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This is a genre of film that historically has lent itself to some of the most pretentious, silly, poorly conceived and factual-error filled works ever made. Which makes really good sci-fi movies an especially happy find.
I just watched Gattaca again. It's a movie that I'll always remember as the subject of a singular experiment. A month or so after I got off my mission, before I owned a TV and while I was still fairly culturally isolated, I passed a theatre that was showing this movie. I'd never heard of it. I'd never so much as seen a poster for it. I didn't know who was in it, what genre it belonged to, or anything else aside from the title, which gives away very little. I realized that I'd never seen a movie under these conditions, with absolutely no expectations, so I went for that very reason. I was pleasantly surprised. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so media-saturated, so that I could do that again. Rottentomatoes has ruined me for life.
Anyway, I just picked up the DVD for the sake of nostalgia. I'd forgotten how much I liked it. It wasn't a perfect movie. The premise is a bit cliche. But the execution was very interesting. It had an amazing soundtrack, beautiful cinematography, a nice script, and some wonderful acting by some of my favorite actors (e.g. Tony Shaloub, Alan Arkin, and the first major film role for the brilliant Jude Law.)
So now I'm in the mood for some more sci-fi. I have some of the obvious ones, like The Matrix, 2001, The Day the Earth Stood Still, the even numbered Star Trek movies, and Star Wars (if those count as sci-fi, rather than fantasy). I need more. Any suggestions?
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Here's a quick list of enjoyable sci-fi that you didn't list. Some of these are objectively better than others, but I remember enjoying all of 'em:
Horrorish: The Thing Aliens Predator The Abyss Cube
Dystopian: 12 Monkeys Blade Runner Planet of the Apes THX 1138 Logan's Run Brazil A Clockwork Orange Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome Soylent Green Dr. Strangelove
Lighthearted: Short Circuit Little Shop of Horrors Cocoon E.T. *batteries not included The Cat From Outer Space Galaxy Quest
Time Travel Back to the Future Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Time After Time
Classic: Forbidden Planet War of the Worlds Fantastic Voyage Them! Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Action: The Fifth Element Terminator 2 Tron RoboCop Total Recall Stargate
Misc: Dune Close Encounters of the Third Kind Starman
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An underrated movie I like is "Explorers" (junior high kids contact alien ship). Good writing and acting, with a good sense of humor too. (Anyone else ever see it?)
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I remember loving "Explorers." Although it gets conflated in my memory with "The Boy Who Could Fly" and "Flight of the Navigator," for some reason.
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Blade Runner--special effects way ahead of its time Alien--another classic from Ridley Scott The Thing--John Carpenter's version, based on "Who goes there?" by John Campbell, possibly the most influential editor in science fiction history.
Hmmm, it's harder than I thought to come up with classic sci-fi titles. Golden Age sci-fi author Ted Sturgeon's Law is that "90% of everything is crap." With science-fiction cinema its more like 98%. Even the films I listed, 3 of my favorites, all have major technical flaws. Maybe Ender's Game will break the curse. I'll keep all my tentacles crossed. And I'll post more overlooked (by some) sci-fi classics if I think of some. Morbo
[edit: I'll give a third vote for "The Lathe of Heaven" (the original PBS version)--it is very good. Haven't seen the recent A & E version. Also the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I think the BBC did it, is fun sci-fi. I've heard the radio theater version is even cooler.]
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"The Lathe of Heaven" (the original PBS version, not the newer A&E version) is pretty good. It was made back ~1980 for not much money, so the special effects haven't held up well. But very intelligent SF.
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May I suggest Invaders From Mars? It must be the 1953 original, though; the remake was awful.
Also, I have to agree in recommending the PBS version of The Lathe of Heaven, which was really intriguing. And only because it is such a favorite of mine (from any genre), I have to also second the mention of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
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Thanks for the list, Tom. I've often thought "Hmmm, some sci-fi would be nice..." when DVD renting but always forget what's around Posts: 2945 | Registered: Apr 2000
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The Last Starfighter is still somehow fun, even though I'm not ten anymore.
12 Monkeys and the Fifth Element are extremely overlooked.
The longer I live, the more sure I am that Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is among the most perfect movies ever made.
And I can't believe Annie liked Sphere (partially refundable if Samuel L. Jackson was the reason, or if she's actually talking about the book).
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I loved Gattaca. That is such an unfairly overlooked movie - they had no idea how to market it and made a mess of it. I had no desire to see it when it came out and watched it in college only b/c people in the lounge were watching. I was shocked when I liked it.
I liked Equilibrium when I saw it in the theater, but it did not hold up on repeat viewings at home. The performances were great, but some of the technical aspects were botched. There was one huge lighting mistake that really, really bothered me (but maybe it's just b/c I'm a former Stage Manager).
I don't know if it exactly fits into the sci-fi genre, but Frequency was great.
And I hope we all mean the original 1968 version of Planet of the Apes, not the awful 2001 Tim Burton remake.
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the book starship toorpers owns against the movie heinlein might be really written for teen male, (given i'm only 20) but his stuff is mighlty lnterternainly.
movies: dr. strangelove is godo. also i liked 12 monkeyss.
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I also really enjoyed Frequency , Mrs. M. In fact it was just on tv tonight, and I watched it again. Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I'm glad I'm not the only one, Fitz. I watched it with both of the commentaries, because that's what I do when I can't sleep, which is all the time. The writer, Toby Emmerich, does one with his brother, Noah, who plays Gordo. They're really cute and amusing - at one point T. Emmerich says that anyone who is watching the commentary should email him and N. Emmerich says that he'll give him a dollar for every email. I think I'm going to send one.
