Exclusive: Doctor Who director Jamie Magnus Stone is helming a sci-fi series adaptation of Brian W. Aldiss’ debut Non-Stop for Aircraft Pictures.
Set in a distant future, Non-Stop tells the tale of Roy Complain, a man born into a primitive society only to discover his tribe is one of many aboard a colossal spaceship. This knowledge sets Complain and his band of intrepid explorers on a perilous journey through uncharted territories to find the ship’s bridge, as they unravel the mysteries of their new world and confront the looming threat of their own annihilation.
Casting is yet to be announced and Aircraft will begin shopping the project at Series Mania next week.
“We’re excited to bring this science-fiction classic to the screen as part of Aircraft’s continued expansion into scripted drama,” said Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen, co-founders of Aircraft. “We’re fortunate to be working with...
Set in a distant future, Non-Stop tells the tale of Roy Complain, a man born into a primitive society only to discover his tribe is one of many aboard a colossal spaceship. This knowledge sets Complain and his band of intrepid explorers on a perilous journey through uncharted territories to find the ship’s bridge, as they unravel the mysteries of their new world and confront the looming threat of their own annihilation.
Casting is yet to be announced and Aircraft will begin shopping the project at Series Mania next week.
“We’re excited to bring this science-fiction classic to the screen as part of Aircraft’s continued expansion into scripted drama,” said Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen, co-founders of Aircraft. “We’re fortunate to be working with...
- 3/14/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2000s was a strange time for genre filmmaking and especially science fiction. While sci-fi cinema was in theory thriving, that was mainly thanks to the presence of franchises that were, in fact, their own mini-genres (like Star Wars and Star Trek). Then there were superhero films, always sort of a cousin to sci-fi, with the X-Men and Spider-Man series both exploding and the Marvel Cinematic Universe making its debut with Iron Man (2008) just as the decade came to a close.
But there were some top-shelf literary adaptations as well. Steven Spielberg’s A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001) was a flawed yet powerful expansion of a Brian Aldiss story while his War of the Worlds (2005) and Minority Report (2002) were outstanding takes on classic tales from H.G. Wells and Philip K. Dick (there might have been no sci-fi filmmaker more consistent at the time than The Beard). Other remakes or adaptations,...
But there were some top-shelf literary adaptations as well. Steven Spielberg’s A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001) was a flawed yet powerful expansion of a Brian Aldiss story while his War of the Worlds (2005) and Minority Report (2002) were outstanding takes on classic tales from H.G. Wells and Philip K. Dick (there might have been no sci-fi filmmaker more consistent at the time than The Beard). Other remakes or adaptations,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Hot off of the awards recognition of his semi-autobiography, The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg had recently received the Golden Bear Lifetime Achievement at the Berlin Film Festival. According to Variety, the director said in a rousing speech, “I also feel a little alarmed to be told I’ve lived a lifetime because I’m not finished, I want to keep working. I want to keep learning and discovering and scaring the shit out of myself and sometimes the shit out of you. I gotta get back to some of those earlier scarier movies, but that’s another story for later on. As long as there’s joy in it for me, and as long as my audience can find joy and other human values in my films, I’m reluctant to ever say that’s a wrap.”
Spielberg, who had directed the heavy drama, Schindler’s List, and felt changed by that production,...
Spielberg, who had directed the heavy drama, Schindler’s List, and felt changed by that production,...
- 2/22/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Before he died in 1999, Stanley Kubrick had grand plans for multiple films, including his retelling of Napoleon Bonaparte's life that would have seen none other than Jack Nicholson in the title role. But for me, his long-gestating adaptation of British author Brian Aldiss's short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" was a much more interesting project — simply because it demonstrated Kubrick's remarkable prescience through his fascination with artificial intelligence back in the '70s.
The way things played out, Kubrick never made his "Supertoys," handing off directing duties to Steven Spielberg before his death. This is a shame because while Spielberg's attempt at bringing the story to the screen is mostly well-respected, I always felt the full Kubrick treatment would have yielded a genuine masterpiece.
As it stands, we have 2001's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence." Set in a climate change-ravaged 22nd century, the movie follows David (Haley Joel Osment...
The way things played out, Kubrick never made his "Supertoys," handing off directing duties to Steven Spielberg before his death. This is a shame because while Spielberg's attempt at bringing the story to the screen is mostly well-respected, I always felt the full Kubrick treatment would have yielded a genuine masterpiece.
As it stands, we have 2001's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence." Set in a climate change-ravaged 22nd century, the movie follows David (Haley Joel Osment...
- 1/19/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Stanley Kubrick is remembered in many ways. He was a visionary genius — a pioneering auteur whose filmography stands as one of the finest in the history of filmmaking. He was also a bit weird. Very weird, at times. The notoriously eccentric director would often be the target of rumors, such as when the press claimed he wore a football helmet on his drive to the set of "Full Metal Jacket" and wouldn't let his driver go over 30mph. In response, he told Rolling Stone "I cannot dispel the myths that have somehow accumulated over the years. Somebody writes something, it's completely off the wall, but it gets filed and repeated until everyone believes it."
At the time, the director clarified that he didn't have a driver and in fact drove a "Porsche 928 S." But while many of the stories surrounding Kubrick were exaggerated or often complete fabrications, that doesn't mean...
At the time, the director clarified that he didn't have a driver and in fact drove a "Porsche 928 S." But while many of the stories surrounding Kubrick were exaggerated or often complete fabrications, that doesn't mean...
- 12/25/2022
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
In the mid to late '60s, Warren Publishing added a significant strand to the presentation of comics via the publication of titles such as Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella, which duplicated the general approach of the EC-style horror and science fiction comic anthologies of the '50s, but with a magazine format aimed at adults that cleverly skirted the comics code and thus allowed for unprecedented creative freedom within the field of American comics. By the early '70s, in parallel to the evolution of the Hollywood New Wave Movement Warren's approach had grown similarly multilayered and internationally inspired, showcasing comics and painted pieces by American auteur pulp masters like Frank Frazetta, Neal Adams, Alex Toth and Richard Corben alongside work by emerging auteur European artists like Esteban Maroto, Jose Gonzalez and Jose Ortiz.
Meanwhile, in Spain itself, perhaps inspired by the success of their countrymen abroad, in 1972, two artistically minded entrepreneurs,...
Meanwhile, in Spain itself, perhaps inspired by the success of their countrymen abroad, in 1972, two artistically minded entrepreneurs,...
- 8/4/2020
- by Otis Whitaker
- DailyDead
Sam Moffitt’s article about movies and shows was originally posted May 15th, 2015. In honor of the new hit movie version of Downton Abbey, We Are Movie Geeks is reposting this list
By rights I should hate the English. Seriously, my background is almost entirely Scots and Irish. I grew up hearing about the troubles the English gave to the Scots and Irish, both in school and from my parents.
Yet I do not, I love the English. How can I hate a country that gave us not only Monty Python but also Benny Hill and the Carry On Films? How can I bear any ill will to a country that gave us writers of the caliber of Ramsey Campbell, Brian Aldiss, Michael Moorcock and J. G Ballard? How can anyone hate a country that not only prizes eccentric behavior but encourages it? Take Mr. Kim Newman for instance, a...
By rights I should hate the English. Seriously, my background is almost entirely Scots and Irish. I grew up hearing about the troubles the English gave to the Scots and Irish, both in school and from my parents.
Yet I do not, I love the English. How can I hate a country that gave us not only Monty Python but also Benny Hill and the Carry On Films? How can I bear any ill will to a country that gave us writers of the caliber of Ramsey Campbell, Brian Aldiss, Michael Moorcock and J. G Ballard? How can anyone hate a country that not only prizes eccentric behavior but encourages it? Take Mr. Kim Newman for instance, a...
- 9/24/2019
- by Sam Moffitt
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Mubi's retrospective For Ever Godard is showing from November 12, 2017 - January 16, 2018 in the United States.Jean-Luc Godard is a difficult filmmaker to pin down because while his thematic concerns as an artist have remained more or less consistent over the last seven decades, his form is ever-shifting. His filmography is impossible to view in a vacuum, as his work strives to reflect on the constantly evolving cinema culture that surrounds it: Godard always works with the newest filmmaking technologies available, and his films have become increasingly abstracted and opaque as the wider culture of moving images has become increasingly fragmented. Rather than working to maintain an illusion of diegetic truth, Godard’s work as always foreground its status as a manufactured product—of technology, of an industry, of on-set conditions and of an individual’s imagination. Mubi’S Godard retrospective exemplifies the depth and range of Godard’s career as...
- 11/19/2017
- MUBI
Luke and Harry Treadaway in Brothers Of The Head
Brian Aldiss, the science fiction author behind big screen hit A.I. and indie cult favourite Brothers Of The Head, died on Saturday, it has emerged today. He had just finished celebrating his 92nd birthday with family and friends.
Brian Aldiss pictured in Glasgow in 2005 Photo: Szymon Sokól
Aldiss, who also tried his hand at acting in 2009 short Crawlspace, was a prolific and widely admired writer whose work was a major influence on the development of the genre. His novels included Non-Stop, Hothouse, Barefoot In The Head the Heliconia trilogy and Frankenstein Unbound, which inspired a Roger Corman film. He also edited several anthologies, wrote a number of non-fiction books and received acclaim for his paintings. Though he continued to work throughout his life, he described a sensation of decreasing urgency. In short story The Worm That Flies he imagined a far...
Brian Aldiss, the science fiction author behind big screen hit A.I. and indie cult favourite Brothers Of The Head, died on Saturday, it has emerged today. He had just finished celebrating his 92nd birthday with family and friends.
Brian Aldiss pictured in Glasgow in 2005 Photo: Szymon Sokól
Aldiss, who also tried his hand at acting in 2009 short Crawlspace, was a prolific and widely admired writer whose work was a major influence on the development of the genre. His novels included Non-Stop, Hothouse, Barefoot In The Head the Heliconia trilogy and Frankenstein Unbound, which inspired a Roger Corman film. He also edited several anthologies, wrote a number of non-fiction books and received acclaim for his paintings. Though he continued to work throughout his life, he described a sensation of decreasing urgency. In short story The Worm That Flies he imagined a far...
- 8/21/2017
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Ryan Lambie Feb 16, 2017
Who killed Evan Chan? Over 15 years on, the marketing campaign for Steven Spielberg's A.I. remains unique, Ryan writes...
When it came to Steven Spielberg's 2001 sci-fi film, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Jeanine Salla played a low-profile yet important role. Educated at Bangalore University, Salla was an expert in engineering and machine intelligence, and considered so important to the makers of A.I. that she was given a credit in the movie's posters and trailers.
See related Power Rangers, boob armour, and impractical costumes
The only thing was, Jeanine Salla never existed.
Before the spring of 2001, almost nothing had been seen of Spielberg's latest sci-fi movie. That the director had taken over the project from his late friend Stanley Kubrick was well known, as were its origins in a story by British sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss called Supertoys Last All Summer Long. But Spielberg had remained secretive through A.I.'s shoot,...
Who killed Evan Chan? Over 15 years on, the marketing campaign for Steven Spielberg's A.I. remains unique, Ryan writes...
When it came to Steven Spielberg's 2001 sci-fi film, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Jeanine Salla played a low-profile yet important role. Educated at Bangalore University, Salla was an expert in engineering and machine intelligence, and considered so important to the makers of A.I. that she was given a credit in the movie's posters and trailers.
See related Power Rangers, boob armour, and impractical costumes
The only thing was, Jeanine Salla never existed.
Before the spring of 2001, almost nothing had been seen of Spielberg's latest sci-fi movie. That the director had taken over the project from his late friend Stanley Kubrick was well known, as were its origins in a story by British sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss called Supertoys Last All Summer Long. But Spielberg had remained secretive through A.I.'s shoot,...
- 2/13/2017
- Den of Geek
When director Stanley Kubrick died in 1999, his proposed adaptation of the 1969 short story “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss did not die with him. Instead, with the approval of Kubrick’s widow, the project was inherited by a second director, Steven Spielberg, who had originally intended only to produce. The resulting film, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, was released in 2001 to decidedly mixed reviews. A common complaint at the time was that Spielberg had taken a soft, sentimental approach to the material that was at odds with Kubrick’s colder, more detached sensibility.
But a new video by French filmmaker Candice Drouet suggests that Spielberg’s film is, in fact, extremely faithful to Kubrick’s style. In fact, A.I. contains numerous visual references to such Kubrick classics as Barry Lyndon, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Shining. Titled simply “Kubrick - Spielberg,” this ...
But a new video by French filmmaker Candice Drouet suggests that Spielberg’s film is, in fact, extremely faithful to Kubrick’s style. In fact, A.I. contains numerous visual references to such Kubrick classics as Barry Lyndon, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Shining. Titled simply “Kubrick - Spielberg,” this ...
- 10/14/2016
- by Joe Blevins
- avclub.com
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Here are 9 of the best 60s British sci-fi novels, featuring thrillers, alternative histories, apocalyptic tales and more...
Read our celebration of 8 amazing British sci-fi novels, here.
Arthur C Clarke once wrote: "Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."
British science fiction of the 1960s gave readers both versions of that terror in novels set on Earth or in far away universes. For those writing about Earth, our own humanity was up for questioning like never before; are we on the path to our own destruction, or do we hold the key to our own salvation? For the novelists who threw all earthly troubles away and created entire universes in mind-boggling detail, they were still reflecting on the problems everyone faced back home: a generation who wanted freedom like never before, faith being shaken in the government, and big shifts in societal attitudes all contributed to an era where many talented writers felt they could best comment through the genre of science fiction.
Here's a look at ten novels that give a flavour of what an varied time it was in science fiction writing, with some authors remaining in the 'pulp' feel of earlier times to create fresh space adventures, and others beginning to experiment with form and literary devices to take Sf in an unexpected, and highly influential, direction...
The Drowned World - Jg Ballard (1962)
Ballard brought something very different to science fiction with his style of detached, literary writing which is cold and intelligent and uncomfortable. You may not like his characters but his visions of the future draw you in and stay in your mind. They feel as if they have a truth about them.
