Sci-Fi (for those who hate sci-fi!)

A few days ago, John, MJ and I had a reunion in Chelsea in which one of the topics under discussion were movies that we considered outstanding.  When MJ forwarded the list to me a couple days ago, I noticed she had a category "Sci-Fi: the Best and Worst" but no titles listed.  When I asked her about this, she admitted that she had no sci-fi on her list of outstanding films.

We had been discussing the terrific space adventure "Gravity" at the reunion and she wanted to know if that counted as sci-fi.  No, it didn't.  Science Fiction by definition is a genre of stories based on fictitious science rather than real science.  If it's real science, it's drama, not sci-fi.  Or, as is often the case, it can be based on quasi-real science, that is science that could exist but has not yet been invented.  There is also the area of sci-fi that deals with futuristic worlds where the techology lies at the root of the story and is usually used allegorically to offer a study of contemporary issues.  So no, "Gravity" is not sci-fi, but drama.  And by the way, please don't watch it on DVD or Netflix Instant Play.  This was a film shot in HD 3D and must be seen on a big screen 3D TV for full effect.  To watch it under any other conditions would be the same as watching a great musical without the music.  This film must be seen the way it was intended to be seen, which is why as soon as it became available, I got the 3D Blu-Ray so I could do just that.  I saw it three times in the theater, don't know how many times I'll end up watching it on my giant screen 3D HDTV set.  

But MJ gave me a challenge.  Sci-Fi covers a lot of territory.  It's not all Star Wars and Star Trek.  Many sci-fi films are very serious adult fare that are considered indisputable classics.  So I did a brief survey this evening of all the major sci-fi films of the last hundred years and selected the following as my picks as the best of all time, some of which I'm sure will even suit the taste of those among you who consider sci-fi to be for other people, but not your cup of tea.  You're all I'm sure aware of the musical collection entitled, "Classical Music For Those Who Hate Classical Music."  Well, this is Sci-Fi (for those who hate sci-fi!)

Without further adieu, I submit the following 11 titles for your consideration:  

1. 1951's "The Day The Earth Stood Still" starring Patricia Neal as a woman helping the first extraterrestrial to come to Earth who's come with the mission of warning the human race that we must make peace or destroy each other. It is certainly at the top of the list of all time greatest sci-fi, has been considered a classic ever since its initial release, and was made by Robert Wise, the same director as The Sound of Music.

2. 1959's "On the Beach" with Gregory Peck as the commander of a nuclear sub docked in Australia in the immediate aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. The radiation still has not reached Australia so it is the last place on the planet where there are survivors and civilization is still relatively intact. It is a quiet little story of how the remaining survivors cope with their circumstances, hoping for the best, preparing for the worst, knowing that almost certainly the worst is what awaits them. Directed by Stanley Kramer, same director as "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and "It's a Mad Mad World."

3. 1966, "Fahrenheit 451" Francois Truffaut's take on the classic Ray Bradbury novel in which the future is under a stern dictatorship and reading is banned. Oscar Werner stars as a policeman/fireman who ferrets out and arrests book owners and then burns their books, which flame out at the temp of 451 degrees. Julie Christie is his girlfriend who lives in privilege but eventually they both understand that this evil society must be overthrown. Another quiet but very effective study of oppression and another widely recognized sci-fi classic.

4. 1973 "Sleeper," by Woody Allen. Sci-fi does not by definition have to be serious. This is Woody's hilarious take on a future world, also under dictatorship, where chocolate and ice cream sundaes are considered health food and yogurt and wheat germ are not good for you. Oh yes, I must also mention that the people of the 22th century are very confused about old broadcasts they find of Howard Cosell commenting on sports.  They conclude that watching these tapes could only have served one purpose and that was as punishment for the very worst criminals.  Woody confirms that is exactly right.  One of his best.

5. 1988, "Deep Impact" starring Morgan Freeman as the U.S. president who must prepare the country for disaster as a huge meteor is on a collision course for the planet.  Scientists have determined the impact will destroy most of the planet. Another deeply moving and very intimate study of how we would all react if we knew a catastrophe was coming, from which there is no escape.  And outstanding visual effects.  You really do believe that meteor is real.  

6. 2009, "District 9," a film from South Africa in which the first friendly and intelligent extraterrestrials to visit Earth are met with extreme hostility from the human race and imprisoned in a deplorable ghetto not because they're hostile but because they don't fit our concept of beauty. Filmed like a documentary, an excellent allegory on apartheid and one of the best reviewed films of that year.

7. 2011, "Contagion," starring Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Samuel L. Jackson and a whole list of other major stars, this is Steven Soderbergh's brilliant study of how the world would react to a major pandemic of unknown virus and unknown origin that threatens the very survival of the human race, something that is suddenly quite topical in context of the current Ebola crisis.

8. 2011, "Limitless" with Robert DeNiro and Bradley Cooper, wasn't exactly the most highly rated film of the year but I really loved it for what I considered a pretty penetrating study of human intelligence. Cooper stumbles onto a black market drug that turns whoever takes it into an incredible genius and uses it to try to take over Wall Street and the economy. DeNiro is the Wall Street tycoon who tries to exploit him and things really get messy when it turns out the drug came from the Russian mob and now they are coming after Cooper to get it back. May be too violent for your taste but I certainly think it did a great job with its subject matter.

9. 2012, "The Hunger Games," starring the great Jennifer Lawrence and a bunch of other great stars, based on the very popular series of Young Adult novels about a future America in the chains of a dictatorship in which the dictator, played by Donald Sutherland, conducts these deadly games as a means of keeping the people, most of whom live in dire poverty, from revolting by promising the annual winner a lifetime of food and comfort for them and their families. Absolutely gripping all the way, extremely heart-rending, Lawrence finds herself one of the random picks for the games (for which there can only be one survivor) and realizes that she must organize a revolution to put an end to all this. A four part franchise, I can tell you that I thought I and II were marvelous, III is out soon, and IV next year.

10. 2014, "Lucy" one of the most widely celebrated films (and biggest hits) of this year, French director Luc Besson's allegory on super-human intelligence as Scarlett Johansson is abducted and forced to take an experimental drug that allows her to utilize 100% of her brain, the unexpected results much to the chagrin of her captors. This one may well be too violent for you too but I really loved it as a super nail-biting thriller about how superior intelligence so quickly becomes an enormous threat to the powers that be.

11. 2014: Just now out, I'm seeing it next week with Todd but it's already a colossal hit and stellar reviews. "Interstellar" with Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway from the great director Christopher Nolan, a futuristic tale in which an unknown plague destroys the planet's entire food supply.  Astronauts Matt and Anne must go on a mission to find another planet that can be made habitable so that the human race can be salvaged and repopulated. I'll let you know how I like it but so far there have been nothing but raves.