Today director Ridley Scott spoke at length with the London Times about the state of films, and particularly science fiction films.
Here is what the revered filmmaker had to say about the subject:
At the Venice Film Festival for a special screening of his seminal noir thriller Blade Runner, Sir Ridley said that science fiction films were going the way the Western once had. “There’s nothing original. We’ve seen it all before. Been there. Done it,” he said. Asked to pick out examples, he said: “All of them. Yes, all of them.”
While acknowledging the flashy effects of more recent science fiction films like The Matrix, Scott feels like the pinnacle of science fiction filmmaking came and went with Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968.
While I certainly understand his point, I think Scott makes a mistake of lumping many types of films together under a large banner called “science fiction” and making judgements about all of them. While 2001 is definitely one of the greatest science fiction films ever made, we have seen several masterpieces since 1968 that could compete with Kubrick’s cold handiwork:
THX-1138 (1971) – First time director George Lucas startled everyone with this nihilistic, Orwellian depiction of a future underground society. This film can compete with any science fiction film simply based on its stunning cinematography and sound design. Thrown into the mix are visionary ideas on religion, medicine, and televised violence that are coming to pass today. While the underlying story may not be very original, the final result is brutally brilliant.
Alien (1979) – While the film remains a much more physical, gut-level experience, the visual, biological, and environmental cues ushered in by Scott, the screenwriters, and the designers may collaboratively be one of the greatest science fiction achievements ever. Even though it is commonly classed as a science fiction/horror film, it still stands as one of the finest moments of either genre.
Blade Runner (1982) – Scott again, but this time he actually does create a film that comes close to the poetry and realism of Kubrick’s 2001. While this film is not as intellectually dense as 2001, it makes up for it in human drama.
Gattaca (1997) – A fairly low-budgeted science fiction film from first time director Andrew Niccol, Gattaca deals with genetic engineering in a smart, simple way. Visually, the film is both sumptuous and foreboding. It deals with questions of life, death, and the dreams in between.
The Matrix (1999) – A film that revolutionized moviemaking in much the same way that Star Wars did two decades earlier, The Matrix welds a mind-bending story onto pioneering, eye-popping effects. For the most part, however, the special effects only serve a story that examines control, free will versus fate, and the nature of reality.
I agree with Scott that most science fiction films are shit. They usually either end up in the “bold attempt” bin (Solaris, Sunshine) or the “blatant bullshit” bin (Mission To Mars, Lost In Space, blah blah blah … ).
But to hold 2001 in such high regard while dismissing the rest is short-sighted. Science fiction gives filmmakers an unlimited canvas of ideas to explore, and more will be made tackling the concerns of future generations. Most of it will suck. But a few – just a few - will magnificently succeed, and redefine the rules … again.
Thanks Obsessed With Film!
I agree with him. Their are no new original ideas being used. It’s all the same thing over and over again.
People used to think that we would have flying cars and we would be living with aliens by now. They thought the world would be so much different and once they realized that the future wasn’t some bizarre-o-world, they seemed to loose all creativity towards the subject.
Frankly, I think the world is bizarro right now. Just because their predictions didn’t come to pass (yet), doesn’t mean that it has no value. Many inventions came about from the theories and ideas of science fiction writers … so they have a purpose.
Those are all great examples of brilliant and ground-breaking Science Fiction movies. I love every one, and I think we’ll see a few good ones in the future. For the most part, though, Scott is right, and I agree that there isn’t much that’s original in this deparment. At least not right now.
I think that there are still some good things being done with science fiction today. Look at a movie like Children of Men. It’s much more subtle that, say, 5th Element, but it handles it’s futuristic premise in a very subtle and dignified way.
I think that, much like horror, science fiction movies are really never going to run out of things to say, if only because of the way it allows us to play ‘what if’
@ Dreamrot – OMG I meant to include “Children of Men” – one of my very favorite movies in the last five years – and I totally forgot. GREAT CATCH, and thank you!!!!!!!!!
Children of Men is one of the best movies filmed in years, but it is NOT a science fiction movie, nor close to one.
@ KC – What the hell are you talking about?? Of course it’s a science fiction film.
Let’s see … takes place in the future. Deals with a bizarre infection/genetic mishap that causes all women to be infertile. Human race extinct in fifty years. Society degenerating into ruins.
Does this sound like a DOCUMENTARY to you? Perhaps a romantic comedy?
Of course it’s a science fiction movie.
It just seemed to me that it was more of an ation/drama/thriller movie. I forget about the science fiction aspect. When I think science fiction, i think of the impossible, and this movie feel so real, almost like we’re taking a ACTUAL look into the future…I digress, it certainly is science fiction.