The Drowned World is the story of Dr Robert Kerans, a biologist who has been sent to work in the submerged remains of what was once a great city. But water has covered most of the world due to climate change, and although the tower blocks still rise above the lagoons this is a place that belongs to the insects, the lizards, and no longer to humanity. A strange lethargy, born of the heat, infects Kerans and his co-workers, giving them troubling dreams. It infuses the book, too, and makes this a vivid, sensual and disturbing novel.
Transit - Edmund Cooper (1964)
Our hero Richard Avery finds a glowing crystal in a park, and upon touching it is whisked away to some unknown location where he finds himself becoming the subject of experimentation. Placed upon a desert island with two women and one other man, he has to find a way to survive whatever nature, and his captors, throw at him. Thank goodness they are provided with cigarettes, booze and pornography, or else the whole thing would be unbearable.
Out of all the books on this list, this one feels most like a product of its time to me. It's like Kurt Vonnegut wrote an episode of The Prisoner - a page-turning survival story that's part wish-fulfilment, part social experiment, and it entertains brilliantly, never flagging, and never demanding that we take it too seriously.
A Wrinkle In The Skin - John Christopher (1962)
The title of the novel comes from a moment early on when chat at a dinner party turns to the subject of recent earthquakes - "One or two wrinkles in the skin of an orange - the orange very big and the wrinkles very small," says one character, dismissively, while enjoying the benefits of civilised society. But it turns out that the wrinkles aren't so small after all.
John Christopher was great at turning mundane moments into chilling ones, and there is a brilliant description of the stillness that pervades before the big earthquake hits. But afterwards Guernsey - the home of horticulturalist Matthew Cotter - is no longer a safe haven of polite people and fine dining. The survivors become desperate, and the story turns into a journey through an unrecognisable landscape that juxtaposes so sharply with that first chapter. It's a bleak read, and a worrying one; would civilization so easily collapse at the first sign of a mere wrinkle?
The Doomsday Men - Kenneth Bulmer (1968)
Carver is a Ridforce agent; he has been trained, using new technology, to enter the mind of murder victims and replay their last memories to the moment of death, revealing the killer. He runs the risk of losing his own thoughts and memories with each case, but Carver is good at his job, and the department trusts in his ability to find the truth. Until he enters the mind of a victim and finds a troubling memory - why is Carver's own teenage daughter, ensconced miles away in an expensive boarding school, present as a high-class prostitute in the victim's memories?
A police procedural sci-fi thriller, The Doomsday Men reminds me of Mad Men tied with Minority Report. Slick, full of manly attitude, and yet dealing with crimes within the mind in which nothing the protagonist sees can be trusted, it's a slippery fish of a read that ties itself into too neat a bow in the end, perhaps. Still, it's a heck of an adventure, involving a lot of corpses, double bluffs, and even a ticking bomb.
Pavane - Keith Roberts (1968)
Alternative history books are hard to do well, and almost impossible to do with as much delicacy and complexity as Pavane. It starts with one question - what if Elizabeth I had died earlier and the Catholic Church had reasserted its hold on England?
Jump forward a few hundred years and we have a country without electricity, without equal rights, and with a reliance on the steam train that dominates the first section of the novel and makes this feel, initially, like steampunk. But Pavane doesn't stay within one element of this alternative future; it gives us a number of wonderful characters throughout society and interweaves their stories to make an intricate pattern. Cause and effect is a complex business which doesn't always get a lot of consideration in science fiction. I can't think of a book that does it as well as Pavane.
Chocky - John Wyndham (1960)
In 2008 Dreamworks acquired the film rights to Chocky and it's not hard to see why it would appeal; the tale of a boy who has an imaginary friend that perhaps isn't imaginary after all, this is science fiction at its most personal and inclusive, filled with warmth for the situation and the family it describes.
If you're in the mood for a more optimistic read, then either Chocky or The Trouble With Lichen (the only two novels Wyndham wrote in the 1960s) will fit the bill perfectly. They have humour and decency, but they still manage to raise troubling questions about how humans often assume a mastery over the world, and why we struggle to overcome our own preconceptions.
Greybeard - Brian Aldiss (1964)
The worlds of future fictions often belong to the young and Greybeard is a very effective counterpoint - imagining a time when humanity ceases to reproduce after a spike in radiation, and there will be no more children to inherit the Earth. Instead there's only Greybeard and others like him, elderly men and women in a society reverting to feudalism and superstition as they die out.
The non-linear story documents Greybeard's life, revealing factions and forces that created this last generation. It's a reading experience of far more light, humour and beauty than this subject matter would suggest. It also reaches some really interesting conclusions about humanity. A world without children is not a new theme; a number of books tackle the same ground, but Greybeard is, I think, the most surprising and insightful of the lot.
The Hieros Gamos Of Sam And An Smith - Josephine Saxton (1969)
A boy walks through a strange land, perhaps a post-apocalyptic one, and yet it holds no threat for him. There are no wild animals, no radiation, and when he hears a baby crying in the wilderness he has no fear of approaching. The mother is dead, moments after giving birth, and the boy takes the baby girl, and begins to provide for her with no great sense of importance. The book follows the boy as he raises the girl, and we find ourselves examining the nature of life, of sex, of childhood and parenthood, afresh.
A short and marvellous book, I really can't think of anything else quite like it. It proves that science fiction is a brilliant genre for examining deep psychological issues precisely because it can be free from the demands of realism. Also, the ending is my favourite of all the books on this list.
A Fall Of Moondust - Arthur C Clarke (1961)
Hms Selene cruises the Sea of Thirst, a vast bowl of powdery dust on the moon. The trip offers a thrill to those who are tired of exploring Earth and can afford the ticket price, but these travellers get more than they bargained for when the Selene is stranded deep within the dust. Can rescuers reach them?
A race against time, it would have been easy to make A Fall Of Moondust into a claustrophobic, if predictable, tale of human interplay between the trapped tourists. But what I love is that Clarke doesn't do that. The poor victims play cards and form book clubs and provide the light relief at times, because this is a very serious exploration of how space tourism might look and what technological problems might await us on the moon. Published eight years before man set foot on a lunar landscape and found it wouldn't swallow us up in dust, this book is a good reminder of how visionary science fiction could be when dealing with unknowns, and of how far our understanding has come since then.
See related 8 amazing British sci-fi novels of the 1950s 15 scary novels to give you the creeps 10 strange novels of the British countryside 15 underappreciated books: sci-fi, fantasy, horror fiction 13 geeky beach read recommendations Books & Comics Feature Aliya Whiteley 1960s Sci-Fi novels 13 Jun 2016 - 06:00 A Fall Of Moondust Dune Transit The Drowned World The Doomsday Men A Wrinkle In The Skin Chocky Greybeard Pavane The Hieros Gamos Of Sam And An Smith...
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Here are 9 of the best 60s British sci-fi novels, featuring thrillers, alternative histories, apocalyptic tales and more...
Read our celebration of 8 amazing British sci-fi novels, here.
Arthur C Clarke once wrote: "Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."
British science fiction of the 1960s gave readers both versions of that terror in novels set on Earth or in far away universes. For those writing about Earth, our own humanity was up for questioning like never before; are we on the path to our own destruction, or do we hold the key to our own salvation? For the novelists who threw all earthly troubles away and created entire universes in mind-boggling detail, they were still reflecting on the problems everyone faced back home: a generation who wanted freedom like never before, faith being shaken in the government, and big shifts in societal attitudes all contributed to an era where many talented writers felt they could best comment through the genre of science fiction.
