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Source: Cinescape (Jan/Feb 1997). In order of importance.(1)2001: A Space Odyssey-1968;(2)Star Wars-1977;(3)Blade Runner-1982;
(4)Metropolis-1986;(5)The Terminator-1984;(6)Terminator 2: Judgment
Day-1991;(7)Alien-1979;(8)The Day the Earth Stood Still-1951;
(9)Le Voyage dans la Lune-1903;(10)Invasion of the Body Snatchers-1956;(11)Things to Come-1936;(12)A Clockwork Orange-1971;(13)Close
Encounter of the Third Kind-1977;(14)The Thing-1951;(15)Mad Max 2 (Road Warrior)-1981;(16)Planet of the Apes-1968;(17)Aliens-1986;
(18)The Andromeda Strain-1970;(19)Forbidden Planet-1956;(20)The War
of the Worlds-1953.
Follow Ups:
The Time Machine and Man who Fell to Earth should be somewhere in the list. Perhaps not near the top though. I wonder about the Aliens and Judgement Day. And what about ET and Jurassic Park?
Pretty Good List.
Damned if I can tell what "influence" films have, however.Of course, 2001 was a STUNNING ACHIEVEMENT, I marvel, get the chills,
and am blown away every time I watch it. Head and shoulders above the rest -
proof positive that film can enter the realm of literature.(Caution for MTV-gen-X-and-later-generation: this film works best in the theater,
and is very slowly paced, but then the pace gives you *time* to take it in and *get it*)Alien? - Thinly disguised Horror flick
Aliens? - mediocrfe action/adventure flickI would recommend (off the top of my head):
1) Gattaca - very intelligent with no serious missteps (ca 1998)
2) Fahrenheit 451 - cautious recommendation, since I saw it in mid-70's as am SF-reading teen. (early-mid 60's)
3) A Boy and his Dog. (late 70's?)
4) Star Trek - the Wrath of Khan (yes, I know this is more "Space Opera" - but then, so is Star Wars" (mid-80's)
5) The Truman Show (yes, this IS "Science Fiction") (1998?)
not a bad list. better than most. (Did you ever see Things to Come? It may be influential but it is a baaaaaad movie. Call it creaky with Flash Gordon special effects.)forgetting influence for a minute, here is my 20 best:
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Star Wars Episode 4
3. Day The Earth Stood Still
4. Bladerunner
5. Metropolis (1926)
6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
7. Alien
8. The Fifth Element
9. The Bride of Frankenstein
10.20000 Leagues Under the Sea (Disney)
11.Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
12.ET: The Extraterrestrial
13.A Clockwork Orange
14.Planet of the Apes (1968)
15.Fantastic Planet (Czech)
16.King Kong (1933)
17.The Incredible Shrinking Man
18.The Invisible Man
19.Jurassic Park
20.The Time Machine (George Pal)
"The Incredible Shrinking Man" - 1957 or 58; have seen it several
times, including as a child. Based on my man Matheson's novel, "The
Shrinking Man", an excellent book indeed. The film is head and shoulders above it's inverse, "The Amazing Colossal Man", made in
the same time period. - AH
I agree. Also check out these stinkers from the same era:The Thirty-Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959) A real dog. Sadly the last film work for Lou Costello, who died soon after the film was completed.
Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (1958) More drive-in fodder.
Frankenstein Saves the Word (1964 - Japan) This is one of those that have to be seen to be believed. Only claim to fame is that it was the last film for the very underappreciated Nick Adams.
Enough dogs for a large pound during that era, but following
decades had their share. Many should be mercifully gassed! I have a list of over 190 1950s sci-fi films,
with ratings. Many are a complete bore, many are ultra-cheap trash.
