Science Fiction Films on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a
film genre
A film genre is a Genre, stylistic or thematic category for Film, motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative , narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film.
Drawing heavily from the theories ...
that uses speculative, fictional science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...
, robot
A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...
s, cyborg
A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.mutants,
The most successful monster movies were Japanese film studio
While science is a major element of this genre, many movie studios take significant liberties with scientific knowledge. Such liberties can be most readily observed in films that show spacecraft maneuvering in outer space. The vacuum should preclude the transmission of sound or maneuvers employing wings, yet the soundtrack is filled with inappropriate flying noises and changes in flight path resembling an aircraft banking. The filmmakers, unfamiliar with the specifics of Spaceflight, space travel, focus instead on providing acoustical atmosphere and the more familiar maneuvers of the aircraft.
Similar instances of ignoring science in favor of art can be seen when movies present environmental effects as portrayed in ''Star Wars'' and ''Star Trek (film series), Star Trek''. Entire planets are destroyed in titanic explosions requiring mere seconds, whereas an actual event of this nature takes many hours.
The role of the scientist has varied considerably in the science fiction film genre, depending on the public perception of science and advanced technology. Starting with Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein, the mad scientist became a stock character who posed a dire threat to society and perhaps even civilization. Certain portrayals of the "mad scientist", such as Peter Sellers's performance in ''Dr. Strangelove'', have become iconic to the genre. In the monster films of the 1950s, the scientist often played a heroic role as the only person who could provide a technological fix for some impending doom. Reflecting the distrust of government that began in the 1960s in the United States, the brilliant but rebellious scientist became a common theme, often serving a Cassandra-like role during an impending disaster.
Biotechnology (e.g., cloning) is a popular scientific element in films as depicted in ''Jurassic Park (film), Jurassic Park'' (cloning of extinct species), ''The Island (2005 film), The Island'' (cloning of humans), and (genetic modification) in some superhero movies and in the ''Alien (franchise), Alien'' series. Cybernetics and holography, holographic projections as depicted in ''RoboCop'' and ''I, Robot (film), I, Robot'' are also popularized. Interstellar travel and teleportation is a popular theme in the ''Star Trek (film series), Star Trek'' series that is achieved through warp drives and Transporter (Star Trek), transporters while intergalactic travel is popular in films such as ''Stargate (film), Stargate'' and ''Star Wars'' that is achieved through hyperspace (science fiction), hyperspace or wormholes. Nanotechnology is also featured in the ''Star Trek'' series in the form of Replicator (Star Trek), replicators (utopia), in ''The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film), The Day the Earth Stood Still'' in the form of grey goo (dystopia), and in ''Iron Man 3'' in the form of extremis#extremis, extremis (nanotubes). Force shield, Force fields is a popular theme in ''Independence Day'' while invisibility is also popular in ''Star Trek''. Arc reactor technology, featured in ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'', is similar to a cold fusion device. Miniaturization technology where people are shrunk to microscopic sizes is featured in films like ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), ''
interstellar travel
Interstellar travel is the hypothetical travel of spacecraft between star systems. Due to the vast distances between the Solar System and nearby stars, interstellar travel is not practicable with current propulsion technologies.
To travel between ...
, time travel
Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...
, or other technologies. Science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
films have often been used to focus on political
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
or social issue
A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...
s, and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition
The human condition can be defined as the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, reason, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered ...
.
The genre has existed since the early years of silent cinema, when Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès ( , ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French magic (illusion), magician, toymaker, actor, and filmmaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of film, cinema, primarily in th ...
' ''A Trip to the Moon
''A Trip to the Moon'' ( , ) is a 1902 French science-fiction adventure trick film written, directed, and produced by Georges Méliès. Inspired by the Jules Verne novel ''From the Earth to the Moon'' (1865) and its sequel '' Around the Moon ...
'' (1902) employed trick photography effects. The next major example (first in feature-length in the genre) was the film ''Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big city b ...
'' (1927). From the 1930s to the 1950s, the genre consisted mainly of low-budget B movies. After Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
's landmark '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968), the science fiction film genre was taken more seriously. In the late 1970s, big-budget science fiction films filled with special effects became popular with audiences after the success of ''Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' (1977) and paved the way for the blockbuster hits of subsequent decades.
Screenwriter and scholar Eric R. Williams identifies science fiction films as one of eleven super-genres in his screenwriters’ taxonomy, stating that all feature-length narrative films can be classified by these super-genres. The other ten super-genres are action
Action may refer to:
* Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person
* Action principles the heart of fundamental physics
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video gam ...
, crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
, fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
, horror, romance, slice of life
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to Naturalism (theatre), naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence ...
, sports
Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
, thriller, war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
, and western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
.
Characteristics of the genre
According to Vivian Sobchack, a British cinema and media theorist and cultural critic:Science fiction film is a film genre which emphasizes actual, extrapolative, or 2.0 speculativeThis definition suggests a continuum between (real-world)science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...and the empirical method, interacting in a social context with the lesser emphasized, but still present,transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical, spiritual, and literary movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in the New England region of the United States. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of ...of magic andreligion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ..., in an attempt to reconcile man with the unknown. :— Vivian Carol Sobchack, p. 63
empiricism
In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological view which holds that true knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience and empirical evidence. It is one of several competing views within epistemology, along ...
and (supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
) transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical, spiritual, and literary movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in the New England region of the United States. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of ...
, with science fiction films on the side of empiricism, and happy films and sad films on the side of transcendentalism. However, there are numerous well-known examples of science fiction horror films, epitomized by such pictures as ''Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
'' and '' Alien''.
The visual style of science fiction film is characterized by a clash between alien and familiar images. This clash is implemented when alien images become familiar, as in '' A Clockwork Orange'', when the repetitions of the Korova Milkbar make the alien decor seem more familiar. As well, familiar images become alien, as in the films '' Repo Man'' and '' Liquid Sky''. For example, in '' Dr. Strangelove'', the distortion of the humans make the familiar images seem more alien. Finally, alien images are juxtaposed with the familiar, as in '' The Deadly Mantis'', when a giant praying mantis
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate ...
is shown climbing the Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...
.
Cultural theorist Scott Bukatman has proposed that science fiction film allows contemporary culture to witness an expression of the sublime, be it through exaggerated scale, apocalypse or transcendence.
History
1900–1920s
Science fiction films appeared early in thesilent film
A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
era, typically as short films shot in black and white, sometimes with colour tinting. They usually had a technological theme and were often intended to be humorous. In 1902, Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès ( , ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French magic (illusion), magician, toymaker, actor, and filmmaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of film, cinema, primarily in th ...
released ''Le Voyage dans la Lune
''A Trip to the Moon'' ( , ) is a 1902 French science-fiction adventure trick film written, directed, and produced by Georges Méliès. Inspired by the Jules Verne novel ''From the Earth to the Moon'' (1865) and its sequel '' Around the Moon' ...
'', generally considered the first science fiction film, and a film that used early trick photography to depict a spacecraft's journey to the Moon. Several early films merged the science fiction and horror genres. Examples of this are ''Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
'' (1910
Events
January
* January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military.
* January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...
