Mankind has long mastered the creation of unique technical marvels—fast ships, towering multi-meter buildings, and other impressive engineering feats. Unfortunately, nothing is immune to failure, and from time to time, these structures become sites of man-made disasters. The larger the scale of a technical creation, the greater the threat to human lives in the event of a catastrophe. The very thought of such accidents is genuinely terrifying; no one wants to face life-threatening danger. Filmmakers have long recognized that films about these accidents, whether real or fictional, captivate audiences. Just as viewers are drawn to the thrilling world of disaster films, many also find excitement in online platforms like Stay Casino, where adrenaline and entertainment combine. In our material, we present ten gripping films about man-made disasters.
Titanic (12 )
- Release date: 1997
- Genre: Melodrama, History, Thriller, Drama
- Rating: 7.9 on IMDb
- Director: James Cameron
- Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Victor Garber, Bernard Hill, Kathy Bates.
In April 1912, the huge steamer Titanic, considered unsinkable, sails from Britain to the United States. On his board more than 2 thousand passengers, among whom people of different social classes. Fate brings together the daughter of aristocrats Rose and a travelling artist Jack. The native girls are against the unequal romance, but the young people lose their heads from a new feeling of falling in love. Their happiness is not destined to last long: the liner does not reach the shores of North America.
The film is based on the story of the real shipwreck of the Titanic, which happened on the night of 14-15 April 1912. The disaster claimed the lives of 1496 people and was long considered the largest maritime disaster of the 20th century in terms of the number of victims.
James Cameron's film was one of the three pictures in the history of cinema that received the most Oscar statuettes - 11. It was after ‘Titanic’ that actor Leonardo DiCaprio became world famous. About the ten best films with him read in our material.
Deepwater Horizon (18 )
- Release date: 2016
- Genre: Action, Thriller, Drama, History
- Rating: 7.1 on IMDb
- Director: Peter Berg
- Starring: Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich, Kurt Russell, Dylan O'Brien, Kate Hudson, Gina Rodriguez
In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig crew is preparing to complete a well off the coast of Louisiana. However, arriving on site, Chief Electronics Technician Michael Williams and Installation Manager James Harrell learn that the cement work on the rig was done improperly. It turns out that the managers of the oil and gas company BP themselves let the workers go home early. To make sure that further oil production is safe, the management conducts a series of tests on the well. During one of them there is a powerful methane release and the platform turns into a huge flare.
The film is based on the real explosion of Deepwater Horizon, which occurred on 20 April 2010. The disaster killed 11 people and released an estimated 5 million barrels of oil into the ocean, causing one of the largest environmental disasters in history.
World Trade Centre (16 )
- Release date: 2006
- Genre: Thriller, Drama, History1
- Rating: 6.0 on IMDb
- Directed by: Oliver Stone
- Starring: Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Jay Hernandez, Michael Shannon
On September 11, 2001, New York Port Authority police officers are dispatched to the World Trade Centre skyscrapers that have been attacked by terrorists. Sergeant John McLaglin has dealt with the 1993 terrorist attack on the WTC in the past, but the new disaster is no match for the previous one. The officer assembles a team of volunteers to head out to help people. However, as they attempt to enter the North Tower, the South Tower begins to collapse. A few people survive, but find themselves trapped under the rubble. Now they can only hope for a miracle.
The film is based on the story of the rescue of John McLaglin and Will Jimeno, who worked during the terrorist attacks in New York in 2001. The two policemen were two of 20 survivors pulled from the rubble. A total of 2,753 people were killed in the attacks and the collapse of skyscrapers, with another 224 victims of the Pentagon attacks and the crash of the fourth plane. The terrorist attack of 11 September 2001 is considered the largest in history in terms of death toll.
The China Syndrome (12 )
- Release date: 1979
- Genre: Thriller, Drama
- Rating: 7.4 on IMDb
- Directed by: James Bridges
- Starring: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady, James Hampton, Peter Donat
Correspondent Kimberly Wells and her cameraman Richard Adams arrive at the Ventana nuclear power plant near Los Angeles. The journalists are to film a series of programmes about nuclear power, but instead witness unusual malfunctions at the plant. Wells and Adams film everything on camera, but the management of the nuclear power plant does not want the truth to come out. Meanwhile, safety violations threaten a serious disaster.
The plot of the film was fictional, but the tape itself is remembered by an amazing coincidence. The picture was released in wide release on 16 March 1979, and less than two weeks later there was the largest disaster in the nuclear power industry in the United States - the accident at the nuclear power plant Three Mile Island.
The Towering Inferno (12 )
- Release date: 1974
- Genre: Action, Thriller, Drama
- Rating: 7.0 on IMDb
- Directed by: John Gillermin
- Starring: Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely.
The film is based on the novels The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Frank Robinson and Thomas Scortia. Architect Doug Roberts arrives in San Francisco for the opening of the world's tallest skyscraper, which he designed himself. Some 400 important guests are also invited to the celebration, and the event itself is held on the 135th floor of the 138-story building.
On the spot, Roberts realises that the makhina was handed over with violations: the owners have saved on electrical wiring, which risks not coping with the loads. The catastrophe doesn't keep him waiting: at the beginning of the ceremony on the 81st floor of the skyscraper a strong fire starts. People find themselves trapped at an enormous height.
The 33 (16 )
- Release date: 2015
- Genre: Drama, Biography, History
- Rating: 6.9 on IMDb
- Directed by: Patricia Riggen
- Starring: Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, James Brolin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Mario Casas
In 2010, a group of Chilean miners are working in the San Jose mine when a cave-in begins. All 33 of the troublemakers manage to escape to a shelter, but are cut off from the exit. Food supplies are low and their radios don't work at all. The miners hope for help, trying not to lose their spirit and keep their sanity.
The film is based on the accident at the San Jose mine on 5 August 2010. All the trapped miners were eventually rescued, but the trapped miners had to spend 69 days underground.
Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain
- Release date: 2014
- Genre: Drama
- Rating: 7.1 on IMDb
- Director: Ravi Kumar
- Starring Cal Penn, Martin Sheen, Mischa Barton, Lisa Dwan, Rajpal Yadav, Satish Kaushik
In 1984, the bosses of Union Carbide arrive at a chemical plant producing pesticides in Bhopal, India. Director Warren Anderson organises an inspection of the plant, but in the end the plant is not stopped for maintenance. On the contrary: the management is going to increase the output of chemicals, connecting two more storage tanks. In the end, worn-out equipment and safety violations lead to a large-scale leak of toxic substances.
The film is based on the Bhopal disaster that occurred on the night of 3 December 1984. The leak of 42 tonnes of the extremely toxic chemical methyl isocyanate cost the lives of at least 18,000 people on the very day of the disaster and in the years that followed. Several hundred thousand victims suffered serious health problems and permanent injuries. The incident is considered the largest man-made disaster in terms of the number of victims.
Tawo (16 )
- Release Date: 2012
- Genre: Drama, Action
- Rating: 6.5 on IMDb
- Directed by: Kim Ji-hoon
- Starring: Seol Kyung-gu, Song Ye-jin, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim In-gwon, Ahn Sung-gi, Song Jae-ho
The 120-storey twin towers of the Tower Sky complex are celebrating Christmas. The owner of the skyscrapers decides to hold the celebration despite the windy weather and a malfunction in the fire suppression system. In the end, the irreparable happens: two helicopters, scattering snow for the amusement of the guests, get caught in a powerful upward airflow near the walls of the buildings. As a result, one of the machines crashes into a tower at the 63rd floor level, and the construction equipment shatters the glass bridge between the skyscrapers. A fire starts, but the people have nowhere to retreat.