have ever read. Another that qualifies in the actual “tales-of-the-apocalypse-itself” is “Lucifer’s Hammer” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle……
November 12th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Lord of the flies is “set in the aftermath of a nuclear war?” That’s certainly news to me.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Wow, amazing article. very good points indeed.
jess
http://www.anolite.echoz.com
November 12th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Yeah, I totally agree with John Stratford. Beyond the Thunderdome was crap while The Road Warrior is a classic. The Stand (novel – I prefer the abridged version, but I think you can only find the unabridged nowadays, which is good too) should definitely be on this list. Big ups to a Canticle for Liebowitz. I have to re-read it.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Lord of the Flies only formally is post-apocalypses movie. Great book (haven’t seen a movie), but hardly on subject.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
A small quibble: The Quiet Earth (and what a great movie it is!) doesn’t see everyone ‘killed instantly.’ No. There are no bodies. Everyone is just plain gone. The few who are left were at the moment of death when Something Weird Happened. So I would suggest that perhaps everybody else is still alive in a different world as if Nothing Weird Had Happened. The Quiet Earth simply doesn’t tell us what really became of those many who vanished. It only shows us what happens to those few, from their viewpoint.
Scientifically, this may not be implausible: http://science.howstuffworks.com/quantum-suicide.htm
November 12th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
How can this list be complete without I am Legend’s predecessor “The Omega Man” . also not truly post apocalyptic but close is “Escape from New York” both PA classics in my eyes. The Jason Statham movie Death Race could have been good (A combo Road Warrior/Escape from NY) but it fell very short. I also agree with Strat on Road Warrior also in my opinion the pinacle of PA movies and I would bet it won’t be topped in my lifetime. Just on a side note and I will probably be abused for this. I liked the both the postman (Tom petty and the whole finding the mail truck thing) and WaterWorld (His boat was awesome and Dennis Hopper commanding the mutant infested Valdez and worshiping “Joe Hazelwood”)
November 12th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I gotta agree with the of the previous readers about Children of Men, which I think is the most likely outcome for our world right now (minus the null fertility rate)
I would also add The Omega Man from the 70s, from which I believe “I am a legend” was largely based.
Finally, I know those are animes, but Akira and Evangelion had great post apocalyptic settings.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I’ll second a vote for On the beach and add A Boy and his Dog.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
You had me until you mentioned “I am Legend”. If you view the film apart from the novel, then yes, the view of near past post-apocalyptic New York is very well fleshed out. However, the audience was robbed of the poignant ending of the novel.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt is a good choice.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Uh, Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys stranded on the island after a plane crash, not a nuclear war. Might want to fact-check a little better.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Lord of the flies is not set in the aftermath of a nuclear war. Secondly I am Legend the movie? It’s ok at best, and nowhere near as great as Children of Men.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Re: Children of Men — great movie, but I didn’t list it because I thought it was more of a “slow apocalypse” movie than a post-apocalyptic movie — In Children, society still lumbers on in a continuous fashion from before the sterility crisis.
@MG: Yes, on reflection, I think a case a could be made for bumping, say, Cherry 2000 for A Boy and his Dog, but ultimately I think Mad Max stole its iconic thunder. (Similar to how The Matrix knocked out a lot of earlier VR movies)
November 12th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Lord Of The Flies ends with the appearance of a naval office and the reassertion of civilisation so I am inclined to think that if War Of The Worlds is ineligible for the reasons given then LotF is too for the same reasons.
