5 Inspirational Retro Science Fiction Movies – Shot Analysis And My Thoughts
5 INSPIRATIONAL RETRO SCIENCE FICTION MOVIES – SHOT ANALYSIS
Inspirational Retro Science Fiction Movies – My Choices Today
Great scenes from favorite movies can get stored into your memory and can influence your creative ideas long into the future. I’m going to talk about inspirational retro science fiction movies that have inspired my art and design work.
There are many more movies that have inspire me and I’m sure to do more in the future not just retro but also modern day ones too!
Why Do I like Science Fiction?
I love science fiction and you can see this in my latest art .
People often dismiss this genre in films, books and computer games as “escapism” or “geekery”. I feel this is largely due to films and subsequent fans such as Star Wars.
Although Star Wars is relevant, I feel it is not really science fiction. More like a very good pantomime musical. However in my opinion there are far better inspirational retro science fiction movies out there!
It is interesting as the choice of 5 movie shots here come from around the times of the original Star Wars films but in my opinion tackle much more interesting themes.
These films are good as they are a projection of problems in today’s world, they raise questions, issues and important subjects.
What I like to communicates in my art – The Future Is positive
Although from all our past experiences, we know that it is certain that things in the future will bring both bad and good events and a whole range of things in-between.
As I live my life and experience more, I like to anticipate any bad things as learning experiences that will influence the future as good things.
This is what I try to show in my own artwork especially the “dystopian” universe I am making with 3Z Cities Of The Imagination I also hope that you too will want to make your own art after reading about these five inspirational retro science fiction movies.
The Five Movies
For each one, I will talk about the scene and draw a diagram/shot breakdown interpretation too. How it makes me feel, you can see more in the video below too.
Soylent Green
Soylent Green Is People
Soylent Green, 1973, tackles the concern of overcrowding in a near future world. New York is packed with people, food in the World is running out, riots are commonplace. The main protagonist played by Charlton Heston discovers a terrible secret. He tries to tell others but is taken away by the “men in the white suits”. Society can easily cover up any dangerous whistle blowers are being “insane.”
The cinematography in the shot draws attention to the grimacing face of Heston. All eyes look at him, as he says the famous words, I will not say here as it will spoil the film for you!
Blade Runner “Dangerous Days”
Blade Runner
Blade Runner 1982 directed by Ridley Scott, again presents the viewer with a dystopian universe. Spectacular but also a nightmare world of burning towers and dark neon lit streets far below. Androids called “Replicants” have gone rogue in Los Angeles 2018 and a policeman called Deckard, played by Harrison Ford must track them down.
This opening shot is very memorable, a massive landscape. Remember in 1982, computer graphics were not commonplace and large cities vistas like this were rare in films. This was a large model with a “forced perpsepctive” The result is spectacular with the accompanying opening soundtrack, watching it at the cinema is the best experience!
The viewers eye is drawn over the city landscape towards the distant pyramids of the “Tyrell Corporation”, the company responsible for the rogue Replicants.
Planet Of The Apes My God What have they done
Planet Of The Apes End Scene
The original Planet Of The Apes made in 1968 starring Charlton Heston. Apes control a planet where humans are treated as slaves. Unlucky spacemen from earth including the protagonist played by Charlton Heston crash on the planet. However, the final scene in the movie has a big twist. The Planet Of The Apes is an Earth in the future after some kind of apocalypse as evident by the ruins of the Statue Of Liberty on a desolate beach presumably without the Manhattan skyline perhaps blasted by a nuclear oblivion.
This end shot is a great piece of cinematography. Heston utters words of despair, his mute slave girlfriend just stands there silent, the viewers eye is drawn along the sand up to the ruins of our current civilisation. How fragile, how foolish people can be, this is what could happen if we destroy our planet. We will become slaves to a new race.
TH1138
THX1138 End Scene
THX1138 made in 1971. Some argue George Lucas would be the greatest director of the twentieth century if it was not for the commercial success of Star Wars. Perhaps a controversial view but his original science fiction feature length film THX1138 proves that he can do “avant garde” science fiction in the best way. The dystopian city in the film, is a nanny state where the inhabitants are provided with medication to control their moods. Frightening familiar with the “dumbing down” phenomena of the last decade or so.
The “protagonist” without a human name but called THX1138, makes a bid for freedom. This shot is the end scene. So simple just his silhouette on a giant sun. Then the film ends. We are left wondering, is the outside world completely uninhabitable, again due to a war or uncontrolled pollution?
The simple image is all we need to give this haunting ending along with the accompanying music score. We do not need anything else. less is more. Computer graphics and vfx here would most certainly ruin the shot. A lesson for today’s film makers perhaps? All there is here, is man’s silhouette and the giant red sun then the end.
Silent Running
Silent Running Dome
Silent Running directed by Douglas Trumbull in 1972. Set entirely on a spaceship with massive geodesic dome structures that contain gardens from Earth. It is a modern day Noah’s Ark, the Earth no longer has trees or vegetation. Trumball worked on a large number of other films including making the Blade Runner city above. You can also see a lot of his work in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey. Trumbull is a technical genius, his spaceships are thought out to a huge extent on engineering principles. These pods are no doubt inspired by Geodesic Domes and perhaps the film is inspired by the “Spaceship Earth” philosophies of Buckminster Fuller. Certainly the time it was made is the same.
I am not entirely sure if this shot made it into the film or is just a promotional shot. However, you can see that although not a particularly interesting cinematographic composition, the technical prowess of the spaceship design. It certainly inspires me to make designs and make 3D prints and take them beyond a 3D render. Watch this space, I’m working on more of my own 3D print models inspired by films like this. The way the light captures the model, would be hard or if not impossible to achieve with computer graphics. Analogue is king!
I hope these movies inspire you too! It certainly gets me excited to pick up my drawing pen, paintbrush, clay, 3d graphics etc. Let me know your favorites and why here.
If you don’t want to create anything, I hope it makes you want to watch some of the above or others!
As I say, I will try to do more of this another time.
Now Please Watch the YouTube Video For Much More About Each Image…
I hope you have enjoyed this post about inspirational retro science fiction movies. If you enjoyed it, let me know I will do more!
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