Comments on: I love Post Apocalyptic Genre books and movies. Can you recommend some?

Question: I love Post Apocalyptic Genre books and movies. Can you recommend some?

crewshell — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 10:56:58 -0800

I love Post Apocalyptic Genre books and movies. Can you recommend some?

Alas Babylon is one of my favorites. I prefer the ones that are based in "reality" or shall I say somewhat believable terms, but I could get into any story were a group of people are struggling to survive after a major event has caused the elimination of a large portion of the population (I.E Nuclear war, Alien Attack, Plague, Etc etc) The movies that I have seen in the genre are The Post Man, Mad Max Series, Water World, 28 Days Later, an old movie I believe was called Omega Man, Can you suggest any other movies? And in terms of books I have read Alas Babylon, Plague and one other I can't remember the name... I would love more recommendations on both sides, film and literature! I've try Amazon but they do not really get this specific with their book categories, nor does my public library.

Thanks guys!

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:03:35 -0800

See previous askme.

By: everichon

everichon — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:04:38 -0800

Riddley Walker is awesome in many ways.

By: Skot

Skot — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:05:30 -0800

Earth Abides.

By: everichon

everichon — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:05:50 -0800

Yeah, the thread CL links to pretty much nails it.

By: MasonDixon

MasonDixon — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:07:24 -0800

The Stand - Stephen King, pops immediately to mind.

By: fuzzbean

fuzzbean — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:10:42 -0800

How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff.

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:11:06 -0800

Some of Joe R. Landsdale's mojo storytelling fits in this category.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:13:53 -0800

The old thread missed Dinner at Deviant's Palace.

By: jdfan

jdfan — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:15:21 -0800

Omega Man! That's a hilarious movie. Check out the Post Apocalyptic Media website. They have a whole host of resources. As for books, here are a few specific recommendations:

A Canticle for Leibowitz - very smart and well imagined alternative future.
On the Beach - really interesting and well written, also made into a movie (haven't seen it tho)
The Long Tomorrow - also very good, a little dated in assumptions
Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald - subterranean response

And, of course, about 80% of Philip K Dick's novels and short stories, including 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep'. His tend to be dystopian future but some are post-apocalyptic.

By: darkpony

darkpony — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:15:30 -0800

The genocides

Not Post-Apocalyptic in a nuclear sense but pretty great!

By: BackwardsCity

BackwardsCity — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:22:11 -0800

Another previous thread, tagged apocalyptic.

Jonathan Lethem's Amnesia Moon takes place after an apocalypse. Philip K. Dick's The Penultimate Truth might be up your ally as well.

The new Battlestar Galactica series is quite good, although it's an outer space apocalypse, not earth-based.

By: crewshell

crewshell — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:22:20 -0800

wow, I dont think any of my previous questions have every gotten such a quick response!

Thanks All

By: jrb223

jrb223 — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:31:13 -0800

The On The Beach movie is pretty good, to echo jdfan, here are two other movies that explore post-apocalypse in a comic vein.

Delicatessen
Six String Samurai

Then there are artsy entrys:

Godard's Weekend turns the apocalypse into a metaphor for the Bourgeoisie (in the last 15 minutes at lesat)
Luc Besson's Le Dernier Combat

Oh, Chris Marker's La Jetee is the film that 12 Monkeys was based on, and it's fantastic.

Then there's Peter Greenaway's first feature The Falls

I've only seen clips of Lars Von Trier's Epidemic, but I believe it heads into post-apocalypse territory.

And as a sidenote, Amnesia Moon is definitely my favorite Jonathan Lethem book, I recommend it to all my friends who hopped on the Lethem bandwagon post-Motherless Brooklyn.

By: bibbit

bibbit — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:32:22 -0800

One that wasn't mentioned in either thread linked: Fiskadoro by Denis Johnson. Extremely surreal and there's lots of stories going on at once (with some flashbacks!). And definitely some of the most disturbing images of the world after an apocalypse.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:33:34 -0800

Blindness by Jose Saramago.

By: occhiblu

occhiblu — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:34:08 -0800

If you're into reading plays at all, Samuel Beckett's Endgame is wonderful (or see a production, if you've got an Existentialism-soaked college theater troupe near you!).

A number of his monologues also seem to take place in post-apocalyptic locales, though it's not as defined or sci-fi as what you may be looking for.

By: dmushrush

dmushrush — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:37:29 -0800

A Boy and His Dog - 1975 stars Don Johnson - from the imdb plot summary,
A post-apocalyptic tale based on a novella by Harlan Ellison. A boy communicates telepathically with his dog as they scavenge for food and sex...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072730/

I laughed all the way through although it was not intended as a comedy.

