Top 10 environmental films of all time
A countdown of the most important environmental films ever made.
Fri, Jan 08 2010 at 2:58 AM EST
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After hearing the amazing story of how the film The 11th Hour helped to save an ancient rain forest, I realized the power that films have both as political tools and as cultural influencers. So I turned to environmentalist and media expert Harold Linde to help develop a list of the top 10 environmental films of all time. Some will disagree with the selection and others with the ranking (in order of importance). Please feel free to argue with me and put forth your own suggestions and rankings in the comments section below.
So here it goes ... I hope this gives you some good ideas for your Netflix queue.
10. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Directed by Godfrey Reggio and scored by Philip Glass, this film was an epic, wordless exploration of the Hopi phrase Koyaanisqatsi, which means "life out of balance." It superimposes spectacular imagery of nature with the frenetic comings and goings of a modern-day megapolis. The film is an almost Buddhist meditation on our environment, both found and constructed. Tedious at first, but once you get into the zone, it is amazing.
9. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Depending on who you talk to, this was either the most important or the most damaging film for the environmental movement. It presented the scientific case for global warming in no uncertain terms, but it seemed to polarize the nation on the subject. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine what the climate advocacy movement would be without Al Gore at the podium. It also was historically important in opening up funding for the documentary genre, proving that even a dry Powerpoint presentation could rake in $50 million.
8. The Day after Tomorrow (2004)
The perfect feature film companion to Al Gore's climate slideshow, this film takes the audience on a disaster roller coaster as a sudden arctic melt wreaks havoc in New York City. The ultimate "what-if" epic starring Jake Gyllenhaal begs a number of important questions -- What would you do? How far would you go? What would you risk?
7. Whale Rider (2003) & Winged Migration (2001)
Tied for 7th place are two films -- one fictional, one documentary -- which changed the way we think about nature by providing an intimacy with the animal kingdom never before caught on film. Whale Rider tells the story of a girl destined to break the confines of her culture by becoming the chief of her Maori tribe. And Winged Migration (using trained birds, planes and gliders) captures the sensation of flying with the flock.
6. FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
Someone put up this perfect mashup of Fern Gully & Avatar on Youtube to prove just how closely Avatar follows the Fern Gully story. This just adds to my point that Fern Gully, though you may think of it as just a silly kids' film, really is one of the most important environmental films ever made. It framed for a generation of kids (who are now in their 20s) the archetypal conflict between man's hunger for resources and the fragile rain forest environment. In the end of course, nature wins.
5. Avatar (2009)
James Cameron's 3-D epic just broke the $1 billion barrier in just over two weeks, setting a new record. Read Harold Linde's great piece which asks the question on everyone's mind: Is Avatar radical environmental propaganda?
4. Chinatown (1974) & Soylent Green (1973)
Read my piece on these two seminal murder mysteries which defined a new era of filmmaking, summing up a generation's angst over a threatened environment and the nefarious elements that put us all in peril: 1973: The year environmental filmmaking was born.
3. China Syndrome (1979)
Read Harold Linde's accounting of The original inconvenient film, China Syndrome, which eerily presaged the meltdown at 3 Mile Island just 12 days after the release of the film, galvanizing the anti-nuclear movement in the United States.
2. Erin Brockovich (2000)
I put this crowd-pleaser at #2 because it is a rare and important example of the "cross-over" environmental film. Thanks to a great script and a perfect performance by Julia Roberts, the film was a smash success and many of the millions of moviegoers who saw it were scarcely aware they were watching a piece of environmental advocacy. Why? Because the story was just so damn good. If only we could have more films about evil corporations polluting local water supplies that are this entertaining.
1. WALL-E (2008)
WALL-E is our #1 choice — amazing, visionary, hilarious and sad — Walt Disney managed to paint the picture of an apocalyptic future dominated by endless landscapes of garbage and completely devoid of life (save a lovable cockroach) and make it entertaining. Despite the fact the Pixar downplayed the environmental message in the media (lest they turn off GOP-voting parents) it is clear that the last robot on earth, though mute, does indeed have a message.
