Lovers know, and the rest probably not, that this October will be a significant date. Emmett Brown and Marty McFly went to the future and arrived there on October 21, 2015. In honor of this event, the article is devoted to films in which one way or another the relationship between an individual and time is considered.
But here you need to make a reservation so as not to waste time for those who are waiting for documentary science fiction films to be covered in this article. The topic "Science Fiction: Documentary Films" will not be disclosed here. But what can be found here? A review and partial analysis of films on the subject of human-time relations. Of course, there are a great many of them, so only three storylines were chosen, although one of them includes as many as three parts. So, the list of "science fiction: the best films" includes films:
- “Back to the Future” (trilogy);
- “Ivan Vasilievich is changing his profession”;
- "Remember everything".
“Back to the Future” (1985–1990)
The trilogy was filmed between 1985 (the release date of the first film) through 1990 (the release date of the last film).
The plot of the first part
Very briefly, because, probably, everyone knows him. This wonderful movie is based on a duet of actors Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox. They play, respectively, the doctor ("Doc") Emmett Brown and Marty McFly. The doctor is a crazy scientist, obsessed with science, invents something all the time, but, as a rule, this something does not work. But in 1985, Doc still creates something working - a time machine. He invites his friend, Marty McFly, an ordinary student, to witness a historic moment: the first experiment with time. And the first time traveler in this off-laboratory experiment is a dog named Einstein. This is how the filmmakers thank the greatest physicist of the twentieth century for the idea.
The experiment is successful, but the doctor does not have time to use his brainchild to wave 30 years ahead, i.e., in 2015. He is being killed by terrorists, from whom he fraudulently borrowed plutonium. The time machine, unfortunately, works only on "nuclear traction", to pierce time and space, you need a lot of energy. Murder happens right in front of Marty. Frightened, he climbs into the “DeLorian” (time machine) and, fleeing terrorists from all wheels, accidentally ends up in 1955.
A lot of things are happening to Marty at this time, but the main thing is that he helps his father believe in himself and turn from a loser into a successful writer, which, of course, affects the fate of all family members. Marty also meets Doc alive and well. He helps him get home. Happy end.
The plot of the second part
The second part starts where the first ends. For Marty, the reality is gorgeous: the parents are rich, he has a car, the girl loves him. Ahead of them is only the best. But here Doc appears and says that they urgently need to fly to the future to rescue them with Jennifer's children. The time machine is now able to fly, and the characters are sent to the future, but this is only the beginning of adventure.
The plot of the third part
In an accident at the end of the second part, Emmett Brown ends up in the Wild West. Marty cannot leave his friend in trouble and goes after him, using the help of Doc from 1955 (this is a long story, it’s better to watch the film). There, too, the two main characters fall into various event bindings, but again come out of them with honor. True, unfortunately, the train destroys the time machine at the end.
Back to the Future and Time
Probably, many who watched this film thought about it, but are such time travel possible? Answer: unfortunately, not yet. From a physical point of view, neither the past nor the future exists. The past is our memories, and the future is our predictions, expectations, abilities and will. In other words, the past and the future are constructs of consciousness.
In addition, from a scientific point of view, it seems impossible to recreate an exact copy of past events.
It is also impossible to change the history of one family without changing the entire history of mankind. We must not forget about the “butterfly effect”, the essence of which is precisely that minor influences or events can upset the balance of the entire system and lead to catastrophic consequences. In this sense, the film “And the Thunder struck” is much closer to the truth according to the story of Ray Bradbury. It is just about the "butterfly effect" in the literal and figurative sense.
Nevertheless, despite scientific criticism, this film is certainly rightfully included in the category “Best Science Fiction: Films”, the lists of which are always headed.
“Ivan Vasilievich Changes the Profession” (1973)
Strange, but the Soviet and Russian viewers, most likely, do not perceive the famous comedy as science fiction. And completely in vain. It can, like "Back to the Future", be considered one of the best in its genre. In other words, the category "Best Science Fiction: Movies" (lists of this genre) should be adorned with our illustrious comedy. It is noteworthy that in one of the English translations the film sounds like: Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future. Thus, two science-fiction films enter into bizarre linguistic and temporal relationships.
Plot
Although he is known to every Soviet and, hopefully, to a Russian person, duty tells him to remind.