I would suggest Nevil Shute’s On The Beach as the definitive post-nuclear-apocalypse novel.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
How On The Beach was left out of this list is beyond me. Also, the novel version of I Am Legend is so much better than the movie; they are in entirely different leagues.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
[...] read more | digg story [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
[...] read more | digg story [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Re: Lord of the Flies: it’s mentioned only briefly in the book , but IIRC, the reason the boys are on the plane that crashes in the first place is because they are being suddenly evacuated during some sort of major conflict — I read that as an allusion to a nuclear war. I could be wrong, but certainly the rest of the book is an allegory for a general post-apocalypse scenario: Golding is telling us that if we think we’ll do any better should the hammer come down (which, at the time, meant nuclear war), we’re fooling ourselves.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
[...] 10 Best Post-Apocalypses | Science Not Fiction | Discover Magazine (tags: Apocalypse Film Movies lists) [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Lord of the Flies is set during WWII. Both the book and the original movie mentioned in the article. The children were being evacuated from Britain to some colony in the south pacific to avoid the German air raids. Many children in real life left the cities to live with families in the country to avoid the air raids. Lord of the Flies is NOT post-apocalyptic.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Lord of the Files is NOT set post-apocalypse, I assure you but it is underlined with some of the issues that could arise in a post-nuclear war society and a fall of civilization.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Lord of the Flies is not post-apocolyptic. Not even close. A plane crashed, the only people to survive where some of the children. The book was published in 1954, Golding was in the Royal Navy during WWII. Churches in England were being bombed by the Germans. Golding was alluding to a war, yes. The children were on a flight because they were leaving England (they were English school boys). However, this was not a post-apocolyptic event which imply after the end of the world. They were evacuating a hostile area; they did not survive an apocolypse.
The fact that the children are the soul survivors of the crash would create a setting which can be comparable to a post-apocolyptic setting; however, the facts are facts and it is not an apocolypse at all. In fact, they were rescued at the end by the Navy (an obvious sign of civilization). You should correct your error as not to mislead people on the context of the story.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
* You probably read Lord of the Flies; however, it’s hard to remember those kinds of tiny detail. Understandable.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Save the world movies are always fun to see.
They are action, love and sometimes high tech.
Will Smith has said that they are a “No Brainer”
to financial success.
thanks from tony
November 12th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
What about /Delicatessen/?! Post-apocalyptic French art-house black comedy at its finest.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
And are we all forgetting “the Matrix”
November 12th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I have to second Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower” and “Parable of the Talents,” which are set in a post-decline&fall of civilization world.
Also, I’d throw in The Change books by S.M. Stirling, a sort of Wiccan Left Behind.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Children of Men and Escape from New York need to be on that list.
The whole anarchist police state thing is pretty terrifying… http://tinyurl.com/67klhj
November 12th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
You have never heard of this one. You got to check it out. This book tells how it will happen. (http://www.lulu.com/content/1570109)
November 12th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
How about Night of the Comet? I love that movie for some reason.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
We put this list of post-apocalyptic films into a Bundle so you grab the code and embed it as a widget in your website. Click on my name to see the Bundle and get the code.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Sadly, in the I am Legend scheme of things, what is missing is the original movie “Last Man on Earth” with Vincent Price. I believe it more closely follows the novel (nto exactly, but truer). It is far better than Omega Man, and is somewhat better than I am Legend with Will Smith. Price’s portrayal is far more convincing while Heston’s version reminds me more of “soylent green is people!!!!” Speaking of which, that could be argued to be PA as well.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
You have never heard of this one. It’s titled, “It Happened at Nextfest”. You got to check it out. This book tells how it will happen. (http://www.lulu.com/content/1570109)
November 12th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
This list of “End of the World Movies” is much better (and knows that “Lord of the Flies” has nothing to do with post-apocalypses):
http://tinyurl.com/5qbp5d
November 12th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
If you want post-apocalyptia you can’t get any closer than playing Fallout 3.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I am Legend is possibly the worst sell-out in all of book to movie history. I was so very excited after it was announced. I have never been more disappointed with a movie after viewing it. There is no “best” list this movie belongs on.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Golding’s original draft of Lord Of The Flies included a long opening segment on how the war had broken out and its conduct. His editor suggested he cut this section and dive straight into the action on the island. Golding – exhibiting an absence of preciousness rare among writers – agreed without argument. But enough clues remain to know that 1/ the novel is set during a future war against the “reds” 2/ this war has involved the use of nuclear weapons but 3/ either the war or the use of nuclear arms has been limited so that some parts of the world remain unaffected. In short, the war has been destructive but not apocalyptic.
