The Alphabet of Obscure Science Fiction Classics
Submitted by bertie on Sun, 10/03/2004 - 06:21
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- Alphaville - A Lemmy Caution Adventure [1965. This French oddity is a blend of the sci-fi and private detective genres. The p.d. Lemmy Caution drives to Alphaville (even though it's on another planet) and throws all sorts of spanners in the works of its dystopian society. Despite describing itself as an 'adventure', this movie has a rather sedate pace, with occasional confusing bursts of action and philosophy. But, if you let it, it can get a hold on you.]
- Brainstorm [1983. A team of researchers develops a machine that can record a person's experiences and then allow others to access those experiences as a sort of hyper-virtual-reality. Warning: not a movie for kids or overly sensitive adults, because it explores the experience of death. Great cast (Christopher Walken, Louise Fletcher, Natalie Wood (in her last movie before her death by drowning), and Cliff Robertson) directed by fx maestro Douglas Trumbull.]
- Charly [1968. Based on one of sf literature's one-hit wonders, the story 'Flowers for Algernon' by Daniel Keyes. An intellectually subnormal man who sweeps floors for a living becomes a genius when an experimental drug greatly increases his I.Q. He becomes rich and famous and wins the love of a beautiful woman. But then the effect of the drug begins wearing off. Well acted by Cliff Robertson in the title role. Little-known, but well worth seeing.]
- Destination Moon [1950. Nineteen years before the actual moon landing, this fictional mission to the moon is often amazingly like the real thing, even though it's privately financed and the rocket is nuclear powered. Screenplay co-written by the great sf author Robert Heinlein, with moonscapes by noted sf artist Chesley Bonestell.]
- Enemy Mine [1985. Human (Dennis Quaid) and humanoid (Louis Gossett Jr) are enemies, and each is disgustingly alien to the other. The two are space fighter pilots and after shooting each other down are marooned on a desolate planet where they find they need each other's help to survive, learning to respect each other in the process. This movie (until some real aliens come along) is obviously an allegory against racism rather than a literal lesson against xenophobia.]
- Frau im Mond [1929. German. This movie is remarkable for the way it mirrors the zeitgeist of 20s Germany. Rationality and irrationality: the expedition to the moon is hard sf, until it actually gets there and scientific fact goes out the window. The expedition's conflicting personnel reflect the chaotic politics of the Weimar Republic. The expedition's goal is to find the gold believed to be there, a belief that has grown and flourished despite initial ridicule. Gold was important to Germany in the 20s (see the G movie, next on this list) because of the hyper-inflation of the currency suffered in the earlier part of the decade. These were the conditions that allowed Hitler to come to power.]
- Gold [1934. German. Using radioactivity, two scientists realise the dream of the alchemists: to turn lead into gold. An evil businessman wants to steal and monopolise the process. The sets for this film were so realistic that, during WW2, allied intelligence used it to help them estimate how advanced the Germans were in their research into radioactivity.]
- Harrison Bergeron [1995. Based on the short story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. In a future dystopia, equality is valued above freedom. Anyone who is naturally above average is handicapped by the government to bring them down to mediocrity. But the title character is so far above average that the electronic intelligence inhibitor he must wear does not have the desired effect. A good illustration of the satirical potential of the genre.]
- The Incredible Shrinking Man [1957. The story is simple: a man is exposed to a mysterious mist and begins slowly shrinking. The special effects, consisting of increasingly large sets, props, and household beasties, are wonderful. The overall effect of the man's predicament is horrifying, but ultimately inspires a particularly strong burst of what old-time sf fans refer to as 'sense of wonder'.]
- Just Imagine [1930. This is arguably the first movie to satirise the genre of sf. The plot is a collection of dystopian cliches: the triumph of 'rationalisation' as names have become numbers, food has become pills, romance has become government-brokered mating, and sex has become in vitro fertilization. One good thing is that cars have become personal flying machines. Includes a trip to Mars, which has an appropriately silly civilization.]
- Krakatit [1947. Czechoslovakian. Notable as an early warning against the apocalyptic dangers of nuclear weapons technology.]
- Lifeforce [1985. A mission to rendezvous with Halley's Comet returns to Earth with an alien vampire aboard that drains its victims of their lifeforce during osculation (look it up). Entertaining, especially since the vampire takes the shape of a beautiful woman and doesn't seem to understand the concept of clothing.]
- The Man in the White Suit [1951. A science fiction comedy starring Alec Guinness - no, not Star Wars. A frustrated chemical genius cons his way into a laboratory at a textile factory and works on his naive dream of an artificial fabric that will repel dirt and not wear out. He is successful, and when the consequences of his invention are realised, the manufacturers and labor unions both bay for his blood.]
- Night of the Comet [1984. A comedy set after the end of the world. The comet crossed the sky and its tail killed everyone who happened not to be enclosed in metal that night. If you were only partly enclosed, you survived as a living-dead type zombie. Two 'valley girls' survive and have a fun time raiding the mall and defending themselves against other survivors showing various degrees of zombification.]
