The
Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - A hallmark of the science
fiction genre as well as a wry commentary on the political climate
of the 1950s, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi movie
less concerned with special effects than with a social parable.
A spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C., carrying a humanoid messenger
from another world (Michael Rennie) imparting a warning to the
people of Earth to cease their violent behavior. But panic ensues
as the messenger lands and is shot by a nervous soldier. His large
robot companion destroys the Capitol as... [review]
Journey
to the Center of the Earth (1959) - James Mason plays Professor
Oliver Lindenbrook, a scientist hoping to find the world's core
in this 1959 adaptation of the Jules Verne novel. He leads his
unusual party on an expedition to the center of the earth, by
way of a volcano in Iceland. On the way, they encounter enormous
mushrooms and giant prehistoric monsters... [review]
Earth
vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) - A textbook example of '50s-era
science fiction, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers boasts not only
a solid script and competent performances, but some genuinely
impressive stop-motion effects courtesy of one of the industry's
uncontested masters, Ray Harryhausen. Scientist Hugh Marlowe (who
faced a more benevolent invader from space five years earlier
in The Day the Earth Stood Still) discovers that UFOs are responsible
for the destruction of a series of exploratory space rockets launched
by his space exploration project. The saucers' helmeted pilots
land on Earth and deliver an ultimatum to humanity via Marlowe:
fealty or complete annihilation. [review]
Metropolis
(1927) - METROPOLIS takes place in 2026, when the populace
is divided between workers who must live in the dark underground
and the rich who enjoy a futuristic city of splendor. The tense
balance of these two societies is realized through images that
are among the most famous of the 20th century. Perhaps the most
famous and influential of all silent films. [review]
2001
- A Space Odyssey (1968) - When Stanley Kubrick recruited
Arthur C. Clarke to collaborate on "the proverbial intelligent
science fiction film," it's a safe bet neither the maverick auteur
nor the great science fiction writer knew they would virtually
redefine the parameters of the cinema experience. A daring experiment
in unconventional narrative inspired by Clarke's short story "The
Sentinel," 2001 is a visual tone poem (barely 40 minutes of dialogue
in a 139-minute film) that charts a phenomenal history of human
evolution... [review]
Blade
Runner (1982) - When Ridley Scott's cut of Blade Runner was
finally released in 1993, one had to wonder why the studio hadn't
done it right the first time--11 years earlier. This version is
so much better, mostly because of what's been eliminated (the
ludicrous and redundant voice-over narration and the phony happy
ending) rather than what's been added... [review]
