Sci-Fi

  • Norman Tokar – The Cat from Outer Space (1978)

    1971-1980ComedyNorman TokarSci-FiUSA

    An unidentified flying object crash-lands on Earth and is taken into custody by the United States government. The occupant of the “flying saucer” turns out to be a cat-like alien named Jake. Using a special collar, he is able to communicate with humans. The cat tries to have American scientists help him find some Org 12 so that his ship may rendezvous with his fleet. After determining that “Org 12” is gold, Jake uses his collar’s powers to affect the outcome of various sporting events, including horse races and pool games, to win money to buy the needed gold and repair his saucer.Read More »

  • Robert Wise – The Andromeda Strain (1971)

    1971-1980Amos Vogel: Film as a Subversive ArtRobert WiseSci-FiThrillerUSA

    Quote:
    An alien virus’s brief pit stop in the new American West, starkly documented by Michael Crichton and Robert Wise. A satellite crashes in a New Mexico burg, soon the place is filled with bodies whose circulatory systems have turned to powder — these are the best sequences, full of hushed dread and unnerving use of widescreen dead spaces (the camera focuses on the placid, dusty face of a fallen villager, then tilts up to frame a couple of researchers approaching in hazmat suits and a helicopter whirring against a cobalt sky). The scientific team is rounded up: Exposition-dispenser Arthur Hill, surgeon James Olson (who gets a crush on the computer’s female voice), splenetic researcher Kate Reid, and veteran doctor David Wayne (“A hippie! He’s going to a love-in,” his suspicious wife cries as he packs for the secret mission).Read More »

  • Michael Campus – Z.P.G. AKA Zero Population Growth [+ Commentary] (1972)

    1971-1980CultMichael CampusSci-FiUSA

    In the not too distant future, a very smoggy and overpopulated Earth government makes it illegal to have children for a generation. One couple, unsatisfied with their substitute robot baby, breaks the rules and gets in a lot of trouble.Read More »

  • Nicholas Meyer – The Day After (1983)

    Drama1981-1990Nicholas MeyerSci-FiUSA

    ”The Day After,” ABC’s much-discussed vision of nuclear Armageddon, is no longer only a television film, of course; it has become an event, a rally and a controversy, much of it orchestrated. Part of the controversy has to do with whether ”The Day After” makes a political statement, which it does, although the statement is muddy, and part of the controversy has to do with how we confront the nuclear abyss. Champions of the film say it forces us to think intelligently about the arms race; detractors say it preaches appeasement. In fact, both sides have something going for them in their arguments, even if the champions of the film, for the moment, are being heard more clearly than the detractors. ”The Day After” will be seen on ABC at 8 o’clock tonight.Read More »

  • Val Guest – Quatermass 2 (1957)

    1951-1960ClassicsHammer FilmsSci-FiUnited KingdomVal Guest

    Quote:
    Based on the British TV serial by Nigel Kneale (who reportedly disliked the finished product), the film stars Brian Donlevy, repeating the role of Professor Quatermass. This time, the good professor must contend with a `meteor shower` which turns out to be a secret alien invasion. The extraterrestrials arrive on earth in rocklike vehicles, then take over the minds and nervous systems of earthlings, the better to go about their business undetected. Subliminally a cruel satire of British bureaucracy and obfuscation, Enemy from Space also works on a pure-horror level, building slowly and methodically to a powerhouse finale. For many years a `lost` film due to legal tangles, Enemy from Space has recently become available again on video and cable TV. – All Movie GuideRead More »

  • Roland Rowinski – Mózg AKA Brain (1983)

    1981-1990PolandRoland RowinskiSci-FiShort Film

    Quote:
    A fantastic sci-fi first film presenting the story of a valued professor named Szop. One day, a scientist commissions himself a routine study. The computer states on the basis of the study analysis that Szop… is dead. The professor and his colleague, Swalski, try to explain the unusual result. The results will prove surprising.Read More »

  • Takashige Ichise – Teito taisen AKA Tokyo: The Last War (1989)

    1981-1990HorrorJapanSci-FiTakashige Ichise

    The year is 1945. After the horrific fire-bombings of the Pacific War levels Japan to the ground, the government decides to consult spiritual psychics to aid them in winning the war. Unfortunately, the resentment and agony of the souls of the fire-bombing victims culminate together to revive the evil Onmyoji, Yasunori Kato. Only a young, psychically imbued apprentice of the priests will dare fight against the evil magic user. However, can this lone man possibly contend with Kato’s overwhelming power?Read More »

  • Quentin Lawrence – The Trollenberg Terror (1958)

    1951-1960HorrorQuentin LawrenceSci-FiUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    In the Swiss mountain village of Trollenberg climbers are mysteriously disappearing on the mountainside. A nearby observatory detects a cloud on the mountainside which gives off radioactive readings and never moves. One of two English sisters who form a psychic stage act receives a premonition of great danger associated with the mountain. As the cloud starts to move down the mountain, killing people along the way, the astronomers realize they are dealing with an invasion of aliens who have come from a dying world and have selected the mountainside’s cold as the environment which most resembles their home planet.Read More »

  • Jindrich Polák – Klaun Ferdinand a raketa AKA Clown Ferdinand and the Rocket [German Version] (1963)

    1961-1970ComedyCzech RepublicJindrich PolákSci-Fi

    When Clown Ferdinand enters an abandoned city in his wagon he ends up on a space rocket where he meets a robot that can turn invisible.Read More »

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