In light of the highly-anticipated Blade Runner 2049, here is a list of science fiction films that are recommended for fans of the original classic.
Strange Days (1995)
Much like BR, SD is a sci-fi detective noir set in a dystopian future L.A. (the future of 1999!!) that follows an ex-cop named Nero (Ralph Fiennes). The film concerns SQUID discs, recordings that allows users to experience the recorder’s memories and physical sensations. Nero is sent down a very disturbing journey when one of these SQUID discs contains the memory of a murderer killing a prostitute, which goes on to reveal a city-wide conspiracy.
The movie is directed by Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Point Break, Detroit) and the story was conceived by James Cameron (Terminator, Titanic, Avatar), both of which were married to each other at one point. Taking inspiration from the Lorena Bobbitt trial and the 1992 LA riots in the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict, the film explores mature themes such as racism, abuse of power, rape, the negative effects of technology and voyeurism.
If you are wondering right now “Why haven’t I’ve heard of this?”, it is because upon release the movie was a financial disaster (grossing $8 million on a $42 million budget, nearly derailing Bigelow’s directing career for good) and polarized critics, praising the atmosphere and acting (Fiennes and Angelo Bassett) but slamming it for it’s violence. SD’s critical standing however has significantly improved over the years, gaining a small but devoted cult following that feel SD was unfairly overlooked by causal audiences and misguided critics.
It was also named by Bigelow herself as her personal favorite movie.
Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
IMDB: 7.2
Dark City (1998)
It’s hard to believe the director (Alex Proyas) of this and The Crow would go on to deliver drek such as the Nicolas Cage disaster Knowing and Gods of Egypt!!
One of the key ingredients that made BR a classic is how even though LA is a flying car-filled neon-lit rainy metropolis, there are echoes of the past and present displayed in the architecture. In the case of BR, it is the 30’s and 40’s that instill the futuristic city with an old-fashioned aesthetic that elevate it towards timeless.
DC on the other hand also runs with this “past, present, and future” architecture idea and instills Victorian Gothic visuals that draws heavy inspiration form German expressionist film-making. Other sources of inspiration also include Terry Gilliam’s Brazil.
Starring Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland (who gives one of his oddest but best performances), Jennifer Connolly and William Hurt, DC follows an amnesiac man named John Murdoch (Sewell) who wakes up to find himself the suspect of a murder. Not only does Murdoch have to evade the the police in order to discover his true identity and clear his name, but he also has to evade a mysterious group of bald-headed men known as “The Strangers”.
Most often drawing comparisons to The Matrix (which came out a year later and over-shadowed this flick) due to it’s central themes of identity and memories, this imaginative retelling of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is certainly not lacking in atmosphere.
The murky post-WWII dark and nightmarish cityscape feels almost like another character on it’s own and is truly a marvel in production design.
Wonderfully weird, creepy, but also heart-warming; DC more than deserves it’s strong cult following all these years later.
Oh and one piece of advise….please make sure to watch the director’s cut because the original theatrical version contains an opening narration by Kiefer Sutherland (which was added in by the studio on Proyas’ behest) that gives away the big twist of the movie.
Rotten Tomatoes: 74%
IMDB: 7.7
Metropolis (1927)
BR and DC are marvels for their ambitious production designs, but we cannot and should not forget about the Fritz Lang’s silent classic that went on to influence not only BR and DC, but all of science fiction cinema!
Made in Germany during the Weimer Period, the story concerns a futuristic urban dystopia in which two characters, Freder the naive son of a wealthy city ruler and Maria a poor worker, attempt to mend the vast gulf that separates the two classes of Metropolis (the workers and the thinkers). All of which is being fueled by a mad scientist with a golden-plated robot.
Receiving initial mixed reception for it’s alleged Communist message and going through several restorations over the years (the film was cut down significantly after it’s German premiere due to criticisms of it’s length), the movie is 90 years old and it still frighteningly looks futuristic.
Even by today’s standards the cathedral-like gothic production value (inspired by modernity and the Art Deco movement) and extensive model effects still impress. The movie was the first feature-length sci-fi movie, so it’s impressive what Lang and his crew were able to accomplish without the aid of modern digital trickery. The most awe-inspiring building in the movie is Federson’s headquarters, which draws heavily from Pieter Brueghel’s famous 1563 painting of the Tower of Babel.
The movie’s themes of mass production, class warfare, fascism and communism are sadly still relevant even today.
Granted even I think the length of the movie is excessive, but then again I seem to commonly have trouble sitting through silent films exceeding more than 90 minutes. Maybe I am too spoiled by sound!
