How ’bout Moon with the scenes of the clones interacting.
Kimberly Kenobi:
“Fantastic Voyage” (1966)
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
“A Clockwork Orange” (1971)
“Soylent Green” (1973)
“The Stepford Wives” (1975)
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1978)
“Time After Time” (1979)
“Somewhere in Time” (1980)
“The Thing” (1982)
“Blade Runner” (1982)
“The Fly” (1986)
“Robocop” (1987)
“They Live” (1987)
I know these aren’t really of the present time, yet they are timeless, and I feel they are still relevant, and many look quite modern. I don’t see very much science fiction nowadays because quite frankly, many of the ideas don’t seem especially interesting.
Solaris by Andrei Tarkovsky
12 Monkeys (1995) – especially the totally bizarre time travel “committee”
Total Recall (1990) – Specifically the scenes at the mars train/shuttle station and the excellent commercial in the film advertising the recall service.
This film is not recent either but it’s themes are still relevant.
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
This was an exploration of Science Fiction as an art form. I’m not sure what you clips you could use but it is an alternative to the better known films listed above.
Here is a trailer for the film:
Gattaca (1997):
eXistenZ (1999)
Children of Men
Sunshine
The Cell
The Fountain
I can’t suggest any specific clips, but at least they’re from the past decade.
And you should definitely include Primer.
Wow, thanks everyone! I’ve got a list of 100 films I wanted to get down to about 12 or 15 clips & this has helped a lot!
Of all the titles mentioned Primer is the only one I’ve never seen, thanks for the tip!
Primer is really good, but I would consider it “hard sci-fi,” like Gattaca or even 2001.
Kimberly: Check it out. It will flip your lid.
It’s also a testament to the ability for a few artists with a specific vision to crank out a film for next to nothing that can go on to make millions.
Oh gosh… Primer. I didn’t like it. Just sayin’. Althoguh I understand why some people do… kind-of… ;)
Savvy
Zach—how many times have you watched it?
JR………….once? I don’t know, man. Maybe I’ll give it another shot one day, but it’s just that there is not enough clarity so that the audience can really gather what is happening, let alone to know WHY it’s happening. Like I said originally, I get that the film is about the unintended consequences of one’s actions, but when neither the consequences NOR the actions are presented in an understandable way, I have to dismiss it… :/
Savvy
Zach—it’s there but it’s subtle. Took me three times before I really got it, and then I was convinced I loved it.
JR, well, I’ll try again, but it’ll be a while (like, for freaking serious… sorry).
Savvy
I’m definitely gonna check out Primer. Thanks again for all the suggestions.
The seminal Robinson Crusoe on Mars sounds like it might be silly, but, for its time, it was very well made. It’s part of the Criterion Collection. The extra features reveal how many later serious sci-fi flims were inspired by it.
Good suggestion, I wish I’d included it in my last session when we looked at the ‘golden age’ of sci-fi.
I would say show clips from A Scanner Darkly, one of my favorite contemporary Sci-fi films, because, really, it’s one of the more “realistic” ones out there. I don’t know. It’s not well-liked, but I think it’s a fine film, and the use of the scramble suit and everything is just perfect. Plus, it’s based on the Philip K. Dick novel, so you (should) know that it’s good (then again, too many PKD novels and short stories have been turned into crap…).
Savvy
SOLARIS
compare the day the earth stood still to the current remake
I included A Scanner Darkly on the ‘must watch’ film list I gave them, it is a great sci-fi film.
Den, I did a comparative textual analysis of Day the Earth Stood still with them already, good call dude!
What about Minority Report? That had some great sci-fi stuff in it (especially concerning the elements of design that went into the future, and how we might end up having most of that stuff by the time).
Savvy
I wasn’t a big fan of Minority Report but it is on the aforementioned ‘must watch’ list I gave the students. It’s definitely an ‘important’ film with regards to the sci-fi genre.
Kimberly, yes, there are A LOT of plot holes in it, but the film is most certainly well-made. :D
Savvy
Kimberley: I would recommend not a clip (since most of the suggestions above are excellent), but some reading: Vivian Sobchack’s book on the subject: Screening Space: The American Science Fiction Film (2nd ed., 1997). You could either present hand-outs to your class or summarize her analysis of particular films.
Kimberly Kenobi
So I’m doing a lecture with my 1st year Film Genres students next week on contemporary sci-fi, if you have any suggestions of clips I should include please let me know (film & scene). This should be fun!