MyMovies: Screen Intelligent SF
Science fiction (SF) movies as a whole (but not necessarily any particular film) entice us to imagine about innovative and possible visions of the future, past, or present. This list aims to select movies from various time periods and influences: movies that engage audiences with vivid thought experiments and contribute to SF film history with interesting perspectives (social, environmental, technological, and intellectual). It's often the case that films with common sf themes still have crucial disparities in meaning, argument, and viewpoint when made in different time periods and influences.
This list includes all movies from my Amazon SF/Tech guide and my TechSupportAlert.com article. Plus it has a few other historically important films with at least a few SF elements, and it includes non-SF where I think a documentary, TV show, or film is supportive of SF elements.
This list includes all movies from my Amazon SF/Tech guide and my TechSupportAlert.com article. Plus it has a few other historically important films with at least a few SF elements, and it includes non-SF where I think a documentary, TV show, or film is supportive of SF elements.
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- DirectorFred M. WilcoxStarsWalter PidgeonAnne FrancisLeslie NielsenA starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate the silence of a distant planet's colony, only to find just two survivors, a powerful robot, and the deadly secret of a lost civilization.Dir. Fred Wilcox, 1956, 78.3/B+. Has an advanced robot (Robby!), a machine for improving human intelligence, supercomputers for running an ancient alien civilization (the Krell), a hover craft, and semi-virtually projected creatures (or a dangerous materializing-Freudian-id!).
It is a movie rich in ideas as a Star Trek-like crew investigates a planet (Altair IV) and unknowingly run into a lot of trouble and a tempest (drawing from a Shakespearean theme).
Roddenberry says it influenced his vision of Star Trek; its influence is very obvious in the first aired episode of Star Trek: The Original Series ("The Man Trap", 1966). - DirectorRichard FleischerStarsStephen BoydRaquel WelchEdmond O'BrienWhen a blood clot renders a scientist comatose, a submarine and its crew are shrunk and injected into his bloodstream in order to save him.Dir. Richard Fleischer, 1966, 70.3/B-. See the novel by the same name by Isaac Asimov. An excellent illustration of a voyage to the small [also look for The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and Innerspace (1987)]. In the plot a scientist invents stable and longer lasting miniaturization technology, but he gets injured before he teaches his discoveries to anyone, locking the secrets to how the improved technology works in his mind. So a doctor and some military personal use a miniature vessel (the Proteus) to help heal the scientist.
Most such ideas about the micro world lack explicit scientific credibility, but they allow us to adopt a different perspective and to use similar thought processes that some scientists use in thought experiments. For example, Carl Sagan compares us to little universes (Cosmos #2), Einstein used various thought experiments in his thinking, and, more recently, Brian Greene pretends to travel to the minute quantum level as an analogy to quantum concepts (The Elegant Universe). - DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJude LawJennifer Jason LeighIan HolmA game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.Dir. David Cronenberg, 1999, 66/C+. See the novel by Christopher Priest. This smart movie deals with the human side effects of using bio-machine video games. It lampoons video game antics (e.g., timeouts until predefined keywords are given), and has its characters slowly get desensitized and confused between rules in virtual reality and moral rules in reality. It's best for fans of Cronenberg.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.Dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1968, 83.9/A. Based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke.
It achieves excellence for its vision of realistic space flight, speculative spacecrafts, HAL 9000, possibly an ancient alien transport and information pathway system (in the Star Gate sequence), a star child (perhaps an intelligent space dwelling being), and alien technology (the Monolith) that is so advanced in science it would look to us like magic (per one of Clarke's maxims of prediction: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic").
And perhaps it flaunts a Nietzschean-like evolution of intelligence from our ape ancestors, to humans, to machines, to a star child. It also has high artistic appeal and is one of the most influential SF movies. It shows that one can fit speculative science into a SF movie without losing artistic value.
It has many little gems of speculation, such as its subtle stance on artificial intelligence. The script never explicitly claims that HAL is intelligent or sentient; it actually notes that some scientists claim it merely mimics sentience. And it doubts whether we could know if HAL has emotion. Though it remarks that HAL seems intelligent and emotional (and could be for all we know). [The novel suggests Turing's imitation game (aka the Turing test) as an intelligence test.] So Kubrick was careful to offer opposing points of view and cite difficult questions.
The scientific value of the movie is in its very fabric. The astronauts work methodically similar to the way I see NASA conduct its missions on the NASA channel. They use computers and communications with earth to guide their troubleshooting and repairs, for example. It also replaces the emphasis on militaristic chains of command of Star Trek or Forbidden Planet with a more modern, scientific, technical way of operating. There are scientific flaws in specific details, but science itself is littered with failed attempts that were crucial to future scientists. Where would we be without the reintroduction of the ancient Greeks into western civilization? (So, yes, Aristotle is wrong about almost everything while also being very important arguably. See James Burke's documentary series, Connections, for this sort of argument.)
Timothy Ferris uses 2001 as an example of the thesis that aliens may already know about us and we might find evidence of them as we continue to explore space (p. 375, Coming of Age in the Milky Way). The movie is also an example of an alien pathway system (with Trumbull's light effects near the end of the movie) and a cosmic intelligence network. The mutual desire of the humans and the aliens to search out intelligent life may be nature's way of evolving an intelligence on a massive scale (much in the same way Carl Sagan imagines in his Cosmos series and in Contact).
Even though the climax has humans combating our flaws and a homicidal computer, it leaves us with a boundless vision of advancement and future possibilities. The movie foreshadows this by (seemingly) beginning from an alien perspective and using repetition of the alien probes/monoliths to get us to feel their technological superiority and presence (or at least feel the same mystery the characters feel from their new discoveries). But it leaves us with a vision of an advanced space civilization, a new space species, and a chance for science and technology to be important to our future perhaps. Believe it or not this is rare in SF!
http://www.palantir.net/2001/ - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.Dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1972, 81.6/A-. Based on the novel by Anthony Burgess. It challenges us with the idea that Alex gets mistreated when the state uses conditioning mechanisms to "reform" him and thwart his free will (i.e., when a person “lovely with color and juice” is controlled like a mechanical toy).
By the way, watch Kubrick's 2001 for Dr. Heywood Floyd's great Clockwork Orange-like sentence: "It should not be difficult for all of you to realize the potential for cultural shock and social disorientation contained in the present situation if the facts were prematurely and suddenly made public without adequate preparation and conditioning" (2001 screenplay). - DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Dir. Ridley Scott, 1979, 84.5/A. Contains many SF themes such as a central computer and an alien race, along with a heavy dose of spaceships, androids, cryogenic freezers, and controlling corporations. In the first film, I especially like the patient opening space sequence, the investigation of the alien-infested spaceship, and the creative H. R. Giger designs.
http://www.planetavp.com/al/index2.htm - DirectorPeter HyamsStarsRoy ScheiderJohn LithgowHelen MirrenA joint USA-Soviet expedition is sent to Jupiter to learn exactly what happened to the "Discovery" and its H.A.L. 9000 computer.Dir. Peter Hyams, 1984, 65.8/C+. Sequel to 2001. Portrays U.S.-Russian tensions during a space mission to investigate HAL 9000 and a lost astronaut (Dave Bowman). Includes the rise of new alien and computer lifeforms.
- DirectorL.Q. JonesStarsDon JohnsonJason RobardsSusanne BentonA young man and his telepathic dog wander a post-apocalyptic wasteland.See the novella by Harlan Ellison. Includes an intelligent telepathic dog (named Blood), a post-apocalyptic wasteland, an underground totalitarian cult, security robots dressed as farmers, and one of the funniest final lines of any movie!
