Master Of Disaster

Film critic Mark Kermode on what makes a great movie.

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When classic disaster movie The Towering Inferno came out in 1974, the young Mark Kermode loved it so much he went to see it three times in one week.

In the latest instalment of his Secrets of Cinema series, the film critic explores the enduring appeal of disaster films, and examines some of the conventions and techniques they use to keep us on the edge of our seats.

MORAL JUDGMENT

Behind all the death and destruction in disaster movies, there is usually a moral message, says Kermode, who traces the genre back to silent films such as biblical epic The 10 Commandments, released in 1923.