P-List traffic/sci-fi flicks

[kelber at mindspring.com]

I'm re-posting this since the heading I posted it on seems to have been dropped:

This is Gregory Benford's definition of sci-fi:

"SF is a controlled way to think and dream about the future. An integration
of the mood and attitude of science (the objective universe) with the fears and 
hopes that spring from the unconscious. Anything that turns you and your social 
context, the social you, inside out. Nightmares and visions, always outlined by 
the barely possible."

Of course, he's talking about sci-fi literature.  I think most literary sci-fi
(whether well-written or otherwise) tends to be more contemplative than plot-heavy,
and therefore ill-suited to the screen.  Benford's phrase "the mood and
attitude of science" is important.  Clockwork Orange, for example, is dystopian,
but is it really "science-y?"  Also, movies such as Forbidden Planet may
be set in outer space, but the space setting isn't intrinsic to the plot.

Some movies which have the mood and attitude of science, or where science is intrinsic
to the plot (which doesn't make them good):

2001
Blade Runner
Pi
Solaris
Donnie Darko
Planet of the Apes 
Fantastic Voyage (admittedly, really cheezy, but I thought it was really cool when it first came out, pre 2001:ASO)
Back to the Future
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Things to Come
The Time Machine (original)
The Matrix (not for the fight sequences, but for at least putting forward the concept of alternate realities in an interesting way).

Plus many, but not all of the Star Trek TV episodes.

Laura

-----Original Message-----
>From: Dave Monroe <monropolitan at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Nov 8, 2006 4:36 PM
>To: David Casseres <david.casseres at gmail.com>
>Cc: kelber at mindspring.com, pynchon-l at waste.org
>Subject: Re: Re: P-List traffic/sci-fi flicks
>
>We're all of course entitled to our opinions, but ...
>
>--- David Casseres <david.casseres at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Now that's a hell of a fine list.  I'm going to
>> annotate it with my opinions ...
>>
>> > Last Night (McKellar)
>> Say what?
>
>Best end of the world film ever, note David Croneberg
>as a Toronto gas company executive calling all his
>customers to thank them and assure them of continued
>service to the bitter end.  Also, Genevieve Bujold,
>plus 15,000 people playing "Taking Care of Business"
>along with Randy Bachman ...
>
>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156729/
>
>> > Metropolis (Lang)
>> Gotta see it one day.
>
>You'll have the advantage of seeing the most complete
>version in existence, at least, albeit, alas, without
>either a Giorgio Moroder and/or Queen sdtk. ...
> 
>> > Planet of the Apes (Schaffner)
>> Oh please.
>
>Heretic!
> 
>> > Solaris (Tarkovsky)
>> Bloated and hokey.
>
>I've gotta google to see if ANYONE'S ever applied the
>adjective "hokey" to a Tarkovsky film before ...
> 
>> My additions:
>> 
>> Stargate (Emmerich)
>
>Speaking of cults ... I hear the plug's FIANLLY been
>pulled on the Scientologist propaganda series.  As
>with The Hitlery Channel, SciFi might still as well
>change its name to The Stargate Channel ...
>
>> Starman (Chenault & Dahlin)
>
>Would I be a wiseguy to suggest, might as well include
>Coccon then also?  Okay ...
>
>> Destination Moon (Pichel)
>
>Sorry, accidentally cut that one trying to bring it
>down to fifty total ...
>
>> E.T. (Spielberg)
>
>Now there's where I get incredulous, and I LIKE the
>film (albeit NOT to Bowdlerized rerelease) ...
>
>> The Man Who Fell to Earth (Roeg)
>
>Sorry, another victim of my simply not paying
>attention to hat I was cutting, definitely should have
>ben in there with Destination Moon ...
>
>> Back to the Future I, II, III (Zemeckis)
>
>Again, enjoyed the first one greatly, but ...
>
>> Buckaroo Banzai (Weller)
>> Repo Man (Cox)
>
>Ditto these, on eleven, but ... well, inconsitently
>applied my SF/not SF heuristics here, will revise. 
>But taht may mean I gotta include Frankenstein ...
>
>
>
>
> 
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