underated SCIFI movies
- Thread starter RobertScorpio
- Start date
Yes they did and I await the release with baited breath. But for anyone who hasn't watched Metropolis, the current version may be incomplete (over a fourth of it was lost - and now, huzzah, found) but it's still for my money one of my favourite films, not merely sci-fi films, ever.
It's also more accessible then most silent films and in my opinion is at least worth trying.
It's also more accessible then most silent films and in my opinion is at least worth trying.
And; if you think you want to try it out there's always the 1984 Moroder-version...
If you hate that, there's a good chance you'll love 'the original'
If you hate that, there's a good chance you'll love 'the original'
Heh.
Seriously though, you want the version with Gottfried Huppertz's original score, and more footage than any previous release, better restoration, etc. etc. The Kino release is altogether the way to go.
I've seen parts of the Kino release in certain classes, but never the whole thing. I suppose part of me is waiting for the (almost complete) version, and a part of just doesn't enjoy silent film all that much outside of the context of a theatre and live music. But there are exceptions to that rule (The Passion of Joan of Arc, with the "voices in light" score that was composed for it in the 1980s, being a notable example) so I should probably get my ass motivated and see the damned thing.
It takes a certain mood to sit down and watch a /silent/ film or for that matter a /slow paced/ film...
Not everyone actually 'gets' it -same with 'comics'; some people don't want to read the /black & white/ ones.
Personally, I just feel sorry for those people... they loose out on a lot of the most fantastic of the genres!
Please tell me if I'm wrong!
Not everyone actually 'gets' it -same with 'comics'; some people don't want to read the /black & white/ ones.
Personally, I just feel sorry for those people... they loose out on a lot of the most fantastic of the genres!
Please tell me if I'm wrong!
Hm. Well, a good score is always preferable to me than the alternative, especially if that score was composed for the film - and Huppertz's score for Metropolis really is top notch, like everything else in the movie. Aside from that while I enjoy live performances, getting to have a complete orchestral accompainment is rare and the Kino release has that recorded, which is very nice indeed.
But yeah, the current version is definitely worth a watch in full.
In fairness, it sort of does. I remember being pretty nonplusssed with the film in theatres.
Dark City is nice, though.
Well... it takes an interest in silent film, sure, but whether or not one is dependent on mood probably varies from person to person and film to film. Brand Upon the Brain is definitely a film I need to prepare myself for, but Metropolis is simply a fun movie I can watch anytime.
Funnily enough, I would hardly call Metropolis a very accessible silent film. Beggars of Life is a very accessible drama, for instance. I think most people who've seen silents haven't seen the really good ones. And hey, any comedy by Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd is instantly accessible, as would be something like Colleen Moore's Her Wild Oat.
Frankly, not all silents are slow or melodramatically acted in that overblown fashion like the lead in Metropolis.
Frankly, not all silents are slow or melodramatically acted in that overblown fashion like the lead in Metropolis.
I probably should have elaborated that I think Metropolis is the most accessible for sci-fi fans, which I'd indeed feel it is. Keaton, Lloyd, Chaplin et al are slapstick comedians, after all.
trevanian
Rear Admiral
Has anybody mentioned Tavenier's DEATHWATCH yet? SF with no sf trappings, but intelligent and quite prescient about reality TV, given it was done nearly 30 years back.
Von Sydow, Keitel, Romy Schneider ... wish this was on DVD here, my VHS is getting very worn (and lonely, there's almost nothing else I have on VHS alone except LOOKING FOR MR GOOD BAR AND the Film Board of Canada documentary UNIVERSE, which was an inspiration for the look of Kubrick's 2001.)
Von Sydow, Keitel, Romy Schneider ... wish this was on DVD here, my VHS is getting very worn (and lonely, there's almost nothing else I have on VHS alone except LOOKING FOR MR GOOD BAR AND the Film Board of Canada documentary UNIVERSE, which was an inspiration for the look of Kubrick's 2001.)
You're not the only one, but we might be forgiven for thinkng so given that I've only just started to read this thread.
But I love Explorers. I couldn't really say it's one of the ten best movies ever made... but it will always be one of my ten favourite movies.
It has heart, and hope, and despair. It make you remember what you were like when you where 10, and how you miss that 10 year old belief that you could still do anything.
RobertScorpio
Pariah
I had totally forgotten about this movie, and Dreamscape which was mentioned earlier..two good films from by gone days...
Rob
The most underrated SciFi movie, providing it is actually considered a SciFi movie (but it should - it is a fictional account of what might have happened in the future, and it was really based on science), is the 1984 BBC movie "Threads". It was a realistic SF - and one of the most frightening movies I've ever seen, exactly because it was realistic: it showed exactly what a nuclear war would look alike. I can only imagine how terrifying it might have been at the time when it was released, when a nuclear war was a very possible prospect. This movie is much stronger than "The Day After".
Some other candidates:
Alien III (undeservedly slammed, IMO)
Pitch Black (I'd love to see some arguments from those who think it sucked. Why do you think so?)
Dark City
Event Horizon
eXistenS (it wasn't as great as Videodrome or The Fly or even The Dead Zone, but it was still quite good)
12 Monkeys - one of my favorite movies, but I wasn't sure if I should put it under "underrated movies", since I thought it was pretty well rated. But maybe not well enough as it should?
On a similar note, someone mentioned Brazil - it's awesome, but I thought it was quite well rated?
Finally, Alejandro Amenabar's Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) would be on the top of my list, but it's not as much underrated, as it is just not as well known as it should be. Almost everyone who's seen it thinks it is a masterpiece, but unfortunately, many people only know the awful Cameron Crowe/Tom Cruise remake Vanilla Sky.
