Survival and shtf Movies List
(Note) I’ve linked to each movie on Amazon.con so you can read the reviews there – but I don’t suggest you buy the movies. Buying movies is, in my opinion a waste of resources that could be put to better use. If there is a movie you would like to see try redbox or your local video store…
In no particular order…
1. Cast Away - Tom Hanks, classic man stranded on Island. Not the best movie, I’ve watched but not the worst either.
2. 28 Days Later - Man wakes up from a coma to find London deserted–until he runs into a mob of crazed plague victims.
3. 28 Weeks Later – Six months have passed since London was overrun by infectious, plague-ridden zombies. Now they are back.
4. Alive - A team of tough rugby players survive a plane crash deep in the desolate, snow-covered Andes.
5. Children of Men – The last baby was born in 2009 and the world has been torn apart by nuclear fallout, rampant terrorism, and political rebellion.
6. The Killing Fields – Survival in the ensuing madness of the Khmer Rouge’s genocide.
7. Shackleton – When the expedition ship Endurance becames locked in the Antarctic ice, Shackleton vowes to bring every man home alive, and against virtually impossible odds, including a 700-mile journey in an open boat through some of the worst seas in the world, he did just that.
8. The Pianist – World War II epic.
9. 30 Days of Night - A mob of vampires overruns a remote Alaskan town. I’m not a big fan on vampire movies but this one was really good.
10. Black Hawk Down – Conveys raw and brutal battle through the streets of Mogadishu Somalian in 1993.
11. I Am Legend - A lone human survivor in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by vampires.
12. Terminator Salvation – One of the best in the Terminator series, great special effects.
13. A Boy and His Dog – The year is 2024 in Post-Apocalyptic America Vic and his telepathic dog Blood are happy scavengers in the desolate wilderness ravaged by World War Four, where survivors must battle for food, shelter, and sexual companionship in the desert-like wasteland.
14. A Cry in the Wild – A great movie (my opinion) set Canadian wilderness.
15. City of Ember - A secret city has been built to preserve mankind from worldwide disaster. But over time, the purpose of the city is lost–and the city gradually decays.
16. Empire of the Sun – A young British boy’s noble spirit allows him to survive the hardships of a Japanese prison camp in China during World War II.
17. Escape from New York - In the future, crime is out of control and New York City is a maximum security prison.
18. Rambo First Blood – The only Rambo movie worth watching.
19. Into the Wild - The true story of Christopher McCandless who walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure.
20. Never Cry Wolf - A inexperienced biologist, is deposited alone the desolate Arctic terrain. Once settled, he struggles to endure the forces of nature as he documents the mysterious habits of the wolves he has been sent to study.
21. The Edge – Two men up against a giant Kodiak bear, and their own inner demons, when lost together in the Alaskan wilderness.
22. The Flight of the Phoenix – Robert Aldrich’s tense, 1965 drama about a plane crash in the Sahara is a unique psychological study of men in desperate circumstances. There is a new version of the same title, however I prefer the first one.
23. The One That Got Away – Set in WWII escape from a prisoner-of-war camp. Good movie.
24. The Thin Red Line – Realistic view of military and moral chaos in the Pacific during World War II.
25. To End All Wars – Captured by the Japanese, a group of soldiers are forced to build the infamous “Railway of Death” between Thailand and Burma.
26. War of The Worlds – Aliens hell-bent on destroying humanity. Good movie but the little girls whining got on my nerves.
27. Waterworld – A lone man with gills and webbed feet who navigates the endless seas of Earth after the complete melting of the polar ice caps. I know it what you’re thinking, but it’s no all that bad.
28. The Postman – Drifter leads the resistance against a military tyrant after a collapse.
29. Enemy of the State – Depiction of high-tech surveillance.
30. Six Days, Seven Nights – Charter pilot who must ferry New York fashion editor Robin Monroe from one island to another–a hop that falls flat when they fly into a mammoth storm that causes them to crash on a deserted island.
31. Braveheart - Epic based on the life of legendary thirteenth century Scottish hero William Wallace.
32. The Missing - A woman raising two daughters in an isolated and lawless wilderness. When her oldest daughter is kidnapped by a psychopathic killer with mystical powers , She is forced to re-unite with her long estranged father to rescue her.
33. Lord Of The Flies – A group of children men from a military academy are stranded on an island. They turn savage and start to kill each other.
