I'm consolidating responses into the more general thread . . .
In a message dated 12/23/00 9:22:15 PM Central Standard Time,
dsill@highland.net writes:
> GBurch1@aol.com wrote:
> >
> > Science SF: Without a doubt "2001: A Space Odyssey" is the numero uno
> > all-time greatest. In fact, a good argument can be made that it may be
> the
> > ONLY truly decent "Science SF" movie ever made.
>
> How about "Solaris"? I don't think it was better than 2001, but it's
clearly
> at least "decent".
I'm ashamed to say I haven't seen this. I just checked and see it hasn't yet
been put onto DVD. I've vowed to not buy any more analog VHS tapes if I can
avoid it, so I may wait until this pops up in digital form. It seems to be
highly valued by people whose opinions I respect, so I'll keep watching for
it.
In a message dated 12/23/00 11:15:16 PM Central Standard Time,
jonkc@worldnet.att.net writes:
> Everybody likes 2001, Alien, T1/T/2 and Blade Runner so I'll just talk
about
> some of
> the lesser known movies that I think are gems.
>
> * Forbidden Planet: Corny dialogue and poor acting can't stop this from
> being
> a terrific movie, because it has one of the best story premises ever
put
> on film.
> People land on a planet and investigate why half a million years ago an
> alien race
> that was advancing technologically at a accelerating pace mysteriously
> disappeared
> overnight. This may sound like familiar territory but remember the movie
> was talking
> about the singularity way back in 1956. State of the art special
effects
> for its day,
> and not bad even for today. Also it was the first movie ever made with an
> all electronic
> musical score, and it's aged well, it still sounds properly creepy.
> However if they ever
> remake it I hope they dump the very last scene, that sucked. Why does
> the object
> of wonder always have to blow up at the end?
I agree with this. In fact, I get out my copy of FP about once a year and
marvel at how good it was. FP was one of the first attempts to make a big
budget science fiction movie that had a good deal of "depth" in both its plot
(which is, as I'm sure you know, a re-working of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"
and in the working out of its technology. A lot of it seems awfully quaint
today but, viewed from the time when it was made, it's very good. Plus, Ann
Francis looks pretty darned good in those extraterrestrial tennis dresses she
wears and it's weird to see Leslie Nielsen from his days as a "serious"
Hollywood man. Finally, the movie created all the archetypes for the setting
and characters of Star Trek, so it has an important place in the development
of the genre of video SF for that reason alone.
> * The Forbin Project: Came out about 1970. Great story, great dialogue,
> great acting, great sets, great music, it's a mystery to me why nobody
> knows about this masterpiece. The best part is the ending, it's exactly
> what it should be, but not what you're expecting.
Wow - I'd forgotten about this. It was a really good movie and quite
imaginative for a film of its time in terms of thinking about
super-intelligence. The scene where Colossus establishes a link with its
Russian counterpart gave me the willies when I first saw it. Wasn't there a
sequel set in the years following the establishment of world hegemony by the
computer?
> * The Lathe of Heaven: Made by PBS about 20 years ago. I thought it was
> excellent but Isaac Asimov hated it. I agree with his criticism of one
> brief
> line of dialogue but that wasn't enough to ruin the movie for me, I
still
> like it.
> The move just came out on video after being unavailable and stuck in
> copyright hell for 2 decades.
Another good pick. I have a copy of this, as well (one of the first things I
taped on my first VCR). Have any of LeGuin's other works ever been filmed?
> * Defending Your Life: A fantasy comedy, and a very funny one. I kept
> thinking
> of Tipler's Omega Point. It was made 5 or 6 years ago so you can probably
> find it on video.
Hmm - this one falls outside the pale of "SF" for me. It seems more a work
of "imaginative fiction" - not "fantasy", but more like the genre that
includes things like Kafka and "Fearless" (see below). . . Plus, anything
with Albert Brooks is worthwhile spending time on. Trivia points for this
one: What's Albert Brooks' real name?
> * Fearless: Not Science Fiction at all, just the story of a man who
> confronts
> mortality and survives a airplane crash. Maybe I'm reading too much into
> it
> but I thought I could see some >H ideas, and if not, it's still a
> excellent movie.
> It's a few years old and on video.
Wow - I agree with the impression you had. This is a very Zen movie and also
very well done. It's also pretty powerful for someone like me who spends a
LOT of time on airplanes.
> *Being John Malkovich: Deals with qualia, identity, and immortality, not
> something
> you see every day, especially in a very funny comedy. No fancy special
> effects,
> just first rate writing acting and direction.
Agreed 100% One of the smartest and funniest movies ever made. The rare
exception like this movie shows that American film culture CAN create a
thoughtful masterpiece from time to time.
> * The Thirteenth Floor: Came out at the same time as The Matrix and has
the
> same
> basic premise, it's not as spectacular visually and not nearly as well
> known, but may
> be a better movie.
Also agreed 100%. By far the best of the "VR" flicks.
And now for some other titles we've overlooked in our film reviews:
"Omega Man": Pretty good adventure SF film. I get a kick out of the scene
where Heston looks at the yellowing calendar from the "future" (when the film
was made) and it shows the year of the bio-disaster to have been something
like 1976.
"THX-1138": Great cast and an example of doing more with less (I think I
recall that the entire budget for this film was something like $30,000).
This one actually belongs near the top of my "Social Science Fiction" film
list.
"Things to Come": Well worth watching as an exercise in futurism and
idealism, and also displaying some impressive special effects for its time.
Although I wouldn't say it makes it near the top of my "best of" list, it's
one everyone should see. (Maybe my familiarity with it - I've watched it a
number of times - makes up for not having seen "Solaris" . . .)
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
ICQ # 61112550
"We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know
enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another
question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species."
-- Desmond Morris
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