), a film adaptation of Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
's novel, and ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is an 1886 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series ...
'' (1920), based on the psychological tale by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
. Taking a more adventurous tack, ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It is considered a classic within its genres and world literature. It was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 i ...
'' (1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...
) is a film based on Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright.
His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
’s famous novel of a wondrous submarine and its vengeful captain. In the 1920s, European filmmakers tended to use science fiction for prediction and social commentary, as can be seen in German films such as ''Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big city b ...
'' (1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
) and '' Frau im Mond'' ( 1929). Other notable science fiction films of the silent era include '' The Impossible Voyage'' (1904), ''The Motorist'' (1906), '' The Conquest of the Pole'' (1912), '' Himmelskibet'' (1918; which with its runtime of 97 minutes generally is considered the first feature-length science fiction film in history), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' () is a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. The quintessential work of early German Expressionist cinema, it tells the story of an insane hypno ...
'' (1920), '' The Mechanical Man'' (1921), '' Paris Qui Dort'' (1923), '' Aelita'' (1924), '' Luch Smerti'' (1925), and '' The Lost World'' (1925).
1930s–1950s
In the 1930s, there were several big budget science fiction films, notably '' Just Imagine'' (1930), ''King Kong
King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...
'' (1933) and '' Things to Come'' (1936). Starting in 1936, a number of science fiction comic strip
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
s were adapted as serials, notably ''Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...
'' and ''Buck Rogers
Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily American newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, b ...
'', both starring Buster Crabbe. These serials, and the comic strips they were based on, were very popular with the general public. Other notable science fiction films of the 1930s include ''Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
'' (1931), ''Bride of Frankenstein
''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American Gothic science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring ...
'' (1935), '' Doctor X'' (1932), ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is an 1886 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series ...
'' (1931), '' F.P.1'' (1932), '' Island of Lost Souls'' (1932), ''Deluge
A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood.
The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis.
Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to:
History
*Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...
'' (1933), ''The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...
'' (1933), '' Master of the World'' (1934), ''Mad Love __NOTOC__
Mad Love may refer to: Books
*''Mad Love'' (French ''L'amour fou''), collection of poems by André Breton
*'' The Batman Adventures: Mad Love'', an Eisner and Harvey award-winning comic by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm
* Mad Love (publisher), ...
'' (1935), '' Trans-Atlantic Tunnel'' (1935), '' The Devil-Doll'' (1936), '' The Invisible Ray'' (1936), '' The Man Who Changed His Mind'' (1936), '' The Walking Dead'' (1936), '' Non-Stop New York'' (1937), and '' The Return of Doctor X'' (1939). The 1940s brought us '' Before I Hang'' (1940), '' Black Friday'' (1940), '' Dr. Cyclops'' (1940), '' The Devil Commands'' (1941), ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is an 1886 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series ...
'' (1941), '' Man Made Monster'' (1941), '' It Happened Tomorrow'' (1944), '' It Happens Every Spring'' (1949), and '' The Perfect Woman'' (1949). The release of '' Destination Moon'' (1950) and ''Rocketship X-M
''Rocketship X-M'' (a.k.a. ''Expedition Moon'' and originally ''Rocketship Expedition Moon'') is a 1950 American black-and-white science fiction film from Lippert Pictures, the first outer space adventure of the post-World War II era. The film w ...
'' (1950) brought us to what many people consider "the golden age of the science fiction film".
In the 1950s, public interest in space travel and new technologies was great. While many 1950s science fiction films were low-budget B movie
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
s, there were several successful films with larger budgets and impressive special effects. These include ''The Day the Earth Stood Still
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...
'' (1951), ''The Thing from Another World
''The Thing from Another World'', sometimes referred to as just ''The Thing'', is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction-horror film directed by Christian Nyby, produced by Edward Lasker for Howard Hawks' Winchester Pictures Corporatio ...
'' (1951), '' When Worlds Collide'' (1951), ''The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...
'' (1953), ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It is considered a classic within its genres and world literature. It was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 i ...
'' (1954), '' This Island Earth'' (1955), ''Forbidden Planet
''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction action film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack and directed by Fred M. Wilcox (director), Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on a film story by ...
'' (1956), '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (1956), '' The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957), ''Journey to the Center of the Earth
''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel written by French novelist Jules Ve ...
'' (1959) and '' On the Beach'' (1959). There is often a close connection between films in the science fiction genre and the so-called "monster movie
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally megafauna, large ones. The film may also ...
". Examples of this are '' Them!'' (1954), ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' is a 1953 American independent monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with stop motion animation by Ray Harryhausen. It is partly based on Ray Bradbury's 1951 short story of the same name, which was later ...
'' (1953) and '' The Blob'' (1958). During the 1950s, Ray Harryhausen
Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of both fields. In a career spanning more than 40 ...
, protege of master King Kong animator Willis O'Brien, used stop-motion animation
Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...
to create special effects for the following notable science fiction films: '' It Came from Beneath the Sea'' (1955), '' Earth vs. the Flying Saucers'' (1956) and ''20 Million Miles to Earth
''20 Million Miles to Earth'' (also known as ''The Beast from Space'') is a 1957 American science-fiction monster film directed by Nathan Juran and featuring stop-motion animation by Ray Harryhausen. It stars William Hopper, Joan Taylor, and ...
'' (1957).
The most successful monster movies were Japanese film studio Toho
is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...
's ''kaiju
is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...
'' films directed by Ishirō Honda
was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, wit ...
and featuring special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya
was a Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' and ''Ultraman'' franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history o ...
. The 1954 film ''Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
'', with the title monster attacking Tokyo, gained immense popularity, spawned multiple sequels, led to other kaiju films like '' Rodan'', and created one of the most recognizable monsters in cinema history. Japanese science fiction films, particularly the tokusatsu
is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...
and kaiju genres, were known for their extensive use of special effect
Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...
s, and gained worldwide popularity in the 1950s. Kaiju and tokusatsu films, notably '' Warning from Space'' (1956), sparked Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
's interest in science fiction films and influenced '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968). According to his biographer John Baxter, despite their "clumsy model sequences, the films were often well-photographed in colour ... and their dismal dialogue was delivered in well-designed and well-lit sets."
1960s-present
With theSpace Race
The Space Race (, ) was a 20th-century competition between the Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between t ...
between the USSR and the US going on, documentaries and illustrations of actual events, pioneers and technology were plenty. Any movie featuring realistic space travel was at risk of being obsolete at its time of release, rather fossil than fiction. There were relatively few science fiction films in the 1960s, but some of the films transformed science fiction cinema. Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
's '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
) brought new realism to the genre, with its groundbreaking visual effects and realistic portrayal of space travel and influenced the genre with its epic story and transcendent philosophical scope. Other 1960s films included '' Planet of the Vampires'' (1965) by Italian filmmaker Mario Bava
Mario Bava (; 31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter. His low-budget genre films, known for their distinctive visual flair and stylish ...
, that is regarded as one of the best movies of the period, ''Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
'' (1968) and ''Fahrenheit 451
''Fahrenheit 451'' is a 1953 Dystopian fiction, dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. It presents a future American society where books have been outlawed and "firemen" Book burning, burn any that are found. The novel follows in the ...
