Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Five end-of- the-world movies to see before doomsday

Do the Biblical math: Evangelist Harold Camping + The Scriptures = The end of the world as we know it. I was in my fallout shelter last night speaking with L. Ron Hubbard on the wireless direct from the planet Xenu. He assures me there will be no doomsday. Just in case, here's a quick cinematic primer on what to do if tomorrow turns out to be our last. See you Sunday!

That Obscure Object of Desire (1981): If ever a director ripped at our retinae and forced us to confront images that would cause most normal folk to cringe, it was that stealthy old surrealist Luis Buñuel. Obscure Object was to be The Master's parting shot, a paradoxical masterwork that pits a standoffish maid, played by two different and equally alluring actresses (Carole Bouquet and Ángela Molina), against a lecherous aristocrat (Fernando Rey, the director's cinematic second self). Buñuel bookended his career with shots of a straight razor slicing open an eyeball and civilization being blown to smithereens. When the end arrives, I want to exit smiling and short of Groucho Marx, there isn't another film artist who has brought more cultivated laughter into my life than Don Buñuel.

The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959): Miner Harry Belafonte extracates himself from a cave only to discover a world ravaged by a nuclear holocaust. News that he is not the last one standing arrives in the form of love-interest Inger Stevens and later a vocally-disapproving Mel Ferrer. The post-apocalyptic images of a barren, pre-CGI Manhattan will pack a wallop long after the film's dated handling of racial issues have faded into antiquity.

Panic in Year Zero (1962): Star/director Ray Milland wore so many hats during the production that he probably felt the time was right to send his collection of hairpieces off to the dry cleaners to get Martinized. There's not one shot of him sans Stetson throughout the entire film! Admittedly, the thought of Milland piloting a Mercury Monterey, containing son Frankie Avalon and the womenfolk, through a post-apocalyptic Calabasas is ripe for satirical contempt. Yet this AIP atomic scare quickie is held together by Milland's steely self-preservation instincs before the camera and a knowingness not to let things spill over into camp behind.

The Last Man on Earth (1964): Here is a living dead outing long before George Romero made them fashionable (and profitable). A mysterious immunity he developed years earlier turns Vincent Price into the vampire-hunting title character. It's a much more satifying adaptation of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend than the Chuck Heston remake, The Omega Man. Since time is of the essence, I'll save you a rental: this can be found on the bottom half of an MGM Midinite Madness combo-disc paired opposite Panic in Year Zero.

On the Beach (1959): Grab your favorite Matilda and waltz to the trumpet of doom in this all-star nuclear meltdown yarn directed by Stanley Kramer, a Hollywood totem in many ways responsible for the end of cinema as we knew it. On the Beach crashes ashore with a showy and continuous barrage of waterlogged dialog. The big-league cast -- Fred Astaire, Ava Gardner, Tony Perkins, and even Gregory Peck -- and the graceful black-and-white arrangement of cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno's softly-lit frames are what keep me coming back for more. It smells, but so do gasoline and my sneakers, yet there's a part of me that enjoys the aroma. It doesn't hurt that countless childhood viewings have taken their toll forever, placing it on a shelf marked "beyond criticism." And any film that promises the immolation of the handsome, ever-timbered Peck is worth at least a couple of viewings.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Roll-over crashes crop up in San Diego and Baja

Nails, beer, Coca-Cola, Mexican pop singer Luis Miguel's stage equipment
Next Article

Kaylee Daugherty, Pinback, Chorduroy, Moondaddy, and Mr. Tube & the Flying Objects

Solos, duos, and full bands in Mira Mesa, Del Mar, City Heights, Little Italy, East Village

Do the Biblical math: Evangelist Harold Camping + The Scriptures = The end of the world as we know it. I was in my fallout shelter last night speaking with L. Ron Hubbard on the wireless direct from the planet Xenu. He assures me there will be no doomsday. Just in case, here's a quick cinematic primer on what to do if tomorrow turns out to be our last. See you Sunday!

That Obscure Object of Desire (1981): If ever a director ripped at our retinae and forced us to confront images that would cause most normal folk to cringe, it was that stealthy old surrealist Luis Buñuel. Obscure Object was to be The Master's parting shot, a paradoxical masterwork that pits a standoffish maid, played by two different and equally alluring actresses (Carole Bouquet and Ángela Molina), against a lecherous aristocrat (Fernando Rey, the director's cinematic second self). Buñuel bookended his career with shots of a straight razor slicing open an eyeball and civilization being blown to smithereens. When the end arrives, I want to exit smiling and short of Groucho Marx, there isn't another film artist who has brought more cultivated laughter into my life than Don Buñuel.

The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959): Miner Harry Belafonte extracates himself from a cave only to discover a world ravaged by a nuclear holocaust. News that he is not the last one standing arrives in the form of love-interest Inger Stevens and later a vocally-disapproving Mel Ferrer. The post-apocalyptic images of a barren, pre-CGI Manhattan will pack a wallop long after the film's dated handling of racial issues have faded into antiquity.

Panic in Year Zero (1962): Star/director Ray Milland wore so many hats during the production that he probably felt the time was right to send his collection of hairpieces off to the dry cleaners to get Martinized. There's not one shot of him sans Stetson throughout the entire film! Admittedly, the thought of Milland piloting a Mercury Monterey, containing son Frankie Avalon and the womenfolk, through a post-apocalyptic Calabasas is ripe for satirical contempt. Yet this AIP atomic scare quickie is held together by Milland's steely self-preservation instincs before the camera and a knowingness not to let things spill over into camp behind.

The Last Man on Earth (1964): Here is a living dead outing long before George Romero made them fashionable (and profitable). A mysterious immunity he developed years earlier turns Vincent Price into the vampire-hunting title character. It's a much more satifying adaptation of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend than the Chuck Heston remake, The Omega Man. Since time is of the essence, I'll save you a rental: this can be found on the bottom half of an MGM Midinite Madness combo-disc paired opposite Panic in Year Zero.

On the Beach (1959): Grab your favorite Matilda and waltz to the trumpet of doom in this all-star nuclear meltdown yarn directed by Stanley Kramer, a Hollywood totem in many ways responsible for the end of cinema as we knew it. On the Beach crashes ashore with a showy and continuous barrage of waterlogged dialog. The big-league cast -- Fred Astaire, Ava Gardner, Tony Perkins, and even Gregory Peck -- and the graceful black-and-white arrangement of cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno's softly-lit frames are what keep me coming back for more. It smells, but so do gasoline and my sneakers, yet there's a part of me that enjoys the aroma. It doesn't hurt that countless childhood viewings have taken their toll forever, placing it on a shelf marked "beyond criticism." And any film that promises the immolation of the handsome, ever-timbered Peck is worth at least a couple of viewings.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Joe Walker on Editing YouTube Documentary Life in a Day

Next Article

Thank You, Steve Jobs

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader