soylent green Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I grew up reading science fiction, thinking my beloved genre was all about the possibilities of the infinite: advanced civilizations inhabiting distant star systems; men with brains so large and hearts so beneficent they could barely be contained within their bodies; women with beauty so magnificent and intellect so stunning they would leave bystanders breathless.

And they I started watching movies and eventually realized it's all about death, destruction ... and more death.

This week's release of The Final Destination, which is obsessed with staging elaborate 'kill scenes,' got me thinking about memorable scenes of demise in science fiction films. Sci-fi is notably short of serial killers, but offers a wider range of death scenes, beyond simple murder and mayhem. Here's my list of the top 10 sci-fi deaths. (Of necessity, this list is nothing but spoilers, so you have been warned.)

1. The Emperor (Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi)

Everyone knows where they were when they saw the Emperor get what was coming to him. Me, I was in the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, opening night, second showing, near 5:00 a.m., shouting (and ultimately cheering and applauding) along with the rest of the sold-out auditorium as Luke looked between his father and the Emperor, in pain, agonizing, understanding that the man he had hated was being tortured by the man who should be hated. And then he made the right call. Goosebumps still raise up in the glory of the memory.

Read the rest over at Sci-Fi Squad

Right off the bat, I have issues with this list. Not so much for the fact that almost all of the films are sci-fi horror/thrillers, but because they left off a film with such a depressing ending that it still haunts me to this day. But first off, Den of Geek has compiled a list of what they feel are the 10 most depressing movie endings ever. Before you click over and check them out, be warned that massive amounts of spoilers await you. Here's their top ten: Soylent Green, The Elephant Man, The Descent, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Spider, Nineteen-Eighty Four, A.I. and -- drum roll please for number one -- The Mist.

Yes, valid points are made on all of them. Yes, they are depressing. But what about The Last American Virgin? Now there's a film with the most depressing ending I've ever seen (and if you've watched that film, you know exactly what I'm talking about). Off the top of my head, No Country for Old Men had a pretty depressing ending -- as did Goodfellas. There's Untamed Heart, Venus, Requiem for a Dream -- pretty much any film where someone is dying of an illness, but gets one last chance at love. Though it served as a bridge film, I thought Empire Strikes Back had a pretty depressing ending. Check out their list, then tell us which films were left off.

In your opinion, which film has the most depressing ending of all time? (Dammit, now I have The Last American Virgin ending stuck in my head. Sigh.)

UPDATE: Here's another list from our friend Alex on the 15 Bleakest Film Endings of All Time. A lot of the films you folks talked about in the comments are on his list, so hop on over and check it out.

Eating has become more and more difficult in the 21st century. Food isn't always the wondrous, romantic thing depicted in most movies. Recently we have learned about MSG, GMOs, polyunsaturated fats, trans-fats and the presence of the horrid "high fructose corn syrup" in just about everything. (It's in bread. Bread!) Sales of organic foods have increased drastically, and everyone has become an ingredient-reader and an amateur foodie. Now multiply this by about fifteen and you've got Thanksgiving dinner. Who's a vegetarian? Who's a vegan? Who's on the Atkins diet? Does putting the stuffing inside the turkey actually make it poisonous? Were those slivered almonds made on machinery that also processed peanuts? Who's allergic? What's the difference between yams and sweet potatoes? To get yourself prepared, I've assembled a chronological list of food cautionary tales, or hard culinary lessons learned.

Soylent Green (1973)
Is there anyone out there who doesn't yet know the secret component of everyone's favorite future foodstuff? If not, watching this film, directed by Richard Fleischer, will make you want to read the ingredients more often.

The Phantom of Liberty (1974)
The key scene in Luis Bunuel's film takes place at a dinner party. Guests gather around the table, pull down their pants and sit on toilets. They talk, rifle through magazines and otherwise engage in casual conversation. One guest rises, politely excuses himself and shyly asks for the dining room. Once inside, he shuts the door and begins eating. That's really funny, and in the joke, Bunuel asks why we perform one bodily function with great dignity in public and another with shame in private. As humans, our beliefs and behavior are utterly arbitrary. Try not to think about that at the dinner table.

Let me first start this Cinematical Seven list with a disclaimer -- I love genre movies and sci-fi movies in particular. It's probably because, like many of you, I watched the original Star Wars as a kid and fell in love with the idea of speeding through space, fighting the evil galactic empire, saving the day in the nick of time and getting to kiss the Princess. Of course, in my version of the story, the Princess was not my sister. ...

Sci-fi films are great because they serve to entertain us, thrill us and help us see what the future could be like if we live that long. Plus, you get the fun of all that wrapped up in an attractive and exciting package filled with great special effects, memorable performances and stories that while they entertain us, also manage to teach us a little something about life, ourselves and what it means to be human.

When making my list I tried to think of films that inspired me and helped fuel my love for this genre. Some of these films may be obvious to you and some may be new but I feel they all represent what is best about sci-fi films. I also realize that two of these films feature Charlton Heston. What can I tell you -- the man knows good sci-fi material when he reads it. Plus, I also included two films starring the lovely Catherine Mary Stewart, who I had a serious crush on during my formative years. She sure was cute. And spunky. Much like a certain Princess we all know and love.

Here, then, is my list of the seven sci-fi films you should be watching.

Gattaca (1997) -- Writer/Director Andrew Niccol's dystopian vision of a future where you're bred and selected for your genetic superiority is a compelling indictment of the dangers of technology and social responsibility. Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law star along with the great Alan Arkin as a detective assigned to investigate a murder at the giant corp where Hawke works. In the film, Hawke's character, a supposedly inferior and non-genetically enhanced "in-valid" takes the place of Jude Law's character, an enhanced "valid", in order to pursue his dreams of space travel.

