Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on October 02, 2006 at 11:52:08

In Reply to: My Top Ten Sci Fi Movies posted by rico on October 2, 2006 at 08:52:55:

I'm not a big fan of "lists" (because they're all subjective and a bit too judgmental) but you've composed a pretty darn good one. As alternates, I'd be inclined toward placing Bride of Frankenstein and Cat People in Horror and dropping E.T. from my lists altogether, but generally I agree. If I were to compose a list of SF films here is what it would probably look like:

1) "Metropolis" (1927 - Fritz Lang's great expressionist SF film, classic German silent about class warfare in a Utopian/Dystopian future; think of King George II as Johhan Fredersen and Karl Rove as Rotwang and this masterpiece even more prophetic)

2) "The Thing" (John Carpenter's remake; much closer to of John W. Campbell's original story, it has a truly 'alien' alien)

3) "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (fascinating story about adjusting to physical changes in one's world, the fears one faces and philosophical acceptance that Man is a very small part of a vast universe; takes down-sizing to a whole new level)

4) "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (Simply the best film to study human nature and how governments might react to a highly publicised first contact visitation; it also proves that energy providers are the ultimate power brokers in the world)

5) "Brazil" (Terry Gilliam's nightmarish, dystopian view of the future where individualism is considered a threat to order and torture is as common an accepted practice as afternoon tea)

6) "The Abyss" (James Cameron's exploration of the alien worlds under our own seas, how little we actually know about what could be going on just below the surface and the effect an unknown intelligence might have on the surface world. Note: Cameron's first wet-suit adventure; it wouldn't be his last)

7) "Blade Runner" (Director's cut - Noirish detective story of android's inhumanity to android, and Man's greed and exploitation of his own creations)

8) "AI - Artificial Intelligence" - (Beautifully realized film taken from an android's perception of mankind's selfish nature and cruelty taken to it's own inevitable demise; it takes the phrase 'frozen in time' to a whole new place)

9) "A Clockwork Orange" (Cautionary tale with biting sarcasm about how the near future would succumb to it's own decadence and how a permissive compassionate society would enable youth gangs; Beethoven's works have never been portrayed with such violent passion)

10) "Lord of The Rings" (I added this to my list just to bug Victor -grin)

Best bug movies:

1) "Starship Troopers" (Great "bug" movie; maybe it's not Heinlein's vision, but the subtext provides a fine commentary on war, patriotic zeal, propaganda and facism; remove LoTR from the SF list and it would be among my Top 10)

2) "Men In Black" (Tongue in cheek send-up of alien visitation, government cover-ups and "bug" movies; very clever, unlike it's sequel)

3) "Aliens" (Assertive woman gets bugged and proves who's queen)

4) "Alien" (Spooks galore; someone have a Giger counter?)

5) "Them" (Formic acid, eerie electronic squeeks and paper mache chills make for a rollicking "nukular" gone wrong adventure)

Best space travelogue & hallucinogenic visual experience:

1) "2001: A Space Odyssey" (A great, occasionally visceral film experience with magnificent music and somewhat slow pacing; it's epic cinematography sometimes appears to trumpet it's own greatness in spite of a rather obtuse storyline, but it exudes a feeling of rich spectacle and should be seen in it's original Cinerama to be fully appreciated)

Also rans (frequently magnificent, and occasionally in competition for my Top 10):

1) "Forbidden Planet" (Shakespeare never had it so good with Honey West)

2) "War of The Worlds" (both major release versions; Welle's is still rolling in his grave and whispers of "someday they'll get it right" are carried on the wind in his otherwise cryptic message)

3) "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (pod casting gone wrong)

4) "This Island Earth" (great fast paced pop-corn flick about a advanced civilization of brainiacs in their final hours!)

5) "Pitch Black" (scarey pop-corn flick that effectively bridges SF with horror)

6) "Planet of The Apes" [original] - (NY cabbies several generations removed frrom civilization)

7) "Serenity" (Joss Whedon takes the conventions of the old west into space and successfully meshes two genres)

8) "Tremors" (blue collar rednecks match wits with prehistoric beasts and somehow out smart them)

9) "Jurassic Park" [& sequels] - (Well, the science may be a little flawed, at least what can be achieved currently, but these dinos ROCK!)

10) "Mysterious Island" (Well paced story on steroids, with supurb Harryhausen special FX; hormones are raging, and they aren't all growth hormones!)

Next, someone should do a list of horror movies (especially since Halloween is just around the 'coroner')!

Cheers,
AuPh :o)