Classic Science Fiction

Classic Science fiction and it's influence on the Movie Industry

Science Fiction Literature, and how it influenced the Movies (or shoud have).

Classic Science Fiction has been one of the main driving forces to my existence, and shaped my whole childhood, which was often spent months and months on end locked in my room reading sci fi by the great authors of the 40s and 50s adn 60s Eras. Brian Aldiss, Robert A. Heinlein (starship troopers), Robert Bloch, Isaac Asimov (I Robot), Arthur C. Clarke (2001, 2010 a Space Odyssey), Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Scanner Darkly), Poul Anderson (1926 - 2001), Frank Herbert and the like.
Poul Anderson is not precisely a well known household name, but nonetheless is considered in Sci Fi literary circles as a Genius of the Genre. he hasn't had many movies made of his works unfortunately, but maybe now after the latest remake of "The Day The Earth Stood Still", we might be able to enjoy and experience a revival in the re-interpretation of old sci fi classics.
Watch The High Crusade (teaser)

Poul Anderson has not been able to contribute to much moviemaking with his books, but the High Crusade was one that made it into the production line. Shame that his all time classic, "Brainwave" dodn't ever get an interpretation, as i feel it wopuld be a massive contribution to science fiction cinema genre if given the right person to interpret the role.
Synopsis of The High Crusade
The High Crusade, published over forty years ago and rarely out of print since, is science fiction grand master Poul Anderson?s story about how some aliens try to invade the Earth?and then kind of wish they hadn?t. The aliens land in Merry Olde England in
the year 1345, in the barony of Sir Roger de Tourneyville, a some what down on his heels, but starwart nobleman who is in the process of gathering an army to help King Edward III conquer the French.

The aliens, serving the Wesgorix Empire, are well skilled at conquering primitive planets. They land at some inhabited place, overawe the natives with their superior weapons and technology, and take over. Unfortunately for them, they have never invaded the English before. The aliens, in the midst of overawing the primitives, get perforated by a volley of cloth yard shafts courtesy of the local longbow men, led by a merry giant right out of Robin Hood named Red John Hamewood. Sir Roger, seeing that these demon-like alien can actually be killed, draws sword, cried, ?Saint George for England!?, and leads his knights and men-at-arms to take the alien space craft.

That is only the beginning. What follows is a kind of 'Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' in reverse. The saintly Brother Parvus?another character right out of Robin Hood?teachers a surviving alien Latin. The alien has some strange ideas about cosmology. Sir Roger can accept the idea that the Earth is a sphere that revolves around the sun as the Greeks had similar notions. But the stars being other suns? Obviously the alien is having them on. Almost certainly he comes from a land from beyond Cathay.

Reviews;

Poul Anderson is remembered as one of the most imaginative and hugely prolific authors of science fiction?s Golden Age, yet his solid body of work spans several decades beyond. The winner or nominee of at least 30 major science fiction awards, he produced some 70 novels, many which (Tau Zero, Brain Wave, The High Crusade and Three Hearts and Three Lions), continue to be popular today, despite the glut of more recent authors. The published author of over 100 short stories (plus novellas and novelettes and even a handful of chapbooks), Anderson's work has appeared in scores of anthologies. In the early days of science fiction many of them made their first appearence in such pulp fiction magazines as Amazing, Analog, Fantastic Stories, and Astounding.
Links;
Poul Anderson - Associated Content





I suppose of all the Sci Fi authors who managed to get their works to grace the silver screen, the most successful of all was Philip K. Dick.


Another successful writer on the Hollywood payroll was Isaac Asimov, creator of the I Robot series, and the whole concept of the three laws of Robotics was made General Knowledge in every household simply because of the widespread fame of his books on the Robots of Mankind's distant Future/s
Isaac Asimov was the most famous, most honored, most widely read, and most beloved science fiction author of all time. In his five decades as an author, he wrote more than four hundred books, won every award his readers and colleagues could contrive to give him, and provided pleasure and insight to millions. The name of Isaac Asimov is almost a household name in most Countries of the Western World, and even people who don't like science fiction have heard of his name. The screenplay to the Movie by Isaac Asimov and Harlan Ellison is available from amazon (see above left banner), if you wish to obtain it as a collector's item. I really recommend a thorough reading of the Robot series of books and stories by Isaac Asimov, as they will lead you to understand and enjoy the movie I Robot with Will Smith, a whole lot better