By: jrb223

jrb223 — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:37:40 -0800

whoops. Week End is actually at this link.

By: darkpony

darkpony — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:20:19 -0800

I found "The Genocides" and "Blindness" to me very similar. Both very great.

By: occhiblu

occhiblu — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:20:31 -0800

I'm not sure if it's out on DVD in the US -- I saw it at a French film festival -- but I loved Cedric Klapisch's Peut-être. Post-apocalyptic Paris, as comedy.

By: lyam

lyam — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:21:09 -0800

Dhalgren by Sam Delaney.

^^Requisite suggestion

By: substrate

substrate — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:22:11 -0800

Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.

By: kevin_2864212

kevin_2864212 — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:30:08 -0800

Never, EVER watch The Last Warrior.

It looks like it'll be good. I mean, it has Dolph Lundgren.

But ya, PURE GARBAGE!

UGH! I only made it thru 25 minutes, and I never turn off a movie, EVER!!!

By: witchstone

witchstone — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:33:21 -0800

This is so weird, I was just thinking of Into the Forest by Jean Hegland this morning. I read it last year and really enjoyed it.

By: dagnyscott

dagnyscott — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:33:28 -0800

Omega Man was based on a book, I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson, where all survivors of a plague (except one!) are vampires.

Also the graphic novel V For Vendetta has more similarities with books like 1984 than with most post-apocalyptic stuff, but it does start from the assumption of large bits of the world being nuked. The movie has no nukes, just a devastating disease in England and vague references to the United States being in an intractble state of a war.

Unshelved recently had this cartoon review about a book set in the far future where the only survivors are some time travellers.

By: steef

steef — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:34:04 -0800

Movie: The Ultimate Warrior. Book: Damnation Alley (also a movie, but contains large amounts of Jan-Michael Vincent).

By: johngumbo

johngumbo — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:47:36 -0800

A Boy and His Dog
Quiet Earth
Second Delicatessen, and I think Boy and His Dog IS intended as humorous.

By: medusa

medusa — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:52:10 -0800

Two amazing books: Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler

By: banshee

banshee — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:54:06 -0800

Stephen King's latest 'Cell'

By: ND¢

ND¢ — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:08:51 -0800

There were some great suggestions for Post Zompocalyptic books in this thread, the best of which was Monster Island because I read it for free online. Embrace the Zompocalypse!

By: ND¢

ND¢ — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:11:46 -0800

You might also enjoy Urban Dead, "a massively multi-player web-based zombie apocalypse" (they've embraced the zompocalypse, but not the term).

By: whatzit

whatzit — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:28:06 -0800

Seconding the previous AskMe threat, On the Beach and The Stand. Both books are good. The (really long) mini-series of the stand was enjoyable, but not art by any means.

Beware of the Saramago recommendation if you have a hard time getting through literature with particularly heavy ... writing style. (I couldn't deal with History of the Siege of Lisbon, but recently read As Intermitências da Morte and found it much more enjoyable than History... .)

By: davehat

davehat — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:32:07 -0800

Dr Bloodmoney by Philip K. Dick

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:51:02 -0800

Can't believe no one's mentioned The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Also,
Orson Scott Card's The Folk of the Fringe

By: Rash

Rash — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:59:28 -0800

Also, beware the everichon recommendation -- Riddley Walker is one of those books written in a future dialect but unlike A Clockwork Orange, no glossary is provided. I had to give up after just a couple chapters, even though I really wanted to read it.

"The Postman" was mentioned. Didn't bother with the film since it was supposed to be awful, but the book by David Brin was pretty good. Also, regarding Earth Abides, if you liked that you'd also enjoy The Scarlet Plague by Jack London. (Link's to the actual story, written pre-Disney so now public domain.)

Radix by A.A. Attanasio is far future but also post-apocalypse. "They liked football."

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:03:53 -0800

Riddley Walker is one of those books written in a future dialect but unlike A Clockwork Orange, no glossary is provided.

Haven't read it, but the most recent edition includes notes and a glossary according to the cover shot on Amazon.

By: Chuckles

Chuckles — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:04:44 -0800

Lucifer's Hammer - Despite it being a Niven/Pournelle vehicle, it has no 'future technology' whatsoever.

By: Neiltupper

Neiltupper — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:31:46 -0800

A Boy and his Dog is a good movie of this genre.

By: Neiltupper

Neiltupper — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:37:40 -0800

Oops, I'm third in line to recommend A Boy and his Dog - shoulda read the replies more closely - and johngumbo is right: the comedy is intentional. A biting satire!

