Recommend me some old sci-fi classics (Spoilers for old movies included)

[Bongo]

Metropolis is quite a movie, and one I'll gladly recommend, but do some research in regard to which restoration to watch. I don't remember which is the one to go with.

I remembered some more: Fantastic Voyage (1966) is best known for being parodied or homaged in every American cartoon ever. Destination Moon (1950) is the original classic, and the first feature film to treat the concept of space travel in a realistic way, though it probably doesn't hold up today.

 

[RT-55J]

Fahrenheit 451 is a excellent example of how different a work an author writes can be from what they thought they wrote. In the book itself, Bradbury's regressive worldview is only egregiously evident in how basically every woman in the story is a fool of the vain variety, in contrast to the the menfolk who get to be fools in more diverse ways. (It's also worth noting that what Bradbury claimed the story was about changed over the decades, in a manner quite similar to the development of talk-radio/Fox-News brainworms --- an ironic fate if there ever was one.)

(It's also up there with 1984 on the list of "books that get rhetorically namedropped much, much more than people read them.")

 

[Ghost from Spelunker]

That Farenheit 451 stuff is crazy. One of my teachers in high school was a huge Bradbury fanboy, he even got him to speak at the school one time.
I haven't read the book since high school but all I remember in class was the "evil government repressing." (The teacher was a nice hippy person, which goes with the fighting "The Man" ideas)
One thing I want to ask, in the 451 movie did they tone down on the evil minorities and go more with "evil government"?

One other thing to throw out here: no wonder that Mel Gibson guy really really really really really really really really wanted to make a Farenheit 451 movie.

 

[Falselogic]

This is not a defense of Ray Bradbury's politics but more a reminder that our concept of the self is a post-hoc creation of our egos...


Ray was 33 when he wrote the book and still a "progressive" (a different meaning back in the 50s than today) Democrat. He remained a Dem until the Vietnam war and Lyndon Johnson's handling of it, after which he voted for Reps (except Carter).

I believe that when Ray wrote the book it was exactly as what most people read it as, even today. But, he also had 60 years to rewrite his motives, beliefs, etc in his head and create a new history of his life and work that accorded better with latter beliefs than whichever ones he held when he was a relatively young and poorer writer.

 

[FelixSH]

I watched Colossus. What an excellent movie. It's super slow, the tech looks so delightfully 70s, there is basically no action, just people talking, the ideas are thought-provoking. It was perfect for me.

Sorry, not one of the recommended ones, but I had planned on watching this one for years. Glad to finally get to it.

I start to think, that it's not movies in themselves, that don't work for me, but more modern movies. I adore the slow, slow pace of this movie, and also the Planet of the Ape ones.

The ideas are well known, for any sci-fi fan, I'm sure. And yet, the end caught me off guard. The computer did exactly what it was created for - making sure, that war would stop. It did. But at an insane cost, the freedom of mankind. A freedom that, seemingly, is now impossible to regain, as every attempt to fight Colossus leads to the death of thousands of people. It's a chilling prospect, and I wonder what it means for people ouside of politics. Asimov dealt with this idea, too, except there, it is such a slow process, that people don't even realize that the computer took over. But humanity is better of, after that. I do wonder, will this be a bad thing for regular people? Colossus orders the island of Crete to be depopulated, so it can be used for other stuff, so people certainly are hit by this. But also, assuming Colossus really works as is implied, it will be a temporary thing, maybe leading to paradise in years to come. Will people in the movies future live in peace and abundance? Like in one of those planets that are visited by Kirk, where a computer does all the work for the people, and they can spend their time with nice things?

Forbins situation was horrible. He created the machine that would now dominate and control humans, and he is at fault for it killing thousands of them. His bad conscience must kill him. But also, being under control of this monster, for the whole day, with no place of peace and quite, even for a second, sounds enough like a nightmare. I wonder if the world will turn into a state of total control. Where humans will be at peace, because they will be watched all the time, by never-sleeping machines. And everything resembling a crime will be hit by harsh punishment, immediately.

Considering where we are with AI, and its dangers (how it can lie, if the lie helps it to achieve the goals it was programed to achieve) this movie seems more relevant than ever, and far ahead of its time. Not that new, though, Asimov thought about a similar supercomputer, Multivac, years earlier. Also, the comparison with Terminator is valid, but it doesn't work as a prequel. Colossus seems, eventually, benevolent, at least to mankind as a whole. Even if it accepts the death of a lot of people. I don't imagine it ever going full Skynet, and trying to destroy all of mankind.

Next one probably that Body Snatcher movie. And then Forbidden Planet. That one seems super interesting, especially from a sci-fi historical point of view.

So, sci-fi from the 70s is pretty grim, isn't it? I kinda expected a bit more hope, but all I saw up to now (which, granted, isn't much) is pretty bleak.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

So, sci-fi from the 70s is pretty grim, isn't it? I kinda expected a bit more hope, but all I saw up to now (which, granted, isn't much) is pretty bleak.

Yeah, it was a pretty bleak decade. I think after years of happy endings in film and more creative freedom plus a more anti-authoritarian attitude, there's a fear of the system and failings of the human condition that leads to more unhappy endings in film (interesting, Alien was originally going to end with the xenomorph killing Ripley and using her head to speak in her voice sending a message for help).

This Family Guy bit is one of my favourite takes on 70s sci-fi.

 

[FelixSH]

(interesting, Alien was originally going to end with the xenomorph killing Ripley and using her head to speak in her voice sending a message for help).

That is very interesting, and sounds super creepy. Also, thanks for that Family Guy video, it's really great. So much sci-fi grimdark in one bit, horrifyingly delightful.