34. Touching the Void - Two British mountaineers attempt to climb the previously unconquered mountain Siula Grande.
35. Swiss Family Robinson – Shipwrecked on a deserted island the Robinson family overcome the obstacles of nature and transform their new home into a “civilized” community.
36. Book of Eli - Eli walks west in post-apocalyptic America.
37. Stranded – Based on the October 13, 1972 crash of rugby team called “The Old Christians” from Montevideo, Uruguay, boarded a plane for a match in Chile. Also see number four Alive.
38. Jerimiah Johnson – One man’s effort to shed the burden of civilization and learn to survive in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. One of my favorite movies.
39. The Mosquito Coast – A modern man who takes his family into the jungle. Not the best movie I’ve watched, but not the worst either.
40. Red Dawn - The invasion of the United States has begun! Time to defend the homeland.
41. Iron Will – Based on a true-life story, a young man and his team of sled dogs embark on a grueling and treacherous cross-country marathon, in hopes of winning a $10,000 prize.
42. The Tracker - Noble Adams, a legendary tracker, is coaxed out of retirement to hunt down crazed killer Red Jack Stilwell and his gang. Now it’s kill or be killed in a West so wild you can never turn your back on a stranger.
43. The Day After - Cold War tensions reach the ultimate boiling point, the inhabitants of a small town in Kansas learn along with the rest of America that they have fewer than 30 minutes before 300 Soviet warheads begin to appear overhead!
44. Day After Tomorrow – Global warming triggers the onset of a new Ice Age.
45. Dawn Of The Dead – When a mysterious virus turns people into mindless, flesh-eating zombies, a handful of survivors wage a desperate, last-stand battle to stay alive…and human.
46. The Mountain Men – A fun movie!
47. Andromeda Strain - A team of scientists racing against time to destroy a deadly alien virus that threatens to wipe out life on Earth.
48. Road Warrior - The last guardian of civilization and order in a devastated world reduced to chaos.
49. Posiedon Adventure - A priest who leads a small group of survivors to safety from the bowels of a capsized luxury liner.
50. Behind Enemy Lines - Downed pilot in war-torn Bosnia. escape, evasion and survival.
51. Forest Gump - One mans survival of life from the ’50s to the ’90s.
52. Magma: Volcanic Disaster – A team of scientists set out to gather the evidence needed to convince government officials that the end is near and devise a plan to potentially prevent Armageddon.
53. V for Vendetta – Anarchistic terrorism to overthrow a corrupt government and the blatant jabs at the U.S. political arena. I Like it!
54. Apollo 13 – True story of how three astronauts, stranded 205,000 miles from the earth, fight a battle to survive while Mission Control works against time to bring them home.
55. The Hunted – FBI agent and a specialist in deep-woods tracking, team up to track and hunt down trained assassin, who made a sport out of fatally shooting deer hunters in the forests outside Portland, Oregon. Great knife fighting scenes.
56. 2012 - Who will be saved from disaster – not you or I but the politicians, bureaucrats and the rich. I was disappointed with this one, but your mileage may vary.
57. Aftershock - The two men face uncertainty as their own family members lie buried in the toppled infrastructure after a a massive earthquake rocks New York city.
58. Deep Impact - A high school Astronomy Club and discovers a new comet that unfortunately is headed for Earth. While scientists build a cave to prevent the extinction of the human race, they estimate that only 800,000 people can be selected to survive.
59. Dante’s Peak – Volcano disaster movie – worth watching.
60. Tears of the Sun - A team of U.S. Special Ops commandos struggling to rescue innocent missionaries amidst the bloody horror of Nigerian ethnic cleansing.
61. Cloverfield - Five New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city.
62. The Crazies - A mysterious virus is put into the water supply of a small Iowa town tuning the towns people - you guessed it crazy.
63. The Road - A father and his son try to survive as they trek along through the sodden, sunless remnants of some awful disaster. Whats with that whining kid? Personally, I think this was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen…
64. Panic Room - A relocated New York divorcée and her daughter fight for their lives against a trio of tenacious burglars while hiding in a customized, impenetrable panic room.
65. Shooter - One of the best action type movies, I’ve seen in years.
67. Tremors – Nevada, is infested with stinky subterranean man-eating worms.
68. 12 Monkeys – Wasteland of the year 2035, where a virulent plague has forced humans to live in a squalid.