Other examples of post-apocalyptic stories that are set in a future in which most science and technology regressed backwards: Mad Max series (1979, 1981, 1985), Testament (1983), The Day After (1983), Jericho (2006-2008, TV), etc. - DirectorPierre de LespinoisStarsWayne D. BarloweCurtis ClarkJames GarvinThe CGI or computer animated drama/documentary takes place on Darwin IV, a planet 6.5 light years from earth, with 2 suns and 60% of Earth's gravity. Having identified Darwin as a world that could support life, Earth sends a pilot mission consisting of the Mothership Von Braun and three probes: Balboa, Da Vinci, and Newton. This robotic fleet is responsible for finding and assessing any life forms on Darwin IV. Initially, the expectation is to find microscopic life, but the probes soon find themselves in the middle of a developed ecosystem teeming with diversity of life of all sizes. The drama on Darwin IV is motivated by real science missions, such as the NASA Origins Program and the NASA / JPL Planet-Finder Mission, as well as the European Space Agency's Darwin Project. "Alien Planet " is a cosmic expedition along side Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Jack Horner, Craig Venter, and George Lucas, and NASA's Chief Scientist Jim Garvin. No longer just the domain of science fiction, "Alien Planet" dramatizes an exciting and possible answer to what alien life really looks like and when we'll find it.Dir. Pierre de Lespinois, 2005 documentary. Uses all known science to speculate about the plausibility of finding life on an imaginary planet (Darwin IV). It depicts imaginative alien designs, advanced robot sensors, and speculative interviews of scientists.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHaley Joel OsmentJude LawFrances O'ConnorA highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.Dir. Stephen Spielberg, 2001, 67.2/C+. Based on a Stanley Kubrick idea and a short story by Brian Aldiss: Super Toys Last All Summer Long. Some parts are very re-watchable and visually stunning. Includes machine chauvinism, child robots, a sage computer, and a post-apocalypse setting.
- DirectorMamoru OshiiStarsMalgorzata ForemniakWladyslaw KowalskiJerzy GudejkoIn a dystopian world, a woman spends her time playing an illegal and dangerous game, hoping to find meaning in her world.Dir. Mamoru Oshii, 2001, NA. Has matrix style simulation of video games. Ash, an expert at a virtual game called Avalon, discovers that there are blurry lines between game and reality (her dog goes missing and shows up in the game). More properly, it argues that reality is constructed by her individual perspective and possibly by her choices (she sees the same statue once with its head and once headless). It also makes us ask whether virtual reality is better or worse than reality. I like its gamer ambiance but I don't like the disgusting eating scene.
http://www.ninesisters.org/ - DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.Dir. Ridley Scott, 1982, 84.4/A. Based on a novel by Philip K. Dick (P.K.D.): Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.
Includes replicants, an intricate empathy test, an Esper picture analyzer, genetic engineering (eyes, tiny logos), massive advertising (airships, moving images), and hover crafts/flying cars. It asks whether we ought to extend ethical consideration to replicants when we know they are machines and when Deckard must use a complicated Voight-Kampf empathy test to try to detect them, i.e. when Tyrell designs them to be "more human than human."
Blade Runner is dense with SF gems and it has a strong sense of realism. None of the technology is anthropomorphized, which would horrify Disney or viewers who demand an emotional center to help them make a connection to the characters (some critics make the same argument against the Matrix trilogy and the whole of SF).
Its repeated eye imagery represents the "Orwellian eye" of powerful industrial giants, according to Ridley Scott. He aptly argues that corporations could be just as controlling as governments (DVD commentary). But it seems more likely to me that it should symbolize Orwellian governments, at least in the current climate.
But Blade Runner succeeds in imagining a world resourceful enough to engineer advanced androids. We see the specialization of scientists and all sorts of moral, political, and philosophical problems associated with human-android relations. Some of its philosophical questions have been influential for movies concerned with arguing that the defining features of our humanity are murky (especially the Ghost in the Shell movies).
Ridley Scott achieves an excellent portrayal of a futuristic cityscape with a unique and compelling vision of the future on Earth. It influenced many SF authors, such as William Gibson, who says he had to run off to rewrite his book, Neuromancer, after seeing the film since it looked so much better than anything in his book (Interview for The Sci-Fi Files).
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/AuthorSpecAlphaList.asp?BkNum=341 - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJonathan PryceKim GreistRobert De NiroA bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.Dir. Terry Gilliam, 1985, 79.8/A-. It creates an impressive and one of a kind futuristic world, with memorable scenes of cosmetic surgery, oppressive bureaucracy (mistakes, red-tape, invasion of privacy), dream fantasies, TV addicted workers, presumed terrorist attacks, torture, and alienation.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsEric BraedenSusan ClarkGordon PinsentThinking this will prevent war, the US government gives an impenetrable supercomputer total control over launching nuclear missiles. But what the computer does with the power is unimaginable to its creators.Dir. Joseph Sargent, 1970, NA. Based on a novel by D. F. Jones: Colossus. Includes two supercomputers and a novel vision of computer led progress. Imagines a situation in which two governments (U.S. & Russia) decide to give super-computers control of their respective nuclear weapons, replacing flawed human decision-making with superior processing and hard cold logic. (By the way, The Terminator movies also portray humans giving weaponry controls to a 'Skynet'.)
The two machines develop a new mathematical language, advance us years in science, and take control of a few things too. Who says the humans always have to win? - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJodie FosterMatthew McConaugheyTom SkerrittDr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.Dir. Robert Zemeckis, 1997, 72.3/B. Based on the novel by Carl Sagan. Smartly portrays themes concerning SETI, scientific inquiry, and science vs. religion. Includes computer aided radio astronomy equipment and a speculative alien space transporter. Computers are absolutely essential in this kind of radio astronomy and it usually takes supercomputers or cloud computing (see the SETI project at Berkeley for example) to make SETI projects possible.
It seems to mimic and improve the method of alien contact in This Island Earth and exudes a love for science. Would we cooperate enough on so large a scale to advance science and promote discovery? The book was Carl Sagan's first and only novel (and a huge bestseller at the time), coming after his very successful Cosmos series, and it contains much more scientific fascination and detail than the movie of course.
http://contact-themovie.warnerbros.com/main.html - DirectorIrving PichelStarsJohn ArcherWarner AndersonTom Powers"Destination Moon", tells the tale of when Doctor Charles Cargraves and retired General Thayer approach Jim Barnes, the head of his own aviation construction firms to help build a rocket that will take them to the moon.Dir. Irving Pichel, 1950, 55.3/D. Screenplay by SF guru Robert Heinlein and produced by George Pal. It's sometimes referred to as a 'hard SF' movie for its portrayal of a mission to the moon by plausible scientific theory and by business/engineering know how.
It also depicts a semi-modern rocket launch and a differential analyzer (an actual mechanical computer from the 50s), along with radar and ship navigation electronics, scientific equipment to investigate the moon (telescope, Geiger counter), and communications between astronauts on the moon and reporters on earth.
It symbolizes its moon landing as a claim on the moon for all mankind, and it has lighthearted moments with a Woody Woodpecker cartoon to demonstrate space flight.
http://www.archive.org/details.php?identifier=destinationmoon - DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsEthan HawkeUma ThurmanJude LawA genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.Dir. Andrew Niccol, 1997, 74.2/B. Presents a future in which we bestow reverence and rank (in the workplace and society) on those with a genetic predisposition and statistical likelihood to be the best. Quick samples of DNA (from blood, urine, or other bodily source) serve as primary identification, which further ties one's identity to genetics.
But the system turns into harsh discrimination (as the moralizing voice over will not let the viewer forget). Parents in this world get to choose desirable genes for their children to promote good health or artistic talent, which is important since everyone has personalized gene analysis reports that guide their social worth and options. One must have the right genes to become an astronaut, for example.
Ethan Hawke's character strives to qualify for space missions despite his genetic limits. His struggle and character growth (through hard work and flexibility) demonstrates our unique human ability to adapt and overcome genetic predispositions and social obstacles. Humans really are clever sometimes! But perhaps we are clever enough to consider more variables than just genes, making parts of the scenario implausible.
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/AuthorSpecNewsList.asp?BkNum=375 - DirectorHerbert L. StrockStarsRichard EganConstance DowlingHerbert MarshallA security agent investigates sabotage and murder at a secret underground laboratory, home of two experimental robots.
- DirectorJulian JonesStarsWilliam ShatnerJon AdlerMartin CooperWilliam Shatner presents a light-hearted look at how the "Star Trek" TV series have influenced and inspired today's technologies, including: cell phones, medical imaging, computers and software, SETI, MP3 players and iPods, virtual reality, and spaceship propulsion.Dir. Julian Jones, 2005 documentary. An extremely funny and informational documentary on the science and technical impact of Star Trek. It also features Lawrence M. Krauss in a few interviews and hints at some of his ideas from his excellent and very readable book, The Physics of Star Trek.
