Sci-Fi Movie Adaptations (Arthur C. Clarke, Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov) ** UPDATE: "Annihilation" **

edited November 2017 in General Movies & TV Posts: 11,119
With so much despair, anger, uncertainty, fear and xenophobia in today's world (I am typing this when, again, a big terrorist attack took place in Orlando, Florida, USA on 12.06.2016, when there's a huge immigrant crisis taking place in Europe, when the UK is voting on leaving the European Union on 23.06.2016, and when the USA is on the brink of voting a right-wing populist into the highest office available), I often go back to the works of the great Sci-Fi author Arthur C. Clarke. What he wrote in many of his novels, like "Rendez-Vous With Rama", "Childhood's End" and "2001: A Space Odyssey", is still so topical. And I think we could learn from it.

The same goes for all the big screen and small screen adaptations of Arthur C. Clarke's novels. Let's discuss them in here.

Movies:

"2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968):
2001%20-%20Poster_1.jpg

"2010: The Year We Made Contact" (1984):
2010_jul2012-c.jpg

TV Series:

"Childhood's End" (2015):
getmovieposter_childhoods_end_1.jpg

Obviously, there are not many movies and TV Series made out of Arthur C. Clarke's novels. So, I'd also like this topic to be a discussion about other, similar authors like Isaac Asimov ("I, Robot"), Neil Stephenson ("Seveneves"), Andy Weir ("The Martian") and Carl Sagan ("Contact"), who also tried to evoke similar big questions about life and all its future uncertainties.

Ooowh, and let's not forget some other great Sci-Fi movies who were created by an original screenplay, like "Gattaca", "Moon", "Europa Report", "Ex-Machina", "Gravity", "Star Trek: Insurrection", "Interstellar", "Elysium", "Knowing" and "Oblivion". So let's discuss the greatest Sci-Fi ever made; those with serious, intelligent messages, those who dare to not tell their messages with action porn ;-).
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Comments

  • Posts: 11,119
    Anyone?
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2022 Posts: 17,727
    Well here's a link to an article I originally wrote in 2008 about Arthur C. Clarke's possible involvement with Ian Fleming, James Bond and Moonraker on my blog:

    http://thebondologistblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/arthur-c-clarkes-mysterious-involement.html

    I've always meant to follow up on that article at some point and I probably will some day, DV.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,447
    If you're looking for an ACC fandom, you have found it in me!
    I have a good two dozen of his books, standing proudly next to my Asimov collection.
    2001 is my favourite film of all time.
    I have yet to check out Childhood's End though.
    And the man, Clarke, is someone I deeply respect.
    Incidentally, I'm constantly trying to get my older students to read Clarke... with varying success. ;-)
  • Posts: 140
    I'm just reading The RAMA books again - magnificent. I wish they brought it to the big screen...about time. Need to make it a European production though.

    Recommend The Medusa Chronicles right now - fab stuff - inspired by the great man's work A Meeting with Medusa.

    Great link for those interested in 2001 the film and graphic design - good stuff: https://typesetinthefuture.com/2014/01/31/2001-a-space-odyssey/

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,447
    The link doesn't work for me, @Sanchairs. :)
  • Posts: 140
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    The link doesn't work for me, @Sanchairs. :)

    https://typesetinthefuture.com/

    Try this - Sci-fi films and typography - 2001 is in there.
  • Posts: 11,119
    I think the next upcoming sci-fi-film that could resemble the spirit of Arthur C. Clarke, is "Seveneves". Ron Howard is going to direct:

    http://collider.com/seveneves-movie-ron-howard/
  • Posts: 11,119
    Guys & Gals? You think this movie could be Arthur C. Clarke-esque Sci-Fi epic? The title of the movie is 'Arrival' and it will premiere around November this year:



    The movie with Amy Adams in the lead is directed by one of my favourite directors: Denis Villeneuve. We know Mr Villeneuve from some very critically acclaimed movies like 'Sicario' (MetaCritic: 81%. RottenTomatoes: 94%), 'Incendies' (MetaCritic: 92%. RottenTomatoes: 82%) and 'Prisoners' (MetaCritic: 74%. RottenTomatoes: 81%).

    The movie is based on the 1998 Sci-Fi novel 'Story Of Your Life', which was written by author Ted Chiang. The story deals with themes like determinism, language, and a more intellectual take on the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis (a concept-paradigm in linguistics and cognitive science that holds that the structure of a language affects its speakers' cognition or world view).

    From what I have read about the premise of this film, is that it will be a rather complex tale with no specific ending, leaving explanations to your own imagination.

