Which disaster movie/book...

[Lizz]

Hey folks, 'The Lost World' is on TV, SyFy if you care, and I'm wondering about if I could make it through. Is there an outdoorsy disaster apocalypse film you've thought about in a ' no no don't do that do this..' Sort of way. If so what film and what challenge? And what would you do? And yes 'Deliverance' counts... Paddle faster... I know someone has that as their signature on here, it made me get the book out last night.

 

[dewi]

The best film of the genre in my opinion is Castaway... story of an ordinary man cast away on a desert island and his struggle to adapt to his environment... couple of bits, especially the 'dental' scene make you think about what you'd do if you were put in that situation.

Saying that, a film that always makes me chuckle is Shaun of the Dead. Simple plan, take car, grab Mum, kill Phil, get Liz and go to the Winchester for a nice cold pint and wait for this to all blow over. But they don't half make a hash of it.

And dogs can look up!

 

[Lizz]

Oh I love castaway - it's the bit where they cut to several years later and it's so clear his skills have been utterly honed by his experience that is so interesting, and optimistic, with practice skills will develop and improve!

 

[dewi]

I was fascinated by his attempts to make fire and how he gradually realised where he was going wrong... then when he finally got fire... had me grinning from ear to ear.

Have you seen Leigh's night of survival with just a knife? Its in the out and about section... and it is a fascinating watch, and a similar reaction when he finally got fire.

 

[Lizz]

I'll look out for Leigh's post. It's the big things that are so inspiring - and fire is so primal, and so crucial to survival.. But not if you're watching the towering inferno!

 

[dewi]

Another part of Cast Away I find fascinating is 'Wilson'.

Extended times away from home and particularly in a lonely environment, it is quite bizarre how you can get an emotional attachment to things... perhaps not quite as much as Tom Hanks character, but then he was in an extreme environment. I once had a small stuffed dog toy in my van, it traveled with me everywhere and when I sold the van, I forgot it was there due to it being a chaotic transaction. It sounds daft, but I sort of miss that dog. Inanimate object maybe, but the journeys where I looked up and saw it on the shelf, the breakdowns when I fell asleep on the back cab seats staring at it. Even more bizarre, I didn't name it... yet I still miss it. I presume I have some deep seated psychological issues that need to be resolved by crossing the palm of a therapist twice a week for three years.

 

[Stevie777]

The Wizard of Oz...I would have left Toto to fend for himself and got in that cellar a lot sooner. It would have Saved a lot of hassle and having to hang out with 3 weirdos in the long run.

 

[sunndog]

The Wizard of Oz...I would have left Toto to fend for himself and got in that cellar a lot sooner. It would have Saved a lot of hassle and having to hang out with 3 weirdos in the long run.

i would have had that axe off the tin man double quick.....scarecrow? Walking tinderbox

 

[Lizz]

And the lion? Hunting partner? Or dinner? Or we could eat the witch..

 

[dewi]

Mmmmm, loooong pig!

 

[sunndog]

And the lion?

Definatly dinner, nobody needs that whiny little bleeder hanging around spoiling the atmos

 

[Robson Valley]

Read the book: "The Martian" by Andy Weir. Research crew of 6 lands on Mars for a 40 day exploration.
REALLY bad sandstorm threatens their escape vehicle. No lifesigns transmitted from 1 crew member.
So the other 5 take off for Earth. But, he's not dead yet. Extraordinary piece of bushcraft.

 

[tiger stacker]

The Road, grim reading the film managed to bring the book alive. Post apocalypse films tend to ignore key facts with maguffins though. With the Road it was evident that foraging for food is hard, the treat of your first cola though...

 

[British Red]

Not a film but a great audio book ( and you are all entitled to a free one from www.audible.co.UK). Dies the fire by SM Stifling. A sudden flash and the world is subtly changed, engines, technology and gunpowder no longer work ...the world is effectively back in the Middle Ages.

The basic idea is whacky but get past that and its a real romp of an adventure!

 

[tiger stacker]

Not a film but a great audio book ( and you are all entitled to a free one from www.audible.co.UK). Dies the fire by SM Stifling. A sudden flash and the world is subtly changed, engines, technology and gunpowder no longer work ...the world is effectively back in the Middle Ages.

The basic idea is whacky but get past that and its a real romp of an adventure!

Emberverse, good set of books with knights from England joining the clan.

 

[GGTBod]

Lord of the flies, i'd have commandeered Piggies glasses and demoted Ralph and then Jack after letting the fire go out, made myself troop commander of the island and organised everyone back under the rank and file of the military school we'd come from in order to tame the island and it's resources then build a swiss family Robinson style house and trained up some monkey butlers

 

[British Red]

Emberverse, good set of books with knights from England joining the clan.

5he initial trilogy is excellent. All went a bit pear shaped after that

 

[Man of Tanith]

5he initial trilogy is excellent. All went a bit pear shaped after that

He's on 2nd generation of changelings now.
still fun but i havent got the attachment to characters in this cycle of books.

 

[pysen78]

I liked "All is Lost". Not very bushcrafty, but certainly interesting from a survival viewpoint. I like the pacing of it. The consequences of his every action would dawn on me just the right amount of time before they actually took place.

SPOLIER BELOW! Highlight post to read.

Wouldnt have set fire to the raft in the end, and would certainly have kept a personal non-inflatable floating aid i.e. lifevest on me at all times.

 

[sandbender]

Read the book: "The Martian" by Andy Weir. Research crew of 6 lands on Mars for a 40 day exploration.
REALLY bad sandstorm threatens their escape vehicle. No lifesigns transmitted from 1 crew member.
So the other 5 take off for Earth. But, he's not dead yet. Extraordinary piece of bushcraft.

Soon to be a movie with Matt Damon playing the eponymous Martian.

The Road, grim reading the film managed to bring the book alive. Post apocalypse films tend to ignore key facts with maguffins though. With the Road it was evident that foraging for food is hard, the treat of your first cola though...

I enjoyed the film, however the book is better (and bleaker).

If folks are going to add disaster books to the thread then I'll mention 'Seveneves' by Neal Stephenson, which I'm about three quarters of the way through.

A brief synopsis would be, the world is going to end. Everyone knows it. It will end completely (and suddenly), nothing will be left on the surface, no structures and no life. The planet will be uninhabitable for several thousand years at least.

Humanity has about three years to prepare for the end, the available technology is little advanced from what we know, is three years enough to get a viable human population off world along with everything they will need to keep them ticking over for a few millennia?

You'll have to read the book to find out, but be warned this isn't Star Trek.

You can read the first chapter here.