Greatest Post-Apoc Film of All Time

[Susano]

Six-String Samurai

Words cannot describe this film, it can only be seen -- then you will understand.

I mean, how do you top Buddy Holly getting into a swordfight with Slash over who will be King of Rock & Roll and Lost Vegas?

[Captain Obvious]

I'll have to see this sometime.

Speaking of post-apoc, Encore On Demand seems to have a post-apoc theme going on now. Damnation Alley, and some other, more Road Warrior-ish thing called Steel Frontier. Heaps of cheese, but some of it in a good way.

[lensman]

OK, it is in my queue.

Heretofore my favorite post apoc movie (non anime) was Logan's run.

[BigJackBrass]

OK, it is in my queue.

Heretofore my favorite post apoc movie (non anime) was Logan's run.

Good choice; and I'm not only saying that because Jenny Agutter gets her top off (as if I would be so shallow...) :angel:

I heard a rumour that a remake is on the cards. Seems unnecessary to me. Mind you, I wouldn't mind watching the series again, which I've not seen since it was first aired.

As for Six-String Samurai, it's been on my "To See" list since I read Jared Sorensen's OctaNe game. Really must track down a copy.

[Susano]

I was really lucky, the used CD & DVD place in College Park, MD had a copy. I snagged it pretty danged fast.

[BigJackBrass]

I was really lucky, the used CD & DVD place in College Park, MD had a copy. I snagged it pretty danged fast.

It might take a little more effort for me: As yet I've found no copies in UK (PAL) format, so I'm not even certain that it was released over here. Still, after your glowing recommendation I'll keep hunting!

EDIT: However, I did find this review with a few pics and videos from the film: http://www.badmovies.org/movies/sixstringsam/index.html

[ghost-angel]

Six String Samurai is a truly awesome movie. Everyone should see this.

....I need to see it again, it's been years.

[Susano]

Jet's not forget the great quote:

"If I were you, I'd run."
"If you were me, you'd be good looking."

[azato]

To me, the high number of views and the low number of posts mean only one thing - they are generally SOOOO bad that nobody can think of more than one.

My pick - The Planet of the Apes (the original). But in general, they all stink (A Boy and His Dog) or are very shallow (like Escape from New York - I know, that is technically not a PA movie) .

[Susano]

To me, the high number of views and the low number of posts mean only one thing - they are generally SOOOO bad that nobody can think of more than one.

My pick - The Planet of the Apes (the original). But in general, they all stink (A Boy and His Dog) or are very shallow (like Escape from New York - I know, that is technically not a PA movie) .

I wasn't serious with my original post. However, my vote for best Post-Apoc film for real, is The Road Warrior.

[sbarron]

The Road Warrior.:ding::ding:ding: The winnah...

[CrosshairCollie]

Six-String Samurai

Words cannot describe this film, it can only be seen -- then you will understand.

I mean, how do you top Buddy Holly getting into a swordfight with Slash over who will be King of Rock & Roll and Lost Vegas?

I'm sure this will surprise nobody, but I'll cast the minority vote and say that that sounds profoundly stupid.

[Susano]

I'm sure this will surprise nobody, but I'll cast the minority vote and say that that sounds profoundly stupid.

As I said, you have to see it to understand it. However, if you didn't like Repo Man or Buckaroo Banzai, then this film probably won't appeal to you.

[Evil Steve]

Road Warrior, definately the best. Six String Samurai is a close second, only because it has so much style.

And is it just me or is the end of that film how Phantom Menace should have ended?

[Mark Rand]

Cherry 2000, which may not be a P/A film, but it does have the look.

[CrosshairCollie]

As I said, you have to see it to understand it. However, if you didn't like Repo Man or Buckaroo Banzai, then this film probably won't appeal to you.

Never seen 'em.

[Ura-Maru]

Blood of Heroes, AKA Wrath of the Jugger

A late 80's post apoc SPORTS MOVIE, where neither of the two leads speaks english as their native language. Should have been the worst movie ever.