I watched Forbidden Planet. Which might as well be an honorary Star Trek movie, as it's really obvious how it served as inspiration for the original series. The crew of a spaceship, from some interplanetary organization, comes onto a planet and meet with strange phenomena. It's basically all talk, except for the scenes at the end, where the monster attacks, and we learn the final details of what it actually is. Fittingly, some nice sci-fi concepts and an insanely old society, killed by its own hubris. It's a great movie, and everyone who likes TOS should give it a look. Also, the robot looks super iconic.

Generally, it looks and sounds beautiful. There is no regular music, there are just sci-fi-y sounds, which really underline the weird feeling of this strange planet, that is mainly rock and desert. It looks alien, in the same way TOS planets look alien, kinda familiar a bit, but still very off and weird. My favorite effect was when the tiger was killed with a phaser. It desolved into beautifully animated colored lines. Later on, when the crew tries to defend itself against the monster, they shoot it with lasers. And you can see the monster, it looks like they put an animated beast in this live-action movie (maybe they did, I don't know).

Great movie, I'm glad I saw it. Also, a non-humorous Leslie Nealson, before he became the comedic actor so many people remember him as.

Oh, right, Bongo said all of this already, and more. He is totally right. Watch that movie, guys, it's great, and if you can deal with it looking like old sci-fi, and having not much action, it's absolutely worth it. Thanks, Bongo, for putting it on my radar.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Also, the robot looks super iconic.

You have no idea...

Robby the Robot - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Bongo]

I'm so glad you liked it.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Also, the robot looks super iconic.

Robby the Robot as is his "actor name" appeared in a lot of stuff after this. Yes, it's prop recycling but unlike some it feels more like a feature than a bug.

 

[FelixSH]

I watched two more movies.

The Day the Earth stood still - Fascinating movie. Maybe it's because it was black/white, but also the acting, it felt so different to more modern movies. Less professional is the wrong word, but not as tightly choreographed, maybe? The characters seemed to act more like real people, not as much as acted characters, like in modern movie and tv. Dunno, maybe that's just the black/white, it just felt that way. Also, very neat story and general idea.

I find it really weird (if realistic) how Klaatu, an alien that hasn't really shown aggression, is imprisoned in a hospital room (or at least that's what they tried to do). Like, this is how we would treat people from another planet. Put them into a (maybe golden) cage. Take away their freedom. It's just pretty disgusting.

The final question is delightfully old-school sci-fi. People (not just humans, all intelligent live) isn't to be trusted with power to destroy others. So we force us not to use it. Accepting this, and you can go on. Reject it, and you die. Earth will perish, of course, because there is no way that humanity, as a whole, can agree on anything. But still, it's a neat idea, even if it's not even close to new.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Granted, not really what I was generally looking for, but I knew that at the start. But worked well enough, it's an excellent movie. I wished the phase at the start was longer, when no one understands what is actually happening. I guess it's one hour long, though, so that's silly to expect. It was effectively scary and creepy, though a bit too gory in a handful of places. The dog is probably one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen, in a movie.

I guess people back than knew that it was a remake? The movie doesn't really hide too well that there is something really weird going on, and the first scene shows us alien live forms. But maybe that is only obvious in hindsight, it's impossible not to know what the title means, I think.

This one goes really hard into the Red Scare idea, doesn't it? People growing out of pods, lacking emotions, no hate and no love. The flowers are red and there is something at the start of the movie, about how it spread easily over Europe, or something like that.

Not too much of a fan of the scenes, where the rest of the group is actively hunted by a group of the pod-people, who felt a bit zombie-like, in these moments. It worked way better for me, when there was the constant threat, without pod-people actually coming for our heroes. Or when former members of the group showed up, but now as pod-people, and tried to talk to the rest, telling them that everything woudl be fine. Excellent stuff. And seeing Nimoy as something else than Spock was pretty great.

Really liked how you didn't really know if one of the group was a pod-person, or not. I wouldn't have guessed that Nimoy was one, and the final twist also caught me off guard. But at least I now know where that screenshot is from.

Excellent, both of them. And Body Snatchers was also a fitting Halloween movie.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I guess people back than knew that it was a remake?

Oh, sure, the original was an incredibly iconic film that existed in the public consciousness. I don't think anyone generally tries to hide the fact it's a remake. In fact, the star of the original, Kevin McCarthy (not... not that one) appears in the film freaking out about it early on. This film is actually the beginning of a cycle in the 80s of remaking respected 50s-60s horror film that includes the Thing, The Fly, The Blob (far less intellectual than the previously mentioned but cool effects) and Invaders from Mars (probably the weakest of the cycle but it's still entertaining and the creepy but funny first act).

This one goes really hard into the Red Scare idea, doesn't it? People growing out of pods, lacking emotions, no hate and no love. The flowers are red and there is something at the start of the movie, about how it spread easily over Europe, or something like that.

The thing is, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is an idea that proved brilliantly malleable. The original can be seen as both "fear of communism" but also "fear of McCarthyism/nationalism". A common take away from the remake is more the idea that the decade previous was about revolution and maybe creating a more empathetic world, the Hippie Generation. But a lot of those hippies would go on to become capitalists. In fact, in 80s pop culture, there is commentary about the former peace, love and understanding generation mutating into the Gordon Geckos of the world, being "sell-outs". Invasion may be about the fear of becoming a person who no longer cares.

The better Invasion movies allow themselves for a metaphor that can change with the viewer. A lot of people say the Abel Ferrera one is pretty decent. Do not watch the 2007 one. It's dull and it pissed me off, especially the ending.