MOVIES, TV SHOWS, AND SPECIALS BASED ON REAL EVENTS
We've listed all stuff not pertaining exclusively to the Titanic here. For Titanic stuff, click here.
Theatrical Releases
The Hindenburg Universal, 1975. George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, and Burgess Meredith star in this movie based on the Michael Mooney novel by the same title. (See the section on books about real disasters for more information about the book.) All about the final voyage of the Hindenburg, a zeppelin that crashed at Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937.
The Perfect Storm Warner Brothers, 2000. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg. Adapted from the book by Sebastian Junger. The story of the swordfishing boat Andrea Gail and its crew, lost in a teribble storm in 1991. The movie is fantastic. The effects kept us on the edge of our seats the whole time-especially the parts where the coast guard helicopter is rescuing people.
Made for TV Movies
After the Shock USA cable network, 1990. Yaphet Kotto, Rue McClanahan, and Jack Scalia. A pretty neat movie, shot all on video to make it look like the real thing, recreating happenings after the San Francisco earthquake of October 17, 1989. Intersperses video of real stuff, including the World Series pre-game footage, which was live on national tv when the earthquake struck.
Britannic 1999. Jacqueline Bisset. The story of the sister ship to the Titanic. It never had a chance to be a beautiful cruise ship-it was drafted into hospital ship service during WWI. This movie wasn't quite up to snuff. The producers were obviously cashing in on the Titanic craze caused by the James Cameron movie, but they should have put a little more cash into the production. First of all, we're not completely convinced it was the "true story" it was advertised to be. The movie claims that a German spy sabotaged the ship, but none of the accounts I've read say anything about it. The other dumb thing is the love interest they felt the movie needed-the German spy that just happens to be aboard posing as a ships officer falls in love with a woman who is a British agent that also just happens to be aboard. Baloney. Not much is written about the Britannic, but what I do have doesn't say anything about that stuff. The effects are crummy-the computer graphics are too obvious and the part where the German spy buys it in the propeller looks so fake. Not to mention that the entire storyline doesn't hold up in the wash. Why didn't they do a story that really happened, like what happened to Violet Jessop, who was one of the few people to be on the Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic? This movie was better than the CBS "Titanic" miniseries (see for our scathing review of that monstrosity), but not much.
Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 1992. Charleton Heston, Richard Thomas, and James Coburn. The true story of the airliner crash which happened July 19, 1989 at the Sioux City, Iowa airport. The airplane, full of passengers, lost hydraulic pressure and the captain fought every step of the way to keep the crash from being any worse than it was. You may remember the actual home video shot of the plane coming in and becoming a tumbling fireball going down the runway. This video is interspersed into the movie.
Falling From the Sky: Flight 174 ABC. William Devane and Shelley Hack star in this movie based on the book Freefall, by William and Marilyn Hoffer. (See the section of books about real disasters for more details about the book.) It's the true story of the July 23, 1983 incident involving a Boeing 767 which runs out of fuel 41,000 feet over Canada. The pilot attempts to glide the airplane to a safe landing.
Fire! Trapped on the 37th Floor Republic Pictures TV, 1991. Peter Scolari, Lee Majors, and Lisa Hartman. The true story of the worst high rise fire in Los Angeles history, which happened on May 4, 1988. As the fire is raging, 2 people are trapped on the 37th floor, unbeknownst to the fire fighters many floors below. At the end of the movie, real footage of the aftermath of the fire is shown, including some taken on the actual fire floor.
Florida Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac All about the terrible crash of Air Florida flight 90, bound for Florida, which crashed after taking off from Washington, DC's National Airport on January 13, 1982. It crashed into a bridge and plunged into the Potomac River because of insufficent de-icing, which, believe it or not, passengers saw and didn't report.
Miracle Landing CBS, 1990. Connie Selleca, Wayne Rogers. An Aloha Airlines jet, flying between 2 Hawaiian islands in the spring of 1988, loses a 20 foot section of its upper fusilage, killing 1 stewardess who is sucked through the opening. It's a good thing everyone was wearing their seatbelts, because this is the first modern example of a convertible airplane. (Like a convertible car, get it?)
TV Specials, series, and stuff sold on videotape
Including stuff available on video in stores.
