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Oh man, the Golden Age of science fiction movies, just two years after 2001: A Space Odyssey and five years before the start of the Blockbuster era[0] with Jaws

Oh man, the Golden Age of science fiction movies, just two years after 2001: A Space Odyssey and five years before the start of the Blockbuster era[0] with Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977). I feel like Science Fiction back then was purely understood as psychological concepts and ambiguous desires, mostly questioning the very essence of reality and our human minds. There were intelligences and ambitions in us that felt alien, but weren't extraterrestrial in kind. I always thought of it as if Science Fiction tried to turn any progress from the Age of Enlightenment inside out. A great gem is also World on a Wire (1973)[1], which takes the concept of a machine controlled intelligence and questioned whether we're living in a simulation and are already influenced by a virtual world. My favorite quote from Colossus: The Forbin Project, after Dr. Forbin is held hostage by Colossus: Colossus: How many nights a week do you require sex? Dr. Forbin: Every night. Colossus: Not want. Require... Dr. Forbin: [looks sheepish] Four times. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbuster_(entertainment)#Blockbuster_era https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbuster_(entertainment)#Bl... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_on_a_Wire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_on_a_Wire

ndsipa_pomu 5mo ago
I love collecting old SciFi and hadn't heard of "World on a Wire", so am grabbing a copy now (Criterion have a version). I've long been a fan of Colossus as it raises the spectre of being under constant observation (now almost commonplace it seems). I miss the days when SciFi didn't mean an action film in a future setting that just ends up being the good guy(s) being chased by the bad guy(s). Edit: Apparently I had heard of World on a Wire, but forgot about it as I've already got a copy as a series rather than a film.
- ahartmetz 5mo ago
  I find that one over-long and sometimes shoddily done. The payoff at the end is nice though. Fassbinder, the director, was obsessed with his work and made a lot of "legendary" films, but never really made them up to the highest standards.
- BuildTheRobots 5mo ago
  If you enjoy this age of SciFi and don't mind radio drama rather than film, then X-1 is well worth checking out. It's a 1955- radio drama with a different short story each episode, quite a few stories from well recognised authors. https://archive.org/details/OTRR_X_Minus_One_Singles https://archive.org/details/OTRR_X_Minus_One_Singles
- WalterBright 5mo ago
  "The 13th Floor" is another version of that story.
JKCalhoun 5mo ago
Yeah, Star Wars more or less killed sci-fi as we had known it. I liked the weird Logan's Run, the depiction of class stratification in "Soylent Green", the banality of corporate control of "Rollerball". The idea of a computer virus in the film "Westworld" was, to me at the time, something out of left field. (And speaking of Michael Crichton, "The Andromeda Strain" was "intelligent" sci-fi and we enjoyed it.) "Mad Max", though it came after "Star Wars", drew inspiration from "A Boy and His Dog", "Deathrace 2000"… A Golden Age for sure.
- DennisP 5mo ago
  Plenty of interesting sci-fi later, though. Gattaca, Ex Machina, Her, Interstellar, Inception, The Matrix, Contact, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...
  - JKCalhoun 5mo ago
    Only a few of those resonated for me. None are "just another Star Wars" though (perhaps to your point).
- trebligdivad 5mo ago
  Oh yeh i grew up on a lot of those; add Silent Running in as well!
LargoLasskhyfv 5mo ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphaville_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphaville_(film) fits in there, too. As does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Floor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Floor which is sort of a remake of World on a Wire(coming from Simulacron III).
Danox 5mo ago
1950 through 1987 were very good years for Science Fiction Movies and TV shows particularly the 1960s. One show that wasn’t exactly science fiction but was really good was the Prisoner with Patrick McGowan. They are still very good anthology Science Fiction being written, but unfortunately Hollywood today isn’t doing that many – adaptations as usual Hollywood doesn’t like hire writers outside Hollywood.
exidy 5mo ago
The line is actually "HOW MANY NIGHTS A WEEK DO YOU REQUIRE A WOMAN?" and was cut from the broadcast version.[0] [0] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/alternateversions/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/alternateversions/

ndsipa_pomu 5mo ago

I love collecting old SciFi and hadn't heard of "World on a Wire", so am grabbing a copy now (Criterion have a version). I've long been a fan of Colossus as it raises the spectre of being under constant observation (now almost commonplace it seems). I miss the days when SciFi didn't mean an action film in a future setting that just ends up being the good guy(s) being chased by the bad guy(s). Edit: Apparently I had heard of World on a Wire, but forgot about it as I've already got a copy as a series rather than a film.

ahartmetz 5mo ago
I find that one over-long and sometimes shoddily done. The payoff at the end is nice though. Fassbinder, the director, was obsessed with his work and made a lot of "legendary" films, but never really made them up to the highest standards.
BuildTheRobots 5mo ago
If you enjoy this age of SciFi and don't mind radio drama rather than film, then X-1 is well worth checking out. It's a 1955- radio drama with a different short story each episode, quite a few stories from well recognised authors. https://archive.org/details/OTRR_X_Minus_One_Singles https://archive.org/details/OTRR_X_Minus_One_Singles
WalterBright 5mo ago
"The 13th Floor" is another version of that story.

JKCalhoun 5mo ago

Yeah, Star Wars more or less killed sci-fi as we had known it. I liked the weird Logan's Run, the depiction of class stratification in "Soylent Green", the banality of corporate control of "Rollerball". The idea of a computer virus in the film "Westworld" was, to me at the time, something out of left field. (And speaking of Michael Crichton, "The Andromeda Strain" was "intelligent" sci-fi and we enjoyed it.) "Mad Max", though it came after "Star Wars", drew inspiration from "A Boy and His Dog", "Deathrace 2000"… A Golden Age for sure.

DennisP 5mo ago
Plenty of interesting sci-fi later, though. Gattaca, Ex Machina, Her, Interstellar, Inception, The Matrix, Contact, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...
- JKCalhoun 5mo ago
  Only a few of those resonated for me. None are "just another Star Wars" though (perhaps to your point).
trebligdivad 5mo ago
Oh yeh i grew up on a lot of those; add Silent Running in as well!

LargoLasskhyfv 5mo ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphaville_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphaville_(film) fits in there, too. As does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Floor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Floor which is sort of a remake of World on a Wire(coming from Simulacron III).

Danox 5mo ago

1950 through 1987 were very good years for Science Fiction Movies and TV shows particularly the 1960s. One show that wasn’t exactly science fiction but was really good was the Prisoner with Patrick McGowan. They are still very good anthology Science Fiction being written, but unfortunately Hollywood today isn’t doing that many – adaptations as usual Hollywood doesn’t like hire writers outside Hollywood.

exidy 5mo ago

The line is actually "HOW MANY NIGHTS A WEEK DO YOU REQUIRE A WOMAN?" and was cut from the broadcast version.[0] [0] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/alternateversions/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/alternateversions/