Image via Complex Original
Moving pictures have been blowing shit up, knocking shit down, and contriving ways for pretty boys to narrowly prevent shit from doing all of the above since technology made it possible. As the average moviegoer and television-viewer grows more and more jaded, creatives have to figure out ways to blow more shit up and in better ways. So you'll be happier.
The best way to tug heart strings or fill viewers with a sense of existential dread is to destroy the iconic landmarks that populate social studies textbooks. But not all landmark levelings are created equal. Let’s face it, the White House blowing up pisses people off and reminds them that they love America, while the collapse of the Capitol Records Building reminds viewers that there is a Capitol Records Building. Get ready, you damned dirty apes, this is your Independence Day.
Here are 25 Landmarks Destroyed in Film and TV.
By Brenden Gallagher (@muddycreekU)
Williamsburg Bridge (as destroyed in The Dark Knight Rises)
City: New York
Also Destroyed In: n/a
Hipsters and Hasids alike will tell you that Williamsburg is the greatest place in Brooklyn; Chris Nolan disagrees.
When Hollywood gets the jones to destroy a New York bridge, they typically go for the Brooklyn Bridge. But if Hollywood moves along the path of Brooklyndom (which is the path of hipsterdom to the world at large), filmmakers will blow up the Williamsburg Bridge for the next several years because it will be the hip thing to do. Then, several years after that, they will go back to the Brooklyn Bridge, but this time they will destroy it ironically.
You read it here first: The Dark Knight Rises is a hipster film.
Capitol Records Building (as destroyed in The Day After Tomorrow)
City: Los Angeles
Also Destroyed In: Independence Day; Earthquake; Galactica 1980; and Hancock
While you may not think of this building as a must-see tourist spot when you're visiting L.A., filmmakers have found it to be a fun building to destroy again and again. Though it seems that no earthquake could do this building the damage that Napster did—too soon?
The Great Sphinx of Giza (as destroyed in Team America: World Police)
City: Giza, Egypt
Also Destroyed In: n/a
You keep riddlin' with people, eventually you're gonna get blown up. Take that to the bank, cat feet.
Times Square (as destroyed in Watchmen)
City: New York
Also Destroyed In: Deep Impact; Knowing; Spider-Man; and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Hollywood has fulfilled the fantasy of many by demolishing Times Square on numerous occasions. The tourists move so damn slow. The chain restaurants are an eyesore. There is an entire store dedicated to M&M's. But at least it sequesters the tourists, and if you talk to struggling actors in New York, every single one either used to work at the Ruby Tuesday's on 41st and 7th, or the Olive Garden on 47th and Broadway. You know what? On second thought, fuck Watchmen for destroying Times Square. And for making us look at Dr. Manhattan's glowing blue wang. Why would you make a wang blue? Then it's impossible not to look. That's just science.
Las Vegas Strip (as destroyed in Mars Attacks!)
City: Las Vegas
Also Destroyed In: Resident Evil: Extinction; Category 6: Day of Destruction; 10.5 Apocalypse; and 2012
While lives were nearly destroyed here in The Hangover, and careers had to be destroyed in the making of this t-shirt, Vegas has not been destroyed on film too many times. But when filmmakers do destroy the Strip, they go in. The explosion of Sin City in Mars Attacks! used the footage from the actual demolition of the Landmark Hotel. No special effects here.
The Hollywood Sign (as destroyed in The Day After Tomorrow)
City: Los Angeles
Also Destroyed In: 10.5 Apocalypse and Earthquake
That's right, the folks behind The Day After Tomorrow decided that there was no better way to terrify you into recycling and using energy-efficient light bulbs than to show a bunch of letters being destroyed.
Strange Ass Fact: When Hugh Hefner led the initiative to renovate the Hollywood sign in '78, he held a celebrity auction to raise funds, letter by letter. Alice Cooper paid for one of the Os, in honor of Groucho Marx.