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Well, you could look at the collective favorites of the IMDB voters if you want a slightly more objective list: http://www.imdb.com/Charts/Votes/sci-fi
As for me, I pretty much agree with what's been said. The only thing I'd add that hasn't been said yet is Contact.
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Trancers is a good sci-fi movie. Well, okay, it's not good; it's campy. But it has Helen Hunt in it.
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I haven't watched too many sci-fi movies, but I liked Gattaca when we saw it in bio last year, and K-PAX is my all-time favorite movie. (Well, maybe that'd be a tie with LOTR)
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You know, I've heard several people in the last few years mention stuff like this -- that their biology class showed 12 Monkeys or their history class showed Kate and Leopold or something -- and I've got to admit that it is so far removed from my own high school experience, and my own teaching technique, that I'm confused by it.
Of what educational value was Gattaca?Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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This movie was an attempt by John Carpenter and Dan Obannon to make a Science Fiction film on a shoestring budget for their college thesis. The film is hilarious, and forshadows much of both directors' works.
Pinback (Dan Obannon) had a hilarious chase of the beachball alien through the bowels of Dark Star. ("Good for you! You've decided to clean the elevator!"). This scene was the inspiration he used for Alien years later, which came out the same year as Carpenter's version of The Thing. Look at the similarities of the two films as well.
The trio make a great triple feature!
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quote:. . . I've got to admit that it is so far removed from my own high school experience, and my own teaching technique, that I'm confused by it.
Of what educational value was Gattaca?
I personally occasionally show movies that are only tangentially related to the curriculum. I don't show anything rated R, and I at least pay lip service to connecting it to what we're doing [hence my math-related movie thread a few weeks ago], but honestly, the intent is purely motivational.
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I didn't see Gattaca, so I'm not commenting on the educational value or appropriateness of that movie, just on the use of movies for fun in the classroom.
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Thanks for all the tips everyone. Wow, Tom, you're an encyclopedia. Anyway, I've seen a little less than half of the movies suggested, and, of the ones I've seen, most of them are good choices. My favorites were Dr. Strangelove and 12 Monkeys. I didn't much care for Dune, and A Clockwork Orange seriously disturbs me, even now, 12 years after I saw it. Other than that, there are a lot of movies here that are going on my list.
The IMDB list was interesting, but how in the heck did "The Life of Brian" end up on there? I remember a two-minute Terry Gilliam alien abduction scene, but that's about it.
As I was reading through the list, the only movie I'm surprised wasn't mentioned, and I'm also surprised I left it out of my list of obvious choices, is "Minority Report". I thought it was one of Spielberg's better recent flicks. Oh, and speaking of Spielberg, no one mentioned "Jurassic Park".
One last thing: I picked up an interesting piece of trivia surfing around IMDB last night. If anyone has occasion to see Gattaca anytime soon, watch for this. The scene where Ethan Hawke's character is being born. There's a delivery nurse that takes the infant from the mother toward the camera to where he'll get his blood tested. Most of her face is covered by a surgical mask, but if you look closely at the eyes and the hair, you'll see the first on-screen appearance of Maya Rudolph, current cast member of Saturday Night Live. What a trip.
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After you have watched all of the titles mentioned above (and some - which like Twelve Monkeys, warrant multiple viewings - more than once), let me put in a special bid for Brazil (yes, I am a Terry Gilliam fan), whose ultra-special-edition 3-DVD set includes the original director's cut along with the first 'happy ending' theatrical release - a gold mine for scifi fans and film buffs alike.
I had a friend who was huge fan of Silent Running, so I finally watched it recently. 1972. Bruce Dern. It is transfixing - so desperately awful in many of the ways that we have come to expect (effects, plot, screenplay, directing, etc.), but at the same time quite endearing as a pure genre piece, a pioneer of various now-hackneyed themes, and containing several fine performances. (Also, a rare soundtrack by Peter Schickele of PDQ Bach fame.)
What did any one think of AI (besides that it was interminable, and that Haley Osment kid almost unwatchable)?
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This movie captures so many intangible things that I think are necessary when telling a good sci-fi story. The sense of mystery and wonder at the universe is overwhelming.
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Near the top of the list in most Film 101 courses. Dystopia category. Most of the time while watching this, I'm thinking: nineteen-farking-twenty-seven!
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First of all we were studying genetics. Second of all I think it was during CAPT week (stupid CT Academic Performance Testing or something of the sort) so we didn't have classes every day or even the same amount as the other classes. Either that or it was during a time when we had a lot of band pull-outs so not every one was there every day. I think it was CAPT though.
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Escape From New York The Road Warrior Blade Runner
Space Opera:
The Last Starfighter Battle Beyond The Stars Precious
The Classics: The Day The Earth Stood Still Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (first and second) Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back Alien, AliensPosts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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The Quiet Earth — a weird Australian film about a day when everyone on Earth winks out of existence for no apparent reason, except for this one suicidal guy. It's cool.
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Wow, Tom's post read like a list of my favoritest movies. I didn't even know that anyone else knows about the movie *batteries not included!
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As a direct result of this thread, I have ordered to movies through Amazon. I remember them both as being good, but decided to spend some money to see if my memory bears out. Besides, Diane hasn't seen either one of them so there's no harm. Neither has been mentioned in this thread so far.
The first is a 1973 animated film titled "Fantastic Planet," a Czech/French production that follows the life of a human raised in captivity by giant aliens, later escapes, and leads a rebellion. I got to see it on the large screen in its original release.
The second is a film I remember as a good, if not great, time travel movie. According to internet sources, it was meant for widescreen but went direct to video. The plot revolves around time travel tourism. "Grand Tour - Disaster in Time," stars Jeff Daniels.
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Although it gets conflated in my memory with "The Boy Who Could Fly" and "Flight of the Navigator," for some reason.
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