scifi movie
The best science fiction movies from every decade.
Sci-Fi's Obsession with Ancient Greece and Rome
Sometimes science fiction returns to the past for places, people, and themes to enrich its mind-journeys into the future. Such is the case with these sci-fi movies, TV episodes, and works of fiction, each one drawing from the ancient worlds of Greece or Rome to dress its story. Brit Marling, a screenplay co-writer of Another Earth, says that this isn’t really surprising. “We’re retelling the same dramas from Ancient Greece,” Marling said. “These stories are so fundamentally old, the mythology that they come from, the hero’s journey — the way a narrative works. Science allows you to take the same story and see it from a new perspective because the science is always new and fresh.” Science fiction’s interest in the ancient world goes beyond mere allusion, as in the middle name of Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Tiberius, in case you’re wondering, was a somber, reclusive Roman ruler who nevertheless left the empire in a better state than he found it). If you’re deeply interested in how the speculative worlds of the future and the worlds of ancient Rome and Greece intersect, you may be interested in a serious paper by academic Tony Keen, “The 'T' stands for Tiberius: models and methodologies of classical reception in science fiction.” If that sounds a little heavy, enjoy the following summary of a few times when togas, laurel wreaths, aliens, and spaceships partied it up in one crazy combination.
Sarah QuinnPublished 8 years ago in FuturismHollywood Halloween Hijinks - Count Dracula As An Extraterrestrial?
“Listen to them, the children of the night. What sweet music they make!” Count Dracula in "Dracula" - by Bram Stoker Loyal fans of the insidious exploits of the king of the vampires have been listening to haunting music played as a foreboding symphony from the bloodthirsty undead for decades. Ever since actor Bela Lugosi first put on the iconic cape in director Tod Browning’s 1931 landmark film, Dracula, movie audiences have lovingly embraced the coolest blood sucker of them all - Count Dracula. Before the Hollywood classic flick from Universal studios, readers immersed themselves in the bleak world of author Bram Stoker’s breakthrough novel, chronicling the wild adventures of the world’s most infamous vampire. Once Hollywood got a hold of Stoker's creation, the nefarious prince of darkness went through innumerable permutations, and Tinseltown is still morphing the world's favorite fang master.
Will StapePublished 8 years ago in FuturismBest Cerebral Sci-Fi Movies
The best cerebral sci-fi movies are so intellectually challenging because, while the reality they portray isn't yet possible, it certainly isn't implausible. Unlike fantasy where you can quickly reject the film's challenges as mere whimsy, science fiction has the ability to sink its teeth into you with the very real possibility that one day the problems the film portrays may become real. The ability to challenge the viewer in a way that's new but believable is the hallmark of the best cerebral sci-fi movies.
Eddie WongPublished 8 years ago in FuturismBest Sci-Fi Franchises
The best sci-fi franchises are often based on imagining what problems and solutions future technology will bring us, unlike fantasy, which is largely based on a magical reimagining of a medieval-type world. Where fantasy is conservative, instructing us to learn from the past, science fiction is progressive, asking us to look to the future for answers. This often makes the science fiction genre a challenging and liberal engagement with issues we currently face, issues we may one day face, and solutions that the future might hold. This makes the best sci-fi franchises all the more worth our careful consideration.
James LizowskiPublished 8 years ago in FuturismHow Frank Herbert's 'Dune' Warned Of The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
“Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing.”Only I will remain. - Dune by Frank Herbert - 1965
Will StapePublished 8 years ago in FuturismHeart-Rending Poems for Sci-Fi Fanatics
Distant relatives to the familiar "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," these sci fi poems are raw, real, and sometimes almost too close for comfort. They blur the line between speculation and reality in their carefully composed stanzas and bring us to mini existential crises - not earth-shattering ones. Each is just the right size to bring along to a good evening of poetry for the starry-eyed dreamer. (And if no one you know is cool enough to host one, you'd better send out invitations to your own. I suggest hot beverages, an antipasto platter, and no, I'm not doing anything, of course I would be delighted to come, thank you for asking!)
Sarah QuinnPublished 8 years ago in FuturismSpace
In a recent Omni article, "New Words Were Needed," I looked at some of the commonalities between modernism and science fiction. After inventorying some of the ways science fiction transposes modernist formal concerns to the level of story, I wrote, "And those are just some of the techniques of modernism; I won't even mention postmodernism."
M. Thomas GammarinoPublished 8 years ago in FuturismHidden 'Star Wars' Easter Eggs
A list of hidden Star Wars Easter eggs is sure to hold at least one surprise for just about every Star Wars fan out there. Star Wars is a classic that has stood the test of time and is possibly the most recognizable sci-fi series to date. It has inspired generations since its making in 1977, and is inspiring new generations with its reboot. With each super series comes super fans. For our Star Wars fans, here are some of the greatest hidden Star Wars Easter eggs from the first six movies.
Stephen HamiltonPublished 8 years ago in FuturismSci-Fi's Obsession with Ancient Egypt
At first it sounds contradictory; isn’t science fiction all about what the future holds? But in looking back to a time before toothbrushes and iPads and breakfast cereal, you can get really philosophical without all the minutia that threatens to dominate life today. (Notice that I said you can, not that you have to - some of these films are just here to have fun.) If you love Ancient Egypt AND aliens and spaceships and futuristic weapons, now you can have both in one magical sandy pyramid-shaped package.
Sarah QuinnPublished 8 years ago in FuturismFlesh Gordon
Since aliens from outer space are constitutionally way ahead of us puny Earthlings in everything from interstellar technology to galactic government, it was merely inevitable that they should have the edge on us in the dubious field of pornography. And it was equally inevitable that America's favorite space-age hero (or a near facsimile) should go getting himself involved in battling this erotic menace from distant worlds. Such cosmic combat is the main theme in a sci-fi spoof Flesh Gordon, a Graffitti production, directed by Mike Light-Veteran and produced by Bill Osco and Howard Ziehm, who apart from producing the hardcore entertainments of Mr Light were also involved in Hollywood Blue. With the million dollars they made from these three porn movies, Messrs. Osco, Ziehm and Light decided to risk all on an X-rated space movie, the first of its kind in the world (or any other world), and the most outrageous interpretation of the science-fiction ethos since Barbarella, one of the best sci-fi cult classics of all time. Playing the principal role of Flesh Gordon is 24-year old Jason Williams, with Suzanne Fields, a 35-23-36 green-eyed blonde, as Dale Ardor, his female lead.
Eddie WongPublished 8 years ago in FuturismThe Young & the Jedi - Remember Folks, 'Star Wars' Is a Soap Opera
The fantastic force of Star Wars is back in our collective awareness in a really big way—like it or not. After Disney purchased the film rights from George Lucas in 2013—along with his legendary special FX company ILM—the house of mouse fast tracked new movies and various spin-offs. As genre fans now fully absorb the respected saga’s new characters and ramifications and try to embrace The Force Awakens, the newest chapter to the Lucas sci-fi universe, old questions and observations on the pop-culture saga emerge. Why is this multi-billion dollar global franchise so preoccupied with family dysfunction? Does Luke Skywalker have more in common with Luke from General Hospital? As Rogue One looms on the horizon, can we expect more of the same?
Will StapePublished 8 years ago in FuturismThe Story of Dune
Dune is one of those rare stories that transcends the tastes and interests of a particular decade or generation. It takes us very, very far away from the ordinary concerns of life today to a place more than ten thousand years in the future, a time when human beings have spread far across the galaxy.
Futurism StaffPublished 8 years ago in Futurism