St. Peter's Basilica (as destroyed in 2012)
City: Vatican City
Also Destroyed In: n/a
2012 was an instance where the usually innocent blowing up of shit in movies caused a shit storm IRL. Director Roland Emmerich set out to blow up as many religious symbols as he could, along with a bunch of other places, in this John Cusack vehicle (lolz)… but it was brought to his attention that he would then receive a fatwa if he blew up the Kaaba. He backed down and was called a pussy on a lot of Catholic message boards, which is still a lot better than a fatwa. Shout out to Salman.
Millenium Bridge (as destroyed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
City: London
Also Destroyed In: n/a
Too be honest, no one had heard of this bridge until the Death Eaters got it twisted. Getting fucked up in a Harry Potter movie is the best kind of publicity the British can ask for… except for Kanye shouting out the marriage of the nation's ugly-ass prince. 'Ye makes other cultures better.
[Author's Note: I went and checked for you guys if Hermione got hot. She did, but there are entirely too many pictures of her head photo-shopped onto the bodies of porn stars on Google. Forewarned is forearmed.]
U.S. Capitol Building (as destroyed in Independence Day)
City: Washington, D.C.
Also Destroyed In: Mars Attacks!
Just like how no one votes in off-year elections, no one seems to care if the U.S. Capitol Building bites the dust. Few films bother to smash the dome, and when they do, it's a yawning afterthought to blowing up the White House. Could be worse, Capitol Building, you could be the home of the Judicial Branch. The Supreme Court doesn't get to be in action movies. Instead, they get Amistad.
Tokyo (as destroyed in Godzilla, King of the Monsters!)
City: Tokyo
Also Destroyed In: Godzilla, King of the Monsters!; Godzilla Raids Again; King Kong vs. Godzilla; Mothra vs. Godzilla; Ghidora, the Three-Headed Monster; Invasion of Astro-Monster; Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster; Son of Godzilla; All Monsters Attack (Godzilla's Revenge); Godzilla vs. Hedorah; Godzilla vs. Gigan; Godzilla vs. Megalon; Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla; Terror of Mechagodzilla; The Return of Godzilla; Godzilla vs. Biollante; Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah; Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth; Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II; Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla; Godzilla 2000: Millenium; Godzilla vs. Megaguirus; Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack; Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla; and Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S.
Godzilla and Tokyo are the great enduring couple in cinematic City/City-Destroyer relationships. And though they deserve a cute combo pet name, "Tozilla" and "Godkyo" both blow, unfortunately. These two tango in all but two of the Godzilla films from Toho Studios. There's also that shitty American remake you might have seen, in which Godzilla cheats on Tokyo with sexy American neighbor, New York City, but we all know how that turned out—right, Matthew Broderick? Just like your horse marriage.
Big Ben (as destroyed in Reign of Fire)
City: London
Also Destroyed In: The Avengers and The Day After Tomorrow
Big Ben gets a lot of play for a clock. And since Ben co-starred in Reign of Fire with Gerard Butler, Matthew McConaughey, and Christian Bale—or as they're better known: The Abs Who Make Us Feel Like Unmen—ladies envy him (Ben, that is). But we feel like Ben takes all of his success and his advancing age in stride. When asked for a quote, Big Ben riffed on the wisdom of one-third of the Abs, saying, “I love high school girls. I'm still right twice a day and they stay the same age.”
Chrysler Building (as destroyed in Armageddon)
City: New York
Also Destroyed In: A.I. and Godzilla (1998)
Poor the Chrysler Building: named after a bankrupt company and your only claim to fame is being the building that tourists confuse for the Empire State Building when looking out the “Top of the Rock.” Even its destructions have been half-assed. In Godzilla, the filmmakers don't even do the building the courtesy of letting Godzilla pound it. No, some dumb-ass pilot fires a missile that misses Godzilla and destroys the Chrysler Building. Unfair. The building does get its fair shake in Armageddon, but that means that the building is also featured in the film Armageddon.
