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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Help me broaden my DVD collection

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Happy Dave Has Left

20:04 / 19.02.06

So, I'm trying to work out the baseline for a good science fiction movie collection. I've got some old (Fahrenheit 451, Soylent Green), some newish (Firefly, Starship Troopers, Akira). I love movies with a bit of thought in them, dystopian fiction, bit of the old post-apocalypse. Guns n' leather clad babes are alright in moderation, but I want to be pointed in the direction of the real classics, and especially the SF films that you hold dear to your heart and could watch a million times - thanks in advance, browsing the racks at Forbidden Planet and HMV was getting me nowhere.

20:34 / 19.02.06

I would like to think you have already seen Blade Runner. And while incredibly flawed Dune is certainly a spectacle. And Repo Man is an indie classic...

20:39 / 19.02.06

Dune, flawed? How dare you sah! OK, even David Lynch didn't know what the hell it was about, but it's an almost perfect adaptation.
Anyway, essentials include Donnie Darko and Brazil. There are many quite good Sf films but only a handful of fantastic ones. How low down the scale do you want to go?

20:50 / 19.02.06

Yes, Brazil is great...

And yeah, there are probably quite a few not so great SF films you should see too

Mister Six, whom all the girls

20:50 / 19.02.06

Outer Limits DVD set 1 and 2
The 60's sci-fi series that does not quit, THIS is where it's at. From time travel paradoxes to contact with other planets to Red China infiltrating the US through body doubles this series is the absolute best of sci-fi.

Acciones Mutantes
Littles known film featuring a guerilla army of deformed rejects against the White Bread Empire. One of the best films ever made... ever.

Space: Above and Beyond (though it's more or less the opposite of my two other suggestions) A Fox TV series about beautiful people at war. I'm not a fan of the second Alien film, Aliens, but I think my joy with this series equals their joy of that movie.

Oh, and I make more suggestions here: Zebra

20:53 / 19.02.06

i'd like to add twelve monkeys, which in my opinion is one of the best movies ever made. incredibly rich in details and weird gilliam-unique black humour. buy it on dvd and watch it on the biggest screen available.

my second choice here would be strange days by kathryn bigelow. rough and edgy sex and crime vision, set in (then future) 1999 los angeles. great soundtrack, juliette lewis is certainly a reason to watch it as well.

what else have we got? well, there's the obvious 2001 - space odyssey, besides all the myths and lsd-legends and stuff it's still a very decent sf movie, if you got some time at hand.

an underestimated one in my opinion is certainly alex proyas's dark city. fine sinister optics, bizarre atmosphere, not to mention jennifer connolly.

21:10 / 19.02.06

seconding that - strange days is better than it seems and 2001 has great sound on headphones.
I'd add Gataca as well. like a visualisation of a 60s SF novel.

21:12 / 19.02.06

I really wouldn't say Strange Days is really 'edgy'... it's pretty flawed... particularly the notion that memories could be encoded on what look like Sony minidisks...

And yeah to 12 Monkeys and 2001... Flash Gordon is silly but also a bit of a classic

I also have a a soft spot 2010... a more mainstream film than 2001, but no less engaging because of that. It answers some of the main questions left by 2001 and manages the neat trick of making you believe that something wonderful has happened by the end of the film...

21:33 / 19.02.06

okay, "edgy" might not be the word, if it indicates that something is not flawed. i admit strange days is overdoing it quite a bit in places, but still i think it's a pretty impressive ride.

as for the md thing: i loved the idea back then and it still makes me smile. i know it's kind of naive and all, but remember what donnie darko says about back to the future: "it's so futuristic!" and those mds certainly were just that.

21:57 / 19.02.06

"Thx-1138" is always good for a giggle, and check out the special edition with lots of new effects jiggery pokery added to the zero budgetness

Alos, "Alphaville", "Solaris" and "Stalker" are all great bits of arthouse sci-fi; unlike some anime ("ghost in the shell"..ahem..) they are capable of making philosophical points without being embarassingly pretentious.

Second(or third?) Brazil- ace stuff. Love the scene with Palin and the little girl.

22:02 / 19.02.06

I'd argue that the very notion of the futuristic is somewhat problematic in that quote... but that is probably a whole other topic...

uncle retrospective

22:03 / 19.02.06

Babylon 5. All of it. Sure some of the dialog is awful and some of the acting can only be described as shocking but, and this is a big but… It’s one of the best tv shows ever. It’s a 5 year tv novel and is the bar for story arcs. If the last ep leaves you dry eyed, you’re a cold hearted swine.

Space: above and beyond. I’m just watching it for the first time since it’s first run. I’m amazed that it’s Starship Troopers, the pilot is just a rip. Not that that’s a bad thing but it is cheeky. Some of it is very good, you can tell that the X Files people were involved, Earth Gov is very shady.

The Fifth Element. It’s sooooo good.

Wow, my mind has gone blank, I can’t remember any of the 100’s of Sci – Fi movies I’ve seen.

22:06 / 19.02.06

Ohhh yes and Darkstar and Silent Running

22:13 / 19.02.06

OK, if we've had Bab5 I have to redress the balance with Farscape. Much as I enjoyed B5 and admired its ambition it was very flabby. Farscape goes the other way entirely. Yes, there are arcs, but there's nothing predestined about it. It flies around all over the place and isn't afraid to kill lead characters on a whim. It rocks. I have still yet to see better TV SF than Peacekeeper Wars.

Mister Six, whom all the girls

01:39 / 20.02.06

If we're doing TV series, I'm throwing in Doctor Who.

Take yer pic, some ppl like the 60's, others swear by Tom Baker while others prefer Davison.

And I'll mention Save the Green Planet for another film which is one of the most... unique films I've seen.

