Dystopian movies

Started by FreakAnimalFinland, January 17, 2011, 08:36:16 PM

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FreakAnimalFinland

I will try to see where to get hold of it.
I watched all the documentaries this morning from disc 2 as well, and the original student short movie where THX feature film was based on.
I like especially the Murch explaining, how they didn't want the usual sci-fi electronic sounds to the movie. I guess theremins and early synths making "futuristic" electronics beeps and zaps. But the explanations of how how created the soundtrack by slowing down and reversing fragments of classical music, and eventually the actual composer liked that early reference soundtrack so much, he just wrote down the notes as they were, and re-created it with actual orchestra.
And when Murch mentions, the opening sequence of film is actually 400% slowed down and reversed Stabat Mater by Pergolesi, it's like no wonder it sounds so good and no wonder others have seen the genius quality of this piece and adopted it.. wink!

His detailed analysis of specific spaces, sounds, sources, how to achieve specific tonality, harmonics and textures, and what kind of things he experiments to get these good effects. I know, that these days people will just say, why bother, when you can use reverb plugin or distortion, but I would believe there is certain unconscious feeling when you listen to sound, when it has the hidden qualities what aren't necessarily obvious. Lets say his technic to play audio 4 times the normal speed in room, to record it with recorder that runs at same speed, and then slow it down back to normal speed, when the talking sounds normal, but the natural room reverb has grown 400%. Whole process including magnetic tapes and actual space being somewhat different than plugin of computer. which can be useful and good, but not the only option.
Also the method that they transmitted the audio via radio, and then captured the material with another radio, occasionally slightly out of the accurate frequency, creating great distortions, which would be affected not only by random hand adjustments, but conditions of weather, location, etc. And the detail, it's not something you necessary consciously think of, but which has the certain effect to your brain when you hear it. I think, that piece, would be probably useful reminder for noise makers from the times when innovative experiments resulted great sounds. What a dark colossal atmosphere you could pull out from music-box and tape manipulation, as opposed to some cheesy digi synth and reverb plugin.
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bitewerksMTB

I think it was THX 1138 I watched on a HD movie channel that had some new scenes added to it. Did not help at all.

chibitachop

Quote from: bitewerksMTB on January 23, 2011, 08:53:48 PM
I think it was THX 1138 I watched on a HD movie channel that had some new scenes added to it. Did not help at all.

yes, the "new & improved" version that Lucas made for the DVD and is now basically the only one available outside of VHS as far as I know includes such gems as that CGI blow-job machine artificially inserted to drop into the frame at the part where Robert Duvall is watching that black woman dancing on TV to make it look like it mechanically sucks his dick... thanks for obliterating any iota of subtlety out of that scene George. lots of other dumb "enhancements" of varying degrees of obviousness/significance but thats the one that really had me shaking my head.

magnus

#33
Logan´s run is classy, really good one with nice sets. I believe i´ve seen The Last Border many years ago, a film where very little happens (might have confused it with something else though...). Another finnish film set in future, about controllling people with television and suppressing emotions (a bit of 1984 then) is Ruusujen aika from 1969. A good one, maybe with a bit more 60s feeling than future, but there is a headphones-disco in it! Another one that takes place in the, near, future but certainly feels more like early 70s when it´s made (Vietnamwar, hippies etc.) is Peter Watkins Punishment Park. A "most dangerous game" story with hippies being hunted by armed police in Death Valley. Very well made, but maybe a little too predictable, quite intense in places though.
This thread made me dig up my old book "Classic Science Fiction Films" (and also watch a few, but none very dystopian yet), and the post-nuclear war film Five (1951) is described like this: "Innovative author-filmmaker Arch Oboler turns in a gripping, original film of postwar mores, survival, and interpersonal relationships. The best film ever of this sort." And "The climatic visit to a once-great metropolis littered with skeletons and debris is credible and well-executed, and it has great impact." I guess it´s more of a drama, i´ll be getting the dvd of it real soon, but has anyone seen it? Never heard of it, as far as i can remember, before reading that....

FreakAnimalFinland

Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on January 22, 2011, 10:36:23 AM
talking of road warrior, how many finns have seen the Kaurismäki "THE LAST BORDER" from 1993? When you put regular finnish actors speaking english, it sounds about as good as our rally drivers speak english. I have vague feeling I saw it from TV sometimes in mid 90's? Friend of mine just complimented it being very good. DVD is available nowadays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTV4BJtOugE

The Last Border - viimeisellä rajalla
Director: Mika Kaurismäki
"One man's guest for revenge in a post-apocalyptic world"
Finnish post-apocalyptic movie ("Finnish Mad Max") starring : Jürgen Prochnow, Kari Väänänen, Juice Leskinen, Jolyon Baker.
Music by : Stone

This is now available in shops part of Kaurismäki dvd series for 5 euros. Bought it today with the 3xdvd deluxe edition of Caligula. Now just have to think what to do with previous double disc I have..
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GEWALTMONOPOL

Quote from: chibitachop on January 23, 2011, 10:22:03 PM
Quote from: bitewerksMTB on January 23, 2011, 08:53:48 PM
I think it was THX 1138 I watched on a HD movie channel that had some new scenes added to it. Did not help at all.

yes, the "new & improved" version that Lucas made for the DVD and is now basically the only one available outside of VHS as far as I know includes such gems as that CGI blow-job machine artificially inserted to drop into the frame at the part where Robert Duvall is watching that black woman dancing on TV to make it look like it mechanically sucks his dick... thanks for obliterating any iota of subtlety out of that scene George. lots of other dumb "enhancements" of varying degrees of obviousness/significance but thats the one that really had me shaking my head.