- On Your Mark [1995. Japanese. A short (6 1/2 min.) anime. Has no dialog, only music to accompany the astonishing visuals. Repays several viewings.]
- Panic in Year Zero! [1962. Or, what to do if you live in L.A. and it's about to get H-bombed. (Pile the family into the camper van and head for the hills, picking out a nice cave to regress in.) An intense little movie about the collapse of civilization accompanying nuclear war. Ray Milland directed and stars as father of the family. His mission is to escape the city, survive, protect daughter from would-be rapists, and...survive.]
- Quatermass and the Pit [1968, a.k.a. Five Million Years to Earth. Tunnelling for an extension to the London underground rail system uncovers an alien spaceship and the body of an alien being that resembles *the devil*. The find is just below Hob's Lane, Hob being an obsolete name for the devil. The spaceship and corpse are believed to be extinct, but something surprising reactivates them in a very frightening way. One of a series of movies featuring the fictional Professor Quatermass.]
- Robinson Crusoe on Mars [1964. How a spaceman marooned on Mars survives while dodging aggressive aliens. Cheaply made, but intelligently written/adapted. Compares favorably with such recent Mars movies as Red Planet. ]
- Soylent Green [1973. Charlton Heston and Edward G.Robinson. Sf of its time, cashing in on *the overpopulation panic*. Based on the novel Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. Fascinating speculations on the possible effects of and responses to an overpopulated world. Despite some silly (or perhaps metaphorical) scenes, such as rioters being scooped up and dumped into trucks like so much human garbage, this is a generally underrated film. The scene in which Robinson's character patronises his local assisted suicide emporium, enjoying images of the now lost beauty of nature before he dies, is actually quite moving - particularly since this was the actor's last film performance.]
- Them! [1954. Deadly ants the size of horses appear in the desert and make their way to the city where they nest in the drainage system. A fine Big Beasties movie, and a typical fifties anti-communist allegory.]
- The Ultimate Warrior [1975]
- Village of the Damned [1960. Based on the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. The village of Midwich is suddenly isolated by an invisible barrier, all inhabitants rendered unconscious for several hours. Then, just as suddenly as it came, the barrier is lifted and the villagers revive. Nine months later, all the village women of child-bearing age give birth. As the children grow, they develop the psychic power to impose their will upon the minds of others. Remade in 1995.]
- The War Game [1965]
- X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes [1963]
- Yosei Gorasu [1962]
- Zardoz [1974. Director John Boorman has made some very good films, such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Excalibur, and Hope and Glory. Zardoz, however, shows how embarrassingly bad sf can be in the hands of someone who has no genuine feel for it. The basic plot idea might be described as the British class system taken to its ultimate extreme. After some sort of global catastrophe, a technology-weilding elite of immortals use religion to actively encourage the savage masses to war amongst themselves, as a cynical form of population control. Sean Connery stars as a questing savage who discovers the truth about his world and becomes a force for renewal in the stultified society of the elite. This movie is a classic because you can see, if you force yourself to watch it, that it is full of unrealised potential.]
Cloned From:
This list brings to mind the question of what makes a 'classic.' Is it decided wholly by year of release, or is quality a factor?
In the case of this particular list, 'classic' is being used with tongue more or less in cheek (which is not to say the movies here are turkeys, they are not, and I will explain their redeeming features). As to what makes a genuine classic, to me a classic is a work that has passed the 'test of time'. So year of release does come into it insofar as a new or recent work has not yet been subjected to the test. Only a high quality work will pass the test, by continuing to be highly valued as the years go by.
Cool. Thanks.
How much of the definition of "classic" is based on breadth of appeal? For instance, if only 30 people have seen the movie, is it still a classic?
Nice to see Night of the Comets up there. An oft-overlooked gem.
It's an interesting question, whether a work with large breadth of appeal is greater for that reason. I would say not. How many people have read Homer, even in translation? How many have read Shakespeare, or even seen and understood one of his plays? How many people have listened to and appreciated Bach's Goldberg Variations? How many movie-goers have watched and appreciated Citizen Kane or The Rules of the Game or 2001: A Space Odyssey? The answer to these questions is 'only a minority'. Yet these are all undoubted classics.
Cool idea and cool list. Weird that I missed it till now. Well, it's never too late...
Oh, and happy new year BTW. At this time, Australia should already be in 2006.
Thanks for the compliment (but note that the 'alphabet' part of the idea was copied from other Listologists).
And a Happy New 2006 to you too, 1922!
As I write it is about 8:20 AM on New Years Day. I have zero hangover since my state of unhealth means my days of alcoholic self-indugence are over (not that I was ever a big drinker, mind you).
I must say I'm surprised at how much activity there is at Listology - apparently I'm not the only Listologist without a 'life' - no offence intended you guys and gals.
Of course, not all of you are Christians, so I guess that explains some of it.
"Quatermass," "Them!," "Shrinking Man"...I like your style. So many classics here...