Isaac Asimov was born in Russia in 1920 and grew up in the USA. His fantastic career as a science fiction writer began in 1939 with the appearence of a short story 'Marooned Off Vesta', in Amazing Stories. He won the Hugo Award four times and the Nebula Award once. With nearly five hundred books to his name and several hundred articles, Asimov's output was prolific by any standards. He died in 1992 at the age of 72.
Links
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/isaac-asimov/
Asimov's stories of "The Laws of Robotics", (e.g., "I. A Robot may not injure a human being, a Robot may not injure or through inaction, a Robot may not allow a human being to come to harm.'). Now popular in I, Robot and other movies, The Laws of Robotics were explained in short stories previously published in science fiction magazines, and other books

I think if i was able to choose which Science Fiction book and Author should receive a great investment and producer/director/cast for the next top sci-fi movie production, then i would choose "Hothouse" by Brian W. Aldiss. Hothouse is an amazing story set perhaps up to 10 million years into the Future. The world is no longer as we know it to be, half of the planet in Eternal Darkness, and half in Eternal Daylight. This is due to the fact that the Earth suffered a pole shift and stopped turning. Most of the planet is composed of Vegetable Lifeforms, even the most intelligent races were plant-life in basic nature. Spider-like creatures climb their spun crystalline webs up to the moon from the "tips" of the forest. Humans are shrunk into pygmy sized beings, living inside giant nutshells in the treetops to avoid the dangers of the forest floor, their traditions preventing them from straying to the tips to see what was there also. The adventure lived by the 2 young humans in this story beginning with the focus on a tribe of humans living in a nutshell colony in the forest. Two if the oyunger members get lost and embark on a journey; The marvels and mysteries begin to unfold as of this moment - please someone! make a movie of this story!

The story revolves around a young fellow called Gren, who at some point in the story becomes "infiected" by the "morel" (a mole/wart-like protuberance" which has the effect of increasing Gren's Intelligence and curiosity factors.` This causes Gren to wander on a series of adventures which amount to a tale of self-discovery and the subsequent rediscovery/invention of the Human Race.

Synopsis

The Sun is about to go Nova. Earth and Moon have ceased their axial rotation and present one face continuously to the sun. The bright side of Earth is covered with carnivorous forest. This is the Age of vegetables. Gren and his lady - not to mention the tummybelly men - journey to the even more terrifying Dark side. One of Aldiss' most famous and long-enduring novels, it is fast moving, packed with brilliant imagery

Reviews;

This is a highly imaginative and inventive book from one of the leading writers of the genre.
Aldiss envisages a scenario where the sun is going nova, creating on earth a hothouse atmosphere in which a tropical jungle develops. The human inhabitants have to contend with all manner of threatening flora and fauna. Exciting and eerie, this novel written early in Aldiss' career catapulted him into the front ranks of British science fiction writers. Although Hothouse is perhaps not his most famous novel, I feel that it is the definitive one of all his works, and has not received the recognition it deserves as far as imaginative element and the story that is so far ahead of it's Time is concerned. Everybody should read Hothouse once in their life. Everybody should also go to India once in their Life too.. in fact i could list a whole lot of things that everybody should try once in their life.. but reading Hothouse is way up at the top of the list, so go on and obtain a copy from Amazon and help me make this blog profitable instead of just a hobby. I am unemployed anyway so i need all the help I can get.

Links;

Brian Aldiss - Hothouse - a synopsis

Star Trek as a late night treat;
I remember as a small child of perhaps, 5 years old, being allowed to come downstairs at 7:30 P.M. to be able to watch Star trek - i loved watching Captain Kirk with his weakness for women and playing the Gentleman.

The stretchy bronze sweatshirts with the slick V shaped motif was the Beez Knees as far as i was concerned. I especially liked the garden scenes on other planets, sometimes with beautiful plastic kistch of a paradisical legend of Botany. I always wondered how Kirk resisted staying on some of those planets - i was always jumping up and down and saying "stay there". There was something about all thos big primitive buttons, sliding cardboard doors and peeping noises when they flipped open their communicators to say "beam me up Scottie" that made it so special.
The scene at the beginning and end of each episode with the Starship Enterprise flashing past was always a picture that left a deep impression on my mind right up to this day. You see that scene and all the Star Trek episodes you ever saw fly past your mind's eye.

