scifi movie

The best science fiction movies from every decade.

Liquid Sky and You, We, I
The following article was originally published on The Free Advice Man's website here. "Liquid Sky." Before 1982/83 this was New York City code-slang for a most dangerous, harmful, addictive narcotic: Heroin.
By Jean-Pierre Fenyo10 years ago in Futurism
Making of Alien
So simple. One word that defined a genre. A simple concept, that of man against monster. A crew unwittingly lured away by pleas for help, introducing us to a new level of psychological horror and quite possibly propelling actress Sigourney Weaver to the role of first lady of science fiction heroism. Alien.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Could Dune Be the Next Star Wars?
Ignoring George Lucas's prequels, it took nearly four decades for Star Wars to find its footing again. Its success is due to the amazing production team from Disney, helmed by the great J.J. Abrams. But Star Wars is vulnerable. No longer is the playing field like a narrow stretch of the desert plains of Tatooine. Studios around the world are forever on the search to find the next great sci-fi entertainment dynasty. Failures like John Carter and Jupiter Ascending were attempts at relying upon either less-than-complex storytelling or overly stimulating visuals. There is no need to look further than the greatest sci-fi novel ever made. The pattern changer for science fiction story telling was Frank Herbert’s epic Dune.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Flash Gordon Behind the Scenes
Working on Dino De Laurentiis's multi-million dollar epic, Flash Gordon, was quite an adventure for the British FX team Of Martin J. Bower and Bill Pearson, two of the most talented and prolific model makers in science fiction film. Together, they have tackled the making of Alien and The Medusa Touch, and their separate credits include Space: 1999, Doctor Who, and Blake's 7. In December of 1980, theater screens exploded with the film that became their most demanding project to date—Flash Gordon—a comic strip that lives on the screen and one of the best sci-fi cult classics of all time.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Classic Sci-Fi Horror Films
Little mutant killer children scare us. A group of women that kill men after being intimate with them also instills fear in us. Regardless of your fear tolerance, sci-fi horror films are one of the most terrifying horror film genres in existence. Alien deals with a violent extraterrestrial life form that is out to kill others, while Demon Seed depicts a super smart AI that wants to pass on its intelligence through a human child by means of his creator's wife. No matter what gets you covering your eyes on a scary movie night, the mixture of horror and sci-fi movies has been a recipe for both terror and success for decades. The potential of these scenarios actually occurring combined with the gore and horror of the events makes for movies that will have fans for years to come.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
New Generation of Star Wars
When George Lucas unleashed Star Wars in 1977, he created a whole new generation of sci-fi fanatics from the Baby Boomers who’d been weaned on sci-fi serials. In many respects, George Lucas had managed to synthesize everything he’d loved from the old pulpy serial shorts from the 1940s, like Flash Gordon, while combining it with elements from the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa and World War II fighter pilot movies like The Dam Busters and 633 Squadron.
By Isaac Shapiro10 years ago in Futurism
Making The Terminator
Time travel as a device has been used quite extensively in science-fiction since H.G. Wells wrote The Time Machine late in the 19th Century. Also the time travel device has been used in Time After Time, Somewhere in Time, The Final Countdown, and The Time Traveler's Wife. Time travel was used to good effect on television science fiction also; On The Twilight Zone, in particular "A Stop at Willoughby." On Star Trek, in "City at the Edge of Forever" (written by Harlan Ellison) and "Assignment: Earth" and in three of the best Outer Limits episodes, "The Man Who Was Never Born," "Soldier," and "Demon with a Glass Hand," the latter two written by Harlan Ellison.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
David Cronenberg’s Prophetic Videodrome
Videodrome is the best movie ever made about Facebook. What felt “vaguely futuristic” about it in 1983 is prescient today: technology and media are ever more intimate, personal, embodied, an interpenetration that David Cronenberg’s film graphically explores.
By Nathan Jurgenson10 years ago in Futurism
How to Analyze a Science Fiction Film
I like to time travel, so I love science fiction. Unlike other genres of film, science fiction warrants its own criteria to be effectively evaluated. First, like any film, we measure a movie for its entertainment value: cinematography, acting, and plot (the basics). Science fiction cinema has an extra step. Audiences have to ask, is this good science fiction? The most important thing to realize when learning how to analyze a science fiction film is that qualifying as sci-fi takes more than putting actors on a stage set in space. Plenty of films purport to be science fiction but fall flat under analysis, because they fall back on fantasy or rely on absurd logic.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Best Clone Movies
One day we will clone a woolly mammoth. A discovered gene that kept mammoths warm in their arctic habitat could be the answer to cloning the animal today. Although there have been other clones such as Dolly the Sheep, the clone of a woolly mammoth is especially spectacular because it is an extinct animal that no human has ever come in contact with before. While it is unsure when the cloning will take place, it is inevitable. As with a great deal of science, it is derived by the pursuit of science fiction. Perhaps geneticists will one day turn to Hollywood to inspire them in their pursuit of genetic cloning in the best clone movies.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Planet of the Apes is the Best Reboot Ever
Tim Burton’s reimagining of Planet Of The Apes in 2001 will always serve as a ready example of why Hollywood reboots are often as forgettable as they are unnecessary. It failed to capture any of the social commentary intended by the originals. Filmed during the civil rights movement, Planet Of The Apes was a warning of sorts, as relevant today as it was then. This, in spite of all the love and artistry that went into making the film, is the extent of its legacy. Chalk it up to Mark Wahlberg’s wide-eyed performance, which in the larger context of his filmography makes The Happening look like a masterwork of cinema by comparison—or to the offensively absurd ending. Either way, you are unlikely to find anything redeeming whatsoever within the film’s tedious runtime.
By Alex Kane10 years ago in Futurism
Adam Grabarnick Interview
Up-and-coming science fiction director Adam Grabarnick sat down with OMNI to discuss his successful film, NORTH BAY. NORTH BAY, written and directed by Grabarnick, stars Jamie Harris, Reid Scott, and Corsica Wilson. Over the course of one day, NORTH BAY follows discredited scientist Sachin Fayez, who has been conducting a radical – and previously thought to be unsuccessful – experiment deep in the remote woods for the last seventeen years; until, one day, he unexpectedly collides with the proof he’s sought after.
By Natasha Sydor10 years ago in Futurism