69. Terminator 2 - Must find a way to stop the ultimate enemy – the T-1000, the most lethal Terminator ever created. The best of the Terminator series
70. Deliverance – Squeal like a pig – welcome to Appalachia.
71. I am Omega - Good Zombie movie.
72. Damnation Alley – A fun movie.
73. Snow Walker - The story of an Alaskan bush pilot and young Eskimo girl who survived a plane crash in the Alaskan outback.
74. Panic in Year Zero - A post-nuke survival story of a father who fights to protect his family from rapists, and murderers.
75. Carriers – Viral pandemic that threatens to wipe out the human race.
76. Jericho the series – Don’t forget to subscribe to The Survivalist Blog by email for a chance to win this set.
77. Kelly’s Heroes – American soldiers try to steal gold behind enemy lines in World War II. War and comedy.
78. A Bridge To Far - A daring but ultimately disastrous raid behind enemy lines in Holland during the Second World War.
79. Enemy at The Gates - World War II an excellent movie
80. Platoon – You’ve see it – watch it again. I did.
81. Zombieland – There’s been a zombie apocalypse and you’re road-tripping alone though the wasteland.
82. Full Metal Jacket – The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker – from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
83. The Stand - A government-spawned “superflu” wipes out more than 90 percent of the earth’s population.
84. Cabin Fever – The first one was worth watching, the second instalment not so much.
85. Out Break – A race to save life on earth when an unstoppable killer virus hits our shores.
86. Miracle Mile – What do you do when you’re given the deadline for the end of the world?
89. Ghosts of Mars - While not survivalist related, I thought it a good flick, that most would enjoy.
90. Testament – An unexpected nuclear strike has occurred and no one knows who did it or why it happened..
91. Resident Evil: Extinction – Zombie horror/science fiction set in the Nevada desert.
92. The Sum of all Fears – A CIA analyst uncovers a plot by terrorists to cause the US and Russia to fight a world war.
93. The Patriot - A rapidly spreading lethal biological agent is unleashed on a small Montana town!
94. The Island – Humans are cloned for spare parts, surrogate parenthood, and full-body replacements for the wealthy.
95. Proof of Life – A contractor is kidnaped in Latin American and held for ransom.
96. The Happening - A neurotoxin released by the surrounding vegetation causes people to kill themselves by any means at hand.
97. Doomsday – Post-apocalyptic action-thriller – great entertainment but nothing more.
98. Windtalkers – Navajo use code based on their language to fool the Japanese.
99. Dances With Wolves - A lone white soldier who singlehandedly mans a post in the 1870 Dakotas.
100. Farewell to the King - During World War II, an American POW escapes a Japanese firing squad. Hiding himself in the wilds of Borneo, he adopted by a head-hunting tribe of Nyak Indians, who consider him ‘divine’ because of his elaborate tattoos.
101. The Quiet Earth – A government research scientist awakens to discover that he may be the last man on earth.
What is your favorite survival related (or not) movie? 
{ 48 comments }
Great list, though you’ve got A Boy and His Dog on there twice. I recommend the Vincent Price classic, The Last Man on Earth (watchable at archive.org: http://www.archive.org/details/the-last-man-on-earth ) as well as the Charlton Heston classic based on it, The Omega Man. Both are great.
My favorite,The Patriot. I like to watch Steven Segal beat the shit out of the bad guys.
His older movies are good but it seems like the newer releases keep getting worse.
you’ve got Blackhawk Down there twice as well…you might put the French pic ‘Malevil’ in there somewhere.
“Trigger effect” In it the power goes out for a week or so any everything goes to hell
“In Search of Fire” is one of my favorites.
Sorry, the actual title is “Quest for Fire”. It did receive many awards and I think it got an Oscar. This one is slightly different from the other films on the list, but it does capture the essential struggle for survival. Really good film.
Nice list! My favorite? The Longest Day. You KNOW you’re about to invade France and take on the Nazi’s. Who will make it? Who won’t? But I’m not too sure about not having some DVDs or downloads for entertainment. No way it beats “Beans, Bullets and Band-Aids”, but if you still have a way to make electricity, and you’re hunkered down, keeping some movies or TV boxed sets may help you from going stir crazy in February while you are waiting for civilization to repair itself, or your broken leg to heal. LOW priority, of course.
Bubblehead Les,
Good point. I have a box full of unread novels just for that purpose.
I’ll never watch “Mosquito Coast” again and thought “2012″ was great entertainment.
