Science Fiction Movies

The Movie Treasury

by Philip Strick

Dust jacket "A wide-ranging account of science fiction in the cinema with detailed discussion of many of the films mentioned. All the popular, and disturbing, themes are treated, from films about alien visitors, space flight and scientists on the rampage to films about political pressure and experiments with time perspective. The highly informative text includes an unusually wide and interesting range of films from early classics like 'Homunculus', 'Metropolis', 'War of the Worlds' to more contemporary films like '2001', 'The War Game', 'Clockwork Orange'. Illustrated with over 170 color and black and white stills, many of which have not been published before."

Genres: Film, Science Fiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Otis Campbell]

Now instead of handin' you a dry, boring-ass timeline, this fella Strick groups all them movies together by their main sci-fi themes. You can jump head-first right into specific chapters all about: Mad scientists and monstrous creations: Folks playin' God in labs and breedin' creepy-crawly critters. Alien invaders and cosmic threats: Little green men and boogeymen from outer space fixin' to cause trouble. Political dystopias and bleak futures: Big-headed governments runnin' roughshod over folks in a real miserable tomorrow.Time travel and reality-bending journeys: Trippy-dippy trips through time that'll completely warp your mind. Now, seein' as how this thing was put in print way back in 1976, it ain't got absolutely a lick of mention about Star Wars (1977), Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), or any of that modern, fancy CGI computer-magic. It is strictly a look-see at old-timey, classic picture-show history.

[Derelict Space Sheep]

Broad in its definition of science fiction, wide-ranging in its consideration of obscure and/or non English–language movies, Strick’s compendium offers both a balanced, incisive overview of the vintage SF corpus and a good-humoured jumping-off point for delving into individual genre films.

3.5★