56-Year-Old Disaster Movie Masterpiece That Started The Genre Is Leaving Netflix (With Its 2 Sequels)
Dalton is a freelance writer, novelist, and filmmaker from Orlando Florida. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and pursues writing full-time. He is an avid reader, film buff, and amateur historian who also publishes novels on the side. Dalton graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BFA in Film and he often applies his industry-specific knowledge when writing about film and television. Along with his blog, Dalton's critical essays on film have been published in various places online.
Netflix is dropping the original disaster flick from its catalog soon, and the 1970s masterpiece is still a must-watch after 56 years. No genre better exemplifies the spectacle of cinema quite like the disaster movie. With its huge set pieces and groundbreaking special effects, the genre has always brought the worst-case scenario to life with stunning clarity.
Disaster movies come and go in waves of popularity, but they never fade away forever. The 1970s was the pinnacle of the genre, with movie after movie splashing across the big screen drawing audiences during a relatively low point at the box office. Modern directors like Roland Emmerich have made a career out of expensive disaster fare, and have incorporated new technology to make their movies even bigger.
The advent of CGI led to a second generation of disaster blockbusters, though some lacked the innate charm of their predecessors. It's been a while since a disaster movie really captured the attention of audiences, though it's inevitable that one will rise. Nearly every fathomable mass catastrophe has already been fictionalized, so future disaster movies will have to think outside the box.
Looking back on the original disaster movie, it seems quaint when compared to where the genre has gone since. Nevertheless, few films have surpassed the five-decade-old gem in terms of storytelling, and most don't even try. Besides the spectacle of it all, this classic is a lesson in strong writing and the craft of filmmaking. Unfortunately, there are only a few days left before it leaves Netflix.
Quiz
8 Questions · Test Your Knowledge
Name that disaster movie
Trivia challenge
Earthquakes, asteroids, and tidal waves — can you identify the greatest disaster films ever made from just a few clues?
ClassicsSci-FiDirectorsCastPlot
01 / 8
Plot
In this 1970s disaster classic, a massive ocean liner is capsized by a giant wave on New Year's Eve, and a small group of survivors must climb upward through the inverted ship to reach safety. Which film is this?
Correct! Released in 1972, this film became one of the defining disaster movies of the decade, earning two Academy Awards including Best Original Song. The concept of survivors navigating an upside-down ship was groundbreaking for its time.
Not quite — the answer is The Poseidon Adventure (1972). It set the template for the disaster genre with its ensemble cast and upside-down ship survival premise, earning two Oscars and inspiring a wave of similar films throughout the 1970s.
02 / 8
Cast
This 1996 summer blockbuster features Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum as unlikely heroes who help repel a massive alien invasion threatening to wipe out all of humanity. Name the film.
Correct! Independence Day became one of the highest-grossing films of 1996 and is remembered for its iconic White House destruction sequence. Director Roland Emmerich cemented his reputation as the king of large-scale disaster spectacle with this film.
Not quite — the answer is Independence Day (1996). Directed by Roland Emmerich, it paired Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum in a globe-spanning alien invasion story that grossed over $817 million worldwide and became a defining blockbuster of the 1990s.
03 / 8
Directors
This 1997 James Cameron film depicts the sinking of the world's most famous ocean liner and became the highest-grossing movie of all time upon its release, winning 11 Academy Awards. What is it?
Correct! Titanic tied the record for most Oscar wins in a single night alongside Ben-Hur and later All About Eve. James Cameron famously said 'I'm king of the world' at the ceremony, echoing the film's iconic line. It held the box office record for 12 years.
Not quite — the answer is Titanic (1997). James Cameron's epic romance and disaster film dominated the box office and awards season, winning 11 Oscars and remaining the highest-grossing film in history for over a decade until Cameron's own Avatar surpassed it.
04 / 8
Sci-Fi
In this 1998 disaster film, NASA discovers that a massive comet is on a collision course with Earth and sends a crew of veteran astronauts — including one played by Robert Duvall — to destroy it. Which film is this?
Correct! Deep Impact was released just two months before the similarly themed Armageddon in 1998, making it part of a famous Hollywood trend of competing twin films. It was notable for its emotional tone and its depiction of a Black president, played by Morgan Freeman.
Not quite — the answer is Deep Impact (1998). While Armageddon gets more pop culture attention, Deep Impact came first and took a more grounded, character-driven approach. Morgan Freeman's portrayal of the U.S. president was widely praised and considered ahead of its time.
05 / 8
Classics
This 1974 film features an all-star cast including Steve McQueen and Paul Newman battling a catastrophic fire in the world's tallest skyscraper during its grand opening night. Name the film.
Correct! The Towering Inferno was produced jointly by two rival studios — Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox — marking a rare Hollywood collaboration. It received eight Oscar nominations and won three, making it one of the most acclaimed disaster films ever made.
Not quite — the answer is The Towering Inferno (1974). This film is remarkable for being co-produced by two competing studios and for assembling one of the greatest ensemble casts in disaster film history. It won three Academy Awards and remains a benchmark of the genre.
06 / 8
Plot
A paleoclimatologist warns that global warming is triggering a catastrophic new ice age, but his warnings are ignored until massive superstorms begin freezing entire cities in seconds. Which disaster blockbuster is this?
Correct! Released in 2004, this Roland Emmerich film used then-cutting-edge CGI to depict the Statue of Liberty buried in ice and a frozen-over Los Angeles. Despite mixed critical reviews, it sparked genuine public conversations about climate change and grossed over $540 million worldwide.
Not quite — the answer is The Day After Tomorrow (2004). Directed by Roland Emmerich, the film dramatized rapid climate collapse in spectacular fashion. Scientists critiqued its timeline as wildly exaggerated, but it remains one of the most commercially successful climate-themed films ever made.
07 / 8
Cast
In this 1998 Michael Bay film, a ragtag crew of oil drillers — led by Bruce Willis — is recruited by NASA and trained to land on a massive asteroid and drill into its core to save Earth from destruction. What is it?
Correct! Armageddon was the highest-grossing film of 1998 and is famous for its over-the-top action and Aerosmith's power ballad 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.' NASA reportedly uses the film in management training — asking new hires to identify as many scientific inaccuracies as they can.
Not quite — the answer is Armageddon (1998). Michael Bay's bombastic blockbuster topped the global box office that year and is beloved for its sheer excess. Perhaps most famously, NASA has used the film in training exercises to challenge employees to spot its many scientific errors.
08 / 8
Directors
This Steven Spielberg-directed 2005 film follows a divorced father desperately trying to protect his children as Earth is systematically devastated by towering alien war machines that have lain dormant underground for centuries. Name the film.
Correct! Spielberg's adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic novel starred Tom Cruise and was praised for its visceral, ground-level perspective on an alien invasion. The film grossed over $591 million worldwide and is notable for depicting mass destruction with unusual emotional weight and realism.
Not quite — the answer is War of the Worlds (2005). Steven Spielberg modernized H.G. Wells' 1898 novel with Tom Cruise in the lead role. Unlike many disaster films of its era, it focused on the chaos from an ordinary person's perspective rather than showing military or government responses.
Challenge Complete
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/ 8
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Airport Is Leaving Netflix In September 2026
Though it's not likely to get the same fanfare as other departures, Airport is leaving Netflix on September 1st. The streamer is also dumping two of its sequels, Airport 1975 and Airport '77 on the same day. This will deprive subscribers of one of the great masterpieces of the diaster genre, and the film that really started the craze in the first place. It's unclear where the movie is going next, so Netflix users won't want to miss the chance to see it before it leaves the terminal.
The third Airport sequel, The Concorde...Airport '79, is not on Netflix.
Airport Started The Modern Disaster Movie Genre
To explain why Airport is such a big deal, it's important to give the movie some historical context. While it wasn't the first disaster film by a long shot, it was the one that really solidified the tropes of the genre. Movies stretching all the way back to the birth of cinema involved spectacular disasters, such as 1901's Fire! and 1936's San Francisico. However, the craze never caught on until the roaring success of Airport.
The 1970s was a boom period for disaster movies, and it all started with Airport's blockbuster popularity. It made over $100 million at the box office and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards (winning one). In the next few years, Hollywood churned out hits like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, as well as a slew of other copycats that have since faded from popular memory. Even today, Airport's impact is still felt in the genre.
Perhaps the most telling sign of the movie's success is that it served as the blueprint for the beloved spoof film, Airplane! A decade after its release, Airport had made such a massive impact on Hollywood that viewers could easily recognize its tropes. The ensemble cast, the compounding disasters, and even the charming melodrama became the template for disaster movies and their parodies for years to come.
Airport Still Holds Up Today
It may seem like Airport is merely a relic from the past, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Even five decades after its release, the classic film has a lot to offer modern viewers. For one, it's a brilliant window into the fears of Americans in the 1970s. Storylines about hijacking and environmental damage supplement the main plot, and give the disaster elements a richer sense of context.
The ensemble cast is stellar, and showcases brilliant actors who may not be well known to younger generations of viewers. The movie fleshes out the main characters, so they are more than just fodder for the spectacle. Airport is a disaster flick that feels relevant and suspenseful, because actual craft went into making the movie. That's pretty rare in the disaster genre, and in blockbuster cinema in general.
Sources: What's On Netflix, Box Office Mojo
- Release Date
- May 29, 1970
- Runtime
- 137 Minutes
- Director
- George Seaton
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