'' (1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
), which provided social commentary, and the campy '' Barbarella'' (1968), which explored the comical side of earlier science fiction. Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...
's French "new wave" film '' Alphaville'' (1965) posited a futuristic Paris commanded by an artificial intelligence which has outlawed all emotion.
The era of crewed trips to the Moon in 1969 and the 1970s saw a resurgence of interest in the science fiction film. Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...
's ''Solaris
Solaris is the Latin word for sun.
It may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film
* ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem
** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg
** ''Sol ...
'' (1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
) and '' Stalker'' (1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
) are two widely acclaimed examples of the renewed interest of film ''auteurs'' in science fiction. Science fiction films from the early 1970s explored the theme of paranoia, in which humanity is depicted as under threat from sociological, ecological or technological adversaries of its own creation, such as George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...
's directional debut ''THX 1138
''THX 1138'' is a 1971 American social science fiction film co-written and directed by George Lucas in his feature directorial debut. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Walter Murch, the film stars Robert Duvall and Donald Pl ...
'' (1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
), ''The Andromeda Strain
''The Andromeda Strain'' is a 1969 novel by American writer Michael Crichton, his first novel under his own name and his sixth novel overall. It documents the outbreak of a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism in Arizona and the team of scie ...
'' (1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
), ''Silent Running
''Silent Running'' is a 1972 American ecological-themed science fiction film. It is the directorial debut of Douglas Trumbull, and stars Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, and Jesse Vint.
Plot
In the future, all forests on Earth have b ...
'' (1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
), '' Soylent Green'' (1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
), ''Westworld
''Westworld'' is an American science fiction dystopia media franchise that began with the Westworld (film), 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild West, Wild-West-th ...
'' (1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
) and its sequel ''Futureworld
''Futureworld'' is a 1976 American science fiction thriller film directed by Richard T. Heffron and written by Mayo Simon and George Schenck. It is a sequel to the 1973 Michael Crichton film '' Westworld'', and is the second installment in ...
'' (1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
), and '' Logan's Run'' (1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
). The science fiction comedies of the 1970s included Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
's '' Sleeper'' (1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
), and John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...
's '' Dark Star'' (1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
). The sports science fiction genre can be seen in films such as Rollerball (1975).
''Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' (1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
) and ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind
''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film, science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François ...
'' (1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
) were box-office hits that brought about a huge increase in science fiction films. In 1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' brought the television series to the big screen for the first time. It was also in this period that the Walt Disney Company released many science fiction films for family audiences such as '' The Black Hole'', ''Flight of the Navigator
''Flight of the Navigator'' is a 1986 American science-fiction adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser and written by Mark H. Baker, Michael Burton, and Phil Joanou. It stars Joey Cramer as David Freeman, a 12-year-old boy abducted by an ali ...
'', and ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, an ...
''. The sequels to ''Star Wars'', ''The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' (1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
) and ''Return of the Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...
'' (1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
), also saw worldwide box office success. Ridley Scott's films, such as '' Alien'' (1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
) and ''Blade Runner'' (1982 in film, 1982), along with James Cameron's ''The Terminator'' (1984 in film, 1984), presented the future as dark, dirty and chaotic, and depicted aliens and androids as hostile and dangerous. In contrast, Steven Spielberg's ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982 in film, 1982), one of the most successful films of the 1980s, presented aliens as benign and friendly, a theme already present in Spielberg's own ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind''. James Bond also entered the science fiction genre in 1979 with ''Moonraker (film), Moonraker''.
The big budget adaptations of Frank Herbert's ''Dune (1984 film), Dune'' and Alex Raymond's ''Flash Gordon (film), Flash Gordon'', as well as Peter Hyams's sequel to ''2001'', ''2010: The Year We Make Contact'' (based on ''2001'' author Arthur C. Clarke's sequel novel ''2010: Odyssey Two''), were box office failures that dissuaded producers from investing in science fiction literary properties. Disney's ''Tron'' (1982 in film, 1982) turned out to be a moderate success. The strongest contributors to the genre during the second half of the 1980s were James Cameron and Paul Verhoeven with ''The Terminator'' and ''RoboCop'' entries. Robert Zemeckis' film ''Back to the Future'' (1985 in film, 1985) and its Back to the Future (franchise), sequels were critically praised and became box office successes, not to mention international phenomena. James Cameron's sequel to ''Alien'', ''Aliens (film), Aliens'' (1986 in film, 1986), was very different from the original film, falling more into the action/science fiction genre, it was both a critical and commercial success and Sigourney Weaver was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards. The Japanese cyberpunk anime film ''Akira (1988 film), Akira'' (1988 in film, 1988) also had a big influence outside Japan when released.
In the 1990s, the emergence of the World Wide Web and the cyberpunk genre spawned several movies on the theme of the computer-human interface, such as ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991 in film, 1991), ''Total Recall (1990 film), Total Recall'' (1990 in film, 1990), ''The Lawnmower Man (film), The Lawnmower Man'' (1992 in film, 1992), and ''The Matrix'' (1999 in film, 1999). Other themes included disaster films (e.g., ''Armageddon (1998 film), Armageddon'' and ''Deep Impact (film), Deep Impact'', both 1998 in film, 1998), alien invasion (e.g., ''Independence Day (1996 film), Independence Day'' (1996 in film, 1996)) and genetic experimentation (e.g., ''Jurassic Park (film), Jurassic Park'' (1993 in film, 1993) and ''Gattaca'' (1997 in film, 1997)). Also, the ''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy began with the release of ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'', which eventually grossed over one billion dollars.
As the decade progressed, computers played an increasingly important role in both the addition of special effects (thanks to ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' and ''Jurassic Park (film), Jurassic Park'') and the production of films. As software developed in sophistication it was used to produce more complicated effects. It also enabled filmmakers to enhance the visual quality of animation, resulting in films such as ''Ghost in the Shell (1995 film), Ghost in the Shell'' (1995) from Japan, and ''The Iron Giant'' (1999) from the United States.
During the first decade of the 2000s, superhero films abounded, as did earthbound science fiction such as the ''Matrix'' trilogy. In 2005 in film, 2005, the ''Star Wars'' saga was completed (although it was later continued, but at the time it was not intended to be) with the darkly themed ''Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith''. Science-fiction also returned as a tool for political commentary in films such as ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', ''Minority Report (film), Minority Report'', ''Sunshine (2007 film), Sunshine'', ''District 9'', ''Children of Men'', ''Serenity (2005 film), Serenity'', ''Sleep Dealer'', and ''Pandorum''. The 2000s also saw the release of ''Transformers (film), Transformers'' (2007) and ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' (2009), both of which resulted in worldwide box office success. In 2009, James Cameron's ''Avatar (2009 film), Avatar'' garnered worldwide box office success, and would later become the highest-grossing movie of all time. This movie was also an example of political commentary. It depicted humans destroying the environment on another planet by mining for a special metal called unobtainium. That same year, ''Terminator Salvation'' was released and garnered only moderate success.