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 15:35:59 -0800

The Death of Grass

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:55:44 -0800

Then there's Peter Greenaway's first feature The Falls

The Falls, though I do like it, deserves a caveat. According to Greenaway himself (quote is about 2/3 of the way down):
"It's an ambulatory journey to be taken a little at a time, perhaps to be fast-forwarded through if and when the viewer chooses. Certainly, there's no insistence on my behalf that people should feel the obligation to watch it all the way through at a single sitting."

Also, some of the stuff going on is likely to go over your head on first viewing; he's littered it with obscure references, misattributed quotes from real sources and at least one secret message spelt out in the initial character of names of birds recited in song.

By: Mr Mister

Mr Mister — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:56:29 -0800

If you are interested in the coldwar/soviet union apocalyptic scenario then the movies Red Dawn and The Day After are a couple of good 80s gems.

By: AmbroseChapel

AmbroseChapel — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:58:32 -0800

Hmm, some people are posting as if "post-apocalypse" means "after the earth has been destroyed", and some as if it means "the earth is still here but totally fucked up".

The Mad Max trilogy is post-apocalypse (latter sense), at least two and three are.

Z For Zachariah is a good one too.

As an example of the former sense, I've always been a sucker for Titan A.E. Screenplay by Joss Whedon you know.

Is John Wyndham's "The Chrysalids" technically post-apocalyptic?

Martin Amis wrote a very bizarre and disturbing short story in "Time's Arrow" called something like "The Little Puppy Who Could" set in a post-nuclear-war wasteland.

By: AmbroseChapel

AmbroseChapel — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 17:57:45 -0800

Oh and, "On The Beach" was made into a movie in 1959 but a mini-series a lot more recently. The mini-series is probably a lot easier to find on DVD.

By: crewshell

crewshell — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 18:23:57 -0800

wow lots of responses! thanks guys!

The Memory Giver just recently came to mind as a sligth deviation of my own question.

I cant wait to sign up for netflixs and get as many of these as possible! and to go check out some of these from the library, I think I'll make a spread sheet and check them off as I go!

SCORE ONE FOR METAFILTER!

Thanks again

By: Rumple

Rumple — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 18:36:54 -0800

THE TIME...Five Years After The Nuclear War. THE SURVIVORS...Post-Nuke Thrill Seekers Lookin' For A Kick.

... and a sequel, natch.
------
In the semi-distant future, after the world is ravaged by nuclear war, 99.9% of the population is rendered incapable of having sex. These are the "Sex Negatives" ("Neggies" for short), forever cursed to derive their only pleasure from watching the rare Sex Positives (or "Pozzies") have sex on the #1 TV show in the world, CAFE FLESH. Unfortunately, these Pozzies are an endangered species -- and when the last one spontaneously combusts, it's time to take a blast to the past in an unpredictable time machine to acquire some fresh meat - er, talent.
Join Sunset Thomas and an all-star cast as they stretch the limits of the imagination -- as well as a few tight orifices -- in this sex soaked sci-fi sequel from award-winning director Antonio Passolini."

By: Chuckles

Chuckles — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 18:43:56 -0800

A little more sci-fi, but fantastic, the British miniseries The Day of the Triffids. Based on a novel, but I'm not familiar with it.

By: Alterscape

Alterscape — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 18:53:24 -0800

Long time reader, first-time poster. I was going to recommend A Canticle for Leibowitz, but jdfan beat me to it. So, consider it seconded?

Greg Bear wrote two novels, The Forge of God and Anvil of Stars dealing with the aftermath of a devastating attack that literally destroys Earth. I read them when I was younger so I can't honestly say how much I'd enjoy them today, but they were an interesting thought-experiment, if nothing else. Links are to Amazon detail pages.

By: misanthropicsarah

misanthropicsarah — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 05:53:16 -0800

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. Not exactly what you're looking for, but very close.

By: CMichaelCook

CMichaelCook — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 07:23:25 -0800

Recently read, and really enjoyed, "A Gift Upon the Shore" by M.K. Wren. The cover makes it look like something for young adults. The novel is anything but.

By: CMichaelCook

CMichaelCook — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 07:24:43 -0800

And oh yeah, a heart second for Jean Heglund's "Into the Forest." One of my favorite books of all time.

By: CMichaelCook

CMichaelCook — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 07:25:13 -0800

Make that hearty second... :|

By: dead_

dead_ — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 07:43:41 -0800

Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood

By: ruff

ruff — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 08:17:42 -0800

Didn't read comments, apologies if this is a repeat. But I find these lists good.
From Wikipedia: 1, 2.
From Amazon: 1, 2.

By: deborah

deborah — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 22:09:57 -0800

Dies the Fire - I'm almost done with it. Love it love it love it. Can't wait for the next one.

I also recommend On the Beach. Wow. Just wow.