Some other candidates:
Alien III (undeservedly slammed, IMO)
Pitch Black (I'd love to see some arguments from those who think it sucked. Why do you think so?)
Dark City
Event Horizon
eXistenS (it wasn't as great as Videodrome or The Fly or even The Dead Zone, but it was still quite good)
12 Monkeys - one of my favorite movies, but I wasn't sure if I should put it under "underrated movies", since I thought it was pretty well rated. But maybe not well enough as it should?
On a similar note, someone mentioned Brazil - it's awesome, but I thought it was quite well rated?
Finally, Alejandro Amenabar's Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) would be on the top of my list, but it's not as much underrated, as it is just not as well known as it should be. Almost everyone who's seen it thinks it is a masterpiece, but unfortunately, many people only know the awful Cameron Crowe/Tom Cruise remake Vanilla Sky.
It wasn't terrible, I just found it a forgettable and mediocre sci-fi action/horror flick. It's a bit like Supernova, Mission to Mars, Red Planet - sci-fi movies I saw as a young teenager which I just wasn't terribly impressed with and haven't seen since.
It was admittedly better than the movies I just mentioned, and also had Claudia Black, which are two points in its favour.
RobertScorpio
Pariah
The most underrated SciFi movie, providing it is actually considered a SciFi movie (but it should - it is a fictional account of what might have happened in the future, and it was really based on science), is the 1984 BBC movie "Threads". It was a realistic SF - and one of the most frightening movies I've ever seen, exactly because it was realistic: it showed exactly what a nuclear war would look alike. I can only imagine how terrifying it might have been at the time when it was released, when a nuclear war was a very possible prospect. This movie is much stronger than "The Day After".
Some other candidates:
Alien III (undeservedly slammed, IMO)
Pitch Black (I'd love to see some arguments from those who think it sucked. Why do you think so?)
Dark City
Event Horizon
eXistenS (it wasn't as great as Videodrome or The Fly or even The Dead Zone, but it was still quite good)
12 Monkeys - one of my favorite movies, but I wasn't sure if I should put it under "underrated movies", since I thought it was pretty well rated. But maybe not well enough as it should?
On a similar note, someone mentioned Brazil - it's awesome, but I thought it was quite well rated?
Finally, Alejandro Amenabar's Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) would be on the top of my list, but it's not as much underrated, as it is just not as well known as it should be. Almost everyone who's seen it thinks it is a masterpiece, but unfortunately, many people only know the awful Cameron Crowe/Tom Cruise remake Vanilla Sky.
Good list..
Dark City, I think, is the best scifi movie in the past 30+ years.
12 Monkeys is a great movie, that has depth.
And I like PITCH BLACK because it feels 'real'.
My own addition? UNBREAKABLE. Not only a great underated movie, but I think, its right up there with Dark Knight as being one of the best superhero movies of all time...
Character--Character--Character
Rob
The premise of Pitch Black is not terribly original, but I liked it because of its dark, heavy atmosphere and feeling of paranoia and tension between the characters.
Riddick was a really good ambiguous character in that one (I haven't seen The Chronicles of Riddick, mostly because I was scared after reading some reviews and opinions that suggested that the character is ruined in it and made into a good guy) and it serves as proof of the amazing fact that Vin Diesel can actually act.
Seriously, whatever one thinks of him otherwise, he was perfectly cast in that one. I particularly liked what they did with his character in the end, particularly with what happened with him and Rhada Mitchell's character - they first make you think that they're doing the classic redemption of a villain storyline, and then... Complex villains are usually either 'redeemed' and made into good but misunderstood guys, who either live or sacrifice their lives for the others, or they revert back to being completely evil, and then they're usually killed off. It was refreshing that the movie did neither.
I'm the one who said that I thought Pitch Black sucked, so I guess I should defend my position a little.
I disagree that Vin Diesel's acting was any good. Honestly his character is completely ridiculous. He's just badass beyond all measure. It didn't make for an interesting character for me. I get that they tried to make him an anti-hero, but nothing about the dialogue or acting made it click as believable for me.
The special effects... kind of sucked. I know, it's a little old, and it was low budget. If I like the rest of the movie it's not a big deal, but if I don't then I just see it as another sub-par part of a sub-par film.
It was a cliche horror movie in a lot of ways. I didn't really care who would make it to the end.
I didn't expect there to be an airtight plot or anything, but the 'ecosystem' in the movie made such little sense that even with my brain in 'popcorn movie' mode I couldn't ignore how silly it seemed.
I disagree that Vin Diesel's acting was any good. Honestly his character is completely ridiculous. He's just badass beyond all measure. It didn't make for an interesting character for me. I get that they tried to make him an anti-hero, but nothing about the dialogue or acting made it click as believable for me.
The special effects... kind of sucked. I know, it's a little old, and it was low budget. If I like the rest of the movie it's not a big deal, but if I don't then I just see it as another sub-par part of a sub-par film.
It was a cliche horror movie in a lot of ways. I didn't really care who would make it to the end.
I didn't expect there to be an airtight plot or anything, but the 'ecosystem' in the movie made such little sense that even with my brain in 'popcorn movie' mode I couldn't ignore how silly it seemed.
RobertScorpio
Pariah
Well, I think the crash scene in that movie, at the start, with its so called low budget, was far more real looking than that crash scene at the start of the last Star Wars movie..in fact, like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD from 1960s, its the low-budget look that gives is a realism that, for me, is far better than some so called high-budget movies...
Rob
Wow. Something tells me this film isn't underrated. That trailer was pretty painful to watch.
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