Sci-Fi films - non-action-y/epic-y?

Jon Starr

Jon Starr

Veteran
My group and I are working on a sci-fi short and we're looking for some inspiration. We're actually having a screening night on tuesday to get some more ideas for look/style, etc...

However we're looking for films that aren't all about the epic, glam, the action, the lasers, the spaceships. We're looking for films that deal with other issues, and that feel a bit closer to home.

A few examples we already know about are Children of Men, Solaris, Gattaca. Any others you know about that would be helpful?

Also if you know of any sci-fi shorts (like similo) that you would consider watching, I would love to hear it.
 
I was going to mention Children of Men. One of my favorite sci-fi films and films in general. You may have already seen some of these but here goes:

You could try Pi and The Fountain, both by Darren Aronofsky.

Have you seen the newer Solaris by Soderberg or the original by Tarkovsky? I hear that Tarkovsky's is amazing. I just ordered Solaris and another Tarkovsky DVD from Amazon. It is called Stalker and is also supposed to be really philosophical and beautiful. I'm going to try to watch one this weekend. If I do I'll try to let you know what I thought.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a classic and a very good example of sci-fi that focuses on people more than tech. The original from the 50's is great, as well as the 1978 remake with Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, and Leaonard Nimoy. Steer clear from the 90's remake titled Body Snatchers and from the newer remake with Nicole Kidman. They are not very good at all.

The anime Ghost in the Shell is a great cyberpunk film. While it does focus on the tech it is very cerebral and has a cool style all its own. The sequel Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is also great, as is the series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Kubrick's 2001 is an obvious one. Yes is has expensive effects, but is really a very deep and intelligent film that has many layers. A year ago they came out with a new edition, available in Blu-ray if you have a player. Simply stunning transfer and the best way to watch the film at home. Also, Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange is a good one.

Sunshine by Danny Boyle is a good cerebral sci-fi thriller. It takes place in space but is more realistic then most space adventures. It is one of the best science fiction films to come out for a while. Reminds me of Solaris in the sense of it being much more focused on the psychological frame of the characters and not about tech and spaceships.

Some of David Cronenberg's early stuff is really good too. Scanners and Videodrome are two that come to mind. A good more recent Cronenberg mind-f**k is Existenz.

An older one that is pretty cool is Alphaville, by Jean-Luc Goddard.

La Jetee, which was the basis for Twelve Monkeys is a good one. It is a short that is 26 minutes long. Here is a link to it on YouTube -- LA JETEE (I think that Criterion has a version as well.)

If you are a fan of Alex Proyas and his films like Dark City, you might check out an early work of his, a short film called Strange Residues -- link.

A Scanner Darkly, based on Philip K. Dick's novel is a good thought provoking film.

THX-1138 is another one. It is by George Lucas. On the newer special edition DVD is the original short version that he did a few years before the feature version. Here is a link on YouTube -- link.

Soylent Green is a bit more of a realistic non-tech oriented film.

Sorry that I didn't find as many short films as features for examples. I'm sure there are some more but I can't think of any at the moment.
 
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Some good examples. Some don't fall under the style we're going for. Sunshine is a good example, and I love the film, although we're looking for something a bit more close to home.

We're going for the style of Children of men. Something perhaps on earth, not too far in the distant future, and not focused on space exploration/travel/aliens. The short is about identity/cloning set in the near future in a dying world.

La Jetee, funny you mention that (I expected someone would), because we used it as an example when pitching our undevelopped sci-fi idea a few weeks ago to our teacher. Turns out it's his favorite film.

Great short Batutta.
 
Jon Starr said:
We're going for the style of Children of men. Something perhaps on earth, not too far in the distant future, and not focused on space exploration/travel/aliens. The short is about identity/cloning set in the near future in a dying world.
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Not a movie, but you might want to read Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. You can download it legally for free, or buy it in bookstores--

http://craphound.com/down/download.php
 
The Lathe of Heaven -- good suggestion guys.

I'm more of an epic space opera and cyberpunk fan myself, so it is harder to come up with what you're looking for. I'll see what else I can come up with though.

One I haven't seen but sounds like it could be reminiscent of the feel and setting of Children of Men is a film called The Time of the Wolf.

http://www.amazon.com/Time-Wolf-Isa..._bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1228539990&sr=8-1

From the description Time of the Wolf sounds more like a more realist post apocalyptic tale than most other films of that type (Terminator, The Road Warrior, etc.).