Some are so bad dramatically, that they become comic. "Robot Monster"
has built a solid reputation as a terrible film, as has "Plan 9
From Outer Space". "The Giant Claw" is laughable, the big vulture
is one of the most inept pieces of special effects ever. "The
Angry Red Planet" is a guilty pleasure. The thing about these low
grade films is that sometimes the critical factor is how much one likes or
dislikes the effects. While mediocre in most respects, "The Giant
Scorpion" is a fave of mine simply because of the Willis O'Brien
effects. "20 Million Miles To Earth" and "Earth vs the Flying Saucers"
are fairly pedestrian in plot,acting,etc. but Harryhausen's effects are their centerpiece. While I do enjoy CGI (if they don't come across as too glossy) I remain a diehard stop-motion animation fan. If you care to see my reviews of various sci-fi films
and others, go to www.imdb.com, look up my "Forbidden Planet" review,
and click on my name, which will take you to a complete list of all
my reviews on that site. Also, go to www.amazon.com, type in "Keep
Watching The Skies!, a massive reference work of 50s sci-fi by
my friend, Bill Warren, and check out my review. - AH
Am a stone Ray Harryhousen fan. I have seen all of his work and even his early stuff is most interesting. His influence is huge and Harryhousen-like effects are seen very frequently in current movies, even if they are computer-generated. The Scorpion King in the Mummy Returns (inside the pyramid) is a pure Harryhousen-like character. He was the best.The skeleton army in Jason and the Argonauts is a masterpiece.
Sounds like you, just like me, have a love of turkeys. The Angry Red Planet and Robot Monster are two of the worst films but I love to watch them. Call it a love of the macabre or of ineptitude. Or maybe it's just taking pity on the poor filmmaker.
How about BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA? Now there's a gem for you.
...I will, as an influential film. It wouldn't make my top 20 list of favorite SF films, though.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters-1954 and Robocop-1987? Wonder if they
would qualify in influence? - AH
what can you say?...mear words fail...
to watch this film in it's entirety is to know the deepest thoughts of a mind not unlike that of our president's: totally empty, and yet filled with garbage.
compelled to keep watching, like some grusome car wreck... haunting your dreams long after you're past it...
Barbarella!?!?! Another totally inane Roger Vadim magnum opus. He hasn't made a good film since his early days with Bridgit Bardot.In other words, Barbarella is to good science fiction what Valley of the Dolls is to good drama. The movie is pure trash.
That said, I have watched it many times and love it. A guily pleasure...wondering exactly how she killed that orgasmatron. I really feel the movie would have been even better if Fonda and Pallenberg were cast in the others' roles. Then Mick Jagger could have played the angel instead of the king of vapid, John Philip Law.
I know just what you mean...there's some weird stuff out there....like "City of Lost Children"
oh...and what about "Ice Pirates"?
really, you should try to find "Cherry 2000", a cult classic.
Yes to Cherry 2000, Death Race 2000, and Americathon....all cult classics and fun.No to Barb Wire and, maybe the worst sci-fi since this side of Plan 9 From Outer Space - The Red Planet Mars. It's so wooden and stupid that you might rather spend 4 hours with your drunken brother-in-law watching a slide show of his trip to the cheese factory than spend 75 minutes watching this crap.
My vote for the most overrated sci-fi flick is the Nicolas Roeg (sp) Invaders From Mars.
And I loved Mars Attacks. Silly but a fun spoof.
**to watch this film in its entirety...**Never happened to me cause I wuz preoccupied in da back seat wit
my gal at da drive-in theater! Did get several glimpses of da
film though.**...and yet filled with garbage**
OK, i suppose if it's bio-degradable.
**compelled to keep watching like some gruesome car wreck...**
I've watched films of the WTC bldgs collapsing now a total of 112 times. - AH
If this were a popularity poll, which it actually was, then I would agree (somewhat) with the list at least as it subjectively reflects the opinions of the magazine's staff. However, "influential" is a word that begs for more objective analysis. That means an in-depth examination of all SF genre films to establish which film(s) had an influence on the creative process of those film(s) following it or which films influenced specific scientific change in the world.With that in mind, there are many overlooked films, possibly even serials(!), which are deserving of credit on a list of influential science fiction films. Examples: Frau im Mond (aka The Woman in the Moon, 1929), the German film which established rocket countdowns, Phase IV, the 1970's U.S. film about ants developing intelligence to go along with their hive mentality, Robocop, the 1980's U.S. film which challanges the moral concept of what constitutes human life, and many others, too numerous to mention.