This film is a compelling mix of sci-fi film, detective thriller, murder mystery and romance with many twists and turns. Plus, the Production Design, Cinematography and even Ethan Hawke's performance are first-rate and help you imagine a future where all of these things could exist. Gattaca entertains and makes you think at the same time. Not a bad mix.

Born in late 1971, I was raised on a steady diet of Star Wars, Willy Wonka, King Kong and The Sound of Music -- but once I got just old enough to figure out the correlation between TV Guide and the family tube, I was off and running. And let me tell you this: If you were a teeny little sci-fi geek in the early-to-mid '80s, and you didn't mind digging back a few years for your cinematic treats, you probably sat through some exceedingly weird flicks. I'm not here to trash or praise these movies, but to shine an affectionate little beacon on the fact that ... damn, those were some weird-ass movies!

Flash Gordon (1980) -- OK, here's where I break two rules right out of the gate: 1. Flash Gordon was released in 1980, so technically it's not from the '70s. Sorry. 2. I said I wasn't here to trash or praise the films, but if there's one flick out there that makes me feel like I'm nine years old again, it's Mike Hodges' adorably kitschy Flash Gordon. Boasting a production design that's as dazzling as it is kooky, a wonderfully out-of-place (yet still rockin') Queen score, a handful of really ripe acting performances, and more than a few bizarre occurences, Flash Gordon is grade-A loopy, but it's still a whole lot of fun.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) -- Ape-maker Arthur P. Jacobs was absolutely intent on squeezing just a few final drops of blood from his played-out simian series, and the result is a movie in which apes and the human slaves do battle with a bunch of mutants who somehow have lots of nifty weapons. Plus, c'mon, you know you wanna see Claude Akins, Paul Williams and John Huston dressed up in full ape-face regalia.

Silent Running (1972) -- Special effects genius Doug Trumbull makes his directorial debut -- with a screenplay by Stephen Bochco ... and Michael Cimino? OK, sign me up. Let's check the back of the box ... hmm, an outer-space greenhouse manager is told to destroy his beloved forests (which happen to be the very last ones in existence) and return home. But since the main character is played by Bruce Dern, I suppose "he goes a little insane" is a foregone conclusion. Plus the flick has shrubbery, murder and robots -- and despite my snarky attitude, I think it's actually quite a good movie.

Soylent Green (1973) -- We all know the "surprise ending" by now, but Richard Fleischer's 1973 sci-fi / murder mystery still holds up surprisingly well, despite its rather outlandish "2022 New York" setting. Look beyond the somewhat meandering gumshoe machinations and you'll find one of the grimmest and darkest depictions of the future ever created for a mainstream movie. Plus, Chuck Heston is always good for a few great pieces of over-ripe scenery-chewing, and he does not disappoint here.

A Boy and His Dog (1975) -- A post-apocalyptic Don Johnson wanders through the wastelands while telekinetically chatting with his furry canine companion. Things seems to be looking up for Don when he stumbles his way into a community full of women who need impregnating, but (believe it or not) things get even weirder after that. Based on a novella by Harlan Ellison, this flick's enjoyed a pretty solid after-life as a forgotten cult classic ... but I just don't get it.

Logan's Run (1976) -- Also known as "the very first sci-fi movie I ever saw, and the one that blew my brain out the back out my skull, but not literally." Here's the scoop: It's the 23rd Century, and once you hit the age of 30 you go to "Carousel," which is where your body is zapped dead by lasers, but your soul is transported to the body of a lovely new baby -- or so everybody thinks. (Why is everybody in the future so damn gullible?) Those who doubt that "Carousel" does what it promises decide to "run," and that's where the nasty "Sandmen" come in: Their job is to track and kill the "runners" before they make it out of the domed city, but what happens when a "Sandman" is forced to become a "runner"? Well, let's just say it involves Farrah Fawcett, a frozen robot, and some of the wackiest set design ever caught on film. But for all its accidental goofiness, I think Logan's Run still holds up as a damn fine sci-fi adventure. That robot sure was silly though...

Zardoz (1974) -- Sean Connery, clad only in an ill-fitting red diaper, leaps from a giant floating evil god's head and must deal with stuff like Eternals, Brutals, Apathetics, Renegades, Vortexes and forced erections. (Don't ask.) Despite being one of the very strangest sci-fi flicks ever produced, Zardoz is actually pretty darn watchable, what with all its outrageous costumes, indecipherable dialogue, and semi-lofty concepts. If anything, Zardoz proves that it's entirely possible for a major motion picture to be made while the entire production crew is zonked out on LSD.

Though Richard Fleischer's name is one we rarely hear, he nevertheless directed a large group of film with which we are all familiar. He got his start at RKO in the 1950s, where he directed B noirs (including The Narrow Margin and Trapped) that, today, are held in high esteem. Later, he moved on to higher-profile, bigger budget projects, proving himself useful to studios in search of a solid director who was willing to be what one writer recently described as "a studio craftsman...[whose films were] undoubtedly subject to the styles and demands of the year, the decade, the industry, the genre, the stars, and so forth." Among those later films are such well-known, well-love titles as 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Soylent Green, Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Jazz Singer (It's not just me who loves this one, is it?) and Conan the Destroyer.

Fleischer was 89; he died of natural causes.

[Thanks to GreenCine Daily for some links.]