4 ms·

On the movie side, I'd suggest "Dark City", the 1998 neo-noir sci-fi film directed by Alex Proyas (more famous for The Crow). Not sure why it isn't more widely

On the movie side, I'd suggest "Dark City", the 1998 neo-noir sci-fi film directed by Alex Proyas (more famous for The Crow). Not sure why it isn't more widely known - I think in some ways it got overshadowed by The Matrix which was released not long afterwards but I like it a lot.

cgharroch 3y ago
Yes for dark City!
2716057 3y ago
The nineties brought forth some great cyberpunk. I can also recommend "Strange Days" (1995).
- CalRobert 3y ago
  I feel like the nineties managed to combine the great optimism and worry about the future the internet (and our technological advancement in general) would bring. I really do miss the optimism (the internet will bring the world's peoples together!), and feel like the cyber noire could help with a lot of the naivete about our surveillance state and the enormous amounts of power wielded by a few companies.
defrost 3y ago
I'm a fan of Proyas first film, the uneven and weirdly chaotic Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds - the soundtrack (soundscape?) for which is sublime. (OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWYGHqum5xE&list=OLAK5uy_lsQBaitILtxnJkW1ZQKdHziuBTw6F2t1U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWYGHqum5xE&list=OLAK5uy_lsQ... ) Speaking of music, Tabaran is a lesser known gem from that era (it's both an album and an eponymous track): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdvNFKL8h2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdvNFKL8h2U Instrument wise I don't mind banjo+didgeridoo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr3iI8gg2fo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr3iI8gg2fo the Kora: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSD_amb-l9Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSD_amb-l9Q and the occassional bit of upside down back to front guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyppTLuJm14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyppTLuJm14
drunner 3y ago
Likewise "Equilibrium" which also got heavily overshadowed by "The Matrix"
mikhailfranco 3y ago
I do not wish to recommend Virtuosity (1995), unless your are a hardcore Matrix fan or ravenous cinephile. It does contain some influences on plot and handling of action sequences. The fight scene in the Japanese restaurant seems directly Matrixesque. The second half of the film is unwatchable. It's often overlooked as an influence, but not underrated as a movie.
RichardCA 3y ago
I just got through watching Johnny Mnemonic with my wife (she likes Keanu Reeves movies as far back as "A Walk in the Clouds"). It plays much better today, as retro-futuristic nostalgia, than it did during its run in theaters in 1995. It triggered a discussion my wife about William Gibson and how his visions play out a lot better on the page than on the screen. Then she mentioned, without any input from me, that it seems like all the current Metaverse hype comes from people who must have watched and read all this stuff in the 90's and wanted it to be real, but never figured out how to actually make it work.
dysoco 3y ago
From the same year, another sci-fi film from Cronenberg himself: eXistenZ one of my favourite films ever

cgharroch 3y ago

Yes for dark City!

2716057 3y ago

The nineties brought forth some great cyberpunk. I can also recommend "Strange Days" (1995).

CalRobert 3y ago
I feel like the nineties managed to combine the great optimism and worry about the future the internet (and our technological advancement in general) would bring. I really do miss the optimism (the internet will bring the world's peoples together!), and feel like the cyber noire could help with a lot of the naivete about our surveillance state and the enormous amounts of power wielded by a few companies.

defrost 3y ago

I'm a fan of Proyas first film, the uneven and weirdly chaotic Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds - the soundtrack (soundscape?) for which is sublime. (OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWYGHqum5xE&list=OLAK5uy_lsQBaitILtxnJkW1ZQKdHziuBTw6F2t1U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWYGHqum5xE&list=OLAK5uy_lsQ... ) Speaking of music, Tabaran is a lesser known gem from that era (it's both an album and an eponymous track): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdvNFKL8h2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdvNFKL8h2U Instrument wise I don't mind banjo+didgeridoo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr3iI8gg2fo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr3iI8gg2fo the Kora: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSD_amb-l9Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSD_amb-l9Q and the occassional bit of upside down back to front guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyppTLuJm14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyppTLuJm14

drunner 3y ago

Likewise "Equilibrium" which also got heavily overshadowed by "The Matrix"

mikhailfranco 3y ago

I do not wish to recommend Virtuosity (1995), unless your are a hardcore Matrix fan or ravenous cinephile. It does contain some influences on plot and handling of action sequences. The fight scene in the Japanese restaurant seems directly Matrixesque. The second half of the film is unwatchable. It's often overlooked as an influence, but not underrated as a movie.

RichardCA 3y ago

I just got through watching Johnny Mnemonic with my wife (she likes Keanu Reeves movies as far back as "A Walk in the Clouds"). It plays much better today, as retro-futuristic nostalgia, than it did during its run in theaters in 1995. It triggered a discussion my wife about William Gibson and how his visions play out a lot better on the page than on the screen. Then she mentioned, without any input from me, that it seems like all the current Metaverse hype comes from people who must have watched and read all this stuff in the 90's and wanted it to be real, but never figured out how to actually make it work.

dysoco 3y ago

From the same year, another sci-fi film from Cronenberg himself: eXistenZ one of my favourite films ever