I think Golding would have disliked the idea that his scenario was specific to a post-apocalyptic world. LotF is a novel about the essential, inextinguishable savagery of the human animal; less a novel about how humans might behave if civilisation collapsed than about how they are within the bonds of civilisations or without
November 12th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I’m surprised there’s no mention of Planet of the Apes. The original movie was a interesting and campy. The sequels and TV series progressively got corny and down right ridiculous. The remake updated the story to something remotely believable with cool FX.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Correct me if I’ wrong, but Lord of the Flies had nothing to do with nuclear war; it was just a shipwreck story that ends with a Navy ship saving them. Nothing apocalyptic mentioned, unless I missed something.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
@Milliner:
Yes you can. Fallout 1 and 2.
If you haven’t given them a chance, do.
The thing about The Road is, it has two things going for/against it: 1) It’s a Cormac McArthy novel, and an amazing one at that; 2) McArthy’s other screen adaptation, No Country For Old Men, is unbelievable. But, if done appropriately, this movie has amazing potential
November 12th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Rob’t A. Heinlein’s classic “Farnham’s Freehold” is still one of my favorites, as well as Dean Ing’s “Pulling Through”.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Well geez, if your going to throw books in there where is “Earth Abides?” Not only did the 1949 novel basically invent the post apocalyptic genre, it also captured it at its zenith.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
“Lucifer’s Hammer” by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle is one of my favorites from years past.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
On The Beach with Gregory Peck or the updated version with Armand Assante?
November 12th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
This is list is so inaccurate on so many levels.
Irresponsible journalism!! Sheesh!!!!
November 12th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
“I Am Legend” is a terrible movie and butchered its source material to a ridiculous extent.. I’d go so far as to say that even “The Omega Man” and the old Vincent Price movie “The Last Man On Earth” are better movies as well as better post-apocalyptic scanrios.
This is a lousy list from someone who obviously hasn’t actually seen a great variety of post-apoc movies, I don’t even know how someone could begin to believe that Lord of the Flies is set after a nuclear apocalypse, it’s entirely obvious (as well as being directly referenced,) that they were just evacuating children from the bombings going on during WWII. Heck, the kids even got rescued at the end, how would they be rescued if the world was destroyed? It doesn’t sound like you even listened to an abridged audiobook of Lord of the Flies, author.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
@coy07e et al
You might be interested in this Google book search (and Donal K’s interesting comment above about a longer draft of the book): I’m far from alone in drawing a connection to nuclear war…
November 12th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
seriously, “i am legend” with will smith is not even a joke, it is just nothing. a movie is not worth watching with maybe 2 entertaining minutes filled with cg. charlton heston rules!
November 12th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Screw the Will Smith in I Am Legend, Charlton Heston in The Omega Man was much better (as the “Zombies” were as they should have been, altered humans forming a anti-tech civilization). Even Vincent Price in The Last Man On Earth was better.
And what about the universe for Fallout. The world created in all 3-5 games is a great vision of a post-apocalyptic future (of course with a bit of fantasy – ghouls and mutants).
November 12th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
And my god, after looking at some comments, what about Planet of the Apes?!
November 12th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
One other that always seems to get forgotten is Limbo, by Bernard Wolfe. Seems like no one every looked at it for its movie potential, but with today’s CGI and advances in real cybernetics, this one should be unearthed and given a try.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Books.
Among Madmen was good.Thanks to Brian Keene for the suggestion.
Brian Keene’s book The Rising, zombies, was good too.
Blood Crazy by Simon Clark, personal favorite.
Movies
How about the Terminator?
Or Night of the Comet, just kidding.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dystopian_films
I am Legend, READ THE BOOK!, the Will Smith movie sucked after the dog died.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
“World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War a novel by Max Brooks which chronicles a fictional zombie apocalypse, specifically the titular “Zombie World War”, as a series of after-the-fact oral history interviews with prominent survivors.”