Though, come to think of it, most sports movies could be signifigantly improved by burning half the cast to ash in the crucible of atomic flame, and then having most of the rest devoured by skin-eating mutants.

Anyway, it's actually good. Much less cartoony than most 80's SF. No assless leather pants, Ayatollahs of Rock and Roll-a (http://www.inch.com/~william/humungus.html), or super-mutants. Just subsistance farmers, starving prostitutes, and the occasional subteranian city.

A lot like the first half of the Fallout games, before they got all powered armor and super-mutants.

And, as far as I know, it's the only movie in which Joan Chen bites a guys ear off.

---
"This is stupid. We should be @#$!!ing and drinking by now."

Geek bonus: Rutger Hauer's character in this movie was the basis for the character design of Guts, from Berserk.

Geek bonus 2: It's got an alternate, 'dark' ending! Everyone loves those, right?

[Toadmaster]

I'd probably agree that the road warrior is the best of the bunch with Mad Max and Thunderdome trailing 2nd and 3rd.

Just for the heck of it though some of the competition (and worth looking for if you like the genre)

The actually decent movies (besides the Madmax trio)

Omegaman

Blade Runner (borderline but I consider it on the verge of PA)

28 Days (zombie flick, but PA aspects)

The Stand (supernatural but still PA)

The Postman (I know it has issues but I liked it)

Waterworld (see above, but a crazed one eyed Dennis Hopper is worth seeing)

By Dawns Early Light (HBO movie).



The not so good but still fun

Hell comes to Frogtown, it has a great spoof / tribute to the planet of the apes in the beginning, lots of cheese but fun.

They Live, another goofy Roddy Piper movie with an alien invasion twist.

Escape from New York / LA, goofy but alot better than most of the PA movies out there.


I never could get into the Ape movies, DEFCON 4 was pretty bad as was Night of the Comet, and those are just the bad ones my mind will let me remember. :ugly:

[Yansuf]

I'll have to see this sometime.

Speaking of post-apoc, Encore On Demand seems to have a post-apoc theme going on now. Damnation Alley, and some other, more Road Warrior-ish thing called Steel Frontier. Heaps of cheese, but some of it in a good way.

Damnation Alley wasn't bad, if you never read the book. As usual, the movie didn't come close.
Six String Samuari wasn't bad either, if you like that sort of camp; it didn't take itself seriously.

[st barbara]

To "Ara-Maru". Yeah I enjoyed "Wrath Of The Jugger" (it was called "Salute Of the Jugger" here in Australia), but then I also enjoyed the "Mad Max" films. Going back a bit further I also liked "No Blade Of Grass" (taken from the John Christopher novel) and the old 50's flick "Panic In The Year Zero". "Cherry 2000" is another one that I found to be more fun than I expected it to be.

[Scion Zane]

Road Warrior was a good movie. Six string samuri was cool but really strange and funny. Mad Max is another good movie.

[ThothAmon]

My vote for 'The Ultimate Warrior' :)

[JorrJorr]

I'm going to buck the trend of action movies and suggest "The Quiet Earth". Not an action movie, but a "last man on earth" variation that makes you go hhmmm. Plus it came out on DVD last June. I remember seeing it in the theaters when it came out in the late eighties and and thought it was very cool sci-fi story. It still holds up pretty good given it's around 20 years old.

I highly recommend it. :thumbup:

[Matt Frisbee]

For people who don't like happy endings:

The Day After

On The Beach

Deep Impact (quasi-happy ending but millions still die)

Mad Max (the original cult classic)

...just in case you're feeling just a little too optimistic about the end of the world.

Matt "There-had-better-be-at-least-ten-national-monuments-destroyed-in-this-flick-or-I'm-walking-out-of-the-theatre" Frisbee

[Captain Obvious]

For people who don't like happy endings:

The Day After

On The Beach

Deep Impact (quasi-happy ending but millions still die)

Mad Max (the original cult classic)

...just in case you're feeling just a little too optimistic about the end of the world.