Links;
Doctor McCoy's Emotional Outbursts

Oh Brother! The Hippies are in Eden, and they got a hairdo like my Grandmaw!




Watch a real old episode of Star trek to get the Nostalgic Feel i am talking about.



Links;
Watch star trek?voyager / enterprise playlist all episodes

Robert A. Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange land
Another great Sci Fi Novel which i feel should be lent to interpretation by the Film Industry is that of "Stranger in a Strange Land" (as is also "Time Enough for Love", but i think that has been filmed already??), by Robert A. Heinlein. Written in his usual, perhaps found to be sexist perspective of Modern Post War society and the Human female's role in the Human Race, this book is still an excellent example of how the questioning attitudes of the 60s succeeded in tearing down the walls of some very deeply rooted and well established suppositions and norms about Human Behavioural traits and Social Norms and habits. Stranger in a Strange Land was an icon of the Hippies of the Summer of Love, and became sometimes referred to as the "Hippy Bible". I think this was perhaps the first really big thick book i picked up and hardly ever put down again till i was finished. The great sadness and disappointment when reaching completion of reading it was abated by the fact that i realized that the only way to overcome the pain of the story of my life to have ended, was to begin reading it once again immediately. And thus continue living in the world of Valentine Micheal Smith and his rather liberal views of the world and how one should behave correctly.

Synopsis
Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) is the epic saga of an earthling. Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with psi powers - telepathy, clairvoyance, and the ability to take control of the minds of others - and complete innocence regarding the morals of man.

After a tutelage under a surrogate-father figure, Valentine begins his transformation into a kind of messiah. His exceptional abilities lead Valentine to become many things to many people: freak, scam artist, media commodity, searcher, free-love pioneer, neon evangelist, and martyr.

Heinlein won his second Hugo Award for this novel, sometimes called his divine comedy and often called his masterpiece.

Methuselah's Children - Robert A. Heinlein

From Wikipedia....

The Howard Families (the titular Methuselah's Children) derive from Ira Howard, who became rich in the California Gold Rush, but who himself died young and left no children. Fearing death himself, he left his money for the prolongation of human life, and the trustees under his will carried out his intention by financially encouraging those with long-lived grandparents to marry and have children. While the Families (who, by the 22nd Century, have a life expectancy of 150 years) have kept their existence secret, with the enlightened human society established under The Covenant, they begin a limited exposure of themselves.

Society refuses to believe that the Howard Families simply 'chose their ancestors wisely', instead insisting that they have developed a method to extend life. When the Howard Families fail to produce any such techniques, the Families are persecuted and interned. Though the beleaguered Administrator (Prime Minister) of the planet, Slayton Ford, knows that the Families are telling the truth, he is helpless to control an increasingly irrational public ? and as a democratically elected official he must act on the behalf of the majority no matter the consequences. He can visualize only two horrific solutions ? and is wracked with self-hatred as he tries to imagine which would be more humane: mass execution or mass sterilization. In short, his duty as a democratic leader is to commit genocide. He decides this, although he knows that this will finish him in politics and likely mean his exile.

Lazarus Long realizes this as well, and proposes an alternative ? that the Administrator assist them in hijacking the colony starship New Frontiers. To survive, the Howard Families must embark on an exodus to the stars. Ford, thrown out of office when his executive council feels he is not doing enough to wrest the "secret" from the Families, himself joins the trek at the last moment to escape the wrath of his former constituency. A member of the Families, Andrew Jackson Libby, (known as "Slipstick" Libby because he is a Mental calculator) is a genius who invents a light-hugging stardrive. This permits them to travel between stars in years instead of centuries.

The first planet they discover has humanoid inhabitants who seem friendly and advanced - however, they are merely domestic animals belonging to the planet's true masters, indescribable beings of equally indescribable power. When humans prove incapable of similar domestication, they are expelled from the planet and sent to another world.

The second planet seems far more welcoming - it is a lush environment with no predators and mild weather. Its inhabitants are just as welcoming, though just as strange as the other two races the Families have met - they are a group mind. Their abilities are in a way even more impressive than the inhabitants of the first planet the Families visited: the reason the planet is so welcoming is because they have made it so with a form of genetic engineering. However, their civilization is perhaps even more unsuitable for the Families than the master/pet civilization. This becomes evident when Mary Sperling, second oldest of the Families behind Long, who has always been fearful of death, joins the group mind in an attempt to become truly immortal.When the first baby conceived on the planet is born, the Families are horrified. The group mind has altered it as they have the planet, and though objectively the alterations are an improvement (every organ is more efficient, potent and better arranged, along with secondary miniature hands supported by miniature eyes) many cannot consider it human.