The 2010s saw new entries in several classic science fiction franchises, including ''Predators (film), Predators'' (2010 in film, 2010), ''Tron: Legacy'' (2010), a resurgence of the ''Star Wars'' series, and entries into the ''Planet of the Apes'' and ''Godzilla'' franchises. Several more cross-genre films have also been produced, including comedies such as ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' (2010), ''Seeking a Friend for the End of the World'' (2012 in film, 2012), ''Safety Not Guaranteed'' (2013 in film, 2013), and ''Pixels (2015 film), Pixels'' (2015), romance films such as ''Her (2013 film), Her'' (2013), ''Monsters (2010 film), Monsters'' (2010), and ''Ex Machina (film), Ex Machina'' (2015), heist films including ''Inception'' (2010) and action films including ''Real Steel'' (2011), ''Total Recall (2012 film), Total Recall'' (2012), ''Edge of Tomorrow'' (2014 in film, 2014), ''Pacific Rim (film), Pacific Rim'' (2013), ''Chappie (film), Chappie'' (2015), ''Tomorrowland (film), Tomorrowland'' (2015), and ''Ghost in the Shell (2017 film), Ghost in the Shell'' (2017). The superhero film boom has also continued, into films such as ''Iron Man 2'' (2010) and ''Iron Man 3'' (2013), several entries into the X-Men (film series), X-Men film series, and ''The Avengers (2012 film), The Avengers'' (2012), which became the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. New franchises such as ''Deadpool (film), Deadpool'' and ''Guardians of the Galaxy (film), Guardians of the Galaxy'' also began in this decade.
Further into the decade, more realistic science fiction epic films also become prevalent, including ''Battleship (film), Battleship'' (2012), ''Gravity (2013 film), Gravity'' (2013), ''Elysium (film), Elysium'' (2013), ''Interstellar (film), Interstellar'' (2014 in film, 2014), ''Mad Max: Fury Road'' (2015 in film, 2015), ''The Martian (film), The Martian'' (2015 in film, 2015), ''Arrival (film), Arrival'' (2016 in film, 2016), ''Passengers (2016 film), Passengers'' (2016), and ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017 in film, 2017). Many of these films have gained widespread accolades, including several Academy Awards, Academy Award wins and nominations. These films have addressed recent matters of scientific interest, including space travel, climate change, and artificial intelligence.
Alongside these original films, many adaptations were produced, especially within the young adult fiction, young adult dystopian fiction subgenre, popular in the early part of the decade. These include the The Hunger Games (film series), ''Hunger Games'' film series, based on the The Hunger Games, trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins, ''The Divergent Series'' based on Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy, and the Maze Runner (film series), ''Maze Runner'' series, based on James Dashner's The Maze Runner (series), ''The Maze Runner'' novels. Several adult adaptations have also been produced, including ''The Martian (film), The Martian'' (2015), based on Andy Weir's The Martian (Weir novel), 2011 novel, ''Cloud Atlas (film), Cloud Atlas'' (2012), based on David Mitchell (author), David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas (novel), 2004 novel, ''World War Z (film), World War Z'', based on Max Brooks' World War Z, 2006 novel, and ''Ready Player One (film), Ready Player One'' (2018), based on Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, 2011 novel.
Independent productions also increased in the 2010s, with the rise of digital cinematography, digital filmmaking making it easier for filmmakers to produce movies on a smaller budget. These films include ''Attack the Block'' (2011), ''Source Code (film), Source Code'' (2011), ''Looper (film), Looper'' (2012), ''Upstream Color'' (2013), ''Ex Machina (film), Ex Machina'' (2015), and ''Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'' (2017). In 2016, ''Ex Machina'' won the Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Visual Effects in a surprising upset over the much higher-budget ''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015).
Themes, imagery, and visual elements
Science fiction films are often speculative in nature, and often include key supporting elements of science and technology. However, as often as not the "science" in a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood science fiction movie can be considered pseudo-science, relying primarily on atmosphere and quasi-scientific artistic fancy than facts and conventional scientific theory. The definition can also vary depending on the viewpoint of the observer. Many science fiction films include elements of mysticism, occult, magic, or thesupernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
, considered by some to be more properly elements of fantasy or the occult (or religious) film. This transforms the movie genre into a science fantasy with a religious or quasi-religious philosophy serving as the driving motivation. The movie ''Forbidden Planet
''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction action film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack and directed by Fred M. Wilcox (director), Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on a film story by ...
'' employs many common science fiction elements, but the film carries a profound message - that the evolution of a species toward technological perfection (in this case exemplified by the disappeared alien civilization called the "Krell") does not ensure the loss of primitive and dangerous urges. In the film, this part of the primitive mind manifests itself as monstrous destructive force emanating from the Freudian subconscious, or "Id".
Some films blur the line between the genres, such as films where the protagonist gains the extraordinary powers of the superhero. These films usually employ quasi-plausible reason for the hero gaining these powers.
Not all List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes are equally suitable for movies. Science fiction horror is most common. Often enough, these films could just as well pass as Western (genre), Westerns or World War II films if the science fiction props were removed. Common motifs also include voyages and expeditions to other planets, and dystopias, while utopias are rare.
Imagery
Film theorist Vivian Sobchack argues that science fiction films differ from fantasy films in that while science fiction film seeks to achieve our belief in the images we are viewing, fantasy film instead attempts to suspend our disbelief. The science fiction film displays the unfamiliar and alien in the context of the familiar. Despite the alien nature of the scenes and science fictional elements of the setting, the imagery of the film is related back to humankind and how we relate to our surroundings. While the science fiction film strives to push the boundaries of the human experience, they remain bound to the conditions and understanding of the audience and thereby contain prosaic aspects, rather than being completely alien or abstract. Genre films such as westerns or war movies are bound to a particular area or time period. This is not true of the science fiction film. However, there are several common visual elements that are evocative of the genre. These include the spacecraft or space station, alien worlds or creatures, robots, and futuristic gadgets. Examples include movies like ''Lost in Space (film), Lost in Space'', ''Serenity (2005 film), Serenity'', ''Avatar (2009 film), Avatar'', ''Prometheus (2012 film), Prometheus'', ''Tomorrowland (film), Tomorrowland'', ''Passengers (2016 film), Passengers'', and ''Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets''. More subtle visual clues can appear with changes of the human form through modifications in appearance, size, or behavior, or by means a known environment turned eerily alien, such as an empty city ''The Omega Man'' (1971).Scientific elements
While science is a major element of this genre, many movie studios take significant liberties with scientific knowledge. Such liberties can be most readily observed in films that show spacecraft maneuvering in outer space. The vacuum should preclude the transmission of sound or maneuvers employing wings, yet the soundtrack is filled with inappropriate flying noises and changes in flight path resembling an aircraft banking. The filmmakers, unfamiliar with the specifics of Spaceflight, space travel, focus instead on providing acoustical atmosphere and the more familiar maneuvers of the aircraft.
Similar instances of ignoring science in favor of art can be seen when movies present environmental effects as portrayed in ''Star Wars'' and ''Star Trek (film series), Star Trek''. Entire planets are destroyed in titanic explosions requiring mere seconds, whereas an actual event of this nature takes many hours.