Matt "There-had-better-be-at-least-ten-national-monuments-destroyed-in-this-flick-or-I'm-walking-out-of-the-theatre" Frisbee
C'mon, man, it's the end of the world as we know it, and we want to feel fine.

[bwdemon]

V for Vendetta, 28 Days Later (important to include the "Later" or else it's a Sandra Bullock movie), Equilibrium, the Matrix Trilogy... Resident Evil 1 & 2 (though they are a bit too limited in scope when it comes to the apocalyse part)... Aeon Flux (not as bad as I thought it'd be)... Ultraviolet (haven't seen it, but it seems to fit the mark)... Reign of Fire...

There are plenty of movies out there that seem to fit the bill.

[Publius]

Liked Blood of Heroes, my favorite post-apoc though has got to be "Two" the Twilight Zone Episode with Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery.

[MacBean]

One of may favorites was 'Le Dernier combat'. B&W, no dialogue at all. Quiet Earth is also pretty high on the list

[Lumbering Ox]

Threads. Makes "the day after" look like garbage.

It covers from before to up to 10 years after a major league nuke war. It findings from the 1980 British gov't exercise "Square Leg" were used.

From my readings on nuclear war [it was a hobby of mine] it was pretty realistic as far as we can speculate, it is also very bleak and grim as it should be. No punches were pulled.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads if you don't mind the spoilers.

[Killer Shrike]

Blood of Heroes, AKA Wrath of the Jugger

A late 80's post apoc SPORTS MOVIE, where neither of the two leads speaks english as their native language. Should have been the worst movie ever.

Though, come to think of it, most sports movies could be signifigantly improved by burning half the cast to ash in the crucible of atomic flame, and then having most of the rest devoured by skin-eating mutants.

Anyway, it's actually good. Much less cartoony than most 80's SF. No assless leather pants, Ayatollahs of Rock and Roll-a (http://www.inch.com/~william/humungus.html), or super-mutants. Just subsistance farmers, starving prostitutes, and the occasional subteranian city.

A lot like the first half of the Fallout games, before they got all powered armor and super-mutants.

And, as far as I know, it's the only movie in which Joan Chen bites a guys ear off.

---
"This is stupid. We should be @#$!!ing and drinking by now."

Geek bonus: Rutger Hauer's character in this movie was the basis for the character design of Guts, from Berserk.

Geek bonus 2: It's got an alternate, 'dark' ending! Everyone loves those, right?

Yeah, I've seen this movie and agree. Should have been very stupid -- I mean if you explain it to someone its tricky to do it without sounding like an idiot -- but it was suprisingly good as a gamers movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094764/


Whats truly crazy is that there are people that play the game featured in the movie, jugging, in both Germany and Australia. It's stuff like this that makes me love life so much -- its so much stranger than fiction.

http://www.jugger.org.au/
http://www.jugger.de/

[Thia Halmades]

You put Equilibrium into PA? ... I suppose you could. By that argument, AEON FLUX is also a PA film.

And it was pure, unmitigated crap. Yech. I also understand Ultraviolet is what happens when one-trick ponies make second films. Icky.

[Susano]

You put Equilibrium into PA? ... I suppose you could. By that argument, AEON FLUX is also a PA film.

And it was pure, unmitigated crap. Yech. I also understand Ultraviolet is what happens when one-trick ponies make second films. Icky.

Sure -- Equilibrium is a PA film. Society has rebuilt, but it is obvious something bad has happened to make such a wreck of the outside world.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Yeah, I've seen this movie and agree. Should have been very stupid -- I mean if you explain it to someone its tricky to do it without sounding like an idiot -- but it was suprisingly good as a gamers movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094764/


Whats truly crazy is that there are people that play the game featured in the movie, jugging, in both Germany and Australia. It's stuff like this that makes me love life so much -- its so much stranger than fiction.

http://www.jugger.org.au/
http://www.jugger.de/
I third this as one of my favorite Post Apoc movies.
I'm a bit disappointed by the real life Jugging leagues you linked to... My friends and I came very close to starting something of the sort back in the day (we decided it'd be a bit redundant with all the other hyperv-iolent contact sports we played...), and we must have payed more attentiuon to the Game in the movie.