I know it's shooting fich in a barrel but George Lucas must be one of the worst directors in the history of film. I've been meaning to see THX for years but reading this I won't be wasting my money. Thanks for the heads up!
Först när du blottar strupen ska du få nåd, ditt as...

chibitachop

Quote from: TheGreatEcstasy on January 26, 2011, 10:15:01 PM
Quote from: chibitachop on January 23, 2011, 10:22:03 PM
Quote from: bitewerksMTB on January 23, 2011, 08:53:48 PM
I think it was THX 1138 I watched on a HD movie channel that had some new scenes added to it. Did not help at all.

yes, the "new & improved" version that Lucas made for the DVD and is now basically the only one available outside of VHS as far as I know includes such gems as that CGI blow-job machine artificially inserted to drop into the frame at the part where Robert Duvall is watching that black woman dancing on TV to make it look like it mechanically sucks his dick... thanks for obliterating any iota of subtlety out of that scene George. lots of other dumb "enhancements" of varying degrees of obviousness/significance but thats the one that really had me shaking my head.

I know it's shooting fich in a barrel but George Lucas must be one of the worst directors in the history of film. I've been meaning to see THX for years but reading this I won't be wasting my money. Thanks for the heads up!

don't get me wrong, I like THX 1138 in its original non-"improved" form. if you want to see it either track down the VHS release or get a rip of it offline.

kettu

I rented and watched the postman today to see if I can stand behind the statement I made earlier.yep, still pretty decent.
I dont know what was going on but a few of the scenes looked like a shitty tv movie on the flatscreen tv, I dont remember it being like that in the theatre.

I also looked at some trailers for the fall of new york or bronx warriors... might be too brutal for me heh, ive never been a die hard b movie fan (with some exeptions)

a near perfect driving around song for a road warrior style flick would be a track from late werewolf: deaths eyes. a hint for any budding filmmaker.

Andrew McIntosh

Things to come, the movie adaptation of the HG Wells "Shape Of Things To Come" novel (movie is in the public domain = http://www.archive.org/details/things_to_come_ipod). Wells was a Fabian socialist with a tendency to think that given good rule, human society can only get better. I haven't read the book, though. The movie is strange - it starts off with "Everytown" in England getting the crap bombed out of it by unnamed foreign invaders. The bombing scene is great and there's a lot of good sound to sample. The war drags for decades and finishes in a nice, pre-Mad Max posts-apocalyptic dystopian society which is at first ravaged by "The Walking Sickness" then taken over by a despot. Into this little world comes someone representing a technologically advanced society that insists on taking over the world. The individual spouts a lot of nonsense about "we"; the mass taking over from the individual. His society uses a sleeping gas to subdue the little society. Then there's a montage about the importance of exploiting the Earth's natural resources "in a way never done before" and basically the special effects department has another load of fun building machines that chew up the planet and construct giant electronic towers and such.
It's pure dystopia, in that it's trying to postulate a utopia. The choice for humanity is either small, desperate, resource-less fiefdoms constantly at war with each other or a benevolent dictatorship of scientific socialist-fascists. Nice one, Wells.
Shikata ga nai.

WATERPOWER

While reading the IMDb entry for THE TIME GUARDIAN (1987)- which is pretty awful, by the way- I noticed a "dystopia" list on IMDb. Lot's of obvious titles, but a few others to fill the gaps (for me at least).

http://www.imdb.com/list/FIffL-U9Jko/

Reminded me of titles I didn't think of- like ZARDOZ (pretty confusing...) and titles I haven't seen like Tarkovskiy's STALKER, THE QUIET EARTH (can't wait to watch this one- I've been told to not read up a word on it prior to watching it), amongst others.

Niko

There is new movie out now on DVD set in the dystopian future called: In Time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Time

Have to check it, plot seems okay but it bothers me a bit that out of all people they have casted Justin Timberlake in to the mainrole..
www.obscurex.org Noise, Power Electronics, Industrial & Experimental Label.

ConcreteMascara

It was supposed to be predictable shite from what I've heard.
[death|trigger|impulse]

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PTM Jim

As far as movies that are not on the list, I always liked:
The Fifth Element
Class Of 1999

I also always thought of "Repoman" as a present-day dystopian film.
I was also kind of surprised that "The Road" wasn't on there.