A remake of Colossus? Ha!
I just checked. Ron Howard was going to do it? Ha! Kill me now!
>>It may also be good for them to see the original Andromeda Strain, and Primer<<
Good call on ANDROMEDA, Armand. I’m afraid I don’t know PRIMER … I’ll have to check it out.
Two more “deep” sci-fi films come to mind: SECONDS and a curious little film called THE MIND OF MR SOAMES (which, given I haven’t seen it is ages, may not be as good as I remember… it is different, however). And … gee … have we not mentioned SOLARIS or STALKER yet? Our bad!
Oh, and THE PRESTIGE …
Just looked up PRIMER on Amazon. Looks very intriguing … and I seem to recall now having heard some very positive reviews about it when it was released.
Primer is the real deal.
I agree also on Seconds, Harry. I remember the title The Mind of Mr. Soames – it is available on DVD? Two others I might recommend from that era: Charly, with Cliff Robertson, taken from a wonderful book called Flowers for Algernon, and the film adaptation of Crichton’s The Terminal Man.
Yes, Josh, Primer is indeed the real deal. Perhaps the best real science fiction I’ve seen in a decade, and in my top ten of all time list (though I couldn’t indicate that here, since Carruth probably doesn’t yet qualify as auteur, having only made one film). But what a film…
Primer is very overrated. It requires you to solve a puzzle so people think it is clever and mind-bending. It is admirable since it was supposedly made for a few thousand dollars in a truly garage-startup fashion. But these things alone do not make a very good movie.
I am glad that Seconds has been mentioned. How about Starship Troopers?
I disagree, as you might imagine, H.A. It does not require you to solve a puzzle. What it does do is cause you to speculate, which any number of other good movies do as well. Without a doubt one of the most intelligent films of the last decade because it requires you to think, and for some of us, that can be quite entertaining in and of itself. In addition, it is notable as a film which displays respect for its audiences intelligence. I have never “solved” Primer, though I have seen it on several occasions. However, I have enjoyed pondering its implications on both scientific and moral levels. So perhaps we can agree to disagree.
>>The Mind of Mr. Soames – it is available on DVD<<
Unfortunately no.
Well, not legally, anyway. Some bootlegger might offer it.
Curious, because an awful lot of the Amicus titles have been released on DVD.
Perhaps VHS, then, Harry. Someone’s got one of those things somewhere around here. Thanks much for the info.
though sci fi is one of my favorite genres, my list of “worthwhile movies” has comparatively few sci fi films in it. but in my opinion, they add a lot to the list.
12 Monkeys
A Scanner Darkly
Children of Men
Gattaca
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (Vincent Ward, 1988)
Nostradamus (Tibor Takács, 2000)
Repo Man
Serenity
Star Trek (2009)
THX 1138
Wall-E
and I thought the cineplex was taken over by dross…
that sux.
sux^2
Action/thriller/suspense/war films in outer space are not science fiction. This is a despicable myth that deserves to die right now.
sci-fi hasn’t taken over MY movie screen.
as far as “Tropes” go, all films use them, to some extent.
“trope” is a word i don’t use much, so i will use “device”
all mainstream films use formulas and devices that encapsulate story structure, or to grab the audience, in various ways.
not all of these devices are bad, mind you. for example, is effective use of suspense bad? not necessarily.
good scripts, good acting and good directing make for enjoyable movies, whether they are genre films or not. (see “Children of Men,” and “The Host”)
even non-mainstream films use lots of devices.
Armand L
Etienne, please do catch Colossus: The Forbin Project as you have opportunity. I understand that there is a remake in the works, but this is one of those cases where that is probably an unfortunate decision. It’s a classic of the genre as it stands, and I’m always afraid that the essential ideas will get lost in the shuffle.