The "mad" Soviet scientist A. S. Timofeev is in search of a mechanism that can manage time and send a person to the past or future. As a result of his searches, he invents a time machine. Because of his experiments, traffic jams in the house constantly fly out, which is very dissatisfied with the terribly conscious manager of I.V. Bunsh. Next to A.S. Timofeev A.S. Shpak. In an effort to explain to the manager the essence of the action of the time machine, the inventor launches it, and the wall separating the apartments of Timofeev and Shpak disappears. Georges Miloslavsky (seasoned apartment thief) appears on the front of the stage. All at a loss: “Where did the wall go?” The scientist, on the contrary, is inspired: since she disappeared, then the machine is working! So you can go to the past or future. A. S. Timofeev says that now they will see Russia since the time of Ivan the Terrible. And really saw. True, the spontaneous experiment went a little wrong: the inhabitants of Soviet Moscow and the inhabitants of its older version changed places in confusion - IV Bunsh and Georges Miloslavsky fell in the time of Ivan the Terrible, and one of the most cruel tsars in the history of Russia saw the beauties of industrial Moscow . This is the plot of the film belonging to the category "Science Fiction: the best films."
Mikhail Bulgakov and Leonid Gaidai
The plot of the famous play almost completely formed the basis of the Soviet masterpiece. It is also noteworthy that in the play and in the film, all the action takes place in the dream of engineer Timofeev. Both in the days of Mikhail Bulgakov and in the days of Gaidai, only dream reality was beyond the control of the authorities, which is why the events of the play and the film were placed in it. The timeless creative union of M. A. Bulgakov and L. I. Gaidai created a work of art that is part of the group "Science Fiction: The Best Films".
“Remember Everything” (1990)
Another film that certainly deserves attention is “Remember Everything” with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role. The film itself was shot in the action movie genre, but it deserves attention because it considers and unfolds the idea of ​​false memories.
Plot
In the courtyard is almost the 21st century - 2084. The average worker has strange dreams. From night to night he presents himself as a secret agent on Mars. Then, in the light of day, he sees the company “Vospominenie” offering the services of “false travel”: memories are implanted into the person’s memory, any that he wants, of course, within the framework of the assortment available at the office. Douglas Quaid decides to look there. They explain the conditions to him, talk about dangers, for example, that there is a possibility of losing his memory, he still wants to be at least in his memories as an agent with a secret mission on Mars. During the memory implantation procedure, a crash occurs, Douglas becomes aggressive and shouts something obscure, beats the employees of the company, but they, having injected him a huge dose of tranquilizer, cope with the situation.
Doug is in a taxi. Then something strange happens with reality itself: a lot of people run after the hero in the hope of killing him. And what’s most interesting: among them is the wife of Douglas Quaid.
Remake of 2012 and the place “Remember All” in the Hall of Fame
If someone doesn’t like Arnie, they can watch another movie with the same title and plot. Starring Colin Farrell. A newer film is not much different from its predecessor, except that it is more technologically advanced and has more special effects.
A place in the movie hall of fame, of course, this film is unlikely to take, but it deserves a place in the group "Science Fiction: the best films" for the idea. In general, if the cinema is engaged in the systematic development of Philip Dick's almost vast literary heritage, then the Hollywood industry will earn more than one million dollars. One trouble with F. Dick’s novels: they are beautiful in their ideas, but they lack filigree execution, and all because their author almost never had enough time for the exact implementation of the plan.
These are the best science fiction films.
Why weren't movies released after the 2000s included in the list of the best?
This is a reasonable question. It can occur in most readers of this article. Indeed, in the 2000s a lot of good science fiction films were released, but in the 20th century, science fiction itself changed, now it seems to people that the future will be completely different, that is, the representations of 20 years ago are outdated and become our modern reality (of course, not all). Therefore, it is more interesting, in our opinion, to see how the fantastic ideas of the 80s and 90s were embodied. The generation of then children has already become adults. They were witnesses of the appearance of these films, which means that they hoped, empathized and dreamed in the same key with their creators. In other words, our top three films in the category “Science Fiction: Feature Films” are like that, but for the younger generation it can be completely different.
Final list
It remains to make a brief summary. This included not only the directly described films, but also those that would be nice to see in context. And here the time limiter set by the author of the article is not respected. So, "Science Fiction: the best films", a list of masterpieces about the personal relationship of man and time:
- “Back to the Future” (trilogy);
- “Ivan Vasilievich is changing his profession”;
- “Remember everything” (2 versions);
- "A Sound of Thunder";
- "Quantum Leap" (TV series);
- Groundhog Day;
- “Butterfly Effect” (only the first part, the first film).
The last three films are out of the series (The Quantum Leap is a science fiction series, and The Butterfly Effect and Groundhog Day are rather philosophical parables). But still, they need to be seen by all those who are interested in metaphysical, philosophical, in a word, world-defining issues of human existence in the context of the space-time continuum.