Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:43:40 -0400, hk wrote:

My idea of "early" sci-fi apparently goes back much farther. As an
example, I thought Gene Barry's 1953 War of the Worlds was far, far
superior to the recent Tom Cruise version. Of course, I also liked
"Them!" even though it transcended hokey.

Personally, I liked the Orson Welles rdio version better, but the
Barry film was great.

The all-time classic for me, though, is the collaboration between
Kubrick and Clarke, aka 2001: A Space Odyssey. Best "space" sci-fi ever,
including the bizarre and unexplained ending.

Eh - stoner movie in my opinion.

Now you want early scifi, can't beat "The Day the Earth Stood Still"
(1953) with Michael Rennie and directