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The Best Science Fiction Films (part one)


What are the best science fiction films of all time? A rather pointless question as the word “best” is entirely subjective. My best is not going to be your best. We may agree on some things, we may not. So what is the point of me posting a list of my favorite Science fiction movies? For that matter, what is the point of anyone posting their list of their favorite anything? I suppose it gives people some insight into the mind of the person doing the posting. It could serve as a list of suggestions in case there was one you hadn’t seen.  If nothing else, it is something to argue about. People like to argue. So what the heck; here is a list of some of my most favorite science fiction films in no particular order.

Ah . . .  Yes . . . as I started writing this it became apparent that this is way too much for one blog post. So consider this part one of a larger list that will play out over the next couple of weeks.

2001: A Space Odyssey. It is now revered as a masterpiece, but when it first came out many audiences and critics were less than impressed. My first introduction to the movie was actually through the music. My parents had the record of the score. This was rather out of character for them as they had no use for anything science fiction-ish. I never found out why they had the record. Maybe someone gave it to them. Anyway, I thought the record looked cool so I listened to it. I became well acquainted with “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (the main theme, which translates into “Thus spoke Zoroaster”) and “The Blue Danube” as well as some eerie mood music by Gyorgy Ligeti. There was also a beautiful sad adagio by Khachaturian.

The germ of the movie was a short story by Arthur C. Clarke entitled “The Sentinel” which he had written in 1950. In the story, geologists on the moon discover an alien machine millions of years old. The sole function of this machine seems to be to send out a signal when a space-faring species (us) find it. From that kernel, Kubrick and Clarke fashioned a screenplay that went well beyond that simple story. There are two main themes in the movie: 1. Man versus machine, and 2. Human evolution. The first theme is easy to grasp. It is human beings in conflict with the computer. It is a straightforward battle to the death of one side or the other. The second theme is harder to grasp. Human evolution is apparently being observed and perhaps directed by an alien intelligence. There are no bug-eyed monsters. We never see the aliens. Their presence is implied and ambiguous. Much of the final reel of the film is unexplained. The audience has to figure it out for themselves.

 People don’t generally like ambiguity in film. This may be why reportedly more than 200 people walked out of the premier. They like good guys versus bad guys. They either want the good guy to win, or if the bad guy wins, a valuable moral lesson is taught or a higher victory is attained. This film has that in the first theme, but in the second theme it is more like an abstract painting. It is meant to make you think and question what it is all about. As all great works of art do, it makes you question your existence.

One more thing: It is amazing how well this film holds up 50 years after its release. The only thing that doesn’t work anymore is the title. “2001” is a glaring reminder that we basically abandoned human space exploration some 40+ years ago, and there are no immediate plans to restart it.

The Martian. This is based on the novel by Andy Weir. It concerns an astronaut, Mark Watney, who is thought to have been killed and his body cannot be recovered. This occurs during a fierce storm that forces the evacuation of all the other astronauts on Mars. But it turns out he was not killed. When he wakes up, he realizes what has happened. He is utterly alone. He has to figure out how to stay alive on his own with no help from anyone. Then he has to figure out how to communicate to the folks back home that he is still alive. Then he has to figure out how to survive the months it will take for a rescue mission to bring him home. The most basic of human requirements: air, water, and food, are all going to run out soon if he doesn’t think of something. All he has to work with is some equipment left behind that was not designed for this, and his brain, and science. The hero of the story really is Science, with a capitol S.  The power of science to solve problems is the only way he is going to get out of this predicament. My favorite quote is when Watney says to himself, “do the math.” We see him study and calculate. We see him meticulously plan out each move. The science in the film is well thought out. The time frames are realistic, unlike a typical Hollywood space rescue. That is probably going to be a reoccurring theme in this blog series: that the science is realistic and believable.

The Martian does not make you question your existence, but it does do a good job of putting you in the shoes of Mark Watney. What would you do in his place, give up and die, or fight seemingly insurmountable obstacles. If you choose the latter, you had better hit the books.

More films to come next week.

(My novel Star Liner, is now available as an ebook through Copypastapublishing.com, Amazon, or the other usual online sources. For those who like to turn physical pages, the paperback will be out soon).


Star Liner

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