- DirectorNaoko KusumiMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAkio ÔtsukaAtsuko TanakaTamio ÔkiIn the year 2032, Batô, a cyborg detective for the anti-terrorist unit Public Security Section 9, investigates the case of a female robot--one created solely for sexual pleasure--who slaughtered her owner.Dir. Mamoru Oshii, 2004 (69.1/B-), Anime. Based on the manga of Masamune Shirow. Includes highly advanced androids, invisibility tech, mental implants for expanded access to the world's information, and sentient programs/ghosts. Both are serious anime movies with extraordinary visual and imaginative elements. They are influenced by Blade Runner in their tendency to question the line between humans and machines.
But Oshii's Ghost in the Shell (GITS) movies have flashy contemporary-looking technology and eastern influences. Interestingly, his ghost/body dualism seems to extend to computer information or programs in a network. Oshii's visions often take place in what he calls 'borderline realms' (such as an Internet). In GITS-2 lookout for the memory hacking, loop traps, and humans as the birth of A.I.! It does have some long artsy sequences for songs and parades, witty speeches, and literary quotes in GITS-2. - DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsHelena CarterArthur FranzJimmy HuntA young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.Dir. William Menzies, 1953, 67.7/C+. This British movie surveys flying saucer mystique, portrays a child-like love for discovery, and portrays an invading brain-in-a-vat creature and its assimilation of locals.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsDonald SutherlandBrooke AdamsJeff GoldblumWhen strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.Dir. Philip Kaufman, 1978, 76/B+. Based on a Collier's magazine serial by Jack Finney. People start acting odd as they lose their humanity through assimilation by evil, automaton plants and pod people. Counter to many reviews, I like the 1978 remake better than the 1956 version since it emphasizes the SF elements (more plants, pods, genetic experiments) and it isn't as preachy about the characters' fear of losing their emotions.
The director's commentary has a couple interesting comments about parallels between the movie and our own society; he takes the pod idea as symbolic to our own de-humanization to mindless TV watching and assimilation to dominant social views. - DirectorRobert LongoStarsKeanu ReevesDolph LundgrenDina MeyerA data courier, literally carrying a data package inside his head, must deliver it before he dies from the burden or is killed by the Yakuza.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsSam NeillLaura DernJeff GoldblumA pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.Dir. Stephen Spielberg, 1993, 76.4/B+. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton. Portrays gene sequence manipulation and an automated park. It discredits underground, undisciplined, and business driven attempts to manipulate the near infinite complexities of nature (Crichton pushes this theme in many of his novels, such as in The Andromeda Strain and Next, but he loves the traditional practice of science by academics like Einstein who had a conscience for any negative side effects of our scientific power).
I love the computer hacker scenes, the chaos theory wisecracks (but they are better in the book), all the sciency stuff whether in digging for bones or talking about plants, and the dinosaurs are cool.
http://www.jplegacy.org/home.php - DirectorMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAtsuko TanakaIemasa KayumiAkio ÔtsukaA cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.Dir. Mamoru Oshii, 1995 (76.4/B+), Anime. Based on the manga of Masamune Shirow. Includes highly advanced androids, invisibility tech, mental implants for expanded access to the world's information, and sentient programs/ghosts. Both are serious anime movies with extraordinary visual and imaginative elements. They are influenced by Blade Runner in their tendency to question the line between humans and machines.
But Oshii's Ghost in the Shell (GITS) movies have flashy contemporary-looking technology and eastern influences. Interestingly, his ghost/body dualism seems to extend to computer information or programs in a network. Oshii's visions often take place in what he calls 'borderline realms' (such as an Internet). It does have some long artsy sequences for songs, parades, and witty speeches.
Oshii enhanced and reissued his 1995 movie as Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008, 74.5/B). He kept the same story, but tinkered with the original by adding new CGI. Some reviews mention that the new CGI doesn't seamlessly blend with the old artwork.
http://www.neomythos.com/intheshell/index.shtml - DirectorChris MarkerStarsÉtienne BeckerJean NégroniHélène ChatelainThe story of a man forced to explore his memories in the wake of World War III's devastation, told through still images.La Jettée, Dir. Chris Marker, 1962, 81.7/A-. Marker's La Jettée is especially excellent when you get in the right state of mind; you have to pretend you found it as some alien artifact and are about to witness strange experiences and time travel experiments!
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsMichael YorkJenny AgutterRichard JordanA police officer in the future uncovers the deadly secret behind a society that worships youth.Dir. Michael Anderson, 1976, 64.3/C. Based on the novel by William F. Nolan and George C. Johnson. Showcases a civilization policed by sandmen (privileged police officers) and governed by strict age limits and religious-conditioning (involving beliefs about 'afterlife renewal').
The best part is its portrayal of a hedonist lifestyle that encourages sandmen to summon beautiful people from some sort of teleportation system! Includes an authoritarian computer, imaginative technology, cosmetic surgery, and quite a weak ending.
http://theworldoflogansrun.com/ - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom CruiseColin FarrellSamantha MortonJohn works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.Dir. Stephen Spielberg, 2002, 76.8/B+. Based on a short story by P.K.D.: Minority Report. I initially hated the idea of the pre-cog seers, but I can't help appreciating the thought provoking consequences that result from this scenario. The pre-cogs were apparently part of genetic experimentation, so we also get a few glimpses of futuristic, genetically altered plants. In any case, it portrays a detailed futuristic city and excellent technology.
Includes cool spider-robots, an ultra futuristic public transport system, computer chips so cheap that they come with many common products (like musical cereal boxes), awesome computer graphics, gesture interfaces, e-papers, personalized advertisements, and automatic eye identification sensors in common public places (raising major issues of privacy).
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/AuthorSpecAlphaList.asp?BkNum=295 - DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.Dir. Darren Aronofsky, 1998, 72.5/B. Aronofsky uses nauseous camera work to emphasize the negative psychological consequences that a mathematician (Maximilian Cohen) experiences (due to the flux and chaos in nature all around him, says the back cover of the DVD) as he searches for law-like patterns in the stock market and in the bible. I think it's closer to mysticism than science, but so were many of the ideas of Kepler (even crazy ideas can accidentally lead to advances in science).
http://www.pithemovie.com/ - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsCharlton HestonRoddy McDowallKim HunterAn astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved.
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsShane CarruthDavid SullivanCasey GoodenFour friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.Dir. Shane Carruth, 2004, 65.3/C. Includes an extremely cheap looking quantum time machine, but it's the ideas that make this low budget movie so high on the list. Two independent experimenters accidentally invent a time machine. This is one of the great visions of technological advancement in that science and technology does not always progress intentionally and colorfully, it could just be a couple guys out in their garage making an unexpected discovery.
In his search through the history of science Shane Carruth found that "whether it involved the history of the number zero or the invention of the transistor, two things stood out. First, the discovery that turns out to be the most valuable is usually dismissed as a side-effect. Second, prototypes almost never include neon lights and chrome. I wanted to see a story that was more in line with the way real innovation takes place" (official site).
Primer goes on to speculate about the possibility of time travel by use of quantum theory, so this kind of time travel produces an interesting replication side effect. The story is told in a jigsaw puzzle and the script has some witty comments about scientific discovery and causation.
http://www.primermovie.com/ - DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsPeter WellerNancy AllenDan O'HerlihyIn a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.Dir. Paul Verhoeven, 1987, 73.3/B. Robocop finds echoes remaining from his human memories (the director has a mystical interpretation of this, but I didn't follow it), a corporation takes control of city security, and the DVD extras noted that the extreme violence possibly reflects social commentary on the Reagan era. I admit I root for Robocop when he takes the streets!
http://robocop.com/ - DirectorJoss WhedonStarsNathan FillionGina TorresChiwetel EjioforThe crew of the ship Serenity try to evade an assassin sent to recapture telepath River.Dir. Joss Whedon, 2005, 76.7/B+. Based on the Firefly TV series. This is a witty western-style space adventure in which a loyal government bounty hunter tracks River, a mentally unstable woman possessing paranormal abilities and training in the martial arts, as she travels with outlaw-like mercenaries. Includes state control vs. freedom and a science experiment gone bad (enter the Reavers). I find the opening sequences especially beautiful.
http://www.serenitymovie.com/ - DirectorDouglas TrumbullStarsBruce DernCliff PottsRon RifkinIn a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft.Dir. Douglas Trumbull, 1972, 66.2/C+. This is a movie about a future in which at least one person wants to preserve the last remnants of wilderness. He also gives reasons to love nature: he grows and nurtures it with his own hands, and it has a color, taste, smell (i.e., he loves his qualia!). Directed by a special effects legend who worked on 2001 and Blade Runner.
