If You're a fan of Dystopian Sci Fi - Watch
These 8 Movies
What is a dystopian society? Where Utopian
describes a civilization that's
conceived to be perfect, a�dystopian�is
the exact opposite where you have a
futuristic society or state where everything
is bad- They're usually
characterised by totalitarian governments,
civilization after environmental
disasters or other events that have lead to
a dramatic decline in society.
Dystopian societies appear in many subgenres
of science fiction that are
often used to draw attention to potential,
as well as real-world trends and
issues within modern civilization. So today
I thought I would make a video
focusing on sci-fi dystopian societies.
Director Alex Proyas mystery thriller - Dark
city
John Murdoch, a man who�s struggling with
memories of his past -wakes in a
strange hotel within an even stranger city
that has no sun. After it becomes
clear that some people with special powers
are after him, while on the run
Murdoch tries to piece together his past and
figure out exactly what's going on.
With fantastic cinematography, special effects,
top-notch performances and
an interesting gothic noir style - Dark City
has breakneck pacing which keeps
you engaged throughout the film. It's a movie
that makes you think a lot,
where you will most likely watch this over
and over again to figure
everything out. While this movie never gets
old, and I highly recommend it,
its bleak dark tones and fast pace, might
put some people off.
Director Pete travis�s action drama Dredd
Within the post-apocalyptic metropolis of
Mega City 1�-the police known as
Judges have the authority to act as judge,
jury and executioner. While
assigned to evaluate a psychic rookie -veteran
Judge Dredd and his cadet get
trapped in a building complex-where the only
way out -is to take down the
MaMa Clan.
Unlike its 1995 older brother, Dredd is closely
based on the 2000AD comic.
Where Karl Urban is the perfect Dredd, without
the cheesy back story -he's
portrayed more like Clint Eastwoods 'man with
no name' whose dialogue is
limited to one-liners.� He has no personal
arc, character development or
sense of humour, he doesn't take his helmet
off, he just kicks ass - and Judge
Anderson is cool too. I love this movie, I
think it's highly underrated, so if you
haven't seen it, please go check it out.
Director Fancois Truffaut's Drama - Fahrenheit
451
In an oppressive future, where books have
been outlawed by the government
fearing an independent-thinking population.
Guy Montag is a fireman, whose
duty is not to put fires out- but to destroy
all books by incinerating them. But
things begin to change for Montag when he
starts to question his occupation.
Based on the Ray Bradbury novel of the same
name. Fahrenheit 451 is a
fairly unusual film right from the start,
where its credits are read out instead
of been written. While the main character
Montag feels a little zombie like-
the movie is still entertaining it its own
strange way.
While in my opinion it's never going to be
a movie for repeated viewings, it's
still worth a watch and ideal for people who
want to watch something a bit
different.
Fukasaku Kinji�s adventure drama- Battle
Royale
In the near future- Japan is in a state of
near collapse. Where violence among
the nation's youth is spiralling out of control.
With teenagers physically
abusing their teachers, a near-defeated government
decides to introduce a
radical new measure: the Battle Royale Act.
This is defiantly a love hate movie where
it's extremely violent and has a
pretty over the top plot. This movie subtly
comments on several
subconscious issues within modern japans culture.
Where Japan is obsessed
with its youth- which helps explains why animes
protagonists are most often
15year old high school students.
In the end, Battle Royale is not a film for
just anyone. There will be some of
you that really hate it and I can't really
blame you for that, but then again
some of you will defiantly love it.
Richard Fleischer�s Crime mystery - Soylent
Green
In a world ravaged by overpopulation and the
greenhouse effect. As natural food like
vegetables and meat have almost become extinct,
the only way humanity can survive
is with water rations and a mysterious food
called Soylent. The story kicks off when
an NYPD detective investigates the murder
of a big company CEO.
Soylent Green is a classic film that's really
solid but not without its faults- like the
strong feeling of it been set in the 1970s
rather than in the future. The acting in this
movie is first rate, where the interplay between
Heston and Robinson is thoroughly
entertaining, especially in the scene when
they're eating real food. Soylent Greens
story is really interesting throughout and
carries the film all the way to a great
conclusion - it's a smart sci-fi that is well
worth your time.
George Lucas - debut feature film THX1138
Set in the 25th century, the human race has
been relocated to a underground
city located beneath the Earth's surface,
where a robotic police force
enforces the law using drugs to control its
population. The story follows THX
and LUH who rebel against their rigidly controlled
society.
THX1138 is a solid, well-made film, produced
on a low budge. With a very
clear moral story there's not much here as
far as characters But Robert
Duvall gives a good performance.
It has an interesting take on an Orwellian
future, and has a pretty extreme
use of white in it set design. It holds your
attention fairly well, but a warning
to those of you who don't like slow paced
movies, this film story unfolds at a
snail's pace.
Director Kurt Wimmers action drama � Equilibrium
At the end of WW3 - a strict regime has eliminated
war by creating Prozium,
a drug that suppress emotion. However this
means that feeling is a crime,
a crime that is punishable by death. When
Cleric John Preston a man in charge of enforcing
the law,
misses a dose of Prozium, he slowly starts
to see things from a very different perspective.
For a film with a 20 million dollar budge,
Equilibrium looks and feels great with cool
gun scenes-
combined with its minimalistic costumes and
sets. Christian Bale's performance as John
Preston is brilliant,
where he's both emotionally engaging and believable.
Equilibrium is an unfairly underrated film,
while it clearly borrows from the
earlier mentioned classics such as Fahrenheit
451 and THX1138 it does
however standout on its own, mostly due to
Bales character's emotional
conflict - and its, well-choreographed action
scenes.
Joss Whedons Action adventure - Serenity
Set in a universe ruled by the alliance - a
regime hell bent on bringing its vision
of a totalitarian utopia to fruition.
The story follows the crew of the smuggler
star ship Serenity �who are harbouring River
a highly sought after fugitive wanted by the
alliance, who has a deadly
secret that they don't want getting out.
Who said all dystopians couldn't be fun - the
follow up to the cancelled Tv show firefly.
Serenity has no problems as a standalone film,
it's filled with
Joss Whedons witty dialogue and one liners,
as well as having some pretty
cool space battle and fight scenes, combined
with a well paced and
interesting plot.
The entire cast were born to play their roles
where they have brilliant
chemistry. And Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance
as the bad guy assassin is hard
to forget.
If You're a fan of Dystopian Sci Fi - Watch
These 8 Movies