American Experience Episode of the PBS series documenting the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
American Experience Episode of the PBS series documenting the September, 1938 hurricane which devastated New England and Long Island.
American Experience Episode of the PBS series documenting the devastating 1889 flood in Johnstown, PA.
Behind Closed Door with Joan Lunden ABC, 1998. A portion of the show deals with the implosion of the Aladdin hotel and casino in Las Vegas, and how CDI accomplished it.
Blast Force Discovery Channel. Story of the Loizeaux family, owners of Controlled Demolition, Incorporated, the most noteworthy building imploders in the world. Lots of footage of building implosions.
Blasted In Las Vegas A 30 minute video sold in most Las Vegas gift shops, with footage of the implosions of the Dunes, Aladdin, Hacienda, Sands, and Landmark hotels in Las Vegas.
Disaster Chronicles Episode of the A&E series documenting the 1960 collision between a TWA jet and a United jet over New York City.
Disaster Chronicles Episode of the A&E series documenting the July 17, 1981 collapse of a skywalk at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, MO. The skywalk was improperly engineered and collapsed because it had too many people dancing on it, which created a bouncing rhythm which pulled it right off of its screws.
Disaster Chronicles Episode of the A&E series which documents the deadly fire of November 21, 1980 at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas.
Floating Palaces, pt I and II A&E. 2 hour special chronicling the history of the great ocean liners that cross the Atlantic, with pictures and video of lots of ships long gone, including many that were involved in disasters.
The Great Ships "Ocean Liners" Episode in the History Channel series all about ocean liners, including info about the Titanic.
Fox Broadcasting Network 1996 New Years Eve special This new year's eve celebration includes the implosion of the Hacienda Hotel and Casino, a Las Vegas landmark for years.
Hindenburg History Channel documentary telling the story of the zeppelins which used to cross the Atlantic carrying passengers back and forth. It goes from the invention of the zeppelin, then delves deeply into the history of the Hindenburg, including the terrible crash at Lakehurst, NJ in 1937.
Lost at Sea "Lusitania" Episode in the Discovery Channel series which deals with the last days of the Lusitania, sunk by a German U-boat during WWI.
Modern Marvels "Ocean Liners" Episode in the History Channel series which focuses on ocean liners, past and present.
National Geographic"In the Shadow of Vesuvius" The story of the many towns surrounding Mount Vesuvius in Italy, including Pompeii, destroyed in 79 a.d. by one of the over 50 eruptions the volcano has had.
National Geographic "Last Voyage of the Lusitania" The story of the voyage and sinking of the Lusitania, then a journey with Robert Ballard to explore the wreck beneath the sea.
National Geographic "Search for Battleship Bismarck" The German battleship Bismarck was sunk on its maiden voyage during World War II. Camera crews follow Robert Ballard as he discovers and explores the wreck of the ship.
National Geographic "Superliners: Twilight of an Era" Mostly follows one particular voyage of the Queen Elizabeth 2, getting into every detail of the ship, which is like a floating luxury hotel. Also talks in general about the large passenger liners that used to cross the Atlantic all the time, including footage from a 1929 British film recreating the sinking of the Titanic.
Shipwreck"Fatal Collision" Discovery Channel, 1998. All about the Andrea Doria, which sunk following a collision with the Stockholm in the 1950's. Lots of good footage.
Shipwreck"Floating Inferno" Discovery Channel, 1998. The story of the Yarmouth Castle, which mysteriously caught fire while carrying passengers on a cruise from Miami to the Bahamas. The footage obviously isn't real, but it's a really convincing re-creation.
Shipwreck"The Lusitania Mystery" Discovery Channel, 1998. Explains what happened to the Lusitania, a luxury liner sunk by German U-Boats during WWI.
Spectacular Implosions Mintex Entertainment, 1990. On the outside, this tape looks cheap and cheesy, but it's actually pretty good. It follows a couple of different building implosion companies as they get rid of old buildings. Lots of good footage. We picked this one up at Suncoast Video for a couple of bucks, so it was worth it.
Times of Terror"Worst Air Disasters" UAV Corp., 1998. Footage and eyewitness accounts from recent airline crashes.
Comments, things we should check out or add? Please Email / knighton@cablespeed.com
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