The role of the scientist has varied considerably in the science fiction film genre, depending on the public perception of science and advanced technology. Starting with Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein, the mad scientist became a stock character who posed a dire threat to society and perhaps even civilization. Certain portrayals of the "mad scientist", such as Peter Sellers's performance in ''Dr. Strangelove'', have become iconic to the genre. In the monster films of the 1950s, the scientist often played a heroic role as the only person who could provide a technological fix for some impending doom. Reflecting the distrust of government that began in the 1960s in the United States, the brilliant but rebellious scientist became a common theme, often serving a Cassandra-like role during an impending disaster.
Biotechnology (e.g., cloning) is a popular scientific element in films as depicted in ''Jurassic Park (film), Jurassic Park'' (cloning of extinct species), ''The Island (2005 film), The Island'' (cloning of humans), and (genetic modification) in some superhero movies and in the ''Alien (franchise), Alien'' series. Cybernetics and holography, holographic projections as depicted in ''RoboCop'' and ''I, Robot (film), I, Robot'' are also popularized. Interstellar travel and teleportation is a popular theme in the ''Star Trek (film series), Star Trek'' series that is achieved through warp drives and Transporter (Star Trek), transporters while intergalactic travel is popular in films such as ''Stargate (film), Stargate'' and ''Star Wars'' that is achieved through hyperspace (science fiction), hyperspace or wormholes. Nanotechnology is also featured in the ''Star Trek'' series in the form of Replicator (Star Trek), replicators (utopia), in ''The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film), The Day the Earth Stood Still'' in the form of grey goo (dystopia), and in ''Iron Man 3'' in the form of extremis#extremis, extremis (nanotubes). Force shield, Force fields is a popular theme in ''Independence Day'' while invisibility is also popular in ''Star Trek''. Arc reactor technology, featured in ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'', is similar to a cold fusion device. Miniaturization technology where people are shrunk to microscopic sizes is featured in films like ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, an ...
'' (1989), and Marvel's ''Ant-Man (film), Ant-Man'' (2015).
The late Arthur C. Clarke's Clarke's three laws, third law states that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". Past science fiction films have depicted "fictional" ("magical") technologies that became present reality. For example, the Personal Access Display Device from ''Star Trek'' was a precursor of smartphones and tablet computers. Gesture recognition in the movie ''Minority Report (film), Minority Report'' is part of current motion controller, game consoles. Artificial general intelligence, Human-level artificial intelligence is also fast approaching with the advent of Intelligent personal assistant, smartphone A.I. while a cloaking device, working cloaking device / material is the main goal of stealth technology. Autonomous cars (e.g. KITT from the ''Knight Rider (2008 film), Knight Rider'' series) and quantum computers, like in the movie ''Stealth (film), Stealth'' and ''Transcendence (2014 film), Transcendence'', also will be available eventually. Furthermore, although Clarke's laws do not classify disruptive innovation, "sufficiently advanced" technologies, the Kardashev scale measures a civilization's level of technological advancement into types. Due to its exponential nature, sci-fi civilizations usually only attain Type I (harnessing all the energy attainable from a single planet), and strictly speaking often not even that.
Alien lifeforms
The concept of life, particularly intelligent life, having an extraterrestrial origin is a popular staple of science fiction films. Early films often used alien life forms as a threat or peril to the human race, where the invaders were frequently fictional representations of actual military or political threats on Earth as observed in films such as ''Mars Attacks!'', ''Starship Troopers (film), Starship Troopers'', the ''Alien (franchise), Alien'' series, the ''Predator (franchise), Predator'' series, and ''The Chronicles of Riddick (franchise), The Chronicles of Riddick'' series. Some aliens were represented as benign and even beneficial in nature in such films as ''Escape to Witch Mountain (1975 film), Escape to Witch Mountain'', ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind
''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film, science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François ...
'', ''The Fifth Element'', ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', ''Avatar (2009 film), Avatar'', ''Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'', and the ''Men in Black (film series), Men in Black'' series.
In order to provide subject matter to which audiences can relate, the large majority of intelligent alien races presented in films have an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic nature, possessing human emotions and motivations. In films like ''Cocoon (film), Cocoon'', ''My Stepmother Is an Alien'', ''Species (film), Species'', ''Contact (1997 American film), Contact'', ''The Box (2009 film), The Box'', ''Knowing (film), Knowing'', ''The Day the Earth Stood Still
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...
'', and ''The Watch (2012 film), The Watch'', the aliens were nearly human in physical appearance, and communicated in a common earth language. However, the aliens in ''Stargate (film), Stargate'' and ''Prometheus (2012 film), Prometheus'' were human in physical appearance but communicated in an alien language. A few films have tried to represent intelligent aliens as something utterly different from the usual humanoid shape (e.g. An intelligent life form surrounding an entire planet in ''Solaris
Solaris is the Latin word for sun.
It may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film
* ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem
** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg
** ''Sol ...
'', the ball shaped creature in '' Dark Star'', microbial-like creatures in ''The Invasion (film), The Invasion'', shape-shifting creatures in ''Evolution (2001 film), Evolution''). Recent trends in films involve Kaiju, building-size alien creatures like in the movie ''Pacific Rim (film), Pacific Rim'' where the Computer-generated imagery, CGI has tremendously improved over the previous decades as compared in previous films such as ''Godzilla (1998 film), Godzilla''.
Disaster films
A frequent theme among science fiction films is that of impending or actual disaster on an epic scale. These often address a particular concern of the writer by serving as a vehicle of warning against a type of activity, including technological research. In the case of alien invasion films, the creatures can provide as a stand-in for a feared foreign power. Films that fit into the Disaster film typically also fall into the following general categories: * Alien invasion: Hostile Extraterrestrial life in popular culture, extraterrestrials arrive and seek to supplant humanity. They are either overwhelmingly powerful or very insidious. Typical examples include ''The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...
'' (1953), '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (1956), ''Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'' (1966), ''Independence Day (1996 film), Independence Day'' (1996), ''War of the Worlds (2005 film), War of the Worlds'' (2005), ''The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film), The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (2008), ''Skyline (2010 film), Skyline'' (2010), ''The Darkest Hour (film), The Darkest Hour'' (2011), ''Battle: Los Angeles'' (2011), ''Battleship (film), Battleship'' (2012), ''The Avengers (2012 film), The Avengers'' (2012), ''Man of Steel (film), Man of Steel'' (2013), ''Pacific Rim (film), Pacific Rim'' (2013), ''Ender's Game (film), Ender's Game'' (2013), ''Pixels (2015 film), Pixels'' (2015), ''Independence Day: Resurgence'' (2016), and ''Justice League (film), Justice League'' (2017). ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' (1999) takes an alternative look at the subject, involving an extraterrestrial political entity invading planet Naboo for commercial reasons.
* Environmental disaster: such as major climate change, or an asteroid or comet strike. Movies that have employed this theme include '' Soylent Green'' (1973), ''Waterworld'' (1995), ''Deep Impact (film), Deep Impact'' (1998), ''Armageddon (1998 film), Armageddon'' (1998), ''The Core'' (2003), ''The Day After Tomorrow'' (2004), ''2012 (film), 2012'' (2009), ''Snowpiercer'' (2013) and ''Geostorm'' (2017).
