Fantastic planets, forbidden zones, and lost continents : the 100 greatest science fiction films / Doug Brode.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brode, Douglas, 1943- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science fiction films--History and criticism.

Science fiction films.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 411 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2015.

Summary:

Whether you judge by box office receipts, industry awards, or critical accolades, science fiction films are the most popular movies now being produced and distributed around the world. Nor is this phenomenon new. Sci-fi filmmakers and audiences have been exploring fantastic planets, forbidden zones, and lost continents ever since George Melies 1902 film "A Trip to the Moon." In this highly entertaining and knowledgeable book, film historian and pop culture expert Douglas Brode picks the one hundred greatest sci-fi films of all time. Brode's list ranges from today's blockbusters to forgotten gems, with surprises for even the most informed fans and scholars. He presents the movies in chronological order, which effectively makes this book a concise history of the sci-fi film genre. A striking (and in many cases rare) photograph accompanies each entry, for which Brode provides a numerical rating, key credits and cast members, brief plot summary, background on the film's creation, elements of the moviemaking process, analysis of the major theme(s), and trivia. He also includes fun outtakes, including his top ten lists of Fifties sci-fi movies, cult sci-fi, least necessary movie remakes, and so bad they re great classics as well as the ten worst sci-fi movies ("those highly ambitious films that promised much and delivered nil"). So climb aboard spaceship Brode and journey to strange new worlds from Metropolis (1927) to "Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Book jacket.

Contents:

A Trip to the Moon/Le voyage dans la lune (1902) 1

Metropolis (1927) 3

Woman in the Moon/Fran im Mond (1929) 7

Just Imagine (1930) 10

Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 14

Dr. Jekyll and My. Hyde (1931) 19

Island of lost Souls (1932) 23

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) and The Black Cat (1934) 26

The Invisible Man (1933) 31

Things to Come (1936) 35

Flash Gordon (1936), Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938), and Flash Gordon Conquers the Uniuerse (1940) 38

Dr. Cyclops (1940) 44

Destination Moon (1950) and Conquest of Space (1955) 47

The Thing from Another World (1951) 51

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) 55

Invaders from Mars (1953) 59

The War of the Worlds (1953) 61

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and Them! (1954) 65

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and Mysterious Island (1961) 70

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) 75

This Island Earth (1955) 78

1984 (1956) 82

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 86

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) 89

Forbidden Planet (1956) 92

Godzilla, King of the Monsters'. (1956) 95

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) 98

The Blob (1958) 103

The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959), On the Beach (1959), and The Day the Earth Caught Five (1961) 106

The Time Machine (i960) 112

Village of the Damned (i960) and The Day of the Triffids (1963) 116

The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) 121

The Birds (1963) 124

The Last Man on Earth (1964) 127

Alphaiville/Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965) 131

The Satan Bug (1965) 134

Seconds (1966) 137

Fantastic Voyage (1966) 141

Fahrenheit 451 (1966) 144

Five Million Years to Earth/Ouatermass and the Pit (1967) 147

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 150

Barbarella (1968) 153

Planet 0/the Apes (1968) 156

Night 0/ the Living Dead (1968) 160

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) 163

THX 1138 (1971) 166

Solaris I Soly avis (1972) 169

Fantastic Planet/La planete sauvage (1973) 172

Westworld (1973) and Future world. (1976) 175

Sleeper (1973) 180

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) 183

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 190

Time After Time (1979) 193

Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) 196

Escape from New York (1981) 201

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) 205

Heavy Metal (1981) 208

The Thing (1982) 212

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 215

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) 218

Blade Runner (1982) 226

Nausicaa of the Valley of the WindjKaze no tani no Naushika (1984) 230

The Terminator (1984) 234

Bach to the Future (1985) 238

Cocoon (1985) 241

The Fly (1986) 244

Predator (1987) 248

RoboCop (1987) 252

The Abyss (1989) 256

Total Recall (1990) 259

Jurassic Park (1993) 263

Stargate (1994) 266

Strange Days (1995) 270

Twelve Monkeys (1995) 274

78 Open Your Eyes/Abre los ojos (1997) 278

The Fifth Element (1997) 281

MeninBlack (1997) 285

The Truman Show (1998) 289

The Matrix (1999) 292

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) 296

Space Cowboys (2000) 303

AT. Artificial Intelligence (2001) and Minority Report (2002) 307

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) 312

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 315

VforVendetta (2005) 319

Children of Men (2006) 322

Transformers (2007) 326

WALL-E (2008) 329

Avatar (2009) 332

Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek into Darkness (2013) 336

District 9 (2009) 341

Inception (2010) 345

TRON: Legacy (2010) 348

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) 351

Cloud Atlas (2012) 355

The Avengers (2012) 358

Man of Steel (2013) 362

Gravity (2013) 366

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) 370

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 373.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9780292739192

0292739192

OCLC:

890807860