I enjoyed Lynch’s Dune, then and now. But I am of the SciFi fan generation of the Fifties and Sixties, we took what we could get, and hoped for the best. Remember “War of the Worlds”, “Forbidden Planet”, “Robinson Crusoe on Mars”, then “2001 A Space Odyssey” etc.?
There were so few good Science Fiction movies then, and fewer excellent ones, that we overlooked the cheese. Just like we Sixties TV Star Trek fans had to overlook Hollywood sequin and latex costumes and plywood sets. Forget “Lost in Space”, I have.
Now, with effects so real they can depict almost anything, we have become jaded. If something is either fishy, or stupid looking, we laugh and post flaming criticisms. We wonder what happened to the Golden Age of Science Fiction, you know, back when Star Wars came out!
The problem is and always was the writing, the Fiction part of SciFi. Poor concepts, bad plot and character development, and lack of scientific plausibility, deep six so many attempts at the next SciFi Blockbuster.
“Valerian”, Disney’s attempt to bring Edgar Rice Burroughs back to the screen, Disney’s most recent Star Wars retreads, all lack something, a lot actually. Sometimes bad casting, awkward pacing, lack of coherent dialog, or thin plot lines, are flaws no longer overlooked. They not made up for by dazzling CGI explosions, spaceships, aliens and monsters. Shame.
We wait for the next big hope: the new “Dune”, “Azimov’s Foundation”, and occasional rumors about a film adaptation of Arthur C Clarke’s “Rendezvous with Rama” keep us on the hook. Til then we will think about the old days, and watch Lynch’s “Dune” again and again.
Klaatu barada nikto
One of my favorite 50s sci-fi movies is “Target Earth,” about a few people who are left behind after “the city” has been evacuated because of an alien invasion.
I’d like to see “Rendezvous” done by the people who do the “Expanse” series...present and slightly future based science and physics employed by Earthers in the movie as was in the Expanse.
Also I liked the atmospherics in 1967’s Fantastic Voyage...their approach to tech and military/coldwar intrigue. Not saying the cold war should come into it but I think such a production approach when it came to Rendezvous would be a throwback but a breath of fresh air as well. CGI has gotten so good, I almost wish they could redo Fantastic Voyage with the original actors.
Now that there are so many science fiction movies, it’s hard to make one that stands out. Same thing with horror. I didn’t realize before the shutdown how many really awful horror movies are made each year. It seems like 90% of them involve college or high school kids and a cabin in the woods. It didn’t take much to produce an interesting SF film 50 years ago. Today expectations are higher and few pictures satisfy them.