Here's a look at ten novels that give a flavour of what an varied time it was in science fiction writing, with some authors remaining in the 'pulp' feel of earlier times to create fresh space adventures, and others beginning to experiment with form and literary devices to take Sf in an unexpected, and highly influential, direction...
The Drowned World - Jg Ballard (1962)
Ballard brought something very different to science fiction with his style of detached, literary writing which is cold and intelligent and uncomfortable. You may not like his characters but his visions of the future draw you in and stay in your mind. They feel as if they have a truth about them.
The Drowned World is the story of Dr Robert Kerans, a biologist who has been sent to work in the submerged remains of what was once a great city. But water has covered most of the world due to climate change, and although the tower blocks still rise above the lagoons this is a place that belongs to the insects, the lizards, and no longer to humanity. A strange lethargy, born of the heat, infects Kerans and his co-workers, giving them troubling dreams. It infuses the book, too, and makes this a vivid, sensual and disturbing novel.
Transit - Edmund Cooper (1964)
Our hero Richard Avery finds a glowing crystal in a park, and upon touching it is whisked away to some unknown location where he finds himself becoming the subject of experimentation. Placed upon a desert island with two women and one other man, he has to find a way to survive whatever nature, and his captors, throw at him. Thank goodness they are provided with cigarettes, booze and pornography, or else the whole thing would be unbearable.
Out of all the books on this list, this one feels most like a product of its time to me. It's like Kurt Vonnegut wrote an episode of The Prisoner - a page-turning survival story that's part wish-fulfilment, part social experiment, and it entertains brilliantly, never flagging, and never demanding that we take it too seriously.
A Wrinkle In The Skin - John Christopher (1962)
The title of the novel comes from a moment early on when chat at a dinner party turns to the subject of recent earthquakes - "One or two wrinkles in the skin of an orange - the orange very big and the wrinkles very small," says one character, dismissively, while enjoying the benefits of civilised society. But it turns out that the wrinkles aren't so small after all.
John Christopher was great at turning mundane moments into chilling ones, and there is a brilliant description of the stillness that pervades before the big earthquake hits. But afterwards Guernsey - the home of horticulturalist Matthew Cotter - is no longer a safe haven of polite people and fine dining. The survivors become desperate, and the story turns into a journey through an unrecognisable landscape that juxtaposes so sharply with that first chapter. It's a bleak read, and a worrying one; would civilization so easily collapse at the first sign of a mere wrinkle?
The Doomsday Men - Kenneth Bulmer (1968)
Carver is a Ridforce agent; he has been trained, using new technology, to enter the mind of murder victims and replay their last memories to the moment of death, revealing the killer. He runs the risk of losing his own thoughts and memories with each case, but Carver is good at his job, and the department trusts in his ability to find the truth. Until he enters the mind of a victim and finds a troubling memory - why is Carver's own teenage daughter, ensconced miles away in an expensive boarding school, present as a high-class prostitute in the victim's memories?
A police procedural sci-fi thriller, The Doomsday Men reminds me of Mad Men tied with Minority Report. Slick, full of manly attitude, and yet dealing with crimes within the mind in which nothing the protagonist sees can be trusted, it's a slippery fish of a read that ties itself into too neat a bow in the end, perhaps. Still, it's a heck of an adventure, involving a lot of corpses, double bluffs, and even a ticking bomb.
Pavane - Keith Roberts (1968)
Alternative history books are hard to do well, and almost impossible to do with as much delicacy and complexity as Pavane. It starts with one question - what if Elizabeth I had died earlier and the Catholic Church had reasserted its hold on England?
Jump forward a few hundred years and we have a country without electricity, without equal rights, and with a reliance on the steam train that dominates the first section of the novel and makes this feel, initially, like steampunk. But Pavane doesn't stay within one element of this alternative future; it gives us a number of wonderful characters throughout society and interweaves their stories to make an intricate pattern. Cause and effect is a complex business which doesn't always get a lot of consideration in science fiction. I can't think of a book that does it as well as Pavane.
Chocky - John Wyndham (1960)
In 2008 Dreamworks acquired the film rights to Chocky and it's not hard to see why it would appeal; the tale of a boy who has an imaginary friend that perhaps isn't imaginary after all, this is science fiction at its most personal and inclusive, filled with warmth for the situation and the family it describes.
If you're in the mood for a more optimistic read, then either Chocky or The Trouble With Lichen (the only two novels Wyndham wrote in the 1960s) will fit the bill perfectly. They have humour and decency, but they still manage to raise troubling questions about how humans often assume a mastery over the world, and why we struggle to overcome our own preconceptions.
Greybeard - Brian Aldiss (1964)
The worlds of future fictions often belong to the young and Greybeard is a very effective counterpoint - imagining a time when humanity ceases to reproduce after a spike in radiation, and there will be no more children to inherit the Earth. Instead there's only Greybeard and others like him, elderly men and women in a society reverting to feudalism and superstition as they die out.
The non-linear story documents Greybeard's life, revealing factions and forces that created this last generation. It's a reading experience of far more light, humour and beauty than this subject matter would suggest. It also reaches some really interesting conclusions about humanity. A world without children is not a new theme; a number of books tackle the same ground, but Greybeard is, I think, the most surprising and insightful of the lot.
The Hieros Gamos Of Sam And An Smith - Josephine Saxton (1969)
A boy walks through a strange land, perhaps a post-apocalyptic one, and yet it holds no threat for him. There are no wild animals, no radiation, and when he hears a baby crying in the wilderness he has no fear of approaching. The mother is dead, moments after giving birth, and the boy takes the baby girl, and begins to provide for her with no great sense of importance. The book follows the boy as he raises the girl, and we find ourselves examining the nature of life, of sex, of childhood and parenthood, afresh.
A short and marvellous book, I really can't think of anything else quite like it. It proves that science fiction is a brilliant genre for examining deep psychological issues precisely because it can be free from the demands of realism. Also, the ending is my favourite of all the books on this list.
A Fall Of Moondust - Arthur C Clarke (1961)
Hms Selene cruises the Sea of Thirst, a vast bowl of powdery dust on the moon. The trip offers a thrill to those who are tired of exploring Earth and can afford the ticket price, but these travellers get more than they bargained for when the Selene is stranded deep within the dust. Can rescuers reach them?
A race against time, it would have been easy to make A Fall Of Moondust into a claustrophobic, if predictable, tale of human interplay between the trapped tourists. But what I love is that Clarke doesn't do that. The poor victims play cards and form book clubs and provide the light relief at times, because this is a very serious exploration of how space tourism might look and what technological problems might await us on the moon. Published eight years before man set foot on a lunar landscape and found it wouldn't swallow us up in dust, this book is a good reminder of how visionary science fiction could be when dealing with unknowns, and of how far our understanding has come since then.