Trumbull says in the commentary he thinks SF is impossible in film, but he also says he loves technology and feels comfortable around it. He hates when movies anthropomorphize mechanical or android characters as in Star Wars (a project he turned down), so the three worker robots, the robotic arm, and the spacecraft equipment are all treated with respect. It has a beautiful light effect for Saturn's rings, which is inaccurate but well worth seeing.
http://www.lunadude.com/pet_proj/valley_forge/index.html - DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsMichael SacksRon LeibmanEugene RocheBilly Pilgrim has mysteriously become unstuck in time. He goes on an uncontrollable trip back and forth from his birth in New York to life on a distant planet and back again to the horrors of the 1945 fire-bombing of Dresden.Dir. George Hill, 1972, 71.7/B-. Based on the novel by Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse Five. Billy Pilgrim leaps (or gets ‘unstuck’) uncontrollably through 3 time periods: from being a prisoner in 1945 Dresden in WWII, to his home in New York after the war, to his life as an immortal on a distant planet (where 4th dimensional visitors observe him & give him a woman!). Goes along well with the final two-part "All Good Things..." episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1994).
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsNatalya BondarchukDonatas BanionisJüri JärvetA psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972, 79.3/A-. Based on the novella by Stanislaw Lem. Has a possibly sentient planet and replicants in the plot. It explores themes about morality and difficulties communicating with alien life. Possibly it argues that because we desire "mirrors, not other worlds," it's difficult for scientists to objectively attain knowledge and conduct experiments without themselves, qua humans, affecting the results.
The shorter Soderbergh remake (2002, 61.3/C-) is very good at generalizing communicative difficulties, but it doesn't capture the Tarkovsky argument about scientific knowledge and focuses instead on human disconnects. - DirectorRichard FleischerStarsCharlton HestonEdward G. RobinsonLeigh Taylor-YoungA nightmarish futuristic fantasy about the controlling power of big corporations and an innocent cop who stumbles on the truth.Dir. Richard Fleischer, 1973, 68.5/C+. Based on the novella by Harry Harrison: Make Room! Make Room!. Full of dark SF ideas about a possible future with corrupt police, corporate cover-ups, food shortages, and overpopulation. I can't say much about the most interesting concept in it without spoiling it.
It's interesting that Stephen Hawking calculates some disturbing figures concerning future population growth: "By the year 2600 the world's population would be standing shoulder to shoulder, and the electricity consumption would make the Earth glow red-hot" at current growth rates and projected rates of electricity consumption (The Illustrated: The Universe in a Nutshell, pp. 158-159). Obviously such a state of affairs would impact society, government, and our daily life in lots of possibly devious ways. Or, who knows, it could ignite a change so that we might use science and technology to become like Star Trek and change our society into a Roddenberry future.
http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=4787 - DirectorJonathan FrakesStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesBrent SpinerThe Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard and his crew pursue them to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes his maiden flight reaching warp speed.Dir. Jonathan Frakes, 1996, 74.5/B. Includes nanotechnology, borgized people, various types of Borg implants, warp engines, and an android. It explores the importance of discovering intelligent alien life and the birth of Roddenberry's vision of the future. The Borg, a network of zombie-like drones with a collective-consciousness, use time travel to try to assimilate humans into their collective. Jonathan Frakes says he was influenced by 2001 in scenes like the zero gravity mission outside the ship (DVD commentary).
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/MOV/008/index.html - DirectorRobert WiseStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyWhen an alien spacecraft of enormous power is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk resumes command of the overhauled USS Enterprise in order to intercept it.Dir. Robert Wise, 1979, 65.2/C. An ultra logical and advanced machine attacks Starfleet, replicates a human to use as a probe, and strives to meet its maker.
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/MOV/001/index.html - DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyWith the assistance of the Enterprise crew, Admiral Kirk must stop an old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, from using the life-generating Genesis Device as the ultimate weapon.Dir. Nicholas Meyer, 1982, 78.7/B+. Based on Star Trek (TOS) Episode 24: "Space Seed", 1967. Kirk battles the genetically advanced Khan and learns about the genesis project.
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/MOV/002/index.html - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.George Lucas, 1977-1983, 1999-2005. Inspires scientists to create gadgets that mimic things in the movies, and sends fans into a frenzy of imagination about SF possibilities such as strange new aliens and new civilizations. It follows that it must be made by a nerdy director who likes to put cool characters in alien worlds and have them play around with gadgets! And then totally refashion his first three movies with the newest of computer technology!
Although Star Wars is on the opposite spectrum of current work in science and movies like 2001, so are computer programmers and a bunch of other nerds who love technology, popular science, and progress. Star Wars inspires SF viewers more than Lucas ever intended. One excellent example of its influence is portrayed in Michio Kaku's TV series Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible and in the movie SpaceCamp (Dir. Harry Winer, 1986, 55.3/D).
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/AuthorSpecAlphaList.asp?BkNum=15 - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsHayden ChristensenNatalie PortmanEwan McGregorTen years after initially meeting, Anakin Skywalker shares a forbidden romance with Padmé Amidala, while Obi-Wan Kenobi discovers a secret clone army crafted for the Jedi.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsHayden ChristensenNatalie PortmanEwan McGregorThree years into the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi pursues a new threat, while Anakin Skywalker is lured by Chancellor Palpatine into a sinister plot to rule the galaxy.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonEdward FurlongA cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.Dir. James Cameron, 1984 (81.9/A-) / 1991 (82.1/A-). Portrays a war between men and machines (as in The Matrix), and people/cyborgs use time travel with the intention of altering or preserving future events (contra The Time Machine where the future/past can't be changed), though, we discover that the future ultimately depends on these efforts!
http://www.terminatorfiles.com/ - DirectorRobert WiseStarsJames OlsonArthur HillDavid WayneTop scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what killed the citizens of a small town and how the deadly contagion can be stopped.Dir. Robert Wise, 1971, 67.7/C+. Based on the excellent novel by Michael Crichton. Includes a medical computer, automated decontamination systems, robotic arms, and SF questions about new forms of life. The epitome of SF: A team of elite scientists uses an intricate and secret underground research lab to investigate alien microorganisms (before it is too late).
The novel includes discussions about the most likely alien lifeforms, co-evolution of life, and skepticism over the survival value of human intelligence.
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/AuthorSpecAlphaList.asp?BkNum=327 - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGregory PeckLaurence OlivierJames MasonA Nazi hunter in Paraguay discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsMichael RenniePatricia NealHugh MarloweAn alien lands in Washington, D.C. and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.Dir. Robert Wise, 1951, 78.8/B+. Based on a story by Harry Bates: Farewell to the Master. Includes the traditional flying saucer, a ray gun effect, and a cool guardian robot. A Martian (Klaatu) displays a love for peace by use of robotic force, and (Einstein-like) scientists are sought as ambassadors to unite our warring planet of divided nations.
I was surprised how forceful and noble this movie is since a quick glance at a summary makes the movie seem superficial, but the full idea of the robot (Gort) is fascinating and also the high esteem held for scientists (such as portraying an Einstein-like scientist and having Klaatu discuss science with an excited human child). - DirectorOmar NaimStarsRobin WilliamsJim CaviezelMira SorvinoSet in a world with memory recording implants, Alan Hakman is a cutter, someone with the power of final edit over people's recorded histories. His latest assignment is one that puts him in danger.Dir. Omar Naim, 2004, 57.6/D+. Posits a world in which most people have Zoe-memory implants that record everything they do. Covers themes like privacy and technology, memory, and reality vs. fantasy.
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=2006 - DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeff GoldblumGeena DavisJohn GetzA brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.Dir. David Cronenberg, 1986, 76.6/B+. Includes teleportation (or travel by computer digitization), gene splicing (it's implausible as depicted, see Kaku's Visions on p. 234), and the process of scientific discovery.
- DirectorMichael BayStarsScarlett JohanssonEwan McGregorDjimon HounsouA man living in a futuristic sterile colony begins to question his circumscribed existence when his friend is chosen to go to the Island, the last uncontaminated place on earth.Dir. Michael Bay, 2005, 62.1/C-. Cloners use Orwellian tactics and conditioning to keep clones under control, and they use them for a grotesque commerce. Includes a table top computer (with a gesture interface), an Xbox virtual fight game, and massive invasive monitoring (synaptic nanobots, dream monitoring, and automatic urine analysis).
http://www.theisland-themovie.com/ - DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsAlec GuinnessJoan GreenwoodCecil ParkerAn altruistic chemist invents a fabric which resists wear and stain as a boon to humanity, but big business and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.Dir. Alexander Mackendrick, 1952, 78.7/B+. B&W. Based on the play by Roger MacDougall. A comedy about a chemist who pushes science to the brink of a new valuable discovery, though, with bad side effects: textile capitalists and their workers might become extinct!