Come to mind as one of the best I read todate
November 12th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
What about Blade Runner??
November 13th, 2008 at 12:45 am
i would have thought you would have put in The Omega Man (1971) instead of the remake I am Legend
November 13th, 2008 at 12:51 am
So glad Adam mentioned George R Stewart’s “Earth Abides” the quintessential post apocalyptic book. I must have read it 10 times. It’s slightly dated, but very powerful!!!!
November 13th, 2008 at 1:23 am
I can’t believe no one has suggested Logans Run. Come on People!!!
November 13th, 2008 at 4:31 am
I would highly recommend “O-BI, O-BA, The End of Civilization” (1985) in this post apocalyptic genre. Check the details here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089714/
November 13th, 2008 at 5:16 am
‘Riddley Walker’ by Russel Hoban is still one of my favourites. A difficult read, but once you get into it, it’s definitely woth it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddley_Walker
November 13th, 2008 at 9:04 am
[...] 10 Best Post-Apocalypses [...]
November 13th, 2008 at 10:38 am
@ Stewball
You are right on. Logan’s Run is awesome. I remember thinking at the time it came out that it was way better than Star Wars. Come to think of it, it might still be better than Star Wars.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:19 am
I agree with the comments that the movie “I am Legend” sucks, read the book instead.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
[...] Discovery is talking about the 10 best ever apocalypses ever written in Science Fiction, and it is a very good list. While most of them are very good, there are as always a couple of the missing. You can go to the discovery page here, but this is what they say: [...]
November 13th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I think the author intended this article to cover television and movies.
Else, there are some obvious holes in the authors research.
Alas Babylon by Pat Frank <—–really a shame this wasn’t mentioned
Lucifer’s Hammer by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
I am Legend….. Read the book. You won’t regret it.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Stephen, correct your error. It shows more responsibility and gives more legitamacy to what you write. Lord of the Flies is in no way post-apocolyptic. Get over it.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Hello!!!! Damnation Alley truly one of the greatest PA movies giant roaches eating everything not nailed down and then some more, barren open wasteland, giant radiation storms. The scene when they feed the window dummy to the raoches was fantastic.
November 14th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Lest we forget A Boy and his Dog. It was based on a Harlan Ellison story.
November 14th, 2008 at 7:58 am
You forgot:
Dead Man`s Letter
Russian post-apocalypse
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091759/
and
Le Dernier combat
from Luc Besson
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085426/
November 14th, 2008 at 8:02 am
[...] 10 Best Post-Apocalypses | Science Not Fiction | Discover Magazine Nachdem ich gerade im NGC schon eine Topliste gebloggt habe, hebe ich die mal für mich auf. Und ja, der Mensch hat beim "Postman" absolut recht: The Movie SUCKS, the book not so… (tags: sf) [...]
November 14th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Strange that in a collection talking about the post apocalypse, “The Day After” has not been mentioned. While it has a little bit of the nuclear event in it, most of the movie was centered around the desolation and loss of hope *after* the nukes. I remember distinctly the uproar over how it depicted radiation burns, and the slow radiation poisoning fatalities throughout the movie. Ultimately one of the most depressing TV Mini-series ever shown, but based on its impact and social statement, it should be in this list.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
[...] Discovermagazine Share and [...]
November 25th, 2008 at 8:18 am
How about Tarkovskys Stalker from 1979?
They even made it a game …
December 4th, 2008 at 9:39 am
[...] Check it here [...]
December 9th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I put in a word for “Testament” which showed the long ramp down of post apocalyptic shattered lives.
December 10th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
28 Days Later – They are NOT zombies. They are INFECTED by the RAGE virus. Get your facts straight.
Lord of the Flies is NOT post-apoclyptic. The civilized world still exist, they’re simply stranded on that island for a short period of time.
December 25th, 2008 at 1:00 am
[...] christmas lights in it! We mentioned this movie recently in Science Not Fiction’s list of the 10 Best Post-Apocalypses: not only is it a great movie in itself, but it also breathed new life into the Zombie Apocalypse [...]
