Films for (Future) Engineers
A collection (in no particular order) of horizon-expanding films for (future) engineers around the globe.
Titles range from the artistic to sci-fi, from comedies that shine light on humanity's oddities and absurdities to edge-of-seat thrillers and future dystopias. Some are here purely as sources of cultural references, and others are on the list for their cult status or abrasive qualities that help to round off sharp edges. Each is entertaining in its own way, but the larger goal is to collect a cross-section of programs that support critical thinking, puzzling together of clues, projecting into the unknown, and satisfying the sometimes peculiar and far-reaching curiosities of engineers.
The list intentionally includes a minimal number of fantasy, super-hero, and animated titles, as it's very likely those titles are well-known to many already due to the tireless efforts of the global hype machine. The list is US-centric but with an ever-increasing number of international titles.
Titles range from the artistic to sci-fi, from comedies that shine light on humanity's oddities and absurdities to edge-of-seat thrillers and future dystopias. Some are here purely as sources of cultural references, and others are on the list for their cult status or abrasive qualities that help to round off sharp edges. Each is entertaining in its own way, but the larger goal is to collect a cross-section of programs that support critical thinking, puzzling together of clues, projecting into the unknown, and satisfying the sometimes peculiar and far-reaching curiosities of engineers.
The list intentionally includes a minimal number of fantasy, super-hero, and animated titles, as it's very likely those titles are well-known to many already due to the tireless efforts of the global hype machine. The list is US-centric but with an ever-increasing number of international titles.
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- DirectorRobert LongoStarsKeanu ReevesDolph LundgrenDina MeyerA data courier, literally carrying a data package inside his head, must deliver it before he dies from the burden or is killed by the Yakuza.
- DirectorBrett LeonardStarsJeff FaheyPierce BrosnanJenny WrightA simple man is turned into a genius through the application of computer science.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsJonny Lee MillerAngelina JolieJesse BradfordTeenage hackers discover a criminal conspiracy with plans to use a computer virus that will capsize five oil tankers.
- DirectorAlex ProyasStarsRufus SewellKiefer SutherlandJennifer ConnellyA man struggles with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from.
- DirectorsLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
- DirectorMarco BrambillaStarsSylvester StalloneWesley SnipesSandra BullockA police officer is brought out of suspended animation in prison to pursue an old ultra-violent nemesis who is loose in a non-violent future society.
- DirectorsFrank MillerQuentin TarantinoRobert RodriguezStarsMickey RourkeClive OwenBruce WillisAn exploration of the dark and miserable Basin City and three of its residents, all of whom are caught up in violent corruption.
- DirectorJennifer BaichwalStarEdward BurtynskyPhotographer Edward Burtynsky travels the world observing changes in landscapes due to industrial work and manufacturing.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJack NicholsonFaye DunawayJohn HustonA private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtAfter investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
- DirectorWong Kar-WaiStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiZiyi ZhangFaye WongSeveral women enter a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years, after the author has lost the woman he considers his one true love.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJesse EisenbergAndrew GarfieldJustin TimberlakeAs Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMatt DamonJessica ChastainKristen WiigAn astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHaley Joel OsmentJude LawFrances O'ConnorA highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.
- DirectorAlex GarlandStarsAlicia VikanderDomhnall GleesonOscar IsaacA young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsWill SmithGene HackmanJon VoightA lawyer becomes targeted by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a politically motivated crime.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerSharon StoneMichael IronsideWhen a man goes in to have virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars implanted in his mind, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real - or is he?
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsSam RockwellKevin SpaceyDominique McElligottAstronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.
- DirectorTimo VuorensolaStarsJulia DietzeChristopher KirbyGötz OttoThe Nazis set up a secret base on the dark side of the moon in 1945 where they hide out and plan to return to power in 2018.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJonathan PryceKim GreistRobert De NiroA bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
- DirectorsJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJohn TurturroJohn GoodmanJudy DavisA renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJoaquin PhoenixAmy AdamsScarlett JohanssonIn the near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.
- DirectorsJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsTim RobbinsPaul NewmanJennifer Jason LeighA naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam.
