Being in Tri-Cities, we've probably got a higher-than average percentage of scientists and engineers in the audience, so I'd like to start what I hope will be an ongoing thread on the subject of "hard" science fiction in film. By "hard", I mean that scientific ideas in the film are based on reasonable extrapolations of natural laws and that do not conflict in a major way with them. The term is often used to describe a subgenre of written science fiction brought to a high art by Heinlein, Clarke, and Asimov. Of course, there's always some non-scientific malarkey in these stories -- that's what the "fiction" part means -- but it's only a premise to move the story along. Classic case: Clarke's "A Fall of Moondust" is completely wrong about the lunar surface, but taking that misconception as a premise goes on to tell an exciting story with a strong component of physics.
Neither the "Star Wars" nor the "Star Trek" films qualify as hard science fiction, IMHO. What does? Well, that's what I'm looking for here. My favorite recent example is "Red Planet," which combines a survival story (two of them, actually) with the resolution of a scientific mystery.
What are your favorites?
Sunday, February 3, 2008
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4 comments:
Although by the time I'd finished 8th grade I'd read all of the sci fi books in our local library, and I still do read it from time to time, I am at a relative loss to name sci fi movies that aren't silly.
For example, "Island of the Crab Monster", a 1950's film based, like many others, on the fear of nuclear radiation. It features a huge crab that is actually a backhoe!
Another is "Empire of the Ants" where a real estate developer brings a boatload of prospects to a tropical island, only to have them eaten by monster giant ants. The ants, of course, were the result of radiation.
I have copies of these, incidentally, if anyone wants to borrow them--or maybe we should have a double feature in the summer--a sort of drive-in movie, though with lawn chairs.
You see what level I'm operating on. Can you give me some recommendations? Or should I tell you about "It Came From the Sea"...?
I happen to believe that 2001: A Space Odyssey is a fine example of a science fiction story, as far as "hard science" goes. Reading the Arthur C. Clarke book helped me have a better understanding of the movie.
1) There is the theme of evolution that plays a heavy role in the story. In the beginning, the man-apes evolved into humans (their inteligince being awakened by the monolith's first presence), and at the end (I kind of spoil it here, sorry) Bowman evolves, via the monolith's fourth appearance, into a star child. It kind of depends on whether you consider evolution science or fiction, though.
2) The production design. In the science fiction films previous, all spaceships were flying saucers. 2001 was the first to use realistic-looking spacecraft. It turned out to be very prophetic in terms of what the space programs actually built. Also note that the space station in the second act and the main room in the Discovery 1 both rotate to create gravity. It was the first movie to deal with the issue of being in a zero-gravity enviornment.
In my opinion, you can't come up with a better example
Sunshine! Great hard science fiction movie. Quit fighting it and rent it today...
Engadget last Friday published a short story entitled "Movie Gadget Friday: 2001: A Space Odyssey" about the gadgets in 2001 and 2010:The Year We Make Contact. Check it out here.
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