20 Disaster Movies You Must See Before You Die
1. Titanic
Could anything else conceivably ever take the #1 spot? James Cameron's Best Picture-winning box office behemoth Titanic is without question the most popular and successful disaster movie of all time, and for damn good reason.
Spectacularly well-executed by Cameron against considerable odds - haven't we learned not to bet against him by now? - Titanic melds old-fashioned melodramatic romance with stupefying ship-sinking chaos.
From its production design and costumes to its outstanding ensemble cast and even that damn Celine Dion song, it's such an effective tear-jerker of a disaster movie it feels practically lab-grown.
It's certainly not Cameron's greatest achievement as a filmmaker, but more than any other entry in his filmography it proves how acutely aware he is of what audiences crave, and how to give it to them.