Sun 28 Nov 2021, 21:51
Here's my solid list of realistic post-apocalypse movies, in no particular order
- The Day After
- Threads ['The Day After' in the UK, and MUCH grimmer]
- Testament [American TV series -- this is very interesting in that there are no booming special effects... the protagonists are suburbanites trying to survive after the nukes have fallen elsewhere and the society they try and construct is devastated by radiation they can't detect, diseases they can't identify, etc. Very realistic in a 'no action hero' sort of way]
- On the Beach, cuz 'duh'
- The Book of Eli
- The Road
- Red Dawn; This is kind of an 'honorable mention' in the sense that I wished to give a list of **realistic** War Three /PA movies. The idea that the Cubans or North Koreans might invade the whole of the United States is simply ridiculous on its face -- just as ridiculous as NATO /the West utterly conquering the Soviet Union. BUT is does depict a 'resistance movement American style' with a certain sense of cultural realism in a certain 'Budweiser not Heineken' kind of way.
- The Postman; OK, this one also needs some comment. It's VERY different from the book [which is a classic of PA genre -- and the movie is decidedly not]. In many respects it's like 'Starship Troopers'... so different from its source material that it should have had a wholly separate title. The Postman [movie] competently delivers several PA tropes in one poorly edited film... the nobody trying to remake themselves, a New America style dictator with an 'army', trying to restart civilization with a cranky power plant [Tom Petty and the dam], the simple struggle against the weather when you don't have Motel 6 to duck into, etc.]
For military experiences, try
- Jarhead,
- Generation Kill
- Hurt Locker
- Fury [Yes, I know this is War Two, but it gives a real feel for the life of an armored vehicle crewman, especially the hate /love /hate relationship between vehicle crews and their vehicle]
- Cross of Iron [Again, War Two but it gives you the sense of a unit trapped behind enemy lines]
- The Beast [1988, about a T62 lost in Afghanistan being hunted by the Mujji's]
Last is an honorable mention that I have not seen, but I am told isn't bad:
- Tomorrow, When The War Began is a young adults novel and Australian TV series about Young Beautiful Australians [think 'Brisbane 90210'] fighting a resistance campaign against invaders. I've read the book, which is worthwhile, but haven't seen the TV series]
Hope these suggestions are helpful.