To the Galaxy and Beyond with Mark Hamill (1997)

Mark Hamill is hosting an informational tour through the history of science fiction movie-making. The focus is not on special effects and action scenes, but on the relationship between ... See full summary »

Director:

Kevin Burns

Stars:

Forrest J. Ackerman, Mark Hamill, Ronald V. Borst

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Forrest J. Ackerman	...	Himself
Mark Hamill	...	Himself - Host
Ronald V. Borst	...	Himself
Bob Burns	...	Himself
Wade Williams	...	Himself
Robert Wise	...	Himself
Patricia Neal	...	Herself
Robert Clarke	...	Himself
Gene Barry	...	Himself
Ann Robinson	...	Herself
David Hedison	...	Himself
Barbara Eden	...	Herself
Saul David	...	Himself
Arthur C. Clarke	...	Himself (archive footage)
Charlton Heston	...	Himself

Storyline

Mark Hamill is hosting an informational tour through the history of science fiction movie-making. The focus is not on special effects and action scenes, but on the relationship between society's hangups and fears and the subject matter of the movies. The effects of the American public's changing paranoias, e.g. the communist scare, is particularly well explored.

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Plot Keywords:

filmmaking | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

To the Galaxy and Beyond with Mark Hamill

Company Credits

Production Co:

Foxstar Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Features E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

User Reviews

Neither the worst, nor the best.

A fairly good documentary about sci-fi in movies. It's a historical odyssey through the 20th-century science fiction movie making. It's not exactly brimming with informative and interesting facts, but it's not drenched in empty phrases and clichées either. It doesn't deal with special effects very much, which is sad, since it's such an important aspect of sci-fi movie making.

I found it interesting that that they approached the sociological impacts on sci-fi, how what's happening in the world around us influences the subjects dealt with, for instance the subject of fear. The american culture is one built on fear. Fear of communists, fear of terrorists, fear of the government or little green men. Nowhere is this as prominent as in american sci-fi. This was sufficiently explored in this documentary.

I was absolutely horrified when I discovered that they had omitted Blade Runner. They obviously thought that it had no place in a documentary about science fiction movies. While we're at it, the WWII holocaust never happened.