See related 8 amazing British sci-fi novels of the 1950s 15 scary novels to give you the creeps 10 strange novels of the British countryside 15 underappreciated books: sci-fi, fantasy, horror fiction 13 geeky beach read recommendations Books & Comics Feature Aliya Whiteley 1960s Sci-Fi novels 13 Jun 2016 - 06:00 A Fall Of Moondust Dune Transit The Drowned World The Doomsday Men A Wrinkle In The Skin Chocky Greybeard Pavane The Hieros Gamos Of Sam And An Smith...
- 5/16/2016
- Den of Geek
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From Brian Aldiss to Arthur C Clarke, 1950s Britain was rich in fantastic science-fiction novels. Here are 8 of the best...
It seems that every few years somebody announces science fiction is dead. In 2007 it was the turn of Ridley Scott, who then went on to make The Martian, so perhaps these claims should always be taken with a pinch of salt, particularly when we look back over the history of Sf writing over the years and find that it is a genre that is as much defined by current events than by any singular vision of the future.
For that reason, British science fiction in the 1950s was incredible stuff. Anxiety over the powers scientists had unleashed after the dropping the atomic bomb at the end of World War II obsessed many novelists, but so did a sense of despondency at poverty and suffering within a community...
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From Brian Aldiss to Arthur C Clarke, 1950s Britain was rich in fantastic science-fiction novels. Here are 8 of the best...
It seems that every few years somebody announces science fiction is dead. In 2007 it was the turn of Ridley Scott, who then went on to make The Martian, so perhaps these claims should always be taken with a pinch of salt, particularly when we look back over the history of Sf writing over the years and find that it is a genre that is as much defined by current events than by any singular vision of the future.
For that reason, British science fiction in the 1950s was incredible stuff. Anxiety over the powers scientists had unleashed after the dropping the atomic bomb at the end of World War II obsessed many novelists, but so did a sense of despondency at poverty and suffering within a community...
- 4/11/2016
- Den of Geek
Ryan Britt Jun 25, 2019
You love Blade Runner because it's a hot mess. It overcame problems, oddities, and a difficult production to become a masterpiece.
If you think Blade Runner is a masterpiece, you’re right. But, if other cool movies are like obedient robots—dutifully executing exactly what the filmmakers wanted—then the metaphor for Blade Runner’s awesomeness can be found in its rebellious replicants. This is a film that tried to destroy itself in nearly every conceivable way and that’s why we love it so much.
When science fiction is considered “good,” it’s often because its messages are contrary to the status quo. If cool and resilient science fiction were a person, it would be the opposite of someone who is “basic.” Philip K. Dick—the author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? upon which Blade Runner was based—is about as far away from basic as you can get.
You love Blade Runner because it's a hot mess. It overcame problems, oddities, and a difficult production to become a masterpiece.
If you think Blade Runner is a masterpiece, you’re right. But, if other cool movies are like obedient robots—dutifully executing exactly what the filmmakers wanted—then the metaphor for Blade Runner’s awesomeness can be found in its rebellious replicants. This is a film that tried to destroy itself in nearly every conceivable way and that’s why we love it so much.
When science fiction is considered “good,” it’s often because its messages are contrary to the status quo. If cool and resilient science fiction were a person, it would be the opposite of someone who is “basic.” Philip K. Dick—the author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? upon which Blade Runner was based—is about as far away from basic as you can get.
- 2/17/2016
- Den of Geek
Don Kaye Jan 11, 2019
We survey the best science fiction movies that have come our way so far this century.
There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that in some ways we are living in a golden age of science-fiction cinema, which is most appropriate for the era that kicked off with the year 2001. For one thing, there’s a lot more of it; I was honestly surprised in some ways to see just how many sci-fi movies have been released since the turn of the century (and millennium).
But more importantly, there have been so many good (and even great) genre efforts released that even the list of runners-up posted at the end of this article represents a formidable survey of some really strong pieces of work. And it’s not all expensive, effects-driven stuff: the cheapest movie on this list cost under $10,000 to make (can you guess it?...
We survey the best science fiction movies that have come our way so far this century.
There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that in some ways we are living in a golden age of science-fiction cinema, which is most appropriate for the era that kicked off with the year 2001. For one thing, there’s a lot more of it; I was honestly surprised in some ways to see just how many sci-fi movies have been released since the turn of the century (and millennium).
But more importantly, there have been so many good (and even great) genre efforts released that even the list of runners-up posted at the end of this article represents a formidable survey of some really strong pieces of work. And it’s not all expensive, effects-driven stuff: the cheapest movie on this list cost under $10,000 to make (can you guess it?...
- 2/14/2016
- Den of Geek
Seminal schlockmeister Roger Corman may be 89 years old, but you wouldn't know it from his output. Though the B-movie king hasn't directed a film since his ill-fated adaptation of Brian Aldiss's Frankenstein Unbound in 1990, he still produces knowingly goofy SyFy monster films like Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf and the upcoming Sharktopus vs. Mermantula. Last Saturday, Corman presented three of his films (Man With X-Ray Eyes, Tomb of Ligeia, and Bucket of Blood) at the Anthology Film Archives's ongoing retrospective of movies produced and distributed by American International Pictures (Aip). Vulture caught up with him to talk exploding helicopters, pteracuda-fighting sharktopi, and the future of movie-watching. One film that Anthology Film Archives is surprisingly not showing in its Aip retrospective is The Wild Angels. That film went on to influence Columbia, with Easy Rider seeming to be its attempt at replicating The Wild Angels' success. Do you think people at...
- 8/27/2015
- by Simon Abrams
- Vulture
Was the Humans finale as thoughtful as the preceding episodes? Here's Michael's review...
This review contains spoilers
In Billion Year Spree, his survey of the history of science fiction, writer Brian Aldiss introduced the term ‘cosy catastrophe’ to describe the type of story in which, although a huge disaster befalls civilisation, a focus is maintained on a handful of people who manage to have a jolly old time of it, with ‘free suites at the Savoy, automobiles for the taking’ and so forth. I thought of Aldiss’ term several times during Humans and particularly so in this last episode. Of course, there were very few jolly old times to be had, but in the tight focus on the two families that we might call Hawkins and Elster, there was a sense that we were dealing with a narrow crisis while a larger one was about to unfold somewhere in the far surroundings.
This review contains spoilers
In Billion Year Spree, his survey of the history of science fiction, writer Brian Aldiss introduced the term ‘cosy catastrophe’ to describe the type of story in which, although a huge disaster befalls civilisation, a focus is maintained on a handful of people who manage to have a jolly old time of it, with ‘free suites at the Savoy, automobiles for the taking’ and so forth. I thought of Aldiss’ term several times during Humans and particularly so in this last episode. Of course, there were very few jolly old times to be had, but in the tight focus on the two families that we might call Hawkins and Elster, there was a sense that we were dealing with a narrow crisis while a larger one was about to unfold somewhere in the far surroundings.
- 8/2/2015
- by michaeln
- Den of Geek
By rights I should hate the English. Seriously, my background is almost entirely Scots and Irish. I grew up hearing about the troubles the English gave to the Scots and Irish, both in school and from my parents.
