Most closely associated with Twentieth Century Science Fiction films set after Nuclear war and images of the devastated cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but it does have a precedent in the 1936 film of H.G. Wells' "Things to Come" which features the bombed ruins of Everytown.

• Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) - has a bizarrely melted cityscape.

• The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2 (1991) - blasted and levelled Los Angeles.

• There Will Come Soft Rains - short story by Ray Bradbury in which the remains of an automated house carries on regardless of the fact that its occupants are long dead.

Another concept contained in some of these, is that of the ruined inhabitants still dwelling in the ruins of their homes:

• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

• The Omega Man (1971)

• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)

• Things to Come (1936) - the important people living in the ruins of Everytown even dress in clothes reminiscent of furs and jewellery of the Ancient world.