The movie, or at least the famous image of the robot, would later inspire the creation of Osamu Tezuka manga Metropolis (which has a VERY different plot from the movie), which was later made into a 2001 anime film written by Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo.
Wow, what a segue way!!!
Rotten Tomatoes: 99%
IMDB: 8.3
Akira (1988)
Remember when I confessed I love James Bond movies?
Well…I have another confession….I also love anime!
Initially a flop in it’s native Japan but gaining a large devoted cult following once it hit the states, this landmark in Japanese animation paved the way for the success of anime franchises such as Pokemon, Nauruto and Dragonball in America. The movie has also been cited as a major influence on live-action efforts such as The Matrix, Chronicle, Looper, Midnight Special, Inception and even Stranger Things.
Based on Otomo’s own 2,000 page manga, the story is set in the dystopian city of Neo Tokyo and tells the story of Shotaro Kaneda, a young biker gang leader whose childhood friend Tetsuo Shima acquires incredible telekinetic powers after a motorcycle accident. As Tetsuo’s powers grow, insane chaos and violent rebellion ensue in the futuristic metropolis and lets just say things get ALOT crazier from there….
To realize the manga setting and instill super-fluid movement in the animation, over 160,000 animation cels were created. From the opening biker gang warfare between Kaneda and the Clown gang, the film wastes no time in establishing it’s intense kinetic pace and showing off it’s awe-inspiring city setting. The level of detail present in every single frame of this flick rivals even some of the best 3D animated stuff. I mean….just watch this video if you want to get a complete appreciation for how much insane effort when into the art direction.
While the movie does suffer from a feeling of incompleteness due to the fact that it was made while the manga was still running (thus omitting out the manga’s much more interesting Lord of the Flies second half) and a drawn-out third act, there are a lot of awe-inspiring set pieces (Ex. can you say space laser?) and I love the avant-garde score by Shoji Yamashiro (those drums following the opening explosion of Tokyo still gives me shivers).
This movie will always hold a special place for me since it was my personal introduction to anime and even though I admit it’s far from perfect, it is still a well-directed piece of science fiction that showcases the full possibilities of the medium.
The movie has had two English dubs over the years. The first one was the 1989 Streamline dub and it suffered from widely inconsistent voice acting, terrible lip synching, and questionable translations that made the complex plot harder to understand.
The recent 2001 Pioneer dub is the way to go since the voice acting is better and provides a more accurate translation of the original Japanese dialogue. Although I do take issue with some of the remastered sound effects (Ex. those loudness war gunshot sounds).
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
IMDB: 8.1
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Not to be confused with the 2017 live-action remake starring Scarlett Johansson, although am I the only one who actually liked that movie and thought the whole white-washing thing was a dumb controversy manufactured by people who obviously didn’t understand the source material?
Revolutionary for it’s combination of traditional cel-animation and CGI graphics (Ex. The opening green radar screen was homaged in The Matrix), Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 cyberpunk masterpiece concerns a public security agency known as Section 9 who are on the hunt for a mysterious hacker known as The Puppet Master. With the assistance of her team, Motoko Kusanagi tracks and finds the suspect only to get drawn into a complex web of political intrigue and cover-ups.
Much like BR, GITS has an over-arching philosophical theme throughout it’s narrative concerning self-identify. In BR case it’s the question of what does the word “human” mean in a world were the difference between human and robot has all but disappeared.
In the case of GITS, this question is taken deeper with the character of Motoko because she is a cyborg, so everything about her is artificial except her brain. If every part of your body can be replaced, then what room is there for a soul (aka. a ghost), hence the title?
It is also scary given how this movie covers the issues of hackers and corporate blackmail, which have become all too real in this day and age.
Part action-thriller, part sci-fi, and part art film; GITS is a movie that seems to only get better and better as I get older. Even though the movie has some great action scenes (Ex. Invisible Motoko vs. a henchman) and thought-provoking dialogue, my personal favorite parts are whenever the film slows down to silently showcase the cityscape.
The futuristic Tokyo presented in GITS differs from Akira in which it is not nearly as flashy and chaotic, but instead has a sense of surreal foreboding and alienation. Everything seems to look fine, but it all seems empty and the eerie artful score by Kenji Kawai is the icing on the cake.
It can be argued that this movie is just as influential as BR given it’s impact on modern-day science fiction (Ex. The Matrix, Avatar, A.I. Artificial Intelligence). It may come off as cold for some, but the deep philosophical subject manner and artful execution are what elevate this film to being one of my personal favorite films.
And if you like this movie, then check out the underrated sequel, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence.
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
IMDB: 8.0
If you want to buy any of these movies, then follow these links to Amazon:
* Akira
Natural Born Film Critic 