Yet I do not, I love the English. How can I hate a country that gave us not only Monty Python but also Benny Hill and the Carry On Films? How can I bear any ill will to a country that gave us writers of the caliber of Ramsey Campbell, Brian Aldiss, Michael Moorcock and J. G Ballard? How can anyone hate a country that not only prizes eccentric behavior but encourages it? Take Mr. Kim Newman for instance, a brilliant writer whose work appears regularly in Video WatchDog and Videoscope Mr. Newman dresses himself, has his hair and mustache styled and speaks in the manner of someone from the 19th Century!
Yet I do not, I love the English. How can I hate a country that gave us not only Monty Python but also Benny Hill and the Carry On Films? How can I bear any ill will to a country that gave us writers of the caliber of Ramsey Campbell, Brian Aldiss, Michael Moorcock and J. G Ballard? How can anyone hate a country that not only prizes eccentric behavior but encourages it? Take Mr. Kim Newman for instance, a brilliant writer whose work appears regularly in Video WatchDog and Videoscope Mr. Newman dresses himself, has his hair and mustache styled and speaks in the manner of someone from the 19th Century!
- 5/26/2015
- by Sam Moffitt
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Tea and terror – the ‘cosy catastrophes’ of John Wyndham. We have Brian Aldiss’ ire to thank for that withering description – a not entirely fair dig at Wyndham’s entitled characters perceived blasé attitude to the end of the world, which rather handily, lends itself neatly to describing a whole subgenre of books. In fact,...
The post Capaldi’s Daemons: The Crawling Terror Reviewed appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Tea and terror – the ‘cosy catastrophes’ of John Wyndham. We have Brian Aldiss’ ire to thank for that withering description – a not entirely fair dig at Wyndham’s entitled characters perceived blasé attitude to the end of the world, which rather handily, lends itself neatly to describing a whole subgenre of books. In fact,...
The post Capaldi’s Daemons: The Crawling Terror Reviewed appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
- 12/2/2014
- by Andrew Reynolds
- Kasterborous.com
Well that’s one hell of a title. For whatever reason, book titles usually get more leeway when it comes to length as the title of their movie adaptations get shortened. Case in point, Ben Mezrich’s poker novel Bringing Down the House became 21, Brian Aldiss’ Supertoys Last All Summer Long became A.I. and Phillip K. Dick’s We Can Remember It […]
Read The Trailer for Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day on Filmonic.
Read The Trailer for Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day on Filmonic.
- 5/8/2014
- by Andrew Shuster
- Filmonic.com
TV's 2014 Upfront presentations are currently under way, and while the horror news has been light so far, today it was AMC's turn, and they have several projects in development that caught our eye.
First, the thus far untitled "The Walking Dead" companion series has landed Dave Erickson ("Sons of Anarchy") as an executive producer and co-writer along with Robert Kirkman.
As Kirkman said previously, "After ten years of writing the comic book series... I couldn’t be more thrilled about getting the chance to create a new corner of 'The Walking Dead' universe. The opportunity to make a show that isn’t tethered by the events of the comic book, and is truly a blank page, has set my creativity racing."
Now, as for the rest, along with "The After," which is heading to Amazon, Chris Carter has "Area 51" in the works at AMC. Written by Carter and...
First, the thus far untitled "The Walking Dead" companion series has landed Dave Erickson ("Sons of Anarchy") as an executive producer and co-writer along with Robert Kirkman.
As Kirkman said previously, "After ten years of writing the comic book series... I couldn’t be more thrilled about getting the chance to create a new corner of 'The Walking Dead' universe. The opportunity to make a show that isn’t tethered by the events of the comic book, and is truly a blank page, has set my creativity racing."
Now, as for the rest, along with "The After," which is heading to Amazon, Chris Carter has "Area 51" in the works at AMC. Written by Carter and...
- 3/27/2014
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 5 Dec 2013 - 06:54
Our voyage through history's underappreciated films arrives at the year 2001, and a vintage year for lesser-seen gems...
Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke may have seen 2001 as the year we'd head off to meet alien intelligences in the depths of space, but in reality, its cinematic landscape was dominated by fantasy rather than extra-terrestrials. Rowling and Tolkien dominated the box office, with Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone and The Fellowship Of The Ring earning almost $1bn each, while Monsters, Inc and Shrek thrilled old and young audiences alike.
At the other end of the spectrum of success, 2001 was such a vintage year for movies that we had to whittle our usual selection of 25 films down from an initial selection of more than 40. This is why the decision was made - with heavy heart - to exclude some of our favourite films,...
Our voyage through history's underappreciated films arrives at the year 2001, and a vintage year for lesser-seen gems...
Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke may have seen 2001 as the year we'd head off to meet alien intelligences in the depths of space, but in reality, its cinematic landscape was dominated by fantasy rather than extra-terrestrials. Rowling and Tolkien dominated the box office, with Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone and The Fellowship Of The Ring earning almost $1bn each, while Monsters, Inc and Shrek thrilled old and young audiences alike.
At the other end of the spectrum of success, 2001 was such a vintage year for movies that we had to whittle our usual selection of 25 films down from an initial selection of more than 40. This is why the decision was made - with heavy heart - to exclude some of our favourite films,...
- 12/4/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Review by Sam Moffitt
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is one of those films I have read and heard about for years, and finally got to see. How nice to see a legendary “great film” and see it live up to, and in many ways surpass, its reputation. First a little back ground.
The Archers is one of the most honored and respected film production companies in the history of the cinema. Based in England, most of their films were produced, written and directed by two men, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Some of their films I have been familiar with for years, the incredible Black Narcissus. The equally incredible Red Shoes, one of the most honored, studied and dissected films ever made. College courses have been made around this one film, the Red Shoes, and it seems to be required viewing for anyone who dances or wants to dance ballet.
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is one of those films I have read and heard about for years, and finally got to see. How nice to see a legendary “great film” and see it live up to, and in many ways surpass, its reputation. First a little back ground.
The Archers is one of the most honored and respected film production companies in the history of the cinema. Based in England, most of their films were produced, written and directed by two men, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Some of their films I have been familiar with for years, the incredible Black Narcissus. The equally incredible Red Shoes, one of the most honored, studied and dissected films ever made. College courses have been made around this one film, the Red Shoes, and it seems to be required viewing for anyone who dances or wants to dance ballet.
- 8/26/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
J.G. Ballard’s novel “The Drowned World” has been optioned by Warner Bros for Heydey films says Deadline.
“The Drowned World” had its 50th anniversary publication last year and appeared in hardcover for the first time in the United States. Here is a synopsis from the publisher’s website:
“First published in 1962, J.G. Ballard’s mesmerizing and ferociously imaginative novel not only gained him widespread critical acclaim but also established his reputation as one of the finest writers of a generation. The Drowned World imagines a terrifying world in which global warming has melted the ice caps and primordial jungles have overrun a tropical London. Set during the year 2145, this novel follows biologist Dr. Robert Kearns and his team of scientists as they confront a cityscape in which nature is on the rampage and giant lizards, dragonflies, and insects fiercely compete for domination. Both an unmatched biological mystery and a...