Keith, like a scientist

01:49 / 20.02.06

The Abyss is easily one of the top modern SF movies, pulling extremely good characterization and a very simple message that is worth saying.

And it's loathed by many, I know, but I have to say Contact is one of the best SF movies to deal with exploration, discovery, and the awe of space.

07:30 / 20.02.06

Dark City, my friends. An entertaining little film which came out at the same time as The Matrix and is a far superior reality-twisting sci-fi-gasm. Plus it includes the lovely Jennifer Connelly, which is always nice.

I'd suggest the Director's Cut of Bladerunner. But the current dvd version is rather primitive and needs both tidying up and a few extras.

Other suggestions: The Thing (not just a great film, but the John Carpenter/Kurt Russel commentary is some of the funniest I've heard), Ghost In The Shell, The Abyss (Director's Cut), Serenity (when it comes out).

09:47 / 20.02.06

Oooh, I'd totally second "Dark Star" (like a proto-red dwarf but actually funny) and indeed "save the green planet".

While we're on an odd sci-fi kick, I'd recommend all of "Lexx". If you've never seen it imagine Lynch meets Moorcock crossed,uh, again with "Red dwarf".

Dark City is one of those films best watched with the sound down..

It aint strictly sci-fi, but Jeunet's remarkable "city of the lost children" is always worth a go.

lord nuneaton savage

09:54 / 20.02.06

I'd recommend Event Horizon. It's utter, utter, utter bollocks, but makes up for it by being hilariously nasty and over the top. Top stoner sci-fi gore action.

10:06 / 20.02.06

It's Hellraiser in space, innit?

10:31 / 20.02.06

It's quite good, especially the "S.O.S." and, brr... the crew's final log. I've been meaning to get the DVD just so I can freezeframe that whole sequence.

Unfortunately the main evil guy is Sam Neil, the least scariest motherfucker on the entire planet.

10:32 / 20.02.06

Also, Jennifer Connelly: not that nice.

10:36 / 20.02.06

I'd argue that Event Horizon is terrible; it's straight horror, there's nothing sci-fi about it, and it does equate fear with gore quite literally. Didn't really enjoy it, despite the great production design and Orbital soundtrack.

Solaris: both versions. One is 180 minutes, the other 90; both are very good in their own ways, though the ending of the original is my favourite.

Primer was my favourite SF film of the past year, and if you're picking that up, go and get Vincenzo Natali's Cube and Cypher. Cypher in particular is a lovely, underrated film.

I also really like Dark City.

You have seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, right? That's a very, very fine SF movie if you haven't. And finally, Abre los ojos, or Open Your Eyes - the original version of Vanilla Sky. Much better, tighter, than the remake. A great film, because (figuratively speaking) it sits there yelling "I am an SF movie! I am an SF movie!" and the audience in all probability ignores the clues, until it hits the ending, and you realise that it's an SF movie.

11:04 / 20.02.06

Yes, Eternal Sunshine is a very fine SF movie, I'd just caution against going in expecting anything like hard sci-fi. Oh, and it helps to be open to romantic dramas, too.

Trips, you don't like Sam Neil? Jesus, what's wrong with you, man?

11:39 / 20.02.06

Have you got an issue Boboss? First you diss Hunger Breaks without trying them, then you're all up in my appraisal of Event Horizon's Sam Neil. Do you want a fight? With CHAINS?

I'm not saying I don't like Sam, just that, as an eyeless rape demon from Dimension Hell: not so scary. In fact I can think of chartered accountants that will fill you with more eldricht dread.

12:43 / 20.02.06

Well anything written by Philip K. Dick. Especially Total Recall, Blade Runner, Minority Report and Screamers and even Paycheck.

12:45 / 20.02.06

And also: good sense would recommend you avoid Hellraiser IV for a brief taste of Hellraiser in space but...um...well... I liked it.

Keith, like a scientist

12:54 / 20.02.06

And finally, Abre los ojos, or Open Your Eyes - the original version of Vanilla Sky. Much better, tighter, than the remake. A great film, because (figuratively speaking) it sits there yelling "I am an SF movie! I am an SF movie!" and the audience in all probability ignores the clues, until it hits the ending, and you realise that it's an SF movie.

That's how I felt about the remake (which I love) when it came out. Damn, I still need to see the original.

Here's another SF movie I think a lot of people rate a little too lowly: Sphere.
I had read the book first, and didn't love it. But for some reason it worked really as a movie for me. Mindbendingly headscratching, for sure.

13:05 / 20.02.06

Triplets, stop being ridiculous. Sam Neil is the best there is at what he does and he does everything the best.

Hunger Breaks look dangerous to me. Out of interest, do you fart, like, alot?

13:33 / 20.02.06

Dave, whilst most of his ouvre isn't science fiction, I urge you to pick up any Sam Neil collection.

13:43 / 20.02.06

Also, Jennifer Connelly: not that nice.

True, she's feeelthy in Requiem For A Dream.

13:48 / 20.02.06

Vincenzo Natali's Cube

[Slaps forehead]

Great film, gave me the willies for weeks. Especially love how the description of how it really happened is scarier than and conspiracy.

14:07 / 20.02.06

*threadrottage*

Sam Neil aint scary but he can do scared quite well, no? I love him in "In the Mouth of Madness", which is kinda rubbish and kinda not at the same time. I dunno, maybe I'm just rabbiting on because I need my one reference to John Carpenter for the day.

Oh, John. I love thee so (until about 1992).

14:08 / 20.02.06

Cube? Are you talking about that awful film where the mentally disabled kid goes off into the light because mentally disabled people have a special understanding and see the world in a special way and know the way out of special existential puzzles because they are special? That film?

14:59 / 20.02.06

Yeah, that film.

Cypher is better.

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