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Posted: |
May 10, 2018 - 3:10 AM
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By: |
Hurdy Gurdy
(Member)
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Mine would be CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (today, anyway). I love STAR WARS and all those other sci-fi films of the period, but this was a real, honest attempt to show the affect a planned alien visitation would have on real, everyday people. Seeing it in the cinema, back in the late 70's, was an amazing experience. Parts of it terrified me. Parts of it amazed me. And parts of it truly moved me. The acting, the story, the direction, the cinematography, the VISUAL FX, THE MUSIC! All combined to conjure up a wondrous piece of film-making that left me in awe in the cinema.
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My favorite science fiction movie is BLADE RUNNER. It's a movie so multilayered, I never tire of watching it. One thing about the movie that's almost always lauded is the highly production design, and indeed that is terrific, but the thing about BLADE RUNNER that intrigues me the most is indeed the (highly philosophical) story. A special unit cop is ordered to terminate a bunch of renegade replicants, artificial human beings. They belong to the latest generation, and while they are not supposed to have feelings of their own, but they seem to develope them after a while, so they have artificial memories implanted, so their feelings can be better controlled. This is a strong premise (which has been recycled in many variations since, of course), and it raises a lot of questions. How much do our feelings determine our actions, and how much do our memories determine our feelings. If memories can be fake, does it matter what one feels? How can anyone be sure of anything? And so on. If the universe were totally mechanistic, of course, one could theoretically determine in advance what any creature would do at any time, given that a comprehensive status quo can be known (which of course cannot by any human being). But the movie goes beyond that. While it does not answer many of the questions it raises, it affirms in the end that it we have the power to decide and it is our decisions that matter. The movie also has one of the most gut wrenching scenes I have ever seen, nameley when Rachel tries to prove to Deckard that she is not a replicant by showing photos of her childhood, and Deckard brushs her off by reciting her most private memories, memories she has never told anyone. I imagine that is far worse than any physical rape could ever possibly be, to suddenly "know" somebody can look into your mind right down to the core of your feelings. So it is a great science fiction crime noir movie with lots of undercurrent, and I also love of course its visual flair, its outstanding (again hugely influential) soundtrack by Vangelis, the calm pace of the movie, the (in comparison to the over-the-top approach of today) realistic action scenes (great chase scene on foot through a crowded L.A., for example). And so on, I could write a lot more, but I guess this should do for now.
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The older I get, the more trouble I have identifying a single favorite anything. There are SO MANY wonderful things in the world, I find myself unable to make any kind of consistent ranking. So for now, this morning, my favorite science fiction film is Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Yes, there are problems with it, but I like the visuals and the music is transcendent and, well, There Is No Comparison. EDITED to self-righteously add that I have contributed to this thread while having also contributed my own dollars to the campaign.
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977
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I don't have a singular favorite film, any more than I have a singular favorite score. But If I had to pick one for the sake of picking one, it might be "Jaws". What to say about a film that hasn't been said before. I can't think of a single fault I'd lay upon the film. If only I could say that about the sequels.
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The original 1960 VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED !
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Today I'm gonna go with John Frankenheimer's truly disturbing film, Seconds. I saw it in theater for a film class at USC and it has haunted me ever since. Having one of my favorite Goldsmith scores certainly helps! (Plus, a truly disturbing Saul Bass title sequence.) Yes, for me I'll take Seconds, film and score, over even Jerry's other sci-fi masterpieces. Now if we were talking about fun fantasy romps set in space, I might have some other answers...it's amazing to think of Seconds in the same genre as Star Wars, much less Guardians of the Galaxy. Yavar
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THE LANGOLIERS. Has fascinated me endlessly for more than 20 years.
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My choice remains 2001: A Space Odyssey. Only saw it six times at the Cinerama theater, in its extended run back in 1968-1969.
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I plead guilty having skimmed. I promise to flog myself most vigorously later.
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Lately I've been thinking fondly of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension. I love the laconic eighties vibe, the aliens-among-us tale (with the smart racial dimension and call out to Welles' War of the Worlds), the clever but gimcrack and occasionally squalid production design. All intermixed with a full-bore homage to the pulp tales of Doc Savage and his Fabulous Five, transmuted into Team Banzai. And such wonderful dialogue (more wonderful in the context of the movie): "Damn John Whorfin and the horse he road in on!" "Sealed with a curse as sharp as a knife - doomed is your soul and damned is your life." "Where are we going? Planet 10! When will we get there? Real soon!" "The situation is EX-PLO-SEEV!" "It's not my Goddamn planet! Understand, monkeyboy?" And one of my favorite movie endings ever: "So what? Big deal." Thanks, Adam - this was fun and has finally spurred me to make my own contribution to The Lukas Project.
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