Swords?
Sheilds?
Enforcers?
WTF????

Where's the Slash? or the Backdrive?
Candy a$$e$.

If you can play the Game without armor, it ain't the Game.

[DrArcanum]

What, no mention of the Bed-Sitting Room..?

[Narratio]

Salute of the Jugger (Rutger Hauer) or The Road Warrior (Mel Gibson)
Hmmm....
Choices, choices, choices... Give me a day or so to decide.

[pinecone]

Has anyone said anything about H*ll goes to Ducktown?,I've always had an irrational liking for Rowdy Roddy Pipper...;)

[egaroadkill]

Radioactive Dreams

[Killer Shrike]

I third this as one of my favorite Post Apoc movies.
I'm a bit disappointed by the real life Jugging leagues you linked to... My friends and I came very close to starting something of the sort back in the day (we decided it'd be a bit redundant with all the other hyperv-iolent contact sports we played...), and we must have payed more attentiuon to the Game in the movie.

Swords?
Sheilds?
Enforcers?
WTF????

Where's the Slash? or the Backdrive?
Candy a$$e$.

If you can play the Game without armor, it ain't the Game.
Hey man, don't shoot the messenger. I find the idea that groups of people actually play any sort of sport that originated in a movie (much less an obscure one) to be highly amusing. ;)

[AmadanNaBriona]

Hey man, don't shoot the messenger. I find the idea that groups of people actually play any sort of sport that originated in a movie (much less an obscure one) to be highly amusing. ;)
No worries, just my general tendency to rant.

At the time we were working on it, my whole gang played what might be called "ancient rules" shinty, a full contact feild hockey-ish game. and we held a yearly fundraiser Post Apoc party...so trying to pull off the Jugger thing was a logical next step.

I'm just enough of a genre feind to get annoyed to see someone masacre an excellent source material into a mediocre game ;)

[Susano]

CAMBOK!

My blood burns for Cambok!!!

[st barbara]

Has anyone said anything about H*ll goes to Ducktown?,I've always had an irrational liking for Rowdy Roddy Pipper...;) I thought that it was "Frogtown" ? However a fully animated version featuring Scrooge McDuck, Donald and the nephews might be fun !:)

[Susano]

I thought that it was "Frogtown" ? However a fully animated version featuring Scrooge McDuck, Donald and the nephews might be fun !:)

Actually, it's H3ll Comes to Frogtown

[TheRavenIs]

All the Mad Max movies, Day of the Comet, the Beach, Damnation Alley - which could have been better, a few others but I can not think of them at the moment.

[counterveil]

Radioactive Dreams

Oh my god yes. That movie gets my vote for worst PA movie of all time. Michael Dudikoff (of American Ninja fame) prancing about in Film Noir-style clothing in a Post-Apocalyptic musical. I don't think anyone could think of a better (or worse) concept for a movie.

And Road Warrior gets my vote for best.

[egaroadkill]

Oh my god yes. That movie gets my vote for worst PA movie of all time. Michael Dudikoff (of American Ninja fame) prancing about in Film Noir-style clothing in a Post-Apocalyptic musical. I don't think anyone could think of a better (or worse) concept for a movie.

And Road Warrior gets my vote for best.

LOL, I'm surprised someone else saw it. I think its so bad its funny!

Yep, Road Warrior is the best.

[lapsedgamer]

Another vote for Blood of Heroes. I want to own that on DVD, but I've heard that the only version available is a really bad transfer with no extras. Oh well.

[Badger]

Road Warrior
Planet of the Apes
Mad Max

these are the best 3 (that I have seen) of the genre.

