Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us (TV 2005)

Directors Stephen Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and James Cameron discuss the science fiction movies of the 1950s that influenced them.

Director:

Richard Schickel

Writer:

Richard Schickel

Stars:

Mark Hamill, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas

Cast

Cast overview:
Mark Hamill	...	Narrator (voice)
Steven Spielberg	...	Himself
George Lucas	...	Himself
Ridley Scott	...	Himself
James Cameron	...	Himself
Edmund Gwenn	...	Dr. Harold Medford (archive footage)
Lou Costello	...	Orville (archive footage)
Walter Pidgeon	...	Dr. Edward Morbius (archive footage)
Anne Francis	...	Altaira Morbius (archive footage)
James Arness	...	Robert Graham in 'Them' (archive footage)
Michael Rennie	...	Klaatu (archive footage)

Storyline

'Stephen Spielberg' , Ridley Scott, James Cameron and George Lucas discuss the importance of science fiction films and the influence of the genre. Following the end of World War II, new kinds of enemies appeared, those that could not be seen such as the atom or the fear of the unknown such as that resulting from the cold war. Movies became metaphors for those fears and science fiction films took many forms. They include giant bugs such as the ants in Them! or inanimate object such as in The Monolith Monsters. In The Incredible Shrinking Man the terror comes from everyday life - a cat, a spider - as the man gets smaller and smaller. Science fiction involving space travel required more imagination. Destination Moon and Rocketship X-M were early attempts at taking a serious look at space flight and its implications. Then there were encounters with aliens, some benign, such as Klaatu from The Day the Earth Stood Still or aggressive aliens as terrorist or a danger to humankind such as in ...

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Plot Keywords:

monster | cold war | number in title

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 July 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Watch the Skies!

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorac Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

56 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits

Credited actors with the "archive footage" attribute are specifically identified by an interviewee or the narrator as film clips in which they appear are seen.

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Connections

Features Flight to Mars (1951)

User Reviews

Excellent Documentary

Despite the previous reviewer's screed, this is a well paced and interesting documentary with lots of clips from classic 1950s sci-fi films that influenced Spielberg, Lucas and others in their more recent efforts. I agree that Spielberg's films aren't even in the same league as the films discussed here, such as William Cameron Menzies' brilliant INVADERS FROM MARS, to name just one of the many titles examined, but this is still a remarkably good overview of 1950s paranoid sci-fi. Yes, it turns into a commercial for the tepid remake of WAR OF THE WORLDS during the last fifteen minutes; you can turn that off. The rest is surprisingly good, and it's nice to see contemporary filmmakers remember the films that inspired them, even if they can't begin to match the originals.