The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

A disaster film directed by Ronald Neame and Irwin Allen, starring Gene Hackman.
A large boat flips over and passengers make their way to the bottom (now the top) to get out.
An interesting side-note, Jack Albertson (Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) is one of the survivors at the end. The plot was alright, but the characters got stupider as the film progressed. They slowed down and stopped with water chasing them through the boat and did other stupid things. There was a scene in which one character goes ahead to swim underwater and tie a rope for the others to follow. When he finally makes it to the other side, he junks the idea of tugging on the rope so the others can follow. One of hem goes without a rope tug and what does he say when he gets there? "you didn't tug on the rope... I'll go back and get the others.". Did he get a lobotomy while he was underwater? Just tug the fucking rope! I'm rating this poor because it was alright, but the characters were unbelievably stupid.

Towering Inferno (1974)

A disaster film directed by John Guillermin and Irwin Allen, starring Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway and Fred Astaire.
A huge skyscraper catches fire with lots of people inside. Rescue crews rush to help the people inside.
The plot is stereotypical now, but at the time, it was original. The characters were good and I liked the action and tension. The style was typical of the '70s and the production value as well. The pace was very quick, despite the 2 hour and 45 minute length. I'm rating this good because I think it is a good milestone of it's time and I enjoyed watching it.