There's Phase 7 , The Horde , Delicatessen , Le Deirnier Combat , and from Africa The Stick let me know if you find a copy of that one.
Afrian and European Sci Fi movies.
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There's Phase 7 , The Horde , Delicatessen , Le Deirnier Combat , and from Africa The Stick let me know if you find a copy of that one.
Right, and it doesn't deserve to be left out even though it's neither European nor African. Wonder if the OP would count it anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:British_science_fiction_films
Or we can use this list.
Of course some where financed by American Studios but does that make them any less British. As without knowing all the finacial details they might have been part financed by ay the British Film Council.
Of course one theme in some British Sci-Fi films is a dystopian society.
Children of Men
Or we can use this list.
Of course some where financed by American Studios but does that make them any less British. As without knowing all the finacial details they might have been part financed by ay the British Film Council.
Of course one theme in some British Sci-Fi films is a dystopian society.
Children of Men
I like the discussion in this thread as to what makes a film "British" or not. Is it the financing, the creative impetus/nucleus, the cast, the location, something about the overall cultural feel of the work, what?
I'm not sure, to be honest. Obviously, a "pure" British film would have all the above being British, and a "pure" American film would have all the above being American. But in truth, the degree of industry crossover between the two countries is so extensive that it's difficult to parse the different aspects out in a meaningful way. And on a creative level, how can you identify how purely "national" any idea is? For instance, what British film writer now hasn't seen and been influenced by Star Wars? Does that make any new sci-fi film written by a British writer American, because of the cultural influence of Star Wars on their creative process? And of course Star Wars is itself rooted in a mythic structure, drawing on many conceptual ideas from well outside of America; Lucas has talked about being inspired by Joseph Campbell, and Campbell's writing has Carl Jung's thinking on spirituality and collective unconscious running as an undercurrent all through it. Does that make Star Wars a Swiss film? Hmm, maybe not...
Extrapolating this argument, I think it's tricky to consider any recently made film as being a uniquely single national product. The only way to short-circuit this argument is to simplify it to one aspect. Probably the easiest metric to track is simply to consider the tax domicile of the company providing the bulk of the financing.
All a bit off topic perhaps, and forgive me for that, but it struck me as an interesting debate.
I'm not sure, to be honest. Obviously, a "pure" British film would have all the above being British, and a "pure" American film would have all the above being American. But in truth, the degree of industry crossover between the two countries is so extensive that it's difficult to parse the different aspects out in a meaningful way. And on a creative level, how can you identify how purely "national" any idea is? For instance, what British film writer now hasn't seen and been influenced by Star Wars? Does that make any new sci-fi film written by a British writer American, because of the cultural influence of Star Wars on their creative process? And of course Star Wars is itself rooted in a mythic structure, drawing on many conceptual ideas from well outside of America; Lucas has talked about being inspired by Joseph Campbell, and Campbell's writing has Carl Jung's thinking on spirituality and collective unconscious running as an undercurrent all through it. Does that make Star Wars a Swiss film? Hmm, maybe not...
Extrapolating this argument, I think it's tricky to consider any recently made film as being a uniquely single national product. The only way to short-circuit this argument is to simplify it to one aspect. Probably the easiest metric to track is simply to consider the tax domicile of the company providing the bulk of the financing.
All a bit off topic perhaps, and forgive me for that, but it struck me as an interesting debate.
There's only one R in Quatermass!
It's a series of TV serials originally:
The Quatermass Experiment (1953)
Quatermass II (1955)
Quatermass and the Pit (1958-9)
all shot live by the BBC. These are on DVD, but only the first 2 (of 6) episodes of The Quatermass Experiment exist.
A different actor plays Professor Quatermass in each one!
The first three movies are remakes of the above serials. The different versions (tv and films) have their own strengths and weaknesses, and both are worth watching - plus of course you get to see the ending of Experiment in the film. Unfortunately, it's not the same ending as in the tv version! Again, Quatermass is played by different actors, although the same guy appears in The Quatermass Experiment and Quatermass 2. Quatermass and the Pit (1967) is in colour for the first time, and is one of the best British films ever made. (And indeed the tv version is one of the best tv serials ever made.)
Quatermass (1979) is a belated sequel tv series by Euston Films. New actor as Quatermass again! It's on film, much bigger budget than the originals.
The Quatermass Conclusion (1979) is the same production as the above, but edited down into a tv movie for the overseas market. It loses large chunks of the story, and has a few alternate scenes/angles to bridge the gaps. The plot can be followed just about, but a lot of the characterization is jettisoned. Generally I'd say go for the tv version.
There was a tv remake of Experiment in 2005, broadcast live. It's not the best version, but you do get to see at least an approximation of the original ending.
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Perhaps the OP meant films from the European mainland, rather than European. As has been noted above. European includes British films (but as a fair few of them get listed as UK/US films). Whilst mainland Europe would exclude British and Irish films.
On a related topic what about Sci-Fi shows from this side of the pond.
There is of course the grand-daddy of Sci-Fi shows, Doctor Who at almost 50 years old.
Red Dwarf almost 25 years.
Blake's 7
UFO
Space 1999
Thunderbirds
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterions
Plus the other works by Gerry Andersion Stingray etc..
On a related topic what about Sci-Fi shows from this side of the pond.
There is of course the grand-daddy of Sci-Fi shows, Doctor Who at almost 50 years old.
Red Dwarf almost 25 years.
Blake's 7
UFO
Space 1999
Thunderbirds
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterions
Plus the other works by Gerry Andersion Stingray etc..
Found it. Fantastic Planet (1973).
Here's IMDB listing: http://www.imdb.com/find?q=Fantastic+Planet&s=all
It's hard to get into, but very well made. It's a shame Criterion hasn't been able to secure the rights (or, hasn't been interested) in the US. I think it's a title that could use a few supplements.
There's another film by the same director that's also supposed to be pretty good: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084315/ (Time Masters, 1982)
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