You’ve probably seen the endless TV spots and trailers for Roland Emmerich’s new disaster film, “Moonfall.” And while that film looks appropriately dumb and ridiculous, it’s unlikely going to be one of the best disaster films of all time, right? Thankfully, The Playlist Podcast is here to give you a few recommendations in this particular world-ending subgenre to explore if you’re content with skipping “Moonfall” this weekend.
So, what makes a good disaster film? Obviously, you need, well, disasters. Then a heaping helping of heart and emotion. And if you’re lucky, you get Philip Seymour Hoffman doing the most charismatic and quotable performance of his career. (Unfortunately, only one of our selections includes the latter.)
READ MORE: ‘Moonfall’ Review: Roland Emmerich Directs His Most Preposterous Spectacle Yet
This discussion includes such classic disaster film debates such as: Which is better, “Armageddon” or “Deep Impact?” Does a disaster film need a $100 million budget? And what is the line between stupid and silly?
You can hear the whole discussion below, including our three recommendations for what we think are the pinnacles of the disaster film subgenre:
As always, The Playlist Podcast is part of The Playlist Podcast Network—which includes Be Reel, Deep Focus, The Fourth Wall, The Discourse, and more—and can be heard on iTunes, AnchorFM, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and now on Spotify. You can stream the podcast via the AnchorFM embed below or up top to listen on this page. Follow us on iTunes, and you’ll get this podcast as well as our other shows regularly. Be sure to subscribe and drop us a comment or a rating, as we appreciate it. Thank you for listening.