    Arrival_poster_goldposter_com_10.jpg
  • Posts: 11,119
    Anyone?
  • Posts: 11,119
    Here's a great piece of the best Sci-Fi films of the 21st century so far:

    http://www.indiewire.com/2015/05/the-25-best-sci-fi-films-of-the-21st-century-so-far-264273
  • Posts: 140
    Arrival looks like a beautiful film. i like the idea about language being the issue - but ultimately the world's fate relies on a single American translator - so can't take it seriously now, no matter how pretty and 2001 clarkesque it tries to be.

    One good thing though from the movie:

    2001-SPACE-ODESSEY.jpg

    arrival-movie-2016-amy-adams-770x470.jpg

    1260316723409.jpg
  • edited August 2016 Posts: 11,119
    Sanchairs wrote: »
    Arrival looks like a beautiful film. i like the idea about language being the issue - but ultimately the world's fate relies on a single American translator - so can't take it seriously now, no matter how pretty and 2001 clarkesque it tries to be.

    Wasn't that the case with "2010: The Year We Made Contact" as well :-)?
  • Posts: 4,622
    Arrival looks very watchable, atmospheric even.
    I'll check it out for sure!
    Thanks for posting the trailer @Graves.
    Hadn't stumbled across it yet.
  • I think you guys will also love Erik Wernquist's short film "Wanderers". Narrated by an author I admire, Carl Sagan:

  • edited September 2016 Posts: 11,119
    Damn, Denis Villeneuve's Sci-Fi epic "Arrival" gets raving....RA-VING reviews so far:

    ROTTENTOMATOES: 100% (after 35 reviews have been counted):
    https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/arrival_2016

    METACRITIC: 080% (after 15 reviews have been counted):
    http://www.metacritic.com/movie/arrival

    IMDB: 8.7/10 (no critics, only public voting):
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/?ref_=nv_sr_1
  • Denis Villeneuve's Sci-Fi epic "Arrival" is still getting raving....RA-VING reviews:

    ROTTENTOMATOES: 093% (after 227 reviews have been counted):
    https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/arrival_2016

    METACRITIC: 081% (after 51 reviews have been counted):
    http://www.metacritic.com/movie/arrival

    IMDB: 8.5/10 (27,725 voters):
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/?ref_=nv_sr_1

    Could this be the "Gravity", "The Martian", "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the "Moon" of 2016?
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,586
    I definitely think so.
  • Going to see it tonight, with my colleagues :D!
  • Anyone else seeing it?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Anyone else seeing it?

    I plan to see it with my son, maybe tomorrow.
  • Saw it. A-Ma-Zing!
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    It was based on a short story by Ted Chiang from 1998 called Story of Your Life.Anyone read it?
  • Anyone seen "Arrival" already?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Lots of us have seen it.
  • edited December 2016 Posts: 3,564
    I saw it a week or so back. Quite a laudable attempt at translating (literary) science fiction into a visual (action-film) medium. Most science fiction films go heavily into the slam bang action and have a hard time translating the ideas of science fiction into a format that the visually-oriented audience can understand. This one does better than most.
  • edited February 2017 Posts: 11,119
    I'm very curious about Daniel Espinosa's ("Safe House", 2012) new Sci-Fi film "Life":


    The movie premieres March 24th. One thing I wonder though......wouldn't it be interesting to produce a film that's really about how humans react to the discovery of new life? Instead of turning it in another horror flick?

    life.jpg
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,447
    I fully agree, Gustav. Despite being a horror fan (and a Ryan Reynolds fan), I want more of those Arrival type of intellectual exercises about how we would deal with an alien presence. We're on the same page here, you and I.
  • edited November 2017 Posts: 11,119
    There's a new movie from Alex Garland coming up ("28 Days Later", "Sunshine", "Ex Machina")! And it stars Nathalie Portman. The movie is adapted from Jeff van der Meer's critically acclaimed Sci-Fi novel "Annihilation" from 2014. Watch the trailer. This is going to be epic and strangeeee:


    MV5BMzdmNTEwYjgtNDQ3Ni00MjU1LWFkYTItZGJjYTI2ZGUxMmNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzg2ODI2OTU@._V1_SX1777_CR001777744_AL_.jpg?fit=1024%2C429
    annihilation.png
    6d28ea1859069bf7965505734d8ba584.jpg
    poster-annihilation-natalie-portman.jpg


    And here's my current list of "serious Sci-Fi films", with in bold the ones that are my tips/favourites:

    • “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (1954)
    • “Fantastic Voyage” (1966)
    • “Seconds” (1966)
    • “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
    • “Planet Of The Apes” (1968)
    • “The Andromeda Strain” (1971)
    • “THX 1138” (1971/1977)
    • “Solaris” (1972)
    • “Silent Running” (1972)
    • “Soylent Green” (1973)
    • “La Planète Sauvage” (1973, animated)
    • “Westworld” (1973, feature film)
    • “Zardoz” (1974)
    • “Logan’s Run” (1976)
    • “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” (1977)
    • “Capricorn One” (1977)
    • “The Black Hole” (1979)
    • “Alien” (1979)
    • “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979)
    • “Outland” (1981)
    • “Blade Runner” (1982)
    • “E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982)
    • “The Right Stuff” (1983)
    • “1984” (1984)
    • “Dune” (1985)
    • “2010: The Year We Made Contact” (1984)
    • “The Abyss” (1988)
    • “Screamers” (1995)
    • “Apollo 13” (1995)
    • “Contact” (1997)
    • “Gattaca” (1997)
    • “The Fifth Element” (1997)
    • “Deep Impact” (1998)
    • “The X-Files” (1998)
    • “Pi” (1998)
    • “Sphere” (1998)
    • “Star Trek: Insurrection” (1998)
    • “Mission To Mars” (2000)
    • “Red Planet” (2000)
    • “Space Cowboys” (2000)
    • “A.I. - Artificial Intelligence” (2001)
    • “Donnie Darko” (2001)
    • “28 Days Later” (2002)
    • “Minority Report” (2002)
    • “The Forgotten” (2004)
    • “The Island” (2005)
    • “A Scanner Darkly” (2006, animated)
    • “Children Of Men” (2006)
    • “The Fountain” (2006)
    • “Paprika” (2006, animated)
    • “V For Vendetta” (2006)• “V For Vendetta” (2006)
    • “I Am Legend” (2007)
    • “Sunshine” (2007)
    • “The Happening” (2008)
    • “WALL-E” (2008, animated)
    • “Avatar” (2009)
    • “District 9” (2009)
    • “Knowing” (2009)
    • “Moon” (2009)
    • “Splice” (2009)
    • “Mr. Nobody” (2009)
    • “Inception” (2010)
    • “Never Let Me Go” (2010)
    • “The Adjustment Bureau” (2011)
    • “Another Earth” (2011)
    • “Apollo 18” (2011)
    • “Melancholia” (2011)
    • “Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes” (2011)
    • “Source Code” (2011)
    • “Contagion” (2011)
    • “Black Mirror” (2011, Netflix TV Series)
    • “Super 8” (2011)
    • “Cloud Atlas" (2012)
    • “John Carter” (2012)
    • “Prometheus” (2012)
    • “Robot & Frank” (2012)
    • “After Earth” (2013)
    • “Dark Skies” (2013)
    • “Elysium” (2013)
    • “Europa Report” (2013)
    • “Gravity” (2013)
    • “Her” (2013)
    • “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (2013)
    • “The Last Days On Mars” (2013)
    • “Oblivion” (2013)
    • “Star Trek: Into Darkness” (2013)
    • “World War Z” (2013)
    • “Coherence” (2013)
    • “Interstellar” (2014)
    • “Transcendence” (2014)
    • “I Origins” (2014)
    • “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” (2014)
    • “The Signal” (2014)
    • “Under The Skin” (2014)
    • “The Giver” (2014)
    • “Chappie” (2015)
    • “Mr. Robot” (2015, USA TV Series)
    • “The Expanse” (2015, SyFy TV Series)
    • “Ex Machina” (2015)
    • “The Man In The High Castle” (2015, Amazon TV Series)
    • “Wanderers” (2015, Short)
    • “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015)
    • “The Martian” (2015)
    • “TomorrowLand” (2015)
    • “The Lobster” (2015)
    • “10 Cloverfield Lane” (2015)
    • “Arrival” (2016)
    • “Stranger Things” (2016, Netflix TV Series)
    • “A Cure For Wellness” (2016)
    • “Passengers” (2016)
    • “Westworld” (2016, HBO TV Series)
    • “Childhood’s End” (2016, SyFy TV Miniseries)
    • “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016)
    • “Blade Runner: 2049” (2017)
    • “The Discovery” (2016)
    • “The Circle” (2017)
    • “Marjorie Prime” (2017)
    • “Life” (2017)
    • “Logan” (2017)
    • “Valérian And The City Of A Thousand Planets” (2017)
    • “Star Trek: Discovery” (2018, Netflix TV Series)
    • “War For The Planet Of The Apes” (2017)
    • “God Particle” (2018)
    • “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018)
    • “Annihilation” (2018)
    • “Ad Astra” (2019)
    • “Avatar 2” (2019)
    • “Dune” (2019, remake)

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,447
    Great list! Don't you mean Fantastic Voyage though? ;)

    As for Annihilation, looking forward to it.
  • DarthDimi wrote: »
    Great list! Don't you mean Fantastic Voyage though? ;)

    As for Annihilation, looking forward to it.

    Exactly! Hehe, little mistake ;-).

    I also can't wait for "Ad Astra"....
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