Next stop on our summer film journey is science fiction, as broad a genre as you could imagine. From dinosaurs to space opera to oh-what-horror leaping out of people's chests.
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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick's film, written with Arthur C. Clarke, has confused, intrigued and impressed audiences since it was released. The cut from one weapon (a bone) to another (a nuclear device in space) is an amazing piece of narrative, spanning time and technology but raising questions about how much humanity has evolved. The opening of Richard Strauss's tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra is indelibly associated with the film as is Douglas Rain's voicing of computer HAL 9000. Both are endlessly referenced in popular culture. This was a popular drug-augmented movie experience long before Cats.
With the ever increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence (looking at you ChatGPT) and our reliance on technology what happens might give us pause.
Quote: "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."
Trivia: Kubrick replaced Oscar-winning actor Martin Balsam with Rain as the voice of HAL, deciding that Balsam's performance was too emotional.
If you like this, try: Interstellar; Inception; Gravity.
Star Wars (1977)
George Lucas's space opera - set "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." drew on everything from Flash Gordon to samurai movies to World War II dogfight films to westerns for inspiration. As well as spaceships and robots there's also the mysticism of the Force to give a spiritual dimension to its evil Empire/good Rebels story. The world got broader and deeper as the saga continued. The huge success of the film led, of course, to sequels, prequels, TV and streaming shows, spin-offs and more including the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. And Lucas never seemed to stop tinkering with the movies (Han shot first!). This film was reissued as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Quote: "May the Force be with you."
Trivia: George Lucas retained merchandising and sequel rights and made billions.
If you like this, try: The Ice Pirates; Flash Gordon; Dune.
Alien (1979)
One of the big unanswered questions is: are we alone in the universe? There are many films about alien encounters - some benign, some hostile; some on Earth; some off it. Ridley Scott's film is a dark, atmospheric, sci-fi horror movie in which the human crew of the Nostromo come across a derelict spaceship in which something nasty resides. The "chestburster" scene is still a shocker. This film made Sigourney Weaver a star as Ripley and spawned a franchise.
Trivia: Weaver had Ripley killed off in one of the sequels but when she was persuaded to return her character was ingeniously made a clone.
Quote: The ad line was "In space, no one can hear you scream."
If you like this, try: Invasion of the Body Snatchers; The Thing; E.T; Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Back to the Future (1985)
Time travel is a frequent subject in sci fi. The idea of visiting or changing the past (or the future) might be appealing but it can also be dangerous. This Robert Zemeckis movie has a light touch with an Oedipal twist: teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) finds himself back in the 1950s where he must find a way to get his teenage mother and father to fall in love or he'll cease to exist. Two sequels added many complications.
Trivia: Well into production the filmmakers fired Eric Stoltz as lacking the necessary comedy chops and hired original choice Fox who worked on sitcom Family Ties by day and the film by night.
If you like this, try: The Time Machine; The Butterfly Effect; the Terminator series.
Jurassic Park (1993)
The folly of meddling with nature goes back a long way in science fiction - back to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at least. In Michael Crichton's story, directed by Steven Spielberg, dinosaurs are recreated with DNA for a theme park. Hubris and technology failure lead to disaster as the creatures go on a deadly rampage.
Trivia: The story is a reworking of Crichton's movie Westworld (1973), about a theme park in which the robots run amok.
Quote: "You didn't ask for reality; you asked for more teeth!"
If you like this, try: Frankenstein; Westworld; The Island of Doctor Moreau.
Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott's film - adapted from a Philip K. Dick novel - was not a hit. But over the years its reputation grew and a number of re-edits ensued. Harrison Ford plays "blade runner" Rick Deckard, assigned to kill a group of rogue replicants. The film deals with issues about identity and humanity and the question is raised: is Deckard a replicant?
Trivia: A sequel, Blade Runner 2049, was released in 2017.
Quote: " I've seen things you people wouldn't believe."
If you like this, try: Soylent Green; Logan's Run; Elysium.
The Matrix (1999)
The Wachowski siblings' cyberpunk movie popularised ideas like "bullet time" and "red pill/blue pill". Keanu Reeves plays a computer programmer who's also a hacker under the name Neo. He learns of "The Matrix" - the simulated reality humans live in so machines can use their energy - and joins a rebellion against it.
Trivia: Most of the film was shot in Sydney (in and out of studios).
Quote: "The body cannot live without the mind."
If you like this, try: Minority Report; Ghost in the Shell; Tron.
From last week: Thanks to those who wrote in regarding their favourite Westerns. The Magnficent Seven (1960) was a big one (as it should be - forget about the remake).
- Tell me your favourite science fiction movies and why. Email: ron.cerabona@austcommunitymedia.com.au
- Next time: Twist movies