Film axe grinding time!

[rhivolution]

So apparently some dude at The Channel Formerly Known as SciFi came up with a list of the sixteen most intelligent SF films to date, and tanyad asked for opinions here.

I have many, and they are generally pissy ones. You may see them behind the cut.


Firstly: some of these films are not that great unless put into historical context. Unfortunately, the author of the piece just pushes all of his reasons together, which I think is ridiculous. Intelligent SF that stands the test of time is one thing, intelligent SF that blows the minds of people at the time is often another.

Secondly: I personally cannot find a film to be 'intelligent' if it's poorly made or boring. That sort of links back to the first point.

Thirdly: I think it's worth noting that, with the exceptions of Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix), all fourteen other films on this list were directed by white English-speaking men. (If I am wrong in identifying someone else on the list as white, please let me know.) All films are in English and I believe produced in Western countries. While I will admit that there aren't that many SF films in English directed by women or POC, it's pretty bad not to consider any films from the international field.

Fourthly: I haven't seen every film on this list. Sorry.


WTF, or Rhi's unpopular opinions...
- 2001 is not a very good film, though it's good art and also an interesting period piece. I'm convinced that anyone who thinks it's intelligent has either confused the novelization for the backstory, loves Kubrickian über-high-concept film, or was born at or before the time the film was made. Either that, or they saw something that me and a group of fairly well-versed SF/film buffs did not.

- Altered States? Seriously? That movie has NOT withstood the test of time. It looks ridiculous thirty years on, and it's not even an intelligent story. (Sorry, mspeel4077.)

- I like Contact, but the book is a lot better than the film, even on a cerebral level. I think that's another one where someone took the printed stuff for his mental backstory when trying to make this list.

- No one saw The Fountain. Less people than saw Primer, even. Apparently it was beautiful but nonsensical, and does this list really need more than one Aronofsky film? I'd even let him put in A Clockwork Orange for two Kubricks, at least that'd be interesting.


Where the hell is...
- You want intelligent, where the FUCK is 2046? Or Akira? Or the original Solaris? Oh, my bad, they're not in ENGLISH.

- Hell, seeing that 2001's on here and Blade Runner (director's cut) is not? I cannot even express my dismay. Blade Runner is far more interesting and thought-provoking (though the pacing needs help), as well as a paragon of postmodernist cinema. It also works as a period piece. See what I did there?

- La Jeteé should be on here alongside Twelve Monkeys, as sort of a #2a or something. OH WAIT, IT'S NOT IN ENGLISH, MY BAD.

- If you have Primer on here, why not Cube? Is that too indie for one list?

- Apparently dude has something against James Cameron and Ridley Scott; I think that either Terminator 2 or Alien should be on here. Or both. Both are startlingly cerebral, and the cheese factor in T2 should not be its downfall, considering that Contact's on the list.


A couple brief yays...
- The Matrix still is thought-provoking, true, even though it's dated. You just have to forget that which was tacked on after.

- I love Minority Report, even with its plot holes, and I do think it's clever and doesn't get enough credit.

FIN

Comments

[tanyad]

Another question is why just 16? Why not 20, or 25 or even 50? There were a few movies that I could think of that should probably been on there. The OP of that piece probably did his lip service by having the one Brit pick on the list and couldn't be arsed to include others.

holyoutlaw raised a movie that should have been inlcuded but sadly did not get wide play in the US.

*sigh* ethnocentrism and limited world view for the lose on the list.