* Man supplanted by technology: Typically in the form of an all-powerful computer, advanced robot
A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...
s or cyborg
A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Dr. Strangelove'' (1964), ''Dr. Who and the Daleks'' (1965), ''
Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
'' (1968; Planet of the Apes (2001 film), remade in 2001), ''A Boy and His Dog (1975 film), A Boy and His Dog'' (1975), ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'' (1979), ''City of Ember'' (2008), ''The Book of Eli'' (2010), ''Oblivion (2013 film), Oblivion'' (2013), ''Mad Max: Fury Road'' (2015), and ''Friend of the World'' (2020).
* Pandemic: A highly lethal disease, often one created by man, threatens or wipes out most of humanity in a massive Pandemic, plague. This topic has been treated in such films as ''The Andromeda Strain
''The Andromeda Strain'' is a 1969 novel by American writer Michael Crichton, his first novel under his own name and his sixth novel overall. It documents the outbreak of a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism in Arizona and the team of scie ...
'' (1971), ''The Omega Man'' (1971), ''12 Monkeys (film), 12 Monkeys'' (1995), ''28 Weeks Later'' (2007), ''I Am Legend (film), I Am Legend'' (2007), and the ''Resident Evil (film series), Resident Evil'' series. This version of the genre sometimes mixes with zombie films or other monster movie
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally megafauna, large ones. The film may also ...
s.
Monster films
While monster films do not usually depict danger on a global or epic scale, science fiction film also has a long tradition of movies featuring monster attacks. These differ from similar films in the horror or fantasy genres because science fiction films typically rely on a scientific (or at least pseudo-scientific) rationale for the monster's existence, rather than a supernatural or magical reason. Often, the science fiction film monster is created, awakened, or "evolves" because of the machinations of a mad scientist, a nuclear accident, or a scientific experiment gone awry. Typical examples include ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' is a 1953 American independent monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with stop motion animation by Ray Harryhausen. It is partly based on Ray Bradbury's 1951 short story of the same name, which was later ...
'' (1953), ''Jurassic Park'' films, ''Cloverfield'', ''Pacific Rim (film), Pacific Rim'', the ''King Kong (franchise), King Kong'' films, and the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' franchise or the many films involving Frankenstein's monster.
Mind and identity
The core mind, mental aspects of what makes us human has been a staple of science fiction films, particularly since the 1980s. Ridley Scott's ''Blade Runner'' (1982), an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'', examined what made an organic-creation a human, while the ''RoboCop (franchise), RoboCop'' series saw an android (robot), android mechanism fitted with the brain and reprogrammed mind of a human to create acyborg
A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.A Clockwork Orange'' and ''The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film), The Manchurian Candidate'' coincided with secret real-life government experimentation during Project MKULTRA. Voluntary erasure of memory is further explored as themes of the films ''Paycheck (film), Paycheck'' and ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind''. Some films like ''Limitless (film), Limitless'' explore the concept of mind enhancement. The anime series ''Serial Experiments Lain'' also explores the idea of reprogrammable reality and memory.
The idea that a human could be entirely represented as a program in a computer was a core element of the film ''Tron''. This would be further explored in the film version of ''The Lawnmower Man (film), The Lawnmower Man'', ''Transcendence (2014 film), Transcendence'', and ''Ready Player One (film), Ready Player One'' and the idea reversed in ''Virtuosity'' as computer programs sought to become real persons. In ''The Matrix (franchise), The Matrix'' series, the virtual reality world became a real-world prison for humanity, managed by intelligent machines. In movies such as ''eXistenZ'', ''The Thirteenth Floor'', and ''Inception'', the nature of reality and virtual reality become intermixed with no clear distinguishing boundary.
''Psychokinesis, Telekinesis'' and ''telepathy'' are featured in movies like ''Star Wars'', ''The Last Mimzy'', ''Race to Witch Mountain'', ''Chronicle (film), Chronicle'', and ''Lucy (2014 film), Lucy'' while precognition is featured in ''Minority Report (film), Minority Report'' as well as in ''The Matrix'' saga (in which precognition is achieved by knowing the artificial world).
Robots have been a part of science fiction since the Czech playwright Karel Čapek coined the word in 1921. In early films, robots were usually played by a human actor in a boxy metal suit, as in ''The Phantom Empire'', although the female robot in ''
Robots
Robots have been a part of science fiction since the Czech playwright Karel Čapek coined the word in 1921. In early films, robots were usually played by a human actor in a boxy metal suit, as in ''The Phantom Empire'', although the female robot in ''Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big city b ...
'' is an exception. The first depiction of a sophisticated robot in a United States film was Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still), Gort in ''The Day the Earth Stood Still
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...
''.
Robots in films are often sentient and sometimes sentimental, and they have filled a range of roles in science fiction films. Robots have been supporting characters, such as Robby the Robot in ''Forbidden Planet
''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction action film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack and directed by Fred M. Wilcox (director), Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on a film story by ...
'', Huey, Dewey and Louie in ''Silent Running
''Silent Running'' is a 1972 American ecological-themed science fiction film. It is the directorial debut of Douglas Trumbull, and stars Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, and Jesse Vint.
Plot
In the future, all forests on Earth have b ...
'', Data (Star Trek), Data in ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', sidekicks (e.g., C-3PO and R2-D2 from ''Star Wars'', JARVIS from ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man''), and extras, visible in the background to create a futuristic setting (e.g., ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), ''Total Recall (2012 film), Total Recall'' (2012), ''RoboCop (2014 film), RoboCop'' (2014)). As well, robots have been formidable movie villains or monsters (e.g., the robot Box in the film ''Logan's Run (1976 film), Logan's Run'' (1976), HAL 9000 in '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', ARIIA in ''Eagle Eye'', robot Sentinel (comics), Sentinels in ''X-Men: Days of Future Past'', the battle droids in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, ''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy, or the huge robot probes seen in ''Monsters vs. Aliens''). In some cases, robots have even been the leading characters in science fiction films; in the film ''Blade Runner'' (1982), many of the characters are biological engineering, bioengineered Android (robot), android "replicants". This is also present in the animated films ''WALL-E'' (2008), ''Astro Boy (2009 film), Astro Boy'' (2009), ''Big Hero 6 (film), Big Hero 6'' (2014), ''Ghost in the Shell (2017 film), Ghost in the Shell'' (2017) and in ''Next Gen (film), Next Gen'' (2018).
Films like ''Bicentennial Man (film), Bicentennial Man'', ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', ''Chappie (film), Chappie'', and ''Ex Machina (film), Ex Machina'' depicted the emotional fallouts of robots that are self-aware. Other films like ''The Second Renaissance, The Animatrix (The Second Renaissance)'' present the consequences of mass-producing self-aware androids as humanity succumbs to their robot overlords.