Also, the upcoming film adaptation of The Road looks pretty interesting. It should be another more realistic end of the world type of film. It was supposed to be released in December, but has been pushed back to 2009. Darn it.

And speaking of cloning, anybody seen The Boys From Brazil?
 
What about any online shorts? We've been looking for some but have only found maybe 2 really good ones.

Doesn't have to be in the style I mentioned. Just something easily accessible.
 
Thanks. Although I was only able to see about a minute or so of that film. Is that all we're allowed to see or did something go wrong?

Although I could see where it's going. If I'm right (tell me if I am or not), I saw an "outer limits" episode about the same idea. People travel through some mysterious device, however it works as a copier rather than a transporter, and destroys the original. But then the original doesn't get destroyed and then we have an interesting story.

Is that it in a nutshell?
 
If you're looking towards Cuaron's Children of Men, you might also want to watch Ridley Scott's Bladerunner for inspiration. Absolutely, check out Michael Radford's 1984 starring John Hurt. You can rent it on iTunes. All three of these films draw upon George Orwell's prolific 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which deals with the human condition in a dystopian society. Granted, Children of Men was a novel and Bladerunner is based on a Philip K. Dick short story, the final styles utilized in the film versions were each influensed by Orwell's novel.

What's great about the film 1984 (the one with John Hurt) is that Orwell's widow, who granted the filmmakers permission to adapt the book, told them not to use any fancy special effects to realize the film. To that end, the film looks like it could easily have been 1938 totalitarian NAZI Germany than 2019 Los Angeles seen in Bladerunner. Very low key sci-fi.

Also of note: each film was photographed by a member of either the ASC or BSC which probably accounts for each of them looking so damned amazing.

Cinematographers:
Bladerunner (1982): Jordan Cronenweth, ASC
1984 (1984): Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC
Children of Men (2006): Emmanuel Lubezki, AMC, ASC
 
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Hell yeah, 1984 is great. Both the book and the film are amazing.

Visually the world of Children of Men definitely has a similar feel to the film of 1984, which was actually released in 1984.
 
Love your avatar, Nektonic...speaking of dystopian futures...

What also was great about 1984 is that the dates described in the book are the exact dates in which they shot those scenes. 1984 stands as one of the greatest book to film adoptions ever.
 
Oh, you know what else? Mad Max. George Miller's original Mad Max is another one of those awesome dystopian police-state sci-fi movies. The Road Warrior is also good, but Mad Max really captured the dirty, guerilla filmmaking style that no-budget films have to adhere to. Not that Mad Max was cheap, by any stretch of the imagination...
 
Watch: Hanake's Time of the Wolf (as mentioned earlier)

Read: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

DO NOT read: Anything by Bradbury (everything this man has ever written sucks, derivative and completely irrelevant.)

DO NOT watch: Most Sci-Fi post 1970's (i.e., post Kaufman's Body Snatchers). Because that sucks too.
 
StefanHaynes said:
Watch: Hanake's Time of the Wolf (as mentioned earlier)

Read: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

DO NOT read: Anything by Bradbury (everything this man has ever written sucks, derivative and completely irrelevant.)

DO NOT watch: Most Sci-Fi post 1970's (i.e., post Kaufman's Body Snatchers). Because that sucks too.
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Bradbury has some pretty good stuff I must say. Even if some of his science fiction is dated it doesn't mean that it sucks. I'm sure there are elements of all classic science fiction authors like PK Dick, Asimov, Heinlein, etc. that are dated or not perfect either.

So Alien and Blade Runner suck???????:huh:

What about Mad Max, Stalker, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Terminator, Aliens, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Children of Men, Sunshine, The Matrix, Pi, The Fountain, Brazil, and Twelve Monkeys? I'd say that with the exception of 2001: ASO the 70's and 80's and then more recently has been the best times for great sci-fi films. What about the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica on television? Nothing like this ever came out in the before or during the 70's in terms of sci-fi.
 
A Boy and His Dog - looks like it could have inspired the Mad Max series (but apparently didn't), very sardonic (or attempts to be), don't read too much about it because the ending might get spoiled
 
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