Also check out MNN's guide to the Top 10 environmental documentaries of 2009 and Huffington Post's Must-see Environmental Movies of the Decade.
See also:
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Comments
Spuring Plover
09/04/2011 17:48 PM
RIO is way better then that stupid FERNGULLY movie and AL GORE movie is a big fat lie and WINGED MIGRATION is one of the best bird documentries
Spurwing Plover
05/11/2011 00:46 AM
Right now one of the best enviromental movies is RIO it involves two rare parrots as well as some other birds and such and is much more better then crap like FERNGULLY with those diopy forest fairies and that stupid bat and WINGED MIGRATION is a better documentry then al gores ego-trip junk science A INCONVENT TRUTH
Spurwing Plover
04/24/2011 21:51 PM
Winged Migration was by far better then that stupid FERNGULLY and AVATAR and might i suggest the latests big hit RIO about the two rare parrots It by far is better then AVATAR and FERNGULY becuase their birds in this movie are a heck of a lot better then some silly forests fairies and a stupid bat or some blueskinned weirdos riding around on oversized turkeys
Michael Kauffman
02/22/2011 09:09 AM
Not a feature length movie, but one of the best shorts touching on the mangled existence of our wasteful plastic bags:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDBtCb61Sd4
"Nothing could destroy me. I went to worlds I had never seen. What kind of giant monsters had lived here, and where were they now?"
Gabrielle Harris
02/12/2011 22:17 PM
If you are willing to include non-commercial documentary films, I would like to suggest "Hope in a Changing Climate" by the Environmental Education Media Project. Available for viewng on www.eemp.org
Nancy Martin
01/21/2010 15:52 PM
One of my all time favorites, and may not be classified as a movie, was the Lorax. Hopefully, it touched the lives of many kids (and adults) as they realized that the power of one could make a difference. As the wise Dr. Seuss says, "UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
DJ
01/15/2010 16:07 PM
Given the purpose of the list I am a little surprised at the exclusion of one of the most on-point and devastatingly accurate portrayals of human disregard of the "really real world" filmed at such an early era in budding environmental consciousness, Silent Running. I am more surprised that it isn't even in a list that includes one focusing on 'hard-boiled detective" plotline incidentally including water theft by the rich (Chinatown), a kiddie flick that ultimately focuses on a sort of.... More
Rose
01/11/2010 22:43 PM
What about Happy Feet?
Guest
01/11/2010 11:41 AM
*The American President (1995) - Michaels Douglas plays a single President of the United States who is interested in dating an environmental lobbyist (Annette Benning).
* Free Willy (1993) - The story of Keiko, everyone's favorite whale.
* Hackers (1995), This movie focused on teens nerds who discover and plot to steal corporate millions and dump millions of gallons of oil around the oceans of the world.
* The Arrival (1996), Charlie Sheen's as an out of work.... More
DJ
01/15/2010 16:16 PM
I seriously doubt many people would consider the American President (nice old romance flick, just incidentally with one character being an environmental lobbyist and that not really being any part of the plot) or Hackers (unrealistic comedy about a bunch of kids computer scamming an adult computer whiz crook with just incidentally the adult's shenanigans involving a crime having something to do with an environmental issue) to be environmentally themed movies. There are a very very large.... More
Shanyne
01/11/2010 11:21 AM
Thanks for including FernGully in your list. I have seen several other lists of this nature & everybody seems to forgotten about this wonderful movie!!
Susanne
01/09/2010 20:12 PM
We need to learn from our friends overseas how to recycle and start to help our own environmental heeds.
Elarai
12/02/2010 20:38 PM
Saving the world doesn't cost a cent. And it's not that hard either - it just requires a tiny bit of effort. http://33ways.wordpress.com
