The film industry loves to rough up New York City, and, frankly, it can look spectacular in cinematic black and blue. Just a few weeks ago, millions of movie-goers were lining up to get a first glimpse of Will Smith roaming a divinely desolate Manhattan in "I Am Legend."

Using state-of-the-art computer graphics to tweak the real thing, "Legend" imagines an urban environment being reclaimed by Mother Nature, including wild animals in the streets (no jokes, please). Hard on "Legends' " heels comes "Cloverfield," due Jan. 18. J.J. Abrams' Godzilla-inspired flick has had movie-goers abuzz with its mysterious trailer of fireballs over the city and a stunning shot of the head of the Statue of Liberty landing in a city street.

You'd think a native New Yorker would go ballistic at the frequency with which filmmakers flog the city. But we can take it -- most of the time.

I have to admit, the Brooklyn girl in me can get upset imagining newyorkaphobes reveling in the city's comeuppance. There must have been a smile on every hater's face when John Carpenter's "Escape From New York" presented Manhattan as a burned-out shell inhabited by hard-core criminals (not to be confused with the wildlife in "I Am Legend").

I'm more likely to squirm when a movie takes malicious aim at the character of New Yorkers than when it's hurtling computer-generated meteors at buildings. That's why it's such a relief to welcome a movie like "Enchanted," which pokes a bit of gentle fun while mostly singing the praises of the people and the places.

And oh, those places. Let's face it, the city has so many easily recognized landmarks that, with the possible exception of Washington, D.C., it's the place in the States where devastation will have the most impact on the widest audience.

That brings us to the mammoth in the room: You can't discuss filming the city -- especially its destruction -- without being influenced by 9/11. For me, seeing the World Trade Center as a scenic headliner (think Woody Allen or "Moonstruck" panoramas) is heart-wrenching -- much more so than any sci-fi/fantasy mayhem.

As for "I Am Legend," the sight of a lone car speeding through empty streets -- streets I have walked amid shoulder-to-shoulder crowds -- might seem like a dream come true. But then comes the realization that the crowds are gone because humankind is on the brink of extinction ... a nightmarish theme that can hit home for anyone, anywhere.

Using New York as the backdrop serves as a constant reminder of the enormity of the loss.

Plus, in this day of digital movie magic, showing a landmark in ruins appears to be a snap, such as the broken Brooklyn Bridge in "Legend." Disaster movies ("Meteor," 1979; "Independence Day," '96; and "Armageddon," '98; among them) thrive on such shots, and I understand how an effects-oriented filmmaker would find that irresistible.

It makes sense that "Lost" co-creator J.J. Abrams and writer Drew Goddard, having tackled disasters on an uncharted island for ABC television, would turn to a densely populated Manhattan for a new challenge. With their "Cloverfield" due to mount yet another cinematic attack on New York, here are some big-screen movies that showed the city as it crumbled:

"King Kong" (1933, 1976, 2005) -- The big ape munches on citizens, shakes train cars like a rattle and, in the original, leaves his big paw prints on the Empire State Building before making a big mess on the ground below. The '76 version with rising starlet Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges is eerie in the end, when the big ape makes his last stand at the Twin Towers.

"Deluge" (1933) and "When Worlds Collide" (1951) -- Flooding the East Coast (and the West Coast, for that matter) is a popular sci-fi theme. In "Deluge," earthquakes and tidal waves cause the disaster. In George Pal's adaptation of "When Worlds Collide," it starts with rogue planets barreling toward Earth. Which brings us to ...

"Deep Impact" (1998) -- A distant cousin of "When Worlds Collide" sets a comet on course for Earth (and New York, natch). The catch: Only those people allowed into shelters will survive. An update is planned from director Stephen Sommers ("The Mummy").

"Planet of the Apes" and "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" (1968 and 1970) -- The final scene in the original, with the Statue of Liberty losing its head, is all that's needed to tell us how humans have evolved, and at what cost. In the "Beneath" sequel, we find humans living below ground in the ruins of the subway.

"Escape From New York" (1981) -- The future looked pretty bleak to John Carpenter back in '81. Here's the description of "Escape" from his Web site: "It is 1997 and a nearly destroyed New York City has become a walled prison for more than 3 million convicted criminals who have lost, but survived, a brutal war against the United States Police Force. ... These outcasts are left completely on their own to prey on each other."

"Godzilla" (1998) -- The American remake died at the box office, so not many movie-goers watched the giant lizard's stomp through New York.

"A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" (2001) -- In Steven Spielberg's film, from a treatment by Stanley Kubrick, a lone android survives when humanity runs out of time. But before we go, New York is seen as operating high above flood level -- with Coney Island's amusement park and its Wonder Wheel memorably seen underwater.

"The Time Machine" (2002) -- This version, directed by Simon Wells, great-grandson of H.G. Wells, was bumped from its December 2001 release date to March 2002 because of concerns about a scene involving a meteor shower leaving New York in ruins. Although the scene was set in the distant future, movie studios were sensitive to post-9/11 feelings.

"The Day After Tomorrow" (2004) -- The scene of burning books in the grand public library on Fifth Avenue is chilling, even if it's done to survive the next Ice Age.

"Bee Movie" (2007) -- Proud New Yorker Jerry Seinfeld animated his city lovingly -- then stripped it down to tree bark to show what happens when you fool with Mother Nature. Not to worry. By the end, Central Park and the rest of Manhattan were in full bloom again.