Sydney Opera House (as destroyed in Godzilla: Final Wars)
City: Sydney
Also Destroyed In: The Day After Tomorrow and Supernova
As it holds both the title for weirdest looking famous building and only famous building in Australia, it is no wonder that the Sydney Opera House gets blown to smithereens regularly. But come on, Australia. If the most famous thing in your country is an opera house, you're never going to run with the big dogs. This list of 10 “must see” landmarks in Australia includes the opera house, a garden, and a large rock. A rock. Guess that's why you see Facebook pages like these.
Grand Central Terminal (as destroyed in Armageddon)
City: New York
Also Destroyed In: The Avengers and Godzilla (1998)
Armageddon is a strange movie, and not just for the infamous Animal Crackers Scene, a scene made all the weirder because Steven Tyler is singing while Ben Affleck tries to bone Tyler's daughter with nature-show based foreplay that involves an attempt to migrate some animal crackers into her bushland. It's also a strange movie because Michael Bay could have blown up any New York landmark he wanted, and he chose to spend, like, half the disaster budget blowing up Grand Central Terminal. Perhaps an Amtrak delay or bad Auntie Anne's Pretzel brought this on. We don't know. What we do know is that everyone should recognize how much this movie sucked. If you want a real animal crackers scene, get familiar with this old school hit.
Palace of Westminster (as destroyed in V for Vendetta)
City: London
Also Destroyed In: n/a
Before Guy Fawkes' Day became a symbol of the modern anarchist movement and all those groddy dudes down at Occupy Wall Street started wearing those masks, Guy Fawkes Day was the shittiest holiday ever. On Guy Fawkes Day, children are encouraged to make a scarecrow out of rags and walk around saying “penny for the guy.” Think of all your favorite Arbor/Flag Day memories and allow for more sadness to get into the right mindset for pre-V for Vendetta Fawkesing around. So, yes, this explosion is cool, but real movies are made about real holidays (preferably ones starring Bill Pullman).
Washington Monument (as destroyed in Earth vs. The Flying Saucers)
City: Washington, D.C.
Also Destroyed In: Mars Attacks! and 2012
No, the above picture is not an art installation that was placed on your campus quad during “culture week”; this is on that throwback extraterrestrial tip, so you can take off your cape and ascot. (Remember? You were an asshole in college.) To be honest, the Washington Monument is just asking for it. It is a middle finger squarely pointed to the heavens, daring any form of intelligent life to slice through it or knock it down. But if we don't throw our fingers up, how will Tupac know we miss him?
The Easter Island Statues (as destroyed in Mars Attacks!)
City: Easter Island
Also Destroyed In: n/a
This is among the best landmark destructions ever put to celluloid. The only reason it isn't more culturally significant is that we know a lot of you slept through middle school geography and don't even know what the hell Easter Island is. Easter Island is one of the least-inhabited islands on Earth, populated mostly by stone heads instead of, like, people. Granted, toppling them doesn't carry the same weight as blowing up New York or London, but we defy you to find a more entertaining weapon of mass destruction than an intergalactic bowling ball.
Taj Mahal (as destroyed in Mars Attacks!)
City: Agra, India
Also Destroyed In: 2012: Supernova and 2012
Shah Jahan, Indian Emporer from the height of the Mughal Empire had this most dope-ass of buildings erected in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. He described the Taj with these words:
Should the guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to his mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of his mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.
Pardon us while we shed tears for Shah Jahan and Mumtaz, like Ja Rule in the "I Cry" video.
Brooklyn Bridge (as destroyed in Aftershock)
City: New York
Also Destroyed In: Cloverfield; I am Legend; Godzilla (1998); Deep Impact; and The Dark Knight Rises
The iconic Brooklyn Bridge is a symbol of America's perseverance or unity or some shit. It's been immortalized in countless works of art, including Hart Crane's eight-part opus “The Bridge.” It has also been blown up countless times, and even pimp-slapped by a monster's tail in Cloverfield (featured in 25 Inaccurate Depictions of NYC in Film and TV). It has even inspired idiotic articles on about.com, like this one and this one.