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsDavid BowieRip TornCandy ClarkAn alien must pose as a human to save his dying planet, but a woman and greed of other men create complications.Dir. Nicolas Roeg, 1976, 71.5/B-. Comes with the novel by Walter Tevis. An alien lands on Earth, makes money in order to save his world, and becomes alienated for many possible reasons: life itself as psychologically alienating (the alien within), life in a paranoid culture, life in a commercial & capitalist society. It doesn't have much technology and I'm not entirely sure about its stance on modernism. Though, it shows how an alien could help speed up the advance of technology. That is, if you don't fall asleep first!
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.Dir. The Wachowski Brothers, 1999-2003. Just for starters it includes a computer simulated reality program, training and educational programs zapped straight to human memory, hover crafts, EMPs (Electro-Magnetic Pulses), and many designs of machines. Or it's simply the green coded world, with lots of martial arts & gunfights!
The first movie is a likely SF classic, and the second tells us more about the matrix world. Watch for all the philosophical questions (such as skepticism, freewill, self-knowledge, dualism, Neo as ubermensch), the idea that the human mind can be hacked into just like a computer, causation themes, machine superiority against human resistance, and human reliance on machines.
http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/new_phil_frames.html - DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossFreedom fighters Neo, Trinity and Morpheus continue to lead the revolt against the Machine Army, unleashing their arsenal of extraordinary skills and weaponry against the systematic forces of repression and exploitation.Dir. The Wachowski Brothers, 1999-2003. Just for starters it includes a computer simulated reality program, training and educational programs zapped straight to human memory, hover crafts, EMPs (Electro-Magnetic Pulses), and many designs of machines. Or it's simply the green coded world, with lots of martial arts & gunfights!
The first movie is a likely SF classic, and the second tells us more about the matrix world. Watch for all the philosophical questions (such as skepticism, freewill, self-knowledge, dualism, Neo as ubermensch), the idea that the human mind can be hacked into just like a computer, causation themes, machine superiority against human resistance, and human reliance on machines.
http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/new_phil_frames.html - 1987–199446mTV-PG9.1 (6.3K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert ScheererStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonWhen Data resigns his commission rather than be dismantled for examination by an inadequately skilled scientist, a formal hearing is convened to determine whether Data is considered property without rights or is a sentient being.A Star Fleet technical officer, Maddux, comes aboard the Enterprise to study how Data functions and eventually make more Datas. Data is the only currently known android in existence (except his brother Lore). So Data is anxious about the idea of serving science, but he thinks the procedure will lead to the loss of some of his ineffable memories (like Riker's poker bluffs) during the proposed process of being taken apart.
Data therefore refuses the research (or attempts to). But Maddux declares that Data is mere property of Starfleet and has no choice but to comply. Captain Picard takes sides with Data and a trial is set to hear arguments and decide whether Data has any rights under human law. The prosecution is argued by first-officer Riker, and the defense is made by Picard.
"The Measure of a Man" (Episode 35, Season 2, Air Date 02/13/89, Star-date 42523.7) explores questions of whether an android, Data, is (qua android) property of Star Fleet. Is he a sentient being? Is he relevantly different (in sentience) from a toaster or a calculator? Do we have ethical obligations to treat him equal under the law? I love this episode because it predicts problems that we may very well encounter in the future.
*Spoiler's Follow*
The message of the episode seems to be that we don't know enough to decide whether Data is sentient (since we have no good test to tell whether something, even us, are conscious). Therefore any behaviorally similar creature should count as sentient if shown to be intelligent and self-aware.
One of the most pressing points is expressed before the trial gets underway. Maddux, the officer who wants to experiment on Data, asks Data whether a book he is holding is nothing more than a bunch of meaningless symbols and marks to Data. It's possible that advanced machines have only syntactic information consisting of mere symbols and never come to understand the semantic meanings of the symbols through their programming language of ones and zeros. Some would argue that Data would be just like our laptop computers when they spell-check: the computer never becomes aware of the meaning of a single word it processes.
Is Data's advanced neural net sufficiently different? A court battle must decide the dispute.
Riker takes Data's arm off to show the court the android's circuits, and he says that Data is merely run by positronic neural nets. He makes a good analogical argument that Data is made of far different stuff than biological lifeforms. And we could imagine denying intelligence to our thermometer or laptop computer, or other device made of non-biochemical stuff. The Enterprise computer doesn't get any ethical protection.
Picard uses most of the time at the trial in defense:
(1) He claims that humans are an electrochemical machine (so it is irrelevant whether Data is a machine since humans are sentient and humans are a type of machine). This is weak – a cow is an electrochemical machine too. Both sentient and non-sentient beings are machines.
(2) Picard tries to appeal to the sympathy of the court. He asks Data about a hologram picture of a woman with whom Data had sexual relations. But Maddux has a good counter to these sympathy arguments: Picard is dangerously anthropomorphizing Data just as some people do for their pets or computers.
(3) Picard argues (using circular logic I believe) that if Data is considered to be property, then future androids created by someone like Maddux would be considered as property - so we would have a race of slaves (property, in this case, really means slavery). Does this help determine whether Data qualifies as sentient? Could we have a race of slave ship computers or toasters?
(4) Picard does a sort of mock Turing test argument and invites Maddux to prove that he, Picard, is a sentient being. Maddux is shocked: you just know you are! Picard presses him to define a sentient being. Maddux, as an expert, says that a sentient being is self-aware, intelligent, and conscious.
Maddux grants Data the first two and mostly sits like a wounded dog. Picard thinks consciousness is particularly difficult to prove.
John Searle (the philosopher) would say *nonsense*: Data has zero intelligence; he has no more intelligence than a pocket calculator. He would say that on the basis of Riker's demonstration that Data is made up of neural nets and circuitry perhaps.
I think Searle leaves open a Picard-like question: how do humans come to understand the meanings of symbols? How does our biochemical makeup get us semantic information? Searle would say: it's obvious; we just know we do (through our biochemical processes)! In other words he would give no scientific evidence that is verifiable by a third person observer: you have to *just know* you have semantic information. This doesn't help to decide whether Data is sentient.
It is interesting to note that in '2001' Kubrick was careful to say that *some* experts hold that HAL 9000 merely *simulates* or mimics sentience as opposed to *being* sentient by necessity (which is possibly not testable by any objectively fair test for both man and machine).
Part of the implied behavioral test used by Picard is very interesting, but I don't think he needs to assume any definite definition of sentience or question the sentience of humans.
In a Turing test the underlying assumption is that humans are the baseline for measuring whether something passes the test. The point of the Turing test is to replace any need for determining whether humans *are* intelligent and replace that standard with a fair test – the sort of test we use for other humans everyday. Once an android passes the test we would naturally open our legal protections to all advanced androids.
I was impressed by the whole episode. I highly suggest it for its thought provoking ideas. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHugh JackmanScarlett JohanssonAfter a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.Dir. Christopher Nolan, 2006, 75.3/B. See the novel by Christopher Priest. An insider look at the tactics of magicians, with an interesting magician-scientist and a quantum machine. Perhaps its message is that the power of science and technology are only 'magical' to those who fail to understand them, so the movie relentlessly lifts the curtains and shows that 'magic' disappears in the devilous technical details.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonMichael BiehnA human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.Dir. James Cameron, 1984 (81.9/A-) / 1991 (82.1/A-). Portrays a war between men and machines (as in The Matrix), and people/cyborgs use time travel with the intention of altering or preserving future events (contra The Time Machine where the future/past can't be changed), though, we discover that the future ultimately depends on these efforts!
http://www.terminatorfiles.com/ - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.Dir. John Carpenter, 1982, 78/B+. Paranoia is let loose when aliens are found to be genetic mimickers and body invaders of any species. In some ways it is closer to John W. Campbell's Who Goes There? than the original movie.
