The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies 1

338 Pages·2005·19.79 MB·English

by  John Scalzi

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO
Sci-Fi
Movies
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The Rough Guide to Science Fiction Movies Rough Guides Reference
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Layout: Peter Buckley Editors: Peter Buckley, Duncan Clark,
Picture research: Michèle Faram Daniel Crewe, Matthew Milton,
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This first edition published September 2005 by The publishers and authors have done their best to ensure the
Rough Guides Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL accuracy and currency of all information in The Rough Guide to
345 Hudson St, 4th Floor, New York 10014, USA Sci-Fi Movies; however, they can accept no responsibility for
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Printed in Italy by LegoPrint S.p.A ISBN 13:978-1-84353-520-1
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THE ROUGH GUIDE TO
Sci-Fi
Movies
by
John Scalzi
Contents
Introduction vi
The Origins:
science fiction literature 1
The History:
a warp-speed tour of sci-fi film 25
The Canon:
50 sci-fi classics 49
A Clockwork Orange 51 Close Encounters Of The Third Kind 73
The Adventures Of Buckaroo Contact 75
Banzai Across The 8th Dimension! 53 The Damned 76
Akira 55 The Day The Earth Stood Still 78
Alien 56 Delicatessen 80
Aliens 58 Destination Moon 81
Alphaville 60 Escape From New York 82
Back To The Future 62 E.T.: The Extraterrestrial 84
Blade Runner 64 Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers (serial) 85
Brazil 67 The Fly 87
Bride Of Frankenstein 69 Forbidden Planet 88
Brother From Another Planet 71 Ghost In The Shelll 90
Gojira 92 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 120
The Incredibles 94 The Stepford Wives 124
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers 95 Superman 126
Jurassic Park 97 Terminator 2: Judgement Day 127
Mad Max 2 100 The Thing From Another World 130
The Matrix 102 Things To Come 132
Metropolis 104 Tron 135
On The Beach 105 12 Monkeys 136
Planet Of The Apes 107 28 Days Later... 137
Robocop 109 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea 139
Sleeper 111 2001: A Space Odyssey 140
Solaris 112 La voyage dans la lune 143
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan 115 War Of The Worlds 145
Star Wars: A New Hope 118
The Icons:
faces of sci-fi film 147
Crossovers:
blurring sci-fi 177
The Science:
theories that fuel sci-fi 203
The Locations:
star tours 219
Global:
sci-fi film around the world 247
Information:
the wider picture 277
picture credits 299
index 301
THE ROUGH GUIDE TO SCI-FI MOVIES: INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Like most people of a certain age, I became 1138, a dystopian tale whose 1971 release coin
enraptured with science fiction film one summer cided with a run of dystopic science fiction films
day in 1977 when, as an eight year old boy, I like A Clockwork Orange and The Omega Man.
flopped myself down at the local movie theatre, Star Wars, in short, was state-of-the-art science
saw the words "A long time ago in a galaxy far, fiction film history - and through its immense
far away..." fade onto the screen, and felt the success an entire new chapter in science fiction
blast of John Williams' Wagnerian score to Star film would be written.
Wars blow me back into my seat. Then I saw This is the grand secret of science fiction
the space ship - which I would soon learn was a film: the films of the genre almost always take
Corellian blockade runner - followed by another place in the future, but the films themselves are
space ship. A much larger space ship. A space in constant conversation with each other, looking
ship which just wouldn't stop scrolling across the to the past for inspiration and laying the ground
screen. An Imperial cruiser. work for the science fiction films to come. Few
Just imagine how I felt about the Death Star. film genres have sustained their own narrative as
Dazzled, I was, at Star Wars, and the new sort of well as science fiction has, from the first silent
movie it introduced my eight-year-old self to: moon-traveling fantasies of Georges Méliès in the
The Science Fiction Film. Little did I know that early 1900s to the lushly designed and computer-
what seemed so new, fresh and amazing to me animated space operas of George Lucas, which
was actually a summation of decades of previous finally came to a close with The Revenge of the Sith
work in the genre. Star Wars was built like a Flash in 2005, more than 100 years on. It's a narrative
Gordon movie serial from the 1930s, which in that's still going on - and given the financial clout
its time borrowed from the science fiction films of science fiction at the global box office, it's a
of its own era (literally, in the case of some of narrative that shows no sign of stopping.
its sets, borrowed liberally from more expensive The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies is designed
films). It stole design notes from Fritz Lang's 1927 to help you get a grip on the century-long,
classic Metropolis, whose look and feel would be world-wide narrative of science fiction film. It'll
mined by other science fiction films as well: Blade also take you back to Ancient Greece to find the
Runner, Dark City and The Matrix, each of which fantastic roots of science fiction literature, rocket
would be cannibalized by other science fiction you forward through time to see how science fic
films. Its sound and visual design was influenced tion blossomed in the mind of men (and women)
by director George Lucas's own earlier THX- through to the early 20th century, when it found
THE ROUGH GUIDE TO SCI-FI MOVIES: INTRODUCTION
its first expression in film. You'll go decade by source of controversy among devotees of science
decade through the history of science fiction cin fiction film, many of whom may look at this list
ema, and you'll see film trends and fads rise and of 50 and be incredulous that their favourite
fall and rise again.You'll see how every decade of science fiction film — whatever it may be - was
science fiction film feeds into the ones that fol somehow left out of our list, in favour of some
low, and how each decade adds something new, film they find utterly ridiculous. This is fine with
from mad scientists to "bullet-time". us. The Canon is not the end of the discussion
This book will take you around the world, for science film: we hope it is just the begin
to discover how science fiction films are made ning. And to that end, we've packed in a couple
not only in Hollywood and the UK, but in hundred shorter reviews of other science fiction
France, Spain, Japan, Italy, even Bollywood and films from the last century. See them all, and mix
South Korea.You'll explore favourite science fic and match until you find the formula that suits
tion film locations here on Earth and on other you the best.
planets. You'll come face to face with the icons Indeed, the goal of this book is to give you
of science fiction film — both moviemakers and enough grounding in science fiction film that
their creations — and meet some of the people when you're done with it, you'll realize just how
who could very well shape science fiction film much there is to see in the genre, and that you
into the 21st century. And, to round it all off, this will - to borrow from a certain successful science
book presented the best of science fiction culture fiction film series - boldly go and explore the
beyond the movies: TV, video games, literature strange new worlds that are briefly touched upon
and fandom. in this book. There is much to discover. We're
And at the heart of this book, you'll discover happy to be your travel guide for this journey.
the Canon — 50 science fiction films you have
to see, that is, if you want to understand the full John Scalzi
scope of the science fiction film genre over the 2005
last century. We fully expect The Canon to be a