I’d add “The 13th Warrior” and Kingdom of Heaven” to the list.
virus is an awesome movie that i find most people never heard of
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6…58775&hl=en
check it out, one of my favs
great list too, some on there i will need to check out
How about 1988 “The Beast (of War)”, directed by Kevin Reynolds? It’s about a Soviet T-62 Tank Crew in Afghanistan during the Soviet Invasion who are separated from their comrades and are ruthlessly pursued by the righteous and unforgiving Mujaheddin who’s village they destroyed at the start of the film. The tank’s insane and tyrannical commander is played by George Dzundza, who’s paranoia escalates as the tank gets lower and lower on fuel, water, ammo, and time. The protagonist is Jason Patric who plays the tank’s rebellious and realistic driver. One of my favorite movies and I’m amazed more people haven’t seen it.
Or how about something REALLY obscure? There was a made for TV war movie that was show in Australia called “The Last Bullet” which was about a company of Austrailian ODF troops in Burma fighting the Japanese in WWII. The whole of the Aussie company is wiped out and Very well done, as I recall, and never released on an American format VHS or DVD. Therefore, it’s an excellent survival film, and incredibly rare in this hemisphere.
In the list, I really like “Enemy of the State” and the “Jericho” series.
Personally, I’d continue to stock up on comedies. I have a feeling I wouldn’t want to watch a TEOTWAWKI flick during TEOTWAWKI.
Prepared N.D.
“I have a feeling I wouldn’t want to watch a TEOTWAWKI flick during TEOTWAWKI.”
Words of wisdom my friend…
just tried the google link i provided and didn’t want to work so here is another
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vBAwc23sD8
Omega Man (the original version of I Am Legend). The Great Escape with Steve McQueen. Alec Guiness in Bridge Over The River Kwai. Running Man.
I agree with MD that ‘Jeremiah Johnson’ is a great movie. ‘Defiance’ is also a decent one that could be added to the list.
Most are good movies, but survival movies? The Island and Enemy of the state? Thats a serious stretch. Forest Gump and Full metal Jacket are not even close. I would have added Pitch Black, stranded after a crash in another planet.
Remake of Red Dawn coming out in November…Hell yes.
Red Dawn is on hold indefinitely. MGM is bankrupt. Sorry bro.
Zulu!
Ah, The Warriors would seem to fit the bill.
Speaking of which, I wonder why no one has ever made a film version of Xenophon’s Anabasis.
Just remembered another one! Stalingrad! German-made flick about a squad that was pulled out of R+R in Italy and sent to the Eastern Front. Subtitled, but very well made. Also heard good stuff about The Winter War (Finish-Russian War of 39-40), but yet to find a copy for myself.
Bubblehead Les – You’re absolutely right about Stalingrad. Very well-made movie. I’ve been trying to find a copy of it for some time.
Hey W. Just checked Netflix, they have Stalingrad! They also have the joint German-Russian documentary about the battle that came out in 2003. Plus they are running a one month free trial if you don’t have an account. Hope this helps, Bubblehead Les.
Bubblehead Les – Thanks for the tip. I’ll check it out. (W)
‘Ride with the Devil’ – Set in the Civil War in Missouri. Great acting and guerrilla fighter situations. It really blows away the SHTF fantasy of a lot of survivalist who think they’ll be like Rambo. It really shows how brothers will fight brothers and neighbors will fight neighbors and how shitty the Civil War was, and how terrible a civil war would be if it happened again.
http://www.amazon.com/Ride-Devil-Tobey-Maguire/dp/0783241909
Some of my favorites includes “Uncommon Valor”, “Flight of the Wild Geese” and “Dog’s of War”. These movies addresses weapons and strategic improvisation and adaptation with the ever-changing conditions from geographic terrain to political climate. There was a lot of adaptation with what was available in the black market. I equate survival with adaptation and improvisation.
Overall, the list is very good and very comprehensive. Thank you for the list.
You forgot the all time future survivalist movie. Which is often over looked & never mentioned. “Enemy Mine” with Dennis Quaid & Louis Gossett Jr. It is the best sci-fi survivalist film you’ll ever see. Oh Yeah, “White Water Summer” with Kevin Bacon & Corey Haims. It’s a camp movie with survival tricks. Another 80′s survival film “Space Camp”.
My two top favorites are “Red Dawn and “The Day After” When ever I question why I prep and train I just watch one of these and my compass is set straight again
On the Beach, A nuke sub returns to the west coast after a MAD exchange.