- DirectorChristian NybyHoward HawksStarsKenneth TobeyMargaret SheridanJames ArnessScientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.Produced by Howard Hawks, 1951, 74.8/B. Based on the masterpiece by John W. Campbell: Who Goes There?. A highly complex vegetable is found to be intelligent (by reflex alone) and zombie-like (it lacks consciousness and ethical values). It crash lands, thaws out, and begins to colonize Earth and feast on humans as a secretive scientist experiments with it!
- DirectorJosef RusnakStarsCraig BierkoGretchen MolArmin Mueller-StahlA computer scientist running a virtual reality simulation of 1937 becomes the primary suspect when his colleague and mentor is murdered.Dir. Josef Rusnak, 1999, 57.8/D+. Based on a novel by Daniel F. Galouye: Simulacron 3. Includes sentient programs/humans. Explores questions regarding the nature of intelligence and identity of digital-machines and humans, limits to our knowledge of ultimate Reality, and possible multiple levels of reality: could we discover our 'reality' to be a virtual reality?
- DirectorGeorge PalStarsRod TaylorAlan YoungYvette MimieuxA man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.Dir. George Pal, 1960, 73.3/B. Based on the novel by H. G. Wells (Read Online, Download). This is the classic time machine story, with a fantastic demonstration of an object entering the 4th dimension from the point of view of people in the present. The second half is interesting because it might signify a future in which some humans evolve into a different species (becoming cannibals called the Morlocks) and in which our future human descendants (the Eloi) become like hedonistic cattle (with little interest in science and progress).
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsGene BarryAnn RobinsonLes TremayneA small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.Dir. Byron Haskin, 1953, 72/B-. Based on the novel by H. G. Wells. The ultimate classic alien invasion movie in which the aliens treat us as lower life forms, best left destroyed! The special effects were good at the time, but now look outdated. The George Pal production has some non-Wellsian themes, but overall I think it's currently the best version.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsRaymond MasseyEdward ChapmanRalph RichardsonThe story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.Dir. William Menzies, 1936, 68.8/C+. Based on a novel by H. G. Wells: The Shape of Things to Come. There is now a colorized version on DVD.
The first 2 parts seek to reduce to absurdity the rise of wasteful wars and rule by nationalist barbarians. The 3rd part speculates that progress and exploration toward the moon and beyond is the key to ensuring a meaningful use of human talents and resources. It has a beautiful Menzies art design, but mediocre special effects (esp. the toy tanks).
It has speeches that some viewers dismiss as naive or bombastic but that make others tingle with excitement. It depicts a space gun/launcher and a helicopter, along with inventive mass communication devices, elevators, flat screen panels, and wireless intercoms. It's probably incorrect about windowless buildings in the future. But it portrays a child-like vision of boundless scientific/technological investigation.
Arthur C. Clarke (author of 2001: A Space Odyssey) suggested this film to Stanley Kubrick as an example of an excellent SF movie (source: Clarke's special millennial introduction to his 2001 novel). Kubrick hated it, but the late Clarke kept suggesting it at the top of his list whenever someone asked him about the best SF movies.
I personally loved it and think it excellently captures the zeitgeist of modernity. To me, it seems like a movie about a group of rational minded thinkers guided by a Einsteinian/Spinozean-like morality in their quest to live ethically through scientific advancement and a unified world government. The pro-progress characters (such as the two Cabals) believe humanity could 'live forever' by preserving our experiments and progress for future generations, always standing on our humanity as if on the shoulders of giants.
It is a bit naive about the plausibility of creating a society without crime for an extended period of time. It also seems implausible about the inevitability of progress. It seems to me we could just as easily go right back to the dark ages or at least become so stagnant in science that we kill ourselves off through overpopulation or through our inability to escape the next major natural disaster. But it nicely portrays the importance of taking risks against public and nanny outrage for potential threats of space accidents and deaths. It challenges us to choose the side of progress over our desires for safety or comfort or happiness:
CABAL: "Too much [rest] and too soon, and we call it death. But for MAN no rest and no ending. He must go on--conquest beyond conquest. This little planet and its winds and ways, and all the laws of mind and matter that restrain him. Then the planets about him, and at last out across immensity to the stars. And when he has conquered all the deeps of space and all the mysteries of time--still he will be beginning" (screenplay).
If this sounds like a rationalization for devoting all of society to progress, then the council members (of the world government) will seem like technocrats. But actually those "technocrats" allow their citizens to become artisans and to pursue other passions freely. Plus the pro-progress council members would have to be suppressed by government bans, laws against science and experiment, and other mandates and restrictive uses of power that would turn their critics into the tyrants.
In fact a huge group of rebels in the plot feel belittled by all the council's developments of science and technology, so they try to put a stop to progress and an end the council's freedom to experiment. The progress oriented council will not suppress the free speech of the rebels though, only preparing its 'peace gas' in times of emergency and merely wanting the freedom and space to pursue its progress.
So it's also a story about the freedom to do science, just as much as it's about the wonders of progress. Many people in our society would actually agree with some of these basic premises, except in cases of social bias (many want to ban cloning, for example) or fear/reason (some believe we aren't ready for advanced science/technology since we might destroy ourselves). But Cabal (the president of the council) has an answer to the problem of danger: "Our [scientific] revolution did not abolish death or danger. It simply made death and danger worth while" (screenplay).
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/AuthorSpecAlphaList.asp?BkNum=378 - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRobert DuvallDonald PleasenceDon Pedro ColleyIn the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.Dir. George Lucas, 1971, 66.9/C+. Restored version. George Lucas utilizes an original and excellent visual style in this vision of an antiseptic, underground totalitarian state. The state is patrolled by police-robots and operates by cost/benefit analysis of state efficiency. It also Imagines a robotic confessional.
http://thx-1138.org/ - DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerSharon StoneMichael IronsideWhen a man goes in to have virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars implanted in his mind, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real - or is he?Dir. Paul Verhoeven, 1990, 72.5/B. Based on a short story by P.K.D.: We Can Remember It for You Wholesale. Douglas Quaid/Hauser gets a memory implant of a Mars vacation at Total Recall. I like the scene in which a man tries to convince Quaid/Hauser that he is dreaming (while Quaid/Hauser feels wide awake). But Quaid/Hauser doesn't believe him after the man sweats (as if that would be a good reality test...I don't think so!).
Also has a tennis coach program/hologram, a robo taxi service, a vision of a populated Mars, terraforming, and behaviorism.
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/AuthorSpecAlphaList.asp?BkNum=110 - DirectorSteven LisbergerStarsJeff BridgesBruce BoxleitnerDavid WarnerA computer hacker is abducted into the digital world and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program.Dir. Steven Lisberger, 1982, 68.8/C+. Includes the legendary SF creation -- the Master Control Program (or, perhaps, just my personal vote for most power hungry computer program), which was created by no one single person -- and the security Tron program and a far-fetched digitizing machine. A game designer is digitized and downloaded into a video game world. It portrays programs that are skeptical of intelligent design and place faith in 'users' while battling an MCP (master control program) that is intent on total domination.
Like Blade Runner, some, at first, might think that it is slow and tiresome, but after you give it a chance to draw you in, you are likely to appreciate its visual and intelligent aspects. End of line.
http://www.tron-sector.com/ - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad PittIn a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.Dir. Terry Gilliam, 1996, 76.3/B+. Bruce Willis’s character, Cole, becomes disoriented due to his several time traveling trips (as in Marker's classic short La Jetee), but he has difficulty trusting the truth or falsity of his memories. Portrays interesting psychological aspects of time travel and memory.
- DirectorPaul LynchStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise docks at a starbase for repairs where it is commandeered by a race of technologically-linked aliens intent on using the vessel for their own purposes.The Enterprise arrives and docks at Starbase 74 for maintenance. The technicians on the maintenance team include two pairs of Bynars, an alien race from the planet Bynaus, who communicate with the ship computer much quicker than any human or (my guess) perhaps even Data.
Though the Bynars have a secret mission to steal the Enterprise and save their home world.
I thought "11001001" (Episode 14, Season 1, Air Date 01/01/88, Star-date 41365.9) was a perfect example of an episode's maximum use of the Star Trek world -- it contains an interesting new race, it motivates the new race with exciting SF possibilities that sound reasonable, and it fully embeds its holodeck scenes into the Star Trek world. It doesn't use the holodeck just to escape from the world of Star Trek ('The Big Goodbye'); it uses it to expand on interesting tech-no concepts.
The Bynars work in teams of two (for customary reasons), but they have developed mental capacities as close to the binary language as is possible for biochemical organisms. The binary language is a language of ones and zeros, which are like on and off switches on a circuit board or similar to yes and no responses from a human.
