eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya) (01/09/85)
> Dune is the worst sci-fi movie I've ever seen. > 2010 is the worst sci-fi movie I've ever seen. -- two different postings on this group last month You have to give the producers and directors of motion pictures a lot of leeway. I have refrained from comment until now because in someways portions are so bad that it's not worth the effort of keying comment in [this is 2 times 1/2 effort]. This leeway is called "artistic license." Don't forget George Lucas[film] had sounds in space. I guess the question is one of "realism versus license." Consider for a moment the development of movies having space as a vehicle for a story. Could you have had the "success" of Stars Wars without the "realism" of 2001? I suspect "Destination Moon" and other films could be used as earlier evidence by I have only seen these on television. Similarly, I think we have grown to improve plot development with films like Alien, ET and Starman rather than flashy hardware films. On the subject of Star Wars. As time goes on, I am more and more impressed with the original movie. I thought it was at best a B movie, but grade inflation has moved it to B+. The follow on movies have yet to put together scenes in the first SW film (for instance like ) where Luke storms out to view the twin setting suns: composition, music, emotion. Time magazine said that George Lucas was planning nine films and that the last would be done by him to show them all up. I hope he does it. On Close Encounters and ET: again neat films. At a lunch time discussion at JPL on CE3K [around the time of Voyager I by the way], several astrophysicists concluded we would have to have mechanisms to prevent the general public from exposure from events as portrayed in CE3K to prevent cranks, lunatics, terrorists(now?) from interfering with contact. The discussion went as far as to use area weapons such as nerve gas to keep people out [this latter surpised me, from an astrophysicist?]. It's mostly academic. Alien: fun! Raises some interesting questions: living Nemesis objects. Silent Running: another good, quiet film. Star Trek: clearly the second film is the best. I have problems of aircraft carrier warfare in space, but it's entertaining. I would like to think we can enter space peacefully. Starman: a surprising film. Touching. I plan to see it again. One inaccuracy to clear up: the SETI project is not a part of the National Security Agency. Too bad Starman had to "see us at our best when times are worst." Frankly as in CE3K and ET and Starman: I think the government is too wrapped up in short-term things to plan things like extra-terrestrial visitations. NASA for instance is an engineering organization which occasionally does some research. If someone just dropped out of the sky and said, "Greetings" I think people in Washington DC would s**t bricks. Our next response might be to put up arms expecting something hostile. I would love to have a chance to be the characters portaryed by F. Truffuet (sorry sp), 'Keys' in ET, or Charles Martin Smith in Starman. "There is so little time and so many questions I want to ask." What questions would you ask an alien intelligence? Oh: Capricorn one: I don't think anyone in the Government would be that cleaver, but who knows, they raised a Russian sub for $1G. 2010: they talk too much [like me], Dune: flash in the pans, forget them. Smile, say they are 'cute' when people ask you. My shuttle getaway special manifest has Steven Spielberg on it. I hope something "neat" comes of this. There is potential! Anyway, sorry for the long flame. Why is taking place on net.space? Please, Move your comments to net.movies. I'll move my film comments there. --eugene miya NASA Ames Research Center {hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,vortex}!ames!aurora!eugene emiya@ames-vmsb.ARPA "We came in peace for all mankind." "To film makers: contribute to accuracy, give an astronomer a job." C. Sagan
gadfly@ihu1m.UUCP (Gadfly) (01/11/85)
-- >> On the subject of Star Wars. As time goes on, I am more and more >> impressed with the original movie. I thought it was at best a B >> movie, but grade inflation has moved it to B+. The follow on movies >> have yet to put together scenes in the first SW film (for instance >> like ) where Luke storms out to view the twin setting suns: >> composition, music, emotion. Time magazine said that George Lucas >> was planning nine films and that the last would be done by him to >> show them all up. I hope he does it. >> --eugene miya Don't hold your breath. Lucas has been devoting more and more energy to gimicks and less and less to plot ever since he started making movies. His first, THX1138, was the sparsest in terms of sets, but clearly the most passionate. The SW sequence didn't start too long in the plot dept., yet it kept sacrificing what scant story there was for special effects. They are Lucas's admitted obsession. He is on record as disliking the saloon scene from the first SW because he didn't have the money to do it right. He feels he vindicated himself with Jabba's place in ROTJ. Of course, his first effort remains the true classic. Which do you remember best? -- *** *** JE MAINTIENDRAI ***** ***** ****** ****** 10 Jan 85 [21 Nivose An CXCIII] ken perlow ***** ***** (312)979-7188 ** ** ** ** ..ihnp4!iwsl8!ken *** ***