Fantastic Planets, Forbidden Zones, and Lost Continents: The 100 Greatest Science-Fiction Films - Hardcover

Brode, Douglas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0292739192 ISBN 13: 9780292739192

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 2015

Synopsis

Whether you judge by box office receipts, industry awards, or critical accolades, science fiction films are the most popular movies now being produced and distributed around the world. Nor is this phenomenon new. Sci-fi filmmakers and audiences have been exploring fantastic planets, forbidden zones, and lost continents ever since George Méliès’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. In this highly entertaining and knowledgeable book, film historian and pop culture expert Douglas Brode picks the one hundred greatest sci-fi films of all time.

Brode’s list ranges from today’s blockbusters to forgotten gems, with surprises for even the most informed fans and scholars. He presents the movies in chronological order, which effectively makes this book a concise history of the sci-fi film genre. A striking (and in many cases rare) photograph accompanies each entry, for which Brode provides a numerical rating, key credits and cast members, brief plot summary, background on the film’s creation, elements of the moviemaking process, analysis of the major theme(s), and trivia. He also includes fun outtakes, including his top ten lists of Fifties sci-fi movies, cult sci-fi, least necessary movie remakes, and “so bad they’re great” classics—as well as the ten worst sci-fi movies (“those highly ambitious films that promised much and delivered nil”). So climb aboard spaceship Brode and journey to strange new worlds from Metropolis (1927) to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

About this title

About the Author:

Douglas Brode is a screenwriter, playwright, novelist, graphic novelist, film historian, and multi-award-winning journalist who has written nearly forty books on movies and the mass media.

Review:

"Brode's done an admirable job in this well-written and engaging book. For neofans, it's an excellent starting place. For older fans, it's interesting to see old favourites in context against newer movies. Fantastic Planets is a welcome addition to any SF or film buff's bookshelf." (Fortean Times)

"It contains a ton of information that sci-fi fans will love having collected into one volume . . . The central benefit of Brode’s book [is] discovering new films that one is already highly likely to enjoy. Not only does it collect all that film ephemera into one place for easy reference, it also serves as a springboard for the kinds of conversations that energize film fans. " (PopMatters)

"An excellent work whose innovative format, often-unexpected choices of films, and accessible writing style make it ideally suited to nonspecialist scholars, undergraduates, and general readers. The author’s choice of which films to discuss sets it apart from virtually every other history-of-sci-fi-film book likely to appear on even well-stocked personal (or library) shelves. I strongly recommend it." (Cynthia J. Miller, Professor of Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, Emerson College, and coeditor of 1950s “Rocketman” TV Series and Their Fans: Cadets, Rangers, and Junior Space Men and Steaming into a Victorian Future: A Steampunk Anthology)

"Reading the short entries is addictive, like sampling canapés at a buffet table. The chronological order allows the reader to enter anywhere, or even to read the book backwards, favoring recent, more familiar items over older more obscure ones." (James MacKillop, author of Contemporary Irish Cinema: From The Quiet Man to Dancing at Lughnasa)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0292739192
• ISBN 13: 9780292739192
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 440