Computers translate all high level graphics and words we see on a computer monitor into the binary language of ones and zeros, so we might expect the Bynars to best communicate with computers since they naturally speak the same language (or very close to it).
The advantages are clear: the Bynars speed up their communications with computers, and they can use buffers to store temporary information to allow them to handle massive amounts of information. The episode tries to get us to believe that the Bynars would have tremendous disadvantages too.
Though the episode almost flies off its hinges of sanity when it has the Bynars mysteriously collapse and stop working. Apparently the Bynars stop functioning whenever their master computer (on Bynaus) stops functioning.
This is a logical error of the largest sort since it ignores the individual nature of minds, even near-binary minds. Computers don't fail to function just because they lose Internet connections, for example. They just lose access to the wealth of information on the larger network. It would be similar to humans collapsing into a seizure after their central government decided to end its universal mandates and allow people to make their own choices!
Perhaps the master computer on Bynaus powers the Bynars through some sort of power source left unexplained in the episode. But it would seem to me that they would get their power through eating food!
In any case, the episode poses some of the most interesting sets of questions of season 1 so far.
We learn that the Bynars made many enhancements to the holodeck. They mention this to Riker in the hopes of getting him to try out their enhancements (for reasons important to their plan, on which I'll keep quiet to avoid spoiling it).
Riker decides to relax in the holodeck with a Jazz club program. He asks for an audience and eventually gets a beautiful women by the name of Minuet. As he and Picard study her, they find her all-too-human. (Picard walked in on Riker and her kissing.) She has dense human responses and characteristics that you don't normally find in holograms. She adapts to her environment and seems intuitive. Picard smartly points out that humans send out many subtle signs giving away their emotions and thoughts. Minuet seems to pick up on these, allowing her to have empathy with Riker and Picard.
But sometimes she stares oddly off into space, so perhaps she's not quite there yet.
The Bynars enhanced the holodeck and created Minuet. Her presence raises the question of whether computer programmers could realistically simulate human complexity. Can computer programming in ones and zeros give rise to complex behaviors? Could such computations combine to produce holograms that seem to have emotions, intuition, and intelligence?
Minuet is even more advanced than Data in her humanity, so perhaps the Bynars are so highly advanced in their use of the binary language, they can program intelligent holograms and human complexity. (Most computers of today fail the 'Turing test' miserably, but Minuet seems apt to easily pass it in this episode.)
Though Picard wonders whether Riker is falling in love with the illusion of Minuet more so than he would a real woman -- the illusion is sometimes more compelling than the person! This idea is just like the decision of Cypher in 'The Matrix' (1999) to choose simulated reality over the 'real world'. Though perhaps we also fall in love with our illusions of a person more so than the actual person all the time -- perhaps our minds are like a virtual reality environment, like a holodeck, in which we fall in love with 'virtual' illusions of things all the time.
Analogously the episode poses similar questions to Data (and even Geordi with his tech-no visor). Could we tell the difference between the creativity of Data and the creativity of humans? Could a machine have creativity at all?
We watch Data trying to learn to paint as an experiment in the possibility of android creativity (with Geordi encouraging him). But I'm not sure Data's neural net is quite as advanced as the Bynar near-binary minds. Probably not, for otherwise Data could just do the maintenance and prevent the Enterprise from stopping at Starbase 74.
The Star Trek world comes to a high point in this episode. The holodeck is used to its SF fullest and all the tech-no elements in the series come together nicely -- the holodeck, Data, Geordi's visor, and the Bynars all contribute to thought provoking questions. Now I know why I became interested in Star Trek! - DirectorRob BowmanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise visits the planet where Data was created and discovers another android like him, but when he's assembled, he's not exactly like him.Picard decides to make a quick stop at Omicron Theta, the planet where Data was first found, to explore the mysterious origins of Data. Data, however, is just as interested in learning to sneeze as he is about investigating his potential home world. The 'away team' finds very few signs of life on the planet, but Geordi notices a hidden door that leads to a secret cybernetics lab.
The main twist of "Datalore" (Episode 12, Season 1, Air Date 01/18/88, Star-date 41242.4) concerns the discovery of Data's evil twin android or 'brother', named Lore, found in the lab where Data was made. Then it nicely weaves together Lore's future plans and his immediate desire to feed the Enterprise crew to a giant crystalline entity.
Lore dismisses Data's climb as an officer and history at Star Fleet Academy as 'a system designed to compensate for limited human ability' and as a sign of Data's sheepish commitment to think like a mere human.
In contrast Lore mentions his ultimate goal of assimilating the knowledge of 'thousands or millions of humans' or the knowledge of 'hundreds of millions of lifeforms of every kind' into his positronic brain. He wants to maximize his potential! His quest is just like the goal of the Borg, so this could be argued to be the first 'Borg'-themed episode (though no Borg are in it).
Lore knocks out Data with a devious trick in order to call the crystalline entity into action against the Enterprise. Lore then pretends to be Data, but Wesley seems to notice and Picard notices too when Lore fails to understand Picard's recurring phrase 'make it so'. There were other signs too, such as "Lore" (acting as Data) accidentally blabbing about the existence of android 'shut off' switches -- which is supposed to be a secret.
Here are more of my favorite gems:
(1) I love the initial exploration of Dr. Noonien Soong's cybernetics lab. We get an excellent back story to Soong and it sets a cool 'lab experiment' ambiance throughout the episode. Soong is close to a mad scientist type character, which is fully true in the failed creation of Lore (the rejected first successful attempt at making a positronic brain). Lore is not to be trusted and seems sarcastic as he comments about the colonists fear of his all-too-human characteristics, but perhaps the colonists actually saw him exhibiting some of the enjoyably devilish human qualities like deceit!
Soong had failed several times to make a 'positronic brain', a term coined by Isaac Asimov (explicitly referred to in the episode, and it's true). Lore's nickname for him is 'often wrong' (a joke Data fails to get). Dr. Soong had promised many advancements on the positronic brain, but he failed to deliver most of them. Most in the scientific community thought he gave up on the possibility of its success. But Soong went to a far off colony (Omicron Theta) to continue his work in a secret underground lab.
This back story seems like something right out of a Michael Crichton novel, with the exception of scale. Crichton's novel 'Jurassic Park' gave the private and elusive scientists many more resources through business backing. The episode seems to underestimate the scale of resources needed to create an android, and it fails to comment on the specialization of technical skills. It also has the chief engineer of Enterprise put Lore back together again, but perhaps it's simple to figure out such connections by comparison and contrast to Data.
And on re-watching parts of the episode, I wondered whether the colonizers could have helped Dr. Soong create Lore/Data. Data says the 'principle interest' of the colony was 'science'.
(2) Picard and his crew discuss the possible reasons behind the creation of androids: to make humans feel more comfortable around machines and to allow scientists to prove they could create a machine that wasn't pathetically clumsy.
(3) Picard assures his officers that it's fine to openly discuss the awkward machine nature of Data/Lore. Picard makes the argument that humans are a kind of electrochemical machine, so it's acceptable to refer to Data/Lore as machines of a different sort. This comes back in a major way in Season 2's 'Measure of a Man' episode.
(4) We hear that Data was given the memories of 411 fellow colonists. But Data only has their knowledge. He lacks certain types of experiences and other 'basic human information', such as using contractions, understanding sneezing and emotions (such as knowing how the word 'sweet' applies in the phrase 'home sweet home'), whistling ('Encounter at Farpoint'), succeeding with humor (especially in 'Code of Honor'), defeating finger traps ('The Last Outpost'), or understanding social interactions and petty bickering (especially in 'Haven').
(5) Lore bests Data in many human traits. Lore can use contractions and he understands humor. Yes, he is much more 'human' in the broad range of human qualities than poor Data, who worries if there's even a chance he might be interpreted as boasting ('The Naked Now').
For example, Lore (a) engages in deception to make humans feel comfortable around him (pretending to not quite remember a simple deduction from the Pythagorean theorem, and lying about being built first), (b) he masters sinister backstabbing and conspiracy for mass murder (communicating with the crystalline entity to help entice it consume all the colonists on Omicron Theta in revenge for their rejection of him), and (c) he has grand goals for assimilating massive amounts of knowledge (like the Borg).