One popular theme in science fiction film is whether robots will someday replace humans, a question raised in the film adaptation of Isaac Asimov's ''I, Robot (film), I, Robot'' (in jobs) and in the film ''Real Steel'' (in sports), or whether intelligent robots could develop a conscience and a motivation to protect, take over, or destroy the human race (as depicted in ''Terminator (franchise), The Terminator'', ''Transformers (film series), Transformers'', and in ''Avengers: Age of Ultron''). Another theme is remote telepresence via android (robot), androids as depicted in ''Surrogates (film), Surrogates'' and ''Iron Man 3''. As artificial intelligence becomes smarter due to Moore's law, increasing computer power, some sci-fi dreams have already been realized. For example, the computer Deep Blue (chess computer), Deep Blue beat the world chess champion in 1997 and a documentary film, ''Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine'', was released in 2003. Another famous computer called Watson (computer), Watson defeated the two best human ''Jeopardy'' (game show) players in 2011 and a NOVA documentary film, ''List_of_Nova_episodes#Season_38:_2010–2011, Smartest Machine on Earth'', was released in the same year.
Super Robot, Building-size robots are also becoming a popular theme in movies as featured in ''Pacific Rim (film), Pacific Rim''. Future live action films may include an adaptation of popular television series like ''Voltron'' and ''Robotech''. The computer-generated imagery, CGI robots of ''Pacific Rim'' and the ''Power Rangers (film), Power Rangers'' (2017) reboot was greatly improved as compared to the original ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' (1995). While "size does matter", a famous tagline of the movie ''Godzilla'', incredibly small robots, called nanorobotics, nanobots, do matter as well (e.g. Borg Borg assimilation, nanoprobes in ''Star Trek'' and nanites in ''I, Robot'').
Time travel
The concept oftime travel
Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...
—travelling backwards and forwards through time—has always been a popular staple of science fiction film and science fiction television series. Time travel usually involves the use of some type of advanced technology, such as H. G. Wells' classic ''The Time Machine'', the commercially successful 1980s-era ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' trilogy, the ''Bill & Ted'' trilogy, the ''Terminator (franchise), Terminator'' series, ''Déjà Vu (2006 film), Déjà Vu'' (2006), ''Source Code'' (2011), ''Edge of Tomorrow (film), Edge of Tomorrow'' (2014), and ''Predestination (film), Predestination'' (2014). Other movies, such as the ''Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
'' series, ''Timeline (2003 film), Timeline'' (2003) and ''The Last Mimzy'' (2007), explained their depictions of time travel by drawing on physics concepts such as the special relativity phenomenon of time dilation (which could occur if a spaceship was travelling near the speed of light) and wormholes. Some films show time travel not being attained from advanced technology, but rather from an inner source or personal power, such as the 2000s-era films ''Donnie Darko'', ''Mr. Nobody (film), Mr. Nobody'', ''The Butterfly Effect (film), The Butterfly Effect'', and ''X-Men: Days of Future Past''.
More conventional time travel movies use technology to bring the past to life in the present, or in a present that lies in our future. The film ''Iceman (1984 film), Iceman'' (1984) told the story of the reanimation of a frozen Neanderthal. The film ''Freejack'' (1992) shows time travel used to pull victims of horrible deaths forward in time a split-second before their demise, and then use their bodies for spare parts.
A common theme in time travel film is the paradoxical nature of travelling through time. In the French New Wave film ''La jetée'' (1962), director Chris Marker depicts the self-fulfilling aspect of a person being able to see their future by showing a child who witnesses the death of his future self. ''La Jetée'' was the inspiration for ''12 Monkeys (film), 12 Monkeys'', (1995) director Terry Gilliam's film about time travel, memory and madness. The ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' trilogy and ''The Time Machine (2002 film), The Time Machine'' go one step further and explore the result of altering the past, while in ''Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996) and ''Star Trek (2009 film), Star Trek'' (2009) the crew must rescue the Earth from having its past altered by time-travelling cyborg
A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968). He controls the shuttle, and later harms its crew. "Kubrick's vision reveals technology as a competitive force that must be defeated in order for humans to evolve." Later films explored the fears of environmental catastrophe, technology-created disasters, or overpopulation, and how they would impact society and individuals (e.g. '' Soylent Green'', ''Elysium (film), Elysium'').
The monster movies of the 1950s—like ''
The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television
— horror, science fiction, fantasy and animation
LIFE Sci-Fi , Tech News, Movies, Reviews
LIFE in a word
{{Authority control Science fiction films, Articles containing video clips Film genres History of science fiction
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
'' (1954)—served as stand-ins for fears of Nuclear warfare, nuclear war, communism and views on the Cold War. In the 1970s, science fiction films also became an effective way of satirizing contemporary social mores with ''Silent Running
''Silent Running'' is a 1972 American ecological-themed science fiction film. It is the directorial debut of Douglas Trumbull, and stars Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, and Jesse Vint.
Plot
In the future, all forests on Earth have b ...
'' and '' Dark Star'' presenting hippies in space as a riposte to the militaristic types that had dominated earlier films. Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
's '' A Clockwork Orange'' presented a horrific vision of youth culture, portraying a youth gang engaged in rape and murder, along with disturbing scenes of forced Classical conditioning, psychological conditioning serving to comment on societal responses to crime.
''Logan's Run (1976 film), Logan's Run'' depicted a futuristic Swinging (sexual practice), swingers' utopia that practiced euthanasia as a form of population control and ''The Stepford Wives (1975 film), The Stepford Wives'' anticipated a reaction to the women's liberation movement. ''Enemy Mine (film), Enemy Mine'' demonstrated that the foes we have come to hate are often just like us, even if they appear alien.
Contemporary science fiction films continue to explore social and political issues. One recent example is ''Minority Report (film), Minority Report'' (2002), debuting in the months after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and focused on the issues of police powers, privacy and civil liberties in a near-future United States. Some movies like ''The Island (2005 film), The Island'' (2005) and ''Never Let Me Go (2010 film), Never Let Me Go'' (2010) explore the issues surrounding cloning.
More recently, the headlines surrounding events such as the Iraq War, international terrorism, the avian influenza scare, and United States opposition to immigration, anti-immigration laws have found their way into the consciousness of contemporary filmmakers. The film ''V for Vendetta (film), V for Vendetta'' (2006) drew inspiration from controversial issues such as the Patriot Act and the War on Terror, while science fiction thrillers such as ''Children of Men'' (also 2006), ''District 9'' (2009), and ''Elysium (film), Elysium'' (2013) commented on diverse social issues such as xenophobia, propaganda, and cognitive dissonance. ''Avatar (2009 film), Avatar'' (2009) had remarkable resemblance to colonialism of native land, mining by multinational-corporations and the Iraq War.