“The Drowned World” had its 50th anniversary publication last year and appeared in hardcover for the first time in the United States. Here is a synopsis from the publisher’s website:
“First published in 1962, J.G. Ballard’s mesmerizing and ferociously imaginative novel not only gained him widespread critical acclaim but also established his reputation as one of the finest writers of a generation. The Drowned World imagines a terrifying world in which global warming has melted the ice caps and primordial jungles have overrun a tropical London. Set during the year 2145, this novel follows biologist Dr. Robert Kearns and his team of scientists as they confront a cityscape in which nature is on the rampage and giant lizards, dragonflies, and insects fiercely compete for domination. Both an unmatched biological mystery and a...
- 3/1/2013
- by Alex Corey
- LRMonline.com
Brian Aldiss' tale of techno-evolution, championed by Stanley Kubrick, provides Steven Spielberg with the platform for one of his most thoughtful and thought-provoking works. In a world drained of life, sophisticated robots - from gardener to housekeeper to gigolo - cater for man's every whim. But the landscape changes when a dying scientist creates Mecha-boy (Haley Joel Osment), a prototype that thinks and feels like a real human.
- 9/18/2012
- Sky Movies
(William Cameron Menzies, 1936, Network, PG)
This sci-fi classic, as much a landmark of the genre as Lang's Metropolis and Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, is the only major film to be directed by William Cameron Menzies, the man for whom David O Selznick coined the title "production designer" for his role on Gone with the Wind. Both prophetic and weirdly dated, it anticipates a second world war breaking out in 1940 that reduces Britain to a nation of fiercely competing warrior tribes which in turn are replaced by an advanced society of scientists and engineers based in the Middle East. Intellectually confused, perhaps (possibly reflecting its author Hg Wells's attraction to authoritarianism), it is undoubtedly one of cinema's great visionary works with sets that still make you gasp. Ralph Richardson and Raymond Massey co-star, and among the fascinating special features are a commentary by Nick Cooper, a TV programme by sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss on Wells,...
This sci-fi classic, as much a landmark of the genre as Lang's Metropolis and Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, is the only major film to be directed by William Cameron Menzies, the man for whom David O Selznick coined the title "production designer" for his role on Gone with the Wind. Both prophetic and weirdly dated, it anticipates a second world war breaking out in 1940 that reduces Britain to a nation of fiercely competing warrior tribes which in turn are replaced by an advanced society of scientists and engineers based in the Middle East. Intellectually confused, perhaps (possibly reflecting its author Hg Wells's attraction to authoritarianism), it is undoubtedly one of cinema's great visionary works with sets that still make you gasp. Ralph Richardson and Raymond Massey co-star, and among the fascinating special features are a commentary by Nick Cooper, a TV programme by sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss on Wells,...
- 7/21/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Take a journey into the life and world of sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss with his new collection of essays, An Exile on Planet Earth, published by the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library.
Aldiss, who's also a poet, playwright, artist and memoirist, has written more than 75 books and 300 short stories, including the novels Hothouse, Non-stop and the Helliconia trilogy.
An Exile on Planet Earth "brings together 12 personal and revealing essays" that offer insight into the man and his place in the sci-fi genre.
As Alan Yentob notes in the foreword: "Here we find some brilliant observations and the kind of detail that will delight aficionados of his fiction: 'Cultivating the wilderness, it's what a writer does all the while. What we are fills the fictions we tell, often without our realising it. What one pours out, alone in the room, is much like sessions of psychoanalysis, as one produces things that astonish even oneself.
Aldiss, who's also a poet, playwright, artist and memoirist, has written more than 75 books and 300 short stories, including the novels Hothouse, Non-stop and the Helliconia trilogy.
An Exile on Planet Earth "brings together 12 personal and revealing essays" that offer insight into the man and his place in the sci-fi genre.
As Alan Yentob notes in the foreword: "Here we find some brilliant observations and the kind of detail that will delight aficionados of his fiction: 'Cultivating the wilderness, it's what a writer does all the while. What we are fills the fictions we tell, often without our realising it. What one pours out, alone in the room, is much like sessions of psychoanalysis, as one produces things that astonish even oneself.
- 2/20/2012
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
Films about robots have long captured the imagination of movie goers, who may or may not believe in its existence in the not-so-distant-future. Here are the top films about these intelligent mechanical human friends... or enemies. Check it out!
The Best Robot Movies'i, Robot'
When: 2004 Who: Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan What: In the not so distant future, (2035), a detective, who dislikes the rapid advancement of technology, investigates a crime that may have been caused by a robot.
The Best Robot Movies'i, Robot'
When: 2004 Who: Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan What: In the not so distant future, (2035), a detective, who dislikes the rapid advancement of technology, investigates a crime that may have been caused by a robot.
- 10/9/2011
- Extra
The title is, perhaps, more ambiguous than it seems. Artificial intelligence refers to computers with the agency to solve problems on their own based on their environment, etc. But the ‘intelligence’ could as easily be applied to humans, with their arrogance and beliefs, and the ‘artificiality’ could apply too. If a robotic child is programmed to love its human ‘mother,’ is that love less valid than its human counterpart? Aren’t we all programmed to love our mothers, by genetics and evolution? Would be expect convincing robots to treat us like Gods, and if so, isn’t that instilling them with an inherently human concept?
The question of the division between human and artificial intelligence – which may extend to ‘artificial’ loyalty, ‘artificial’ morality, ‘artificial’ love – is central to Steven Spielberg’s movie. As is widely known, the story was worked on for years – decades, actually – by Stanley Kubrick, who died...
The question of the division between human and artificial intelligence – which may extend to ‘artificial’ loyalty, ‘artificial’ morality, ‘artificial’ love – is central to Steven Spielberg’s movie. As is widely known, the story was worked on for years – decades, actually – by Stanley Kubrick, who died...
- 7/19/2011
- by Adam Whyte
- Obsessed with Film
My recent piece on a specific issue of 2000Ad generated some interesting and erudite feedback. I had attempted a reconstruction of issue #4 from memory and many of my details were wrong. For a start, I was mistaken about the date of publication, which was a year later than I thought; the claw that Claw Carver used in place of a hand belonged to a tyrannosaur, not a velociraptor; it wasn’t Mr Carver who uttered the word “bums” but a drunken doctor; the star of MacH 1 wasn’t in a traffic accident before he was turned into a secret agent with massive strength (I think I was mixing him up with the much later Visible Man).
To my shame, I also misremembered the cover, which I had described as an astronaut falling into a black hole, whereas in fact he was merely being crushed by the gravity of Jupiter into a dot…...
To my shame, I also misremembered the cover, which I had described as an astronaut falling into a black hole, whereas in fact he was merely being crushed by the gravity of Jupiter into a dot…...
- 5/5/2011
- by Rhys Hughes
- Boomtron
Filed under: DVDs, Columns, Sci-Fi, Cinematical, Blu-ray DVDs
Stanley Kubrick is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Discovering his films while I was in college, I was immediately struck by their singularity, and I subsequently developed an obsession with his chilly, elegant aesthetic, not to mention the artistry and, yes, emotion that lies beneath it. And not that I was expecting to sit down with him at a round table and shoot the sh*t, but it's one of my greater professional (and personal) regrets that I wasn't working as a critic or film journalist when he passed away in 1999.
In any case, in 2001 I was thrilled to hear that Steven Spielberg decided to pick up 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence,' Kubrick's long-gestating adaptation of Brian Aldiss's 'Super-Toys Last All Summer Long,' and complete it as a tribute to the filmmaker. At the time, I really liked almost all of it,...