December 26th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Wow, Lord of the Flies is not post-apocalyptic. You couldn’t be more confused about the book. And you still leave it up. What a stinky author.
January 8th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
b.s. the nonlinear story telling of Oryx and Crake places at least half of the narrative in the post-apocalypse. if Lord of the Flies made the list, there’s just no excuse not to place O&C as well… and, hey, why not Apocolypse Now! after all, it has the word ‘apocalypse’ in it.
I would also like to nominate Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (which was adapted into one of the darkest, creepiest, most intelligent computer games of all time), J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned Earth (which predicts the aftermath of global-warming 40 year’s before Al Gore brought the ruckus), and The World Without Us by Alan Weisman –a work of nonfiction which critcally examines just what is likely to unfold in the post-apocalypse.
January 9th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
“Road Warrior” is the definitive Mad Max movie, not Beyond Thunderdome. Thunderdome merely extended themes begun in RW, but Road Warrior was truly the ground-breaking film, both visually and thematically.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I have not read Lord of the Flies since I was in school, but certainly the interpretation back then was that the events occurred against a backdrop of nuclear war – to the extent that the reappearance of civilization in the form of the Navy at the end was to be seen as something of a surprise. I recall there being references inconsistent with – although clearly inspired by – a World War 2 evacuation. After many years I’ll have to read it again now, which is surely the best thing about these lists!
Regarding the comment above connecting the film version of The Quiet Earth and quantum suicide, I’m led to the same conclusion. It’s a very eerie film.
January 10th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Stop yelling about how Lord of the Flies isn’t post-apocalyptic! It doesn’t help to call people stinky. I, personally, think that it is pretty clear that there is a terrible war, but not necessarily one that destroys civilization–at least, not one that has destroyed it yet. But I won’t call anyone who thinks it’s set in WW2 or something else stupid.
January 12th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
The movies was perhaps the worst adaptation of all time, but the novel Damnation Alley was one the best post-apocalyptic novels all time. It’s anti-hero Hell Tanner was the prototype for characters li Mad Max and Snake Pliskin.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Post-apocalyptic fans ought to look for GALACTIC EXODUS: Counterdance of the Cybergods. Deep in the future, after the loss of Earth, a whole civilization via a fleet of 12 world-ships seeks a hospitable ‘New Earth.’ The voyage is marred by a revolution of their super-computer ‘Regulators’ — re-work of a 1980 unpublished ms: ‘The Musician and the Mind-Simulator.’ Unusual presentation.
January 24th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Stephen, would you really call Mad Max postapocalyptic? The first movie of the trilogy never struck me as taking place after any sort of apocalypse, modern society still existed and everything. Still a fun movie though. Mad Max 2 (the road warrior) seems much more like the “iconic” post-apocalypse setting to me.
Anyway, any fan of cold-war era post apocalyptic stuff should check out The War Game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_Game. I think the whole thing is available on youtube. Also, the novel Alas, Babylon is a very interesting piece of fiction from that era.
I have to say that my personal favorite post-apocalyptic setting is that of the Fallout, a computer game. An ingeneous combination of 50′s scifi and coldwar/Road Warrior apocalypse that presented a very beleivable and consistent world despite its stylized elements. Unfortunately it’s sequels sort of trashed the setting.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I love that kind of videos. Especially “i am legend” and “28 days later”. Really great movies.
May 15th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Today I looked on Google for the “Best post apocalypse movies” and so many people had put the staples (Mad max, Omega Man) but none had the balls to post Threads.
Threads is by far the greatest, most disturbing look at our future regardless of the device (Nuclear or natural).
The whole idea of people turning into animals, becoming retarded for generations due to radiation and lack of proper schools since they all were destroyed. The whole idea of everyone in the movie dying in horrible, fantastic, different ways.
I loved it, even though it scared the hell out of me.
Bravo for the list, excellent!
May 15th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
oops, spoke too soon.