I have three..Red Dawn, Dances with Wolves and The Outlaw Josey Wells….they all give a different look at surviving multiple scenarios…..
Great list, here are a few to add:
The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat)
The Great Escape
King Rat
Papillion
The Last of the Mohicans
Death Hunt
It would be awesome if we could get some book recommendation in the future. I would like them ranked though. Need to prioritize them. Thanks and nice job on this list.
Those 100 movies were supposed to be survival movies? Okay, I’ll go with the stretch aand name a few others:
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (possibly Humphrey Bogart’s best acting)
The World, The Flesh and The Devil (1959) {A true survivalist movie.}
Zulu (With Michael Caine)
DOA (short term survival, but survival until he could tell his story)
The African Queen
The Man Who Would Be King
King Kong (the original)
Deliverance (Burt Reynolds)
The Running Man
Tremors
Alien
Red Dawn
A Man Called Horse
All the best,
GB
Add “Man on Fire” – excellent movie about fighting through insurmountable odds – based on a true story.
“The Road” was an amazing book – I wonder why the movie stunk so bad… in the book, The Boy actually had very little dialogue – I’m sure they had to add a lot of speech to the screenplay to make it “marketable.”
“The Hunted” was loosely based on Tom Brown Jr (The Tracker), and he was an advisor to the production.
“Platoon” was not a great movie, IMHO, but “Saving Private Ryan” was incredible. When we got out of the theater my brother-in-law (I’m a vet, he’s not) said “It was pretty good, but I don’t think D-Day was really like that…” I almost punched him in the nose right there int he parking lot.
x2 on Pappillon
x2 on The Great Escape
I also noticed The Shawshank Redemption was not on the list.
How about “Soylent Green” and “The Andromeda Strain” the older version.
I can’t believe nobody has said NAKED PREY (1966). It takes place in Africa, but the story is based on one about a White man surviving capture by Indians. Another, sillier one, from the same year: ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS about an astronaut stranded on Mars with his monkey copilot and an escaped alien slave.
OMG MD…. DUDE! Not the freaking Alaska crap movies.
Do you realize how much Alaskans like me HATE them! 30 days of Night… completely fake. If anyone stands out there like that, I would say death in less then 5-10 minutes as Barrow gets really freaking cold! Yeah I know it is a sci fi.. but ugh!
And then Into the Wild, ugh! A mentally disturbed supposedly college bright and obviously stupid kid goes out in the Denali area and starves to death because he is stupid and this is not a survival movie! Besides meeting Sean Penn on the damn train to go shot this aweful documentary didn’t help matters for me.
I will let you slide with Never cry Wolf.
Disappointed that you missed these 3 Academy Award winners:
1. Deer Hunter
2. Apocalypse Now
3. Schindler’s List
Don’t forget – Con Air, Shawshank Redemption & Rudy.
Alive was a great true story film about survival – I read the book, awesome. Speaking of books – Seven Summits is well worth the read – another incredible true story of the survivalist mentality.
Finally, I’d question your morality & sanity if you survived watching any & or all of the Academy Awarding winning, rainbow flag promoting flick – Bareback Mountain (revised title for obvious reasons).
Red Dawn is my all time favorite – as a teeenager I watched that movie at least 50 times.
The Jericho TV Show – not a movie – is on my watch list about every 5-6 months.
Take care – Rourke
Two old ones, but well worth watching.
The Earthling – set in Australia, an ailing man (William Holden) returns to his childhood home to die. He accidently encounters a young boy whom he reluctantly teaches how to survive in the outback after the sudden death of the boy’s parents.
The Silence of the North – set in the Canadian Wilderness, a family takes on wilderness living and just barely lives to tell about it. True story.
Panic in Year Zero– gosh I’d LOVE to find a cave like that.
Also:
Pretty good example of scavengers and low-lifes and why YOU NEED A GUN.
Jerimiah the tv series.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290966/
Starring Luke Perry in his best role ever (dont like the actor myselft but this series was his greatest achievment)
Great list
Cube I and The Mist are the 2 best survivalist horror movies and I didn’t see them on the list
One that is rarely considered is Cujo. A mom and her son are locked in a car for three days avoiding a rabid dog. Good movie to remind us why we keep supplies in the car… if a little far fetched.
Another good show is Survivors that aired on BBC for two seasons. A lot better than Jericho.
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