Weekly Theme

Weekly Theme for June 22: The Plague

Hey Y'all... Let's talk about plague movies. Everyone remembers Charlton and Yul in Celil B. DeMille's epic, The Ten Commandments or Bergman's The Seventh Seal which takes place during the bubonic plague of the 14th century.

How about some more modern examples? 28 Days Later comes to mind. Plague of rage infested running zombies. Or how about Doomsday?.... I'm not sure what the hell that movie was all about but it was a hellova good time.

Also, if you can find it, La Peste is a solid film that takes place during an outbreak of bubonic plague in some South American city... William Hurt & Robert Duvall are in it. I saw it on IFC a few years ago & missed the beginning, netflix doesn't seem to have it.

Re:Weekly Theme for June 22: The Plague

Every example I'm coming up with seems to be a borderline case.  Most are not about a plague proper, but have elements of plague type stories.

The best example I can think of is the original The Andromeda Strain.  (Incidentally, the 2008 miniseries sucks!)

Serenity references many elements of plague, even though it probably wouldn't be considered a plague movie.

I'm a big fan of the novel, but the I Am Legend movie isn't nearly as good... Still, some of those scenes of an empty NY hit home...

12 Monkeys is another that doesn't really hit the plague head on, but plague features in the story...

The Stand mini-series isn't that great overall (another movie overshadowed by the book), but the first 2 hour episode is pretty great, and that's the part when the plague spreads...

There are probably a million zombie movies that would qualify, but I'll leave that open for others:)

~Mark

Re:Weekly Theme for June 22: The Plague

BRING OUT YER DEAD!

Re:Weekly Theme for June 22: The Plague

Well Riss took my favorite. I can't really think of too many at the moment.

12 Monkeys was a plague right?

Interview with the Vampire had a plague (smallpox or something a rather) that led to Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise making Kirsten Dunst into a vampire.

The only thing I remember about Outbreak was the cute little monkey that was the cause of the disease.

Safe was kinda sorta about a plague in a sense.

Children of Men had its plague of sterility.

I was surprised by how much I actually liked Blindness considering it wasn't really anything shocking or new for the genre.

Re:Weekly Theme for June 22: The Plague

mciocco:

Every example I'm coming up with seems to be a borderline case.  Most are not about a plague proper, but have elements of plague type stories.

The best example I can think of is the original The Andromeda Strain.  (Incidentally, the 2008 miniseries sucks!)

Serenity references many elements of plague, even though it probably wouldn't be considered a plague movie.

I'm a big fan of the novel, but the I Am Legend movie isn't nearly as good... Still, some of those scenes of an empty NY hit home...

12 Monkeys is another that doesn't really hit the plague head on, but plague features in the story...

The Stand mini-series isn't that great overall (another movie overshadowed by the book), but the first 2 hour episode is pretty great, and that's the part when the plague spreads...

There are probably a million zombie movies that would qualify, but I'll leave that open for others:)

~Mark

 

   Thanks, Mark!   Your comments are pretty close to my actual thoughts while I was reading the original post.

   The Andromeda Strain  is a great movie and a perfect example of the genre.   Pretty scary, too...

   I, too, am a big fan of Richard Matheson's novel  "I Am Legend" and I have enjoyed every screen version I have seen.   I have not yet seen the new Will Smith version but I will.   In any case it will never live up to the "mega-classic"  The Omega Man (1971)  in which Charleton Heston gives his life to save humanity...    There was also an earlier film version of this story called   The Last Man on Earth (1964)  starring Vincent Price.   Although I don't have any proof, I SERIOUSLY think that the latter movie was a HUGE inspiration for George Romero and NOTLD.

   The Stand  is Stephen King's best novel and one of the best books I have ever read.   The TV miniseries, directed by Mick Garris, is incredibly true to the book and is one of the best movies I have ever seen....

   And yeah, you are right about the Zombie Movies...   there are about a million of them...

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