Planet of the brunettes: my seven "desert island" anticipation movies
Submitted by cramoukji on Mon, 03/14/2005 - 09:06
Tags:
- Rollerball (just as classic anticipation novels were only an excuse to criticize current societies this 70's movie remains creepy by its accuracy of portraying corporate greed and domination)
- Metropolis (Lang's masterpiece is undoubtedly one of the most influential bodies of work from the early days of cinema and though its visual content might be a little dated, its political message still holds true today)
- A clockwork orange (the Burgess novel is in the opinion of this writer better than the movie because Kubrick did burden its adaptation with psychedelic visuals but hey, those were the times)
- Blade runner (could have been better with less action scenes and a deeper study of the background because, let's be honest, the opening scenes remain the strongest)
- Planet of the apes (Burton's remake offered an ending closer to the original french novel but Charlton burying his fists in the sand cursing at the warmongers is the better ending)
- Gattaca (as is the custom with anticipation, only time will tell if this movie stands but so far it's been impressive)
- Logan's run (it's got many very, very silly moments but it's such classic anticipation that the good moments keep popping up in my memory)
Author Comments:
I assume everyone knows what the "desert island" concept means...
Anticipation, which can be considered a sub-genre of sci-fi, consists of focusing on future societies in their possible laws, human relationships and cultural content rather than exploring scientific breakthroughs and space exploration but you knew that already...
As always, comments are welcome, especially because this list wasn't fully thought through and one or two movies from it could be replaced if you can remind me of other and possibly better anticipation movies.
Some good choices...I wasn't aware of the term "anticipation," but I see what you mean and realize that it is a subgenre I like quite a bit. Metropolis is a great film, and probably in my top three of silent films.
I might have to think about this for awhile and then clone it, but for now I will simply ask for your thoughts on another Charlton Heston sci-fi anticipation "masterpiece," Soylent Green.
Johnny Waco
I saw it when I was very young and haven't seen it since but I am aware of the story and the novel it's based on... When I see it again, it will likely be considered for this list...
Well, Anticipation in the meaning I use here is actually a french word but since I couldn't find any english word to convey the idea, I decided to stick with it...
Possibly the greatest anticipation movie is H.G. Wells' Things to Come .
Thanks for the tip... I've never seen that classic but will definitely check it out when I get the opportunity!