OTOH, as a subjective listing from 1997 of popular science fiction films (i.e., from Cinescape's Douglas Perry, Mo Ryan, Kristin Kloberdanz, & Frank Kurtz) AudioHead's posting isn't too far off, IMHO.
AuPh
Metropolis, either 1984 or 86, was Metropolis 1926 with color tints
and a rock-disco soundtrack from composer Moroder. I believe the
polled readership is of a relatively young average age, and I can see
how it would appeal to them more than the original. Even me, at my
relatively advanced age (and with a musician's sensitive ears) find
the original's piano score rather harsh and jangling on the nerves. (I guess
that's what the mute button is on the clicker is for, eh?!) - AH
the Moroder version with Hi -fi sound and colored one of a profanation of a master piece! Shame.
Andrej Tarkovsky: The Stalker
Fritz Lang: Metropolis
THX 1138
Logans Run
Darkman
Space Vampires AKA: Lifeforce
The Rock Horror Picture Show
The Illustrated Man
I would hardly call Rocky Horror sci-fi. Good clean (yeah, right) spoof of horror cliches, however.The Illustrated Man is a poor work-up of a superior Ray Bradbury work.
THX1138 is fab but I wouldn't call it one of the top 20. Top 50 has my vote.
Lang's Metropolis is, quite simply, stunning. Not only is it on of the top sci-fi films but it is one of the top films in the history of cinema. To call it "great" is serious understatement.
Logan's Run is great but see THX1138. The book is even better.
Darkman is a mediocrity. Not terrible, not good.
Lifeforce was, IMHO, the bottom of the barrel. Sorry.
All these films and no Solaris?
... can you cite a few examples of films or even scenes that show a Solaris influence? Regardless of what one thinks of them as films practically every sci fi movie and TV show made in the last 15 or 20 years shows the obvious influence of Alien or Blade Runner or Star Wars or Road Warrior , in visual design if nothing else. Where do I see the impact of Solaris ?
This is like saying: "I see all soft drinks use sugar and carmel, and none of that fancy grape thing".If you stay with the types of movies that you mentioned, then that is true to "some" extent. But I can assure you that every serious movie director is INTIMATELY familiar with works of Tarkovsky.
Not every popular song is based on bars from the Nineth... does that mean Cole Porter was influential and Beethoven was not?
> > Not every popular song is based on bars from the Nineth... does that mean Cole Porter was influential and Beethoven was not? < <No, but any musicolgist can cite examples of the direct influence of both on other musicians.
The point is that Audiohead's list was of the 20 most influential science fiction movies, not the twenty best or twenty most important or twenty favorite science fiction films. I just don't see any evidence of Solaris' alleged influence on other films.
You took words out of my mouth.Boring? It is one of the most captivating films... period... not really sci-fi, if you look deep.
Some of the best actors to walk this Earth... no Arnold... thank the cinema Gods...
I've already ordered the upcoming (21st January) region 2 DVD of Solaris (and Andrei Rublev). I'm looking forward to an increase in picture and sound quality over the old VHS tape copy I have been watching for the last 10 years.
You will love it, we did. The one I had was definitely better than tape, but still not the best possible quality, so let us know how your turns out. I still warming up my wife to another viewing of Rublev - she still refuses after the strongest impression at its first release in Russia... man, that was so long ago! Back then it was a true bombshell. Sounds like time to buy. Are you getting the Criterion one?
Artificial Eye are releasing the two Tarkovsky films in the UK. They will apparently be anamorphic transfers in the PAL system for region 2, and spread over two disks. I've never actually bought a Criterion release (they are very rare and expensive over here) but I believe that they are usually non-anamorphic NTSC, and region 0. Solaris and Andrei Rublev are rumoured to be both based on recently released Russian versions, but I have not found any confirmation of this.
I saw this one at the festival de cannes..was it not boring ?
No, although I believe that the complete lack of laser cannon fire, cute aliens, explosions in space, etc. can pose a slight problem for some people.
Tarkovsky,was boring at this prevew ( the man),and later on,when I saw glimse of if on tv, I turn quick as I could my back..
OK. just a little joke...
2001,was the US version and the Russian had to have a less cow Boy one, a more intellectual presentation...