Lazarus calls a mass meeting of the humans on the planet. He states that humans are what they are because they are individuals, and that he feels he has no place on this world. He asks if any agree with him. Thus, though about a fourth of their number remain on the planet, Lazarus, and a majority of the Families, decides it's time to go back to Earth and claim their rights. Libby, with the help of the group mind, has designed a true faster than light drive - they can be home in just months.

The Families return to the Solar System to discover that their travels have taken seventy-five Earth-years. To their surprise they find that on earth great longevity is commonplace. Spurred on by the (false) belief that there was some specific "technique" to the Howards' longevity, Earth's inhabitants have explored every avenue known to science to duplicate the feat; and have succeeded through the production of artificial blood, to be transfused into recipients and keep them "younger." Thus, the Families are no longer threatened - in fact they now possess something even more important than immortality: faster than light travel! The Solar System is incredibly crowded (one now must acquire a licence to have a child!), and immigration to other worlds can prevent catastrophe. Libby and Long decide to recruit other members of the Families, and explore space with the new drive.
One film they DID make out of a heinlein Book which i don't like at all though, is "Starship Troopers". This is the Gung Ho type of stuff that gave Heinlein His Macho reputation as a sexist and Patriot. He also wrote some astonishingly Liberal thoughts to the current attitudes and ethics of the time, which seem now to have been years if not decades ahead of the time they were written in.

Amazon Product Description
"Revolt in 2100": After the fall of the American Ayatollahs (as foretold in "Stranger in a Strange Land") there is a Second American Revolution; for the first time in human history there is a land with Liberty and Justice for All. "Methuselah's Children": Americans are fiercely proud of the freedom they seized in "Revolt in 2100". Nothing could make them forswear it. Nothing except the secret of immortality.

Comics, Sci Fi, Hippy and Fantasy

My main other hobby apart from Movies was reading and collecting Underground Comics and graphic novels, by artistic and storywriting masters such as Jean Giraud (Moebius), Enki - Bilal, Jodorowski, Druillet, Frazetta, and many other great artists and story writers, such as Alan Moore, creator of Swamp Thing, Watchmen and Constantine (John Constantine - spin off character from Swamp Thing).
To tide me over between issues of the monthly publications i used to buy the weekly UK sci fi comic "200 AD" This is the place where "Judge Dredd" first came to the reader's eye, and i was an avid judge dredd fan for years before anyone ever heard of him in the movie with Sylvester Stallone



Watch "Judge Dredd the Movie

Another great Artist in Science Fiction's "graphic Novella" genre of the comic book world, is Jean "Moebius" Giraud. Jean Giraud, or, "Moebius" for short as he is affectionately known in comnic book circles, has had a hand in many a sci fi movie, although you may not be aware of it;

The vehicles, clothing and architecture as well as many of the camera perspectives in the Blockbuster Sci Fi classic adapted from Philip K. Dick's "do androids dream of electric sheep?" movie "Blade Runner". Moebius had a chief role in the set design on this movie, as he has in several other significant sci fi epics.

The way the floating cars descend down through the levels of the city are so reminiscent of one of Jean Giraud's grand perspectives so often displayed within a tiny quadratic fgrame on a page in a book.

Jean Giraud has developed an inimitable and classic style, irrepeatable in its textures, shapes, and ambience, so individual is it, that it reflects it's character in every movie he ever has had a hand in, leaving one saying " that isn't half like somethiing from a Moebius ccomic!".

The Moebius look is also evident in the movie "The Fifth Element" with it's rounded bubble-like imagery, evident in both the clothing and the surrounding scenery and apparatus.

The choice of design for the hovering car in Blade Runner is classic Moebius in shape and style, both on the exterior and interior. Ths gloomy crowded alleys where Deckard partakes of his noodles is also typical Moebius atmospherics applied to the movie.

Other similar influances are evident in movies such as "Immortal" - adapted from the Enki Bilal comic books. You can see Bilal and Enki's typical art and storytelling influence throughout the movie, and the art in the comig books is addictive in the ambience it instigates in you when you are looking at it.