Future noir
Lancaster University professor Jamaluddin Bin Aziz argues that as science fiction has evolved and expanded, it has fused with other film genres such as Gothic fiction, gothic Thriller film, thrillers and film noir. When science fiction integrates film noir elements, Bin Aziz calls the resulting hybrid form "future noir", a form which "... encapsulates a postmodern encounter with generic persistence, creating a mixture of irony, pessimism, prediction, extrapolation, bleakness and nostalgia." Future noir films such as ''Brazil (1985 film), Brazil'', ''Blade Runner'', ''12 Monkeys (film), 12 Monkeys'', ''Dark City (1998 film), Dark City'', and ''Children of Men'' use a protagonist who is "...increasingly dubious, alienated and fragmented", at once "dark and playful like the characters in Gibson's ''Neuromancer'', yet still with the "... shadow of Philip Marlowe..." Future noir films that are set in a post-apocalyptic world "...restructure and re-represent society in a parody of the atmospheric world usually found in noir's construction of a city—dark, bleak and beguiled." Future noir films often intermingle elements of the gothic thriller genre, such as ''Minority Report (film), Minority Report'', which makes references to occult practices, and '' Alien'', with its tagline "In space, no one can hear you scream", and a space vessel, Nostromo, "that hark[s] back to images of the haunted house in the gothic horror tradition". Bin Aziz states that films such as James Cameron’s ''The Terminator'' are a subgenre of "techno noir" that create "...an atmospheric feast of noir darkness and a double-edged world that is not what it seems."Film versus literature
When compared to science-fiction literature, science-fiction films often rely less on the human imagination and more upon action scenes and special effects, special effect-created alien creatures and exotic backgrounds. Since the 1970s, film audiences have come to expect a high standard for special effects in science-fiction films. In some cases, science fiction-themed films superimpose an exotic, futuristic setting onto what would not otherwise be a science-fiction tale. Nevertheless, some critically acclaimed science-fiction movies have followed in the path of science-fiction literature, using story development to explore abstract concepts.Influence of science fiction authors
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright.
His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
(1828–1905) became the first major science-fiction author whose works film-makers adapted for the screen - with Georges Méliès, Méliès' ''Le Voyage dans la Lune
''A Trip to the Moon'' ( , ) is a 1902 French science-fiction adventure trick film written, directed, and produced by Georges Méliès. Inspired by the Jules Verne novel ''From the Earth to the Moon'' (1865) and its sequel '' Around the Moon' ...
'' (1902) and ''Under the Seas, 20,000 lieues sous les mers'' (1907), which used Verne's scenarios as a framework for fantastic visuals. By the time Verne's work fell out of copyright in 1950, the adaptations were generally adapted as costume dramas with a Victorian era, Victorian aesthetic. Verne's works have been adapted a number of times since then, including ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It is considered a classic within its genres and world literature. It was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 i ...
'' (1954), ''From the Earth to the Moon (film), From the Earth to the Moon'' (1958), and two film versions of ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' in 1959 and 2008.
H. G. Wells's novels ''The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...
'', '' Things to Come'' and ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' were all adapted into films during his lifetime (1866–1946), while The War of the Worlds (novel), ''The War of the Worlds'', updated in 1953 and again in 2005, was adapted to film at least four times altogether. ''The Time Machine'' has had two film versions (1960 and 2002) while '' Sleeper'' in part is a pastiche of Wells's 1910 novel ''The Sleeper Awakes''.
With the drop-off in interest in science-fiction films during the 1940s, few of the "golden age" science-fiction authors made it to the screen. A novella by John W. Campbell provided the basis for ''The Thing from Another World
''The Thing from Another World'', sometimes referred to as just ''The Thing'', is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction-horror film directed by Christian Nyby, produced by Edward Lasker for Howard Hawks' Winchester Pictures Corporatio ...
'' (1951). Robert A. Heinlein contributed to the screenplay for '' Destination Moon'' (1950), but none of his major works were adapted for the screen until the 1990s: ''The Puppet Masters (film), The Puppet Masters'' (1994) and ''Starship Troopers (film), Starship Troopers'' (1997). The fiction of Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) influenced the ''Star Wars'' and ''Star Trek'' films, but it was not until 1988 that a film version of one of his short stories (Nightfall (Asimov), ''Nightfall'') was produced. The first major motion-picture adaptation of a full-length Asimov work was Bicentennial Man (film), ''Bicentennial Man'' (1999) (based on the short stories ''Bicentennial Man'' (1976) and ''The Positronic Man'' (1992), the latter co-written with Robert Silverberg), although I, Robot (film), ''I, Robot'' (2004), a film loosely based on I, Robot, Asimov's book of short stories by the same name, drew more attention.
The 1968 film adaptation of some of the stories of science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke as 2001: A Space Odyssey (film), ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' won the Academy Award for Visual Effects and offered thematic complexity not typically associated with the science-fiction genre at the time. Its sequel, ''2010: The Year We Make Contact'' (inspired to Clarke's ''2010: Odyssey Two''), was commercially successful but less highly regarded by critics. Reflecting the times, two earlier science-fiction works by Ray Bradbury were adapted for cinema in the 1960s: Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film), ''Fahrenheit 451'' (1966) and ''The Illustrated Man (film), The Illustrated Man'' (1969). Kurt Vonnegut's ''Slaughterhouse-Five (film), Slaughterhouse-Five'' was filmed in 1971 and ''Breakfast of Champions'' in 1998.
Philip K. Dick's fiction has been used in a number of science-fiction films, in part because it evokes the paranoia that has been a central feature of the genre. Films based on Dick's works include ''Blade Runner'' (1982), Total Recall (1990 film), ''Total Recall'' (1990), Impostor (2002 film), ''Impostor'' (2001), Minority Report (film), ''Minority Report'' (2002), Paycheck (film), ''Paycheck'' (2003), A Scanner Darkly (film), ''A Scanner Darkly'' (2006), and ''The Adjustment Bureau'' (2011). These films represent loose adaptations of the original stories, with the exception of ''A Scanner Darkly'', which is more inclined to Dick's novel.
Market share
The estimated North American box-office market-share of science fiction comprised 4.77%.See also
* Genres, subcategories and related topics to science fiction * Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation * List of dystopian films * List of films set in the future * Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction FilmCitations
General and cited references
* Luca Bandirali, Enrico Terrone, ''Nell'occhio, nel cielo. Teoria e storia del cinema di fantascienza'', Turin: Lindau, 2008, . * Welch Everman, ''Cult Science Fiction Films'', Citadel Press, 1995 in literature, 1995, . * Peter Guttmacher, ''Legendary Sci-Fi Movies'', 1997 in literature, 1997, . * Phil Hardy (journalist), Phil Hardy, ''The Aurum Film Encyclopedia#Volume Two, The Overlook Film Encyclopedia, Science Fiction''. William Morrow and Company, New York, 1995 in literature, 1995, . * Richard S. Myers, ''S-F 2: A pictorial history of science fiction from 1975 to the present'', 1984 in literature, 1984, Citadel Press, . * Gregg Rickman, ''The Science Fiction Film Reader'', 2004 in literature, 2004, . * Matthias Schwartz, Archeologies of a Past Future. Science Fiction Films from Communist Eastern Europe, in: Rainer Rother, Annika Schaefer (eds.): ''Future Imperfect. Science – Fiction – Film'', Berlin 2007, pp. 96–117. . * Dave Saunders, ''Arnold: Schwarzenegger and the Movies'', 2009 in literature, 2009, London, I. B. Tauris * Errol Vieth, ''Screening Science: Context, Text and Science in Fifties Science Fiction Film'', Lanham, MD and London: Scarecrow Press, 2001. .Further reading
* ''Simultaneous Worlds: Global Science Fiction Cinema'' edited by Jennifer L. Feeley and Sarah Ann Wells, 2015, University of Minnesota PressExternal links
The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television
— horror, science fiction, fantasy and animation
LIFE Sci-Fi , Tech News, Movies, Reviews
LIFE in a word
{{Authority control Science fiction films, Articles containing video clips Film genres History of science fiction