Kubrick`s film I never like, too,a beautiful photographed fim,but pretentious....in fact I never like him ,finding his work having something sick..malodorant..but I have the greatest respect of his work...Lolita...Barry lindon,are made from the hand of a master.
Curiously the SF film that,as a kid ,made a bid impression on me was an English one..The day the earth took fire...
Laser canon or a screw driver..what is the difference ?
Solaris moved so slowly that my wife went to sleep on it! [Note: She wasn't that tired before we started watching it and the movie wouldn't have ended later than we normally stay up. FTR, she's an author of numerous fiction books who has great patience with movies and a keen eye for good story telling.] After apologizing for wasting her time I recommended that she go ahead and go to bed while I stuck it out. Well, after 30 more minutes (i.e., just a little over an hour into the movie) I threw in the towel as well. Sorry, Mick, but we found this film to be very DULL and neither of us require "laser cannon fire" or "explosions in space" to keep our attention (BTW, about the only cute aliens I relish watching are females wearing very little extraterestrial make-up and tight clothing). Now I realize that Solaris is supposed to be a classic of Soviet literature, but sometimes even the best stories just don't translate all that well to film.AuPh
If I recall correctly, Solaris the film was adapted by Tarkovsky
from the noted Polish sci-fi writer Stanislaw Lem's novel.
For an interesting analysis of Solaris and 2001 go to:www.underview.com/2001/solaris.html - AH
Besides the fact that Solaris has never been a "classis of Soviet literature", it simply sounds like you picked the wrong film for yourself.To say it is DULL is silly, and to me the film is riveting.
So according to you the film must have a "story" to be good? Sure enough that is not a universal notion. It is largely the American one.
But that is why the list has so many options. Stories galore...
> > > "To say it is DULL is silly, ..." < < <Why? It was dull! I'd sooner watch paint drying than try to sit through Solaris again. BTW, I do owe an apology to those who may have been tempted to see Star Trek: The Motion(less) Picture based on the positive reviews of the new Director's cut and my willingness to give it a second chance. Well, I was okey-doaked by the raves about how the new version had been cleaned up, tightened up and re-edited by Robert Wise. Unfortunately, like Solaris, this "new" version of ST:TMP is still a dreadful bore and hardly changed a whit from it's earlier release. Both of these films should be sued by Sominex for business infringement.
> > > "... and to me the film (Solaris) is riveting." < < <
"Riveting?" Well, that kind of makes sense. If I got stuck watching the interminable Solaris all the way through I might never move from the spot again! ;^)
> > > "So according to you the film must have a 'story' to be good? ..." < < <
Well, it helps. OTOH, I have a certain fondness for old movie serials and those, arguably, don't have stories either.
> > > "... Sure enough that is not a universal notion." < < <
Oh, well who's was it then? MGM's? RKO's? Paramount's? Sorry, I'm just yankin' your chain a bit. :o)
You went on to say that (quote): "It is largely the American one" (unquote) -- Well, I wouldn't be too quick to assign cultural preferences if I were you. FTR, I certainly wasn't questioning international tastes; I was merely expressing my own. Hell, the French apparently love Jerry Lewis, but I can barely stomach the silliness of his films! The bottom line is that one's culture may generally influence what is liked or disliked, but identifying tastes by culture is at the very least presumptuous and at worst stereotypical.
AuPh
I really don't care for you playing those stereotypes cards every time you run out of arguments. You alweays have them on the ready and play them willingly, believing they give you some edge. Well, they just make your argument shallow... be it Outside or here. So call me all you want, if that's all you can say.Having dispensed with that "argument" (and OF COURSE there are culturally-based tastes... but save that for another thread), let me assure you that you have an absolute right to dislike any movie you feel like - and Solaris is no exception.
It is perfectly fine just to say "I don't like it" but you tried to provide a reason, and that reason was completely flawed.
Art and story are not in the least related. Art is not about the subject, it is all about the means. There need not be any "story progress" in the piece for it to be artistic and enjoyable.
What is the "story progress" in any of Chardin's paintings?
Truth is, you can show me a thrity second clip from a film and that can often tell me a lot about whether it is an artwork or a mass-culture crap. I would not need to know about the story to feel that.