Eiffel Tower (as destroyed in Team America: World Police)
City: Paris
Also Destroyed In: Armageddon; G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; Mars Attacks!; The Day After Tomorrow; Category 7: The End of the World; and Supernova
The beef between Americans and the French is no secret. From Freedom Fries to Jerry Lewis, there have been many salvos in this cultural clash of the titans. Blowing up the Eiffel Tower is just the next logical step. And we bet that the French wittily mock American monuments while they quote Sartre and smoke cigarettes in their cinema. We'll find out if we ever watch a French movie… which we never will!
The Golden Gate Bridge (as destroyed in X-Men: The Last Stand)
City: San Francisco
Also Destroyed In: The Core; 10.5; 2012; It Came from Beneath the Sea; and Mega-Shark vs. Giant Octopus
There have been a many awesome Golden Gate Bridge attacks in cinema history, but with all do respect to It Came from Beneath the Sea and Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, the prize to goes to Magneto in X-Men: The Last Stand. Because he does that shit with his mind. The only thing you can manipulate with your mind is your middle-school Algebra teacher in sex fantasies. It's a cold world out there.
U.S. Bank Tower (as destroyed in Independence Day)
City: Los Angeles
Also Destroyed In: The Day After Tomorrow; 10.5 Apocalypse; and Dragon Wars: D-War
The U.S. Bank Tower is the tallest building in Los Angeles, which is about as impressive as saying you're the best MC in Linkin Park. While Chicago and New York have four taller buildings a piece, the U.S. Bank Tower is just so damn convenient for Hollywood folks. So, when Michael Bay, Roland Emmerich, or whatever director of douchey action epics, is sitting around plotting their next bit, someone can just say, “Fuck it, let's do the Bank Tower again. It's right down the street, and I know the sickest panini spot next door.”
Empire State Building (as destroyed in King Kong)
City: New York
Also Destroyed In: Independence Day; The Day After Tomorrow; Godzilla (1998); Fail-Safe; Knowing; S.O.S. Tidal Wave; and King of the Rocket Men
Okay, so maybe King Kong didn't actually destroy the Empire State Building but he definitely inflicted psychological damage. The Empire State Building is one of the most destroyed buildings in film history. It's got some real life demons as well: more than thirty people have committed suicide by jumping off since the 1931 grand opening. And the film Step Up 3-D uses the Empire State Building in it's first shot, which might be an even greater tragedy and waste of sweet humanity.
The White House (as destroyed in Independence Day)
City: Washington, D.C.
Also Destroyed In: Category 7: The End of the World; 2012; and Mars Attacks!
Though every last one of us on the Complex Staff are fucking patriots, it's nice to see the White House blown up once in a while. Even you red-state patriot nut jobs have to admit you'd rather see it blown up than watch a dumb Disney movie where the president's kids get into wacky hijinks. You can see the poster for the best movie set at the White House here.
Also, no discussion of Independence Day can ignore the greatest speech in cinema history.
The Statue of Liberty (as destroyed in The Planet of the Apes)
City: New York
Also Destroyed In: Cloverfield; The Day After Tomorrow; Batman Forever; Deep Impact; Independence Day; A.I.; Category 7: The End of the World; Escape from New York; Armageddon; The Second Civil War; Deluge; Superman IV: The Quest for Peace; and X-Men
Lady Liberty has taken more on-screen damage than Nic Cage's professional reputation. Whether this is because of filmmakers' need to use the statue as a symbol for an embattled nation, or lazy special effects guys taking the easy way out and blowing up a relatively small statue surrounded by water, we'll never know. Still, Lady Liberty was most defiled when comedy genius/sexual creep Wood Allen quipped, “Last time I was inside a woman was when I visited the Statue of Liberty,” in Crimes and Misdemeanors.
But don't worry, she gets her fair shake from time to time. In Ghostbusters II, she is brought to life to help save New York. Hell hath no fury like a green bitch that's been blown up a dozen times. Remember that, gentlemen.