I think Data is one of the greatest of all Star Trek creations (right there with Kirk/Picard, the Vulcans, the Klingons, and the Borg), and he constantly gives this series fertile creative material. Brent Spiner's acting (as Data/Lore) was top notch in every way. That guy has an extreme devotion to the character. It never ceases to amaze me how faithful he tries to remain to the character's android heritage! - DirectorJoseph M. NewmanJack ArnoldStarsJeff MorrowFaith DomergueRex ReasonAliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war.Dir. Joseph M. Newman, 1955, 56.3/D+. Based on the serial by Raymond F. Jones. An excellent concept of alien contact and the gathering of scientists to work on a task. The exotic aliens caught the attention of many back when the film was released. But the story doesn't hold my attention as well today. Mentions the miniaturization of technology and nuclear power.
- DirectorWolf RillaStarsGeorge SandersBarbara ShelleyMartin StephensIn the English village of Midwich, the blonde-haired, glowing-eyed children of uncertain paternity prove to have frightening powers.Dir. Wolf Rilla, 1960, 72.5/B. Based on a novel by John Wyndham: The Midwich Cuckoos. These creepy children with blond hair are a group of dangerous mind controllers gifted in self-defense, mind reading, and stoicism. They are psychically linked together in a collective of brainpower, with the potential to help make advances in science and contact with aliens on other worlds.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyNatascha McElhoneUlrich TukurA troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet.
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyIn the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsPatrick StewartBrent SpinerJonathan FrakesSet almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.
- DirectorShinji AramakiStarsAi KobayashiJûrôta KosugiYuki MatsuokaIn a utopian society created at the end of the third world war, a female warrior who has been plucked from the badlands begins to see cracks in this new facade. And what does this community have planned for the rest of humankind?Dir. Shinji Aramaki, 2004, 61.4/C-, Anime. Based on the manga of Masamune Shirow. Many battles and much warfare ensue in a beautiful and technologically advanced future utopia (Olympus). A governing council uses a supercomputer (Gaia) to stabilize and integrate its population with nearly emotionless replicants/Bioroids. But a group of rebels aren't satisfied with all the experimental genetic tampering, cloning, and use of Bioroids.
This is actually a unique idea, however, in that the emotionless Bioroids help to save humans from the negative side effects of their extremes of emotion. But it didn't seem to suggest how the Bioroids achieve this. Overall the story barely holds my interest, but the artwork is amazing. - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.Dir. Robert Zemeckis, 1985, 84.6/A. A kid uses a futuristic looking car to travel through time and meet his parents back in 1955. In the excellent ending we briefly learn that Christopher Lloyd's character, Dr. Emmett Brown, also traveled to the future and found a way to run his time traveling car on trash!
http://www.bttf.com/ - DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsOskar WernerJulie ChristieCyril CusackIn an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.Dir. François Truffaut, 1966, 73.4/B. Cinematography by Nicolas Roeg; based on the novel by Ray Bradbury. Presents a future in which firemen become responsible for book burnings to prevent people from thinking independently; consequently, most people become insipid while a few begin resistance movements.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyRose ByrneChris EvansA team of international astronauts is sent on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun with a nuclear fission bomb in 2057.Dir. Danny Boyle, 2007, 68.7/C+. In the excellent commentary, Dr. Brian Cox speculates about ways the premise of this movie could be possible. Cox maps some interesting interpretations of the movie such as nature's immensity and science's power to create a broad sense of perspective of our place in the universe, but then he notes the way humans perceive the meaninglessness of nature. The problem with this movie is that Cox's commentary is better than the movie!
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsJulianne MooreClive OwenChiwetel EjioforIn 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have somehow become infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.
- StarsKevin WarwickForrest J. AckermanMark HamillThe Sci-Fi Files is equal parts science history and science fiction, and that is how it should be.
- DirectorGene Fowler Jr.StarsTom TryonGloria TalbottPeter BaldwinAliens arrive on Earth to possess the bodies of humans. One of their first victims is a young man, whose new wife soon realizes something is wrong with him.
- DirectorDouglas TrumbullStarsChristopher WalkenNatalie WoodLouise FletcherResearchers develop a system where they can jump into people's minds. But when people involved bring their personal problems into the equation, it becomes dangerous - perhaps deadly.
- DirectorMichael CrichtonStarsYul BrynnerRichard BenjaminJames BrolinA robot malfunction creates havoc and terror for unsuspecting vacationers at a futuristic, adult-themed amusement park.
- DirectorByung-chun MinStarsYoo Ji-taeLee Jae-unRin SeoIn the near future, humans rely heavily on androids to maintain society, but some of the machines revolt. A military officer in charge of doing away with the unruly cyborgs also loves the gynoid that looks over him.
- CreatorChiaki KonakaStarsHiroko KasaharaYasunori MasutaniRyûsei NakaoIn the year 2046, a cop and his female android partner called Armitage, part of the latest android line known as "class III" models that look, act and feel human, investigate illegal manufacture of class III androids on colonized Mars.
- DirectorRichard SchenkmanStarsDavid Lee SmithTony ToddJohn BillingsleyAn impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.Dir. Richard Schenkman, 2007, NA. Based on a story by Jerome Bixby. A conversational and thoughtful film on knowledge, morality, religion, myth, and humanity. It's not hard SF but it covers questions important to anthropology, history, and the difficulty of gaining knowledge of distant historical events. It begins with a group of professors discussing the inexplicable departure of John Oldman.
John explains his departure by giving away his 14,000 year secret (as a hypothetical) -- what if a genetic quirk allowed a Cro-Magnon man to survive to today? It becomes an interesting discussion of such a person's perspective on humanity, his limited knowledge of certain things, and his first hand knowledge of controversial topics such as the death/resurrection of Jesus. - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonJohn BeckA nerdish store owner is revived out of cryostasis into a future world to fight an oppressive government.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsJames CaanJohn HousemanMaud AdamsIn a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.Dir. Norman Jewison, 1975, 62.2/C-. In the story a corporation tries to teach its population the futility of individualism. (Are governments the ones going in this direction today instead of corporations?) It also portrays a central computer as an unreliable library: it misplaces data on the whole thirteenth century. It won a Saturn award for best SF movie, but I felt like I had to wait a bit too long for its good ideas.
- CreatorPeter ChungStarsDenise PoirierJohn Rafter LeeMax RedmondThere is a mysterious and immoral secret agent from the country of Monica. Her motives and background remain unexplained, as do those of her antagonist/lover, Trevor Goodchild.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsEdward JuddJanet MunroLeo McKernWhen the U.S. and Russia unwittingly test atomic bombs at the same time, it alters the nutation (axis of rotation) of the Earth.Dir. Val Guest, 1961, 64.5/C. It is mostly set in a newsroom and follows a team of reporters as they slowly uncover information about an apocalyptic scenario in which nuclear testing changes Earth’s axis for the worse.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.
- DirectorSaul BassStarsNigel DavenportMichael MurphyLynne FrederickSuddenly, desert ants form a group intelligence and wage war on the humans. It's up to a couple of scientists and a girl to stop themDir. Saul Bass, 1974, 64.3/C. See the novel by Barry N. Malzberg. Scientists construct a dome to investigate evolved ants, but the ants form a collective intelligence and use it to attack the humans. It has some annoying ant scenes initially, but I found it very thought provoking overall.
We can plausibly imagine a species using collective intelligence to have high evolutionary success (as ants have had on earth), which is what makes the Borg from Star Trek so interesting as cybernetic villains. But mutant ants might have to find novel ways to communicate with each other to develop a high level of intelligence. The movie leaves it ambiguous whether they would exhibit the same moral values as humans -- if not, then they could take advantage of hard core community rules! - DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyAnthony D. CallAfter the Enterprise is forced to destroy a dangerous marker buoy, a gigantic alien ship arrives to capture and condemn the crew as trespassers.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyJoan CollinsWhen a temporarily insane Dr. McCoy accidentally changes history and destroys his time, Kirk and Spock follow him to prevent the disaster, but the price to do so is high.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyThe Enterprise is sent to a mining colony that is being terrorized by a mysterious monster, only to find that the situation is not that simple.
- DirectorMarc DanielsStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyRicardo MontalbanWhile on patrol in deep space, Captain Kirk and his crew find and revive a genetically-engineered world conqueror and his compatriots from Earth's Twentieth Century.
- DirectorJohn Meredyth LucasStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyKirk and a sub-skeleton crew are ordered to test out an advanced artificially intelligent control system - the M-5 Multitronic system, which could potentially render them all redundant.