For a good example take a look at the Wim Wenders' "Lumière et compagnie" - a perfect vehicle. Each dirtector was given less than a minute to make a statement. How much "story progress" can you have diring that short time? Take a look at that Konchalovsky segment - it is breathtaking... and no story.
Well, you can see all the art in those short pieces.
VK wrote:> > Truth is, you can show me a thrity second clip from a film and that
can often tell me a lot about whether it is an artwork or a
mass-culture crap. < <My wife can do the same thing (and I'm getting a clue). She's big on opening sequences
- can usually tell whether the film will be satisfactory within half-a-minute (give or take).When we went to American Beauty she whispered to me within that half-minute: "we're going to buy this one" - meaning it was going to be "A-List" for us.
> > > "I really don't care for you playing those stereotypes cards every time you run out of arguments. You alweays have them on the ready and play them willingly, believing they give you some edge." < < <Funny, but I don't recall posting anything to elicit that sort of defensive posturing from you. I wasn't looking for an "edge" nor was I challenging you to a card game; furthermore, I didn't infer that you were a cutural bigot, racist or any such thing, if that's what you're getting at. I only stated that (quote) "identifying tastes by culture is at the very least presumptuous and at worst stereotypical" (unquote). You were the one who made the statement (quote) "Sure enough that is not a universal notion. It is mostly an American one" (unquote).
> > > "... you have an absolute right to dislike any movie you feel like - and Solaris is no exception." < < <
Thanks, I appreciate that!
> > > "It is perfectly fine just to say "I don't like it" but you tried to provide a reason and that reason, and that reson was completely flawed." < < <
How was it flawed? The subjective comment I made about Solaris being dull was honest and straightforward. Also, the "reason" I provided was logical and observable, not "shallow", for anyone who finds themselves watching this snoozer.
Best,
AuPh
I am not gonna worry about your bigotry nonsense, that is purely Outside stuff.
***How was it flawed? The subjective comment I made about Solaris being dull was honest and straightforward.
I didn't have any problem with that "subjective" part. Your fault came later.
***Also, the "reason" I provided was logical and observable, not "shallow", for anyone who finds themselves watching this snoozer.And I showed to you that that "reason" had nothing to do with art appreciation. To dismiss an artwork because it has no "story progress" - as you DID - is indeed shallow.
As I said before - art has nothing to do with the story or its progress.
You attempted to criticize an artwork through some "objective" lense, and failed to make a convincing case, that's all.
What can I say - I guess the static beauty of Laocoon is not for you.
I think of film as an art form built on story. You obviously don't draw the same distinctions between cinematic art and other forms of art such as painting, sculpture, etc. As a person steeped in the arts myself (i.e., both literally and figuratively), I might be prone to agree with you on some philosophical level that anything defined as "art" may be worthy of appreciation, but the placement of value is highly subjective as you are well aware (see link).Just like "a picture may be worth a thousand words" to the art patron who manages to penetrate the artist's vision, a reel of "pictures" or celluloid images may be worthless to the film enthusiast who can't penetrate the director's vision. This may, in fact, be the gravest weakness of the auteur theory in perceiving the director as sole creator of the final vision. The fact is, celluloid art is a different animal than painting, sculpture and even performance art because it depends upon capturing images of a moment which are entirely at the mercy of outside influences. In other words, like it or not, the director of cinema always works in a co-operative medium rather than one which he single handedly manipulates.
Those avante garde directors who choose to manipulate the medium in a pretensious fashion are often met by an unsympathetic public or accusations of perpetrating a fraud upon the public. The question then becomes is the public the final arbitor of what is or is not art? The answer depends on who you ask.
The link unfortunately doesn't work.I see some of your point and there is no question that cinema is a different form of art. What that means that it is better suited for expressing certain things... or actually, that it is EXPECTED to behave in a particular way that is different from for instance painting. Historically speaking.
However, here we have not as much the limitation of the art form itself, as much as our vision of it, and to certain degree our desire to pigeon-hole things.
One can certainly make the case that the art of cinema has largely evolved into well, "moving picture with story" direction. But "largely" doesn't have the exclusive nature. The incisive, "intravertial" art has always been with us in all forms.