Stanley Kubrick is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Discovering his films while I was in college, I was immediately struck by their singularity, and I subsequently developed an obsession with his chilly, elegant aesthetic, not to mention the artistry and, yes, emotion that lies beneath it. And not that I was expecting to sit down with him at a round table and shoot the sh*t, but it's one of my greater professional (and personal) regrets that I wasn't working as a critic or film journalist when he passed away in 1999.
In any case, in 2001 I was thrilled to hear that Steven Spielberg decided to pick up 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence,' Kubrick's long-gestating adaptation of Brian Aldiss's 'Super-Toys Last All Summer Long,' and complete it as a tribute to the filmmaker. At the time, I really liked almost all of it,...
- 4/5/2011
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Moviefone
Filed under: DVDs, Columns, Sci-Fi, Cinematical, Blu-ray DVDs
Stanley Kubrick is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Discovering his films while I was in college, I was immediately struck by their singularity, and I subsequently developed an obsession with his chilly, elegant aesthetic, not to mention the artistry and, yes, emotion that lies beneath it. And not that I was expecting to sit down with him at a round table and shoot the sh*t, but it's one of my greater professional (and personal) regrets that I wasn't working as a critic or film journalist when he passed away in 1999.
In any case, in 2001 I was thrilled to hear that Steven Spielberg decided to pick up 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence,' Kubrick's long-gestating adaptation of Brian Aldiss's 'Super-Toys Last All Summer Long,' and complete it as a tribute to the filmmaker. At the time, I really liked almost all of it,...
Stanley Kubrick is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Discovering his films while I was in college, I was immediately struck by their singularity, and I subsequently developed an obsession with his chilly, elegant aesthetic, not to mention the artistry and, yes, emotion that lies beneath it. And not that I was expecting to sit down with him at a round table and shoot the sh*t, but it's one of my greater professional (and personal) regrets that I wasn't working as a critic or film journalist when he passed away in 1999.
In any case, in 2001 I was thrilled to hear that Steven Spielberg decided to pick up 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence,' Kubrick's long-gestating adaptation of Brian Aldiss's 'Super-Toys Last All Summer Long,' and complete it as a tribute to the filmmaker. At the time, I really liked almost all of it,...
- 4/5/2011
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Cinematical
Like Lucas, much of Spielberg’s work references the TV shows and movies he saw as a youngster, but where Lucas had spent several years in the intellectual hothouse of USC’s film program, Spielberg had, in essence, gone straight from watching TV to making TV. Though he had ambitions of wanting to do “serious” film work, he was not the aspiring anti-establishment maverick – as Lucas initially was – trying to find a way to work outside the system, but rather proved to be very much at home within the Hollywood system. That system provided Spielberg the opportunity – at the Universal shop – to learn and perfect his craft through years of directing episodes for major networks series like Marcus Welby, M.D. and Columbo, as well as the experience of working with the studio’s veteran craftsman. He graduated to made-for-tv movies and gained his first major acclaim for Duel (1971), an...
- 1/17/2011
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
For those of you who can't get enough of Doctor Who, BBC is pushing out books left and right for the series. Dk is releasing a "Visual Dictionary" for the series (stay tuned to TVOvermind for more details on that very soon), and BBC books is now releasing The Brilliant Book of Doctor Who 2011.
Though the title says 2011, the book is actually focusing on the 2010 series, making it a sort of guide to Matt Smith's first year in the Tardis. The book, with its striking-red monster-filled cover, will hit UK shelves on September 30 and Us shelves on October 19.
The book looks to be full of a lot of interesting information that works more as a real-world companion to the series, as opposed to the more in-universe perspectives of other such volumes. I can't wait to see the behind-the-scenes stuff presented in this book. It looks simply amazing.
Us readers...
Though the title says 2011, the book is actually focusing on the 2010 series, making it a sort of guide to Matt Smith's first year in the Tardis. The book, with its striking-red monster-filled cover, will hit UK shelves on September 30 and Us shelves on October 19.
The book looks to be full of a lot of interesting information that works more as a real-world companion to the series, as opposed to the more in-universe perspectives of other such volumes. I can't wait to see the behind-the-scenes stuff presented in this book. It looks simply amazing.
Us readers...
- 8/1/2010
- by Sam McPherson
- TVovermind.com
Lunatics at Large, abandoned by legendary director in the early 1960s set for big screen, with Johansson and Sam Rockwell to star
Among the discarded projects of the famously fastidious Stanley Kubrick are "lost" movies about Napoleon Bonaparte, the Holocaust and the American civil war. Now, 11 years after his death, a treatment by the legendary film-maker titled Lunatic at Large looks set to make it to the big screen, with Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell attached to star.
Production Weekly broke the news on Twitter last night, reporting that the project is based on an original story by Kubrick and pulp writer Jim Thompson. The film-maker was set to shoot the movie in the early 1960s, but withdrew after being offered the chance to direct Roman epic Spartacus by its star, Kirk Douglas.
Thompson and Kubrick's work was completed in the late 50s, and the film is set in 1956 New York.
Among the discarded projects of the famously fastidious Stanley Kubrick are "lost" movies about Napoleon Bonaparte, the Holocaust and the American civil war. Now, 11 years after his death, a treatment by the legendary film-maker titled Lunatic at Large looks set to make it to the big screen, with Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell attached to star.
Production Weekly broke the news on Twitter last night, reporting that the project is based on an original story by Kubrick and pulp writer Jim Thompson. The film-maker was set to shoot the movie in the early 1960s, but withdrew after being offered the chance to direct Roman epic Spartacus by its star, Kirk Douglas.
Thompson and Kubrick's work was completed in the late 50s, and the film is set in 1956 New York.
- 4/14/2010
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Science fiction can be the most realistic genre we have. That's why Avatar is a shameful travesty
I went to see Avatar because of a subtle and enthusiastic review by Roz Kaveney – a pity that she must have watched it in another universe. The film I saw had no plot, no characters, no conflict, and no depth of field. The last complaint is literal as well as metaphorical. The 3D effect is in some ways even more two-dimensional than normal films, since there is only one plane where anything is in focus. Everything that protrudes into the theatre or recedes from it is blurry and insubstantial if you look at it directly.
The explosions are very pretty. The robots and the dinosaurs are great. The noble savages swish their tails with admirable elegance. There is one CGI effect, half jellyfish and half bacteriophage, that's absolutely lovely.
The other good bits: there is one human character,...
I went to see Avatar because of a subtle and enthusiastic review by Roz Kaveney – a pity that she must have watched it in another universe. The film I saw had no plot, no characters, no conflict, and no depth of field. The last complaint is literal as well as metaphorical. The 3D effect is in some ways even more two-dimensional than normal films, since there is only one plane where anything is in focus. Everything that protrudes into the theatre or recedes from it is blurry and insubstantial if you look at it directly.
The explosions are very pretty. The robots and the dinosaurs are great. The noble savages swish their tails with admirable elegance. There is one CGI effect, half jellyfish and half bacteriophage, that's absolutely lovely.
The other good bits: there is one human character,...
- 1/25/2010
- by Andrew Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
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