Course the 3rd Mad Max and pretty much the rest of the POTA series sucked. The least 3 Apes movies would probably rate in a Top 10 worst of all time for the sci-fi genre (and that is saying something)

[Badger]

oh, and The Stand was pretty good too. If only for, me and some friends personally making the Trash Can Man a bit of "cult" figure among our group when discussing geek topics.

[Starwolf]

Red Dawn, and Soilent Green are my favorites...

Now if we can get into books, I would have to go with Piers Anthony's Battle Circle, and the action series The Guardians.

[lapsedgamer]

Red Dawn, and Soilent Green are my favorites...

Now if we can get into books, I would have to go with Piers Anthony's Battle Circle, and the action series The Guardians.

I really loved Battle Circle. I need to read that again.

[Thrakazog]

I'm astonished nobody's given props to Death Race 2000. I mean, c'mon! Grandma's worth 40 points!

[Starwolf]

I'm astonished nobody's given props to Death Race 2000. I mean, c'mon! Grandma's worth 40 points!

Ack! the grasshopper at his absolute worst! :idjit:

[Susano]

I'm astonished nobody's given props to Death Race 2000. I mean, c'mon! Grandma's worth 40 points!

Oh, hey, it gets better:
Death Race 3000
http://imdb.com/title/tt0452608/

[Sundog]

For me, the best PA was The World, the Flesh and the Devil, from the 1960s.

Of the more modern stuff, I'd have to say Mad Max II:The Road Warrior.

[BNakagawa]

Already mentioned: Road warrior, awesome. Six String Samurai, love it. Blood of Heroes/Salute of the Jugger, a personal favorite. Escape from New York was fun, too.

Not yet mentioned:

Fist of the Northstar (animated)
Battle Royale

Was Damnation Alley mentioned? I don't remember. I loved the landmaster.

Oh, duh. My all-time favorite: (the original) Rollerball.

[pinecone]

I thought that it was "Frogtown" ? However a fully animated version featuring Scrooge McDuck, Donald and the nephews might be fun !:)

Opps my bad...

[austenandrews]

I wouldn't classify dystopic futures like Rollerball, Soylent Green, Death Race 2000 or even Equilibrium or V For Vendetta as post-apocalypse. For me the "apocalypse" part means the breakdown of large-scale society.

The defining PA movie is The Road Warrior, of course. The best is probably either Planet of the Apes or The Matrix.

[Super Squirrel]

I wouldn't classify dystopic futures like Rollerball, Soylent Green, Death Race 2000 or even Equilibrium or V For Vendetta as post-apocalypse. For me the "apocalypse" part means the breakdown of large-scale society.

The defining PA movie is The Road Warrior, of course. The best is probably either Planet of the Apes or The Matrix.
If the Matrix took place in the "real world" I'd call it PA but 95% of the movie takes place in the Matrix. For this reason, I don't see the movie as a PA at all.

[Matt Frisbee]

What, nobody's mentioned the awful take on the Deathlands serial novels that the Sci-Fi Channel dredges up every couple of months for a rerun?

I seem to remember a Gene Roddenberry(sp?) show pilot that was made into a TV movie about an astronaut who is put into suspended animation and wakes a few hundred years after WW3...Genesis II or something like that?

And though the short novel was better, the Damnation Alley movie was a good shot at a post-apoc movie.

Matt "Fuzzy-memory-and-all" Frisbee

[Southern Cross]

Correct...
And obviously nobody on these boards but me has seen Last Man On Earth starring Vincent Price,but have seen the awful remake The Omega Man.This is terrible.
Interestingly enough,the BBCTV version of Day Of The Triffidswas far superior to the 60's movie,being far closer to the source material.It is probably the best P/A miniseries I've seen,and is available on DVD.

[st barbara]

What, nobody's mentioned the awful take on the Deathlands serial novels that the Sci-Fi Channel dredges up every couple of months for a rerun?