It is also very much local culture dependent, with for instance the Japanese movies gravitating towards the observation far more than the action-driven American counterparts. The Europeans are sort of in the middle.
Again, I never argue against people not liking a particular artwork - that is completely normal. I just thought that assigning a particular expectation regarding well, action, really, to a whole media was somewhat incorrect.
Unfortunately, the second version which I felt expressed my viewpoint more clearly and had the corrected link was lost to the ether. The corrected link is below.
Explain to me how was the quoted text related to our discussion here? I didn't see much of a connection, so help me out.
... and you were behaving somewhat like that nice lady in the museum from Dusseldorf. My comment about the film being DULL was no "sillier" than you saying that Solaris is "riveting." Paintings, like cinematic artworks, tell stories, but as you pointed out so succinctly in the linked post. To wit, ...> > > "No matter what the history behind the work, I tend to draw the line someplace." < < <
Still, the short paragraph which preceeded it is even more to the point since we're discussing cinema as art:
> > > "The big question here is just what determines what is 'substantial'. It is hard to argue that the fashion is often more important than the artistic merit, and that some works that one finds in many modern art galleries SHOULD be questioned." < < <
Substitute the word "films" for "works" and drop "that one finds in many modern art galleries" and your general statement on film appreciation would concur completely with my critique of Solaris.
Respectfully,
AuPh
I think we are losing track of argument, leaving the original disagreement far behind.The line I was talking about is not an objective one - I think we can agree on that. It is there to simply arbitrarily separate the trash from art in one's mind.
However, when I refuse to call something "art" I don't do it based on some measurable criteria - and that was my main point of disagreement with your critique of Solaris.
We have prolifiration ot trash today: a broken snow shovel in the Philadelphia Museum, a bag of doughnuts, a sculpture aptly called "Piece of Plywood", a canvas with three knife holes in it. But I fully understand that someone might like it - after all, people paid huge money for each one. Therefor MY line is not some universal one.
Going back to your main argument - it was the lack of story progress. Here we are entering something objective. Wouldn't that be akin to saying that Franz Klein's works are not art because they lack color?
I actually feel strange arguing this, because I always thought there was plenty of story in Solaris. Maybe because I knew the book very well - one of my favorites during my tender age.
Solaris is not really a meditation in the stone garden, so I am somewhat puzzled by your reaction. It is full of drama and tension, thicker than honey. There are images that absolutely imprint into your memory. Dialogues full of meaning. Sexy interplay between the main characters. Some of the best actors to ever grace this Earth (OK, most of them are completely unknown to the West, but that speaks more of the West than of the actors), and even - bless your heart America - a wet T-shirt...
In our family I am considered action freak... I guess you can now figure out my wife's favorite films. But I would watch Solaris again tonight - no arm twisting required. Just give me a good company.
meanwhile , I look at a few critics words on Solaris...boring..but it do not matter that a lot of people find it that way,what a luck that we are not all the same,but I wonder how some , manage to see this film from A to Z without fainting...They must have an inner life richer than mine...( devoidind all the laser canons..he..he)HAPPY N.YEAR
SO 2001, Zardoz, Westworld, Deathrace 2000, rollerblade, heavy metal animation?... terminator, Flash Gordon, Metropolis, Battle star gelactica, The Black hole, (the movie where the scientists are shrunk and explore inside the human body..(old classic)... The Quiet Earth, Tron, alien, and the six million dollar man from TV.
duh?
I'd rank your picks differently, and add these:20,000 leagues under the sea
The Time Machine
Journey to the Center of the EarthAliens and Mad Max don't belong with any of these: Aliens diminishes the brilliant Alien, and Mad Max, albeit influential in film, is more a western than sci-fi.
here's one for you: have you seen "Cherry 2000?"
highly recommended.
"Is that your hand?"
**I'd rank your picks differenly..**They not mine, a Cinescape Mag reader's poll. My list would be both
similar and different.**20K LUTS; TTM; Journey to the Earth's centre**
Good n's. Vernes and H.G.
**Aliens diminishes the brilliance of Alien...**
AMEN BRATHER!!!
**Have you seen Cherry 2000?**
Nope, will try and give it a watch though. Thanks, AH.
best,then it is ok.
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