You put I Am Legend? Wow, that is a horrid hollywood movie, and Omega Man?
The Last Man on Earth – 1964 – Vincent Price – I cannot believe you missed this movie? It not only started the whole Zombie idea, it also started the post apocalypse idea.
Shame on you, I retract my previous post.
July 18th, 2009 at 12:15 am
How about postnuke zombies? Best of both worlds.
July 30th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Just to flesh out the list a little with a not-really-top-10 but classic anyway:
Panic in Year Zero: Super b&w classic with a 50s/60s dad (ray milland) leading his family to safety after the bomb falls in california. Plays like Leave it to Beaver with H-bombs.
Also, I think there is a nuclear war suggested in Lord of the Flies. It’s not simply a WWII-era plane crash. The war may be imminent or have already happened (and been limited).
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:25 pm
For best PA books that haven’t yet made it to movies, I vote for “Alas, Babylon” and “Wolf and Iron.”
August 9th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Is “Them!” considered a PA film? (Nuclear fallout creating giant ants that attack people.)http://www.cryptomundo.com/wp-content/them3.jpg
August 13th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I agree with the person above who mentioned Eternity Road, by Jack McDevitt. It’s very different from the typical PA novel, and such an adventure. Another, little known work, but among my favorites is Neena Gathering by Valerie Nieman Colander. As far as I can tell, it’s the only book she ever had published, but it’s well worth your time to search it out. You can get it used at amazon. A couple other “fun” ones are Swan Song by Robert McCammon and “Fire” by Alan Ryan (this one is probably much harder to find, but like Neena Gathering, worth the effort).
August 19th, 2009 at 3:14 am
Duh. THE TERMINATOR. What’s wrong with you ladies.
September 6th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Keep the Lord of the Flies in. That the Lord of the Flies isn’t the result of nuclear bombs is besides the point, thought that should be corrected above. Post-apocalyptic works are about failing or failed societies and civilizations, and perhaps even more importantly how the survivors try to rebuild society and civilization. Or at least how they try to cope with the collapse. The LotF is certainly about these ideas. Post-Apocalyptic works don’t require that salvation never comes, so that they’re rescued at the end is besides the point. The war itself and the apocalyptic bombing of England coupled with the plane crash certainly counts as an apocalypse.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Very cool article and a couple on the list i have never seen or read. I know its the top 10 and not the top 100 but ‘children of men’ was very very good in so many ways. I love what it says about people and how we might react to a situation bigger than our own selves. ‘A boy and his dog’ and the graphic novel ‘Y the last man’ are also very good.
December 5th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I came upon this blog and was honored by the comment about Neena Gathering from Ed – perhaps it is permitted to respond and say that while I’ve turned mostly to mainstream fiction, I continue to publish as Valerie Nieman. I had a post-apocalypse story in the very interesting Green Mountains Review “Literature of the American Apocalypse” (http://greenmountainsreview.jsc.vsc.edu/) devoted to stories in the genre.
December 10th, 2009 at 4:28 am
Some interesting choices I can sorta see how Lord of the Flies fits but it’s a real stretch to call it a PA movie, but a great blog none the less. I’m also working on a post apocalyptic site the link is http://therazorsedge.weebly.com please check it out and if you like what you see let me know if you’d be interested in a link exchange.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
How about “The Noah”, probably the most original and best of post-apocalyptic films, that was never released theatrically but now on DVD? Obviously no one in this list is even aware of its existence. Check it.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
How about “The Noah”, probably the most original and best of post-apocalyptic films, that was never released theatrically but now on DVD? Obviously no one in this list is even aware of its existence. Check it!
March 19th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Wait, what… I don’t remember anything about the apocalypse in lord of the flies…
May 26th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Even though its campy and over-acted Planet of the Apes should have an honorable mention, based on its theme and plot – substitute machines for apes and there you have it. Also, what about the terminator series.
July 31st, 2010 at 12:33 pm
The russian movie
letters from a deadman is quite good posy apocalypse
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