I seem to remember a Gene Roddenberry(sp?) show pilot that was made into a TV movie about an astronaut who is put into suspended animation and wakes a few hundred years after WW3...Genesis II or something like that?

And though the short novel was better, the Damnation Alley movie was a good shot at a post-apoc movie.

Matt "Fuzzy-memory-and-all" Frisbee "Genesis II" ! Well sometimes the brain just refuses to remember the truly awful attempts at tv series that have been made in the past !

[Super Squirrel]

Correct...
And obviously nobody on these boards but me has seen Last Man On Earth starring Vincent Price,but have seen the awful remake The Omega Man.This is terrible.
Seen it? I own it and have watched it two or three times now.

[Confusion]

Six-String Samurai


grargh... this movie is terrible.. :)

That being said, anyone in the Pasadena/Montrose/Glendale area who are up for a viewing, I think we can put something together. I just have to remember to vacuum.

Bring Beer, it will help.

[Sundog]

Correct...
And obviously nobody on these boards but me has seen Last Man On Earth starring Vincent Price,but have seen the awful remake The Omega Man.This is terrible.
Interestingly enough,the BBCTV version of Day Of The Triffidswas far superior to the 60's movie,being far closer to the source material.It is probably the best P/A miniseries I've seen,and is available on DVD.

I'll say double for the Beeb version of Triffids. It's got to be the best adaptation of Wyndham I've ever seen (though I have to admit I haven't seen the latest version of Children of the Damned - why couldn't they have kept "The Midwich Cuckoos" as a name? It's much more evocative.)

Apparently, there's a new version of I am Legend in the works. Maybe they'll get it right this time (not that Price's version was bad, but from what I've seen of it it wasn't too faithful).

[pinecone]

Oh I remember seeing something called "Battle queens of the ice age" or something equally lurid...a bad film with big b**bs....what else could you hope for?

[Thag13]

Oh I remember seeing something called "Battle queens of the ice age" or something equally lurid...a bad film with big b**bs....what else could you hope for?


I think that one has Julie Strain in it. Its bad, but a fun Net flix rental just to see her.

No one has mentioned, NO Blade of Grass. Its a interesting movie, as a plague kills the earths Grass plants and stravation runs thru the planet. Its British Movie made in 1970. It shows up on Turner Classic every now and then.

[Midas]

I seem to remember a Gene Roddenberry(sp?) show pilot that was made into a TV movie about an astronaut who is put into suspended animation and wakes a few hundred years after WW3...Genesis II or something like that?


Matt "Fuzzy-memory-and-all" Frisbee

:eg: <Threadjack>
The protagonist's name was Dylan Hunt. The villians were transhumans bent on enslaving mankind.
<End threadjack>

Midas

[assault]

I prefer Mad Max to its sequels. The three films saw the camp element escalate in each one, reaching true awfulness by the third. The second was still OK, but I prefer the first.

I also think these films are a terrific source of names for Australian supervillains. :)

[Super Squirrel]

I rewatched The Last Man on Earth on Thursday. Good stuff. :)

I need some good Post-Apoc radiation waste type movies. Preferably stuff I can pick up on DVD for cheap.

[Southern Cross]

The only postnuclear P/A film I can remember seeing is the Corman film the Day The World Ended.Not one of Corman's better works,its main point of interest today is the ludicrous Paul Blaisdell monster.

[J. Chamberlin]

Long time no see, heroes. I'm finally back to the boards and I figured this was the topic for me - especially since no one has yet mentioned "World Gone Wild"!

I mean, come on! Bruce Dern as a quasi-Merlin-type, Adam Ant as the Scientologist badguy... this is f*ck*ng epic, man!

And some of the best/worst lines of all time:
George: "Oh, my God, they cut yer [censored] off!"
Hank: "Kill me!"

I can watch this show over and over again (and I do, when I need inspiration) and never get tired of it.

Ahhh, the cheese... It's so gouda, I camembert it.

J