Documentary, History
On a stormy day in May of 1889, the South Fork Dam impounding Conemaugh Lake exploded, unleashing a 40-foot wall of water. The bustling industrial city of Johnstown, PA, in the valley below was reduced to a wasteland, killing more than 2,200. This heavily dramatized documentary reviews the factors that led to the dam's collapse, while dramatic reenactments and survivors' personal testimonies detail the horror.
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
Apollo 13
The Red Tent
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code
Accidental Climber
The 11th Hour
Blood and Water
Trouble the Water
Czech Dream
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
Erebus: Operation Overdue
Hindenburg: Titanic of the Skies
Ablaze
The Hindenburg
Fire Front
Inside Chernobyl with Ben Fogle
1985: Heroes among Ruins
A Night to Remember
The Shock Doctrine
Last Days on Earth
Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea
SIMILAR MOVIES
Apollo 13
IMDB 7.5 | Jun , 1995
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.The Red Tent
IMDB 5.9 | Dec , 1969
Torn by personal guilt, Italian General Umberto Nobile reminisces about his 1928 failed Arctic expedition aboard the airship Italia.Cooked: Survival by Zip Code
IMDB 7.5 | Jul , 2019
Filmmaker Judith Helfand's searing investigation into the politics of “disaster” – by way of the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave, in which 739 residents perished (mostly Black and living in the city’s poorest neighborhoods).Accidental Climber
IMDB 5 | Jul , 2019
Jim Geiger, a retired forest ranger and amateur mountaineer, attempts to become the oldest American and first great grandfather to summit Mt. Everest, aged 68. His transformation from a weekend hiker to attempting one of the most extreme and physically demanding feats known to man is driven by a desire to prove that age is just a number. What ensued, however, forever changed Jim's life.The 11th Hour
IMDB 6.7 | Aug , 2007
A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James WoolseBlood and Water
IMDB 0 | Sep , 2007
When the 2004 tsunami hit the coast of Sri Lanka, 65-year-old Anton Ambrose's wife and daughter were killed. "In five minutes," he says, "I lost everything." A year later, Anton returns to Sri Lanka. With him is his nephew, award-winning filmmaker Rohan Fernando. A Tamil, Anton moved to California in the 1970s and became a very successful gynecologist. His daughter, Orlantha, made the opposite journey, returning to Sri Lanka where she ran a non-profit group that gave underprivileged children free violin lessons. Blood and Water is the story of one man's search for meaning in the face of overwhelming loss, but it is also filled with improbable characters, unintentional comedy and situational ironies.Trouble the Water
IMDB 6.8 | Jan , 2008
"Trouble the Water" takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall--just blocks away from the French Quarter but far from the New Orleans that most tourists knew. Kimberly Rivers Roberts, an aspiring rap artist, is turning her new video camera on herself and her Ninth Ward neighbors trapped in the city. Weaving an insider's view of Katrina with a mix of verité and in-your-face filmmaking, it is a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes--two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.Czech Dream
IMDB 7.2 | Jun , 2004
Two students from the Czech Film Academy commission a leading advertising agency to organize a huge campaign for the opening of a new supermarket named Czech Dream. The supermarket however does not exist and is not meant to. The advertising campaign includes radio and television ads, posters, flyers with photos of fake Czech Dream products, a promotional song, an internet site, and ads in newspapers and magazines. Will people believe in it and show up for the grand opening?The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
IMDB 7.2 | Nov , 2022
A close examination of the Whakaari / White Island volcanic eruption of 2019 in which 22 lives were lost, the film viscerally recounts a day when ordinary people were called upon to do extraordinary things, placing this tragic event within the larger context of nature, resilience, and the power of our shared humanity.Erebus: Operation Overdue
IMDB 7 | Jul , 2014
On 28 November 1979, an Air New Zealand jet with 257 passengers went missing during a sightseeing tour over Antarctica. Within hours 11 ordinary police officers were called to duty to face the formidable Mount Erebus. As the police recovered the victims, an investigation team tried to uncover the mystery of how a jet could fly into a mountain in broad daylight. Did the airline have a secret it wanted to bury? This film tells the story of four New Zealand police officers who went to Antarctica as part of the police operation to recover the victims of the crash. Set in the beautiful yet hostile environment of Antarctica, this is the emotional and compelling true story of an extraordinary police operation.Hindenburg: Titanic of the Skies
IMDB 6.8 | Sep , 2007
The film explores the background and build-up to this final flight to disaster. Using dramatic reconstruction, archive footage and exclusive interviews with leading historians and engineering experts, the special delves into the political and scientific events that led up to the catastrophe.Ablaze
IMDB 0 | Sep , 2019
In November 1947 forty-one people died in a massive blaze that gutted the huge Ballantynes Department Store complex in the heart of Christchurch’s business district. This is the tragic story of New Zealand’s worst fire disaster.The Hindenburg
IMDB 6 | Sep , 1996
The history of lighter than air transportation culminating in the Hindenburg explosion which gets thoroughly covered and analyzed.Fire Front
IMDB 10 | Nov , 2022
Leading Australian documentarian Eddie Martin puts viewers on the frontlines of the deadly 2019–2020 bushfires, capturing the catastrophe with a perspective and scale never before seen. 24 million hectares were burnt, 3000 homes were destroyed, 33 people died, and nearly three billion animals perished or were displaced. Fire Front is a powerful account of that calamitous antipodean summer, told from the ground where climate change took on the face of hell.Inside Chernobyl with Ben Fogle
IMDB 7.6 | Mar , 2021
Ben Fogle spends a week living inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, gaining privileged access to the doomed Control Room 4 where the disaster first began to unfold.1985: Heroes among Ruins
IMDB 0 | Oct , 2022
"1985: Heroes among Ruins" is a reflection of disaster. It is about the human solidarity, the search and rescue and the importance of civil protection, but above all, the triumph of the people over devastation during the earthquake of September 19, 1985 in Mexico City and the one ocurred in September 19, 2017.A Night to Remember
IMDB 7.6 | Jul , 1958
The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is portrayed largely from the perspective of the ocean liner's second officer, Charles Lightoller. Despite numerous warnings about ice, the ship sails on, with Capt. Edward John Smith keeping it going at a steady clip. When the doomed vessel finally hits an iceberg, the crew and passengers discover that they lack enough lifeboats, and tragedy follows.The Shock Doctrine
IMDB 7.1 | Sep , 2009
An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance.Last Days on Earth
IMDB 5.2 | Aug , 2006
How secure is our future? This eye-opening documentary -- which uses computer-generated imagery to illustrate an asteroid collision, black holes and worldwide plagues, among other threats -- explores seven scenarios that could spell the end of the world. Interviews with noted scientists examine the extent of preparations for these cataclysmic events and what's being done to save future generations from extinction.Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea
IMDB 6.7 | May , 2007
The story of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 after she was torpedoed off the Irish coast. The story is told from the perspective of Prof. Holbourn (a passenger), the German U-boat and its captain and crew, and other passengers, crew and Admiralty staff