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These films have also had tremendous impact on popular culture, as well as the stars who have appeared in them. Here are reflections on a few of them:

"The Towering Inferno" (1974) — The world's largest building burns down on the night it opens in this Allen extravaganza. Few movies grow scarier as the years pass, but the scenes of people jumping from skyscraper windows are nearly impossible to watch without being reminded of the tragedy at the World Trade Center. Don't expect a remake any time soon.

Also frightening, but in a far different way, is watching O.J. Simpson in the role that helped launch his film career. In its day, however, "Inferno" was a smash success, earning eight Academy Award nominations, including best picture, and winning in three technical categories.

One more scary thought: This film earned the legendary Fred Astaire the only Oscar nomination he'd ever receive, and he doesn't even dance.

"Earthquake" (1974) — While an over-emoting Charlton Heston has sent chills up many spines, in this film he's aided with a cinematic innovation — called Sensurround — that caused theater seats to shake as an earthquake reduces Los Angeles to rubble.

The Sensurround technology was achieved by installing high-powered bass amplifiers on the theater floor, and the sensation was so strong when the movie premiered at Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theatre that it caused plaster to fall from the ceiling as it was being tested.

Thank goodness the script for "Earthquake 2" was never produced. In it, stars from the first movie — including George Kennedy, Victoria Principal and Richard Roundtree — were supposed to move to San Francisco to recover from their seismic trauma. Heston — who was uneasy about having to appear in the embarrassing sequel "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" — actually insisted that his "Earthquake" character be killed off.

Los Angeles again faced destruction in 1997's "Volcano" and would have been buried in molten lava if not for Tommy Lee Jones and a brainy Anne Heche.