Top 10 Science Fiction films

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
4. Star Wars (1977)
5. The Wrath of Khan (1982)
6. Planet of the Apes (1968)
7. The Thing (1982)
8. Blade Runner (1982)
9. Alien (1979)
10. Frankentstein (1931)

Sci Fi History: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick directed this amazing sci-fi masterpiece. The film is split into four acts that follows man's evolution, which is aided by mysterious monoliths. It begins with "The Dawn of Man" featuring a bunch of protohumans learning to kill. In the second act, 21st century man discovers a monolith on the moon. Act III sends the cast to Jupiter where 2001 transforms into a horror film. The ship's computer, HAL, systematically murders the crew. One man survives into Act IV where he seemingly evolves into a higher being after an encounter with the monolith.

2001 was revolutionary. It did not feature humanoid aliens. A conspiracy on Earth program HAL to kill the astronauts 25 years before The X-Files. The special effects were cutting edge. The film influenced George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Additionally, elements of 2001 can be seen in Blade Runner, Close Encounters, Alien, Contact, and other films and television programs.


Dawn of Man:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypEaGQb6dJk




Trailer:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6ywMnbef6Y




Theme Song:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxLacN2Dp6A

Sci Fi History: Metropolis (1927)

Metropolis is a film set in an urban future in which workers and capitalists struggle against one another. The film is Marxist in viewpoint and demonstrates class warfare. On one hand, the capitalists live an easy life while the workers struggle for survival. In the end, the two sides reach an accommodation as a mediator intervenes. The human body serves as an allegory for society. The brain represents capitalists, the hands represent workers, and the mediator (the heart) brings them together.

The film has proved influential over the years. Blade Runner borrowed the cityscape. Star Wars appropriated the golden robot. Queen used scenes from the film in their “Radio Ga Ga” video. In the end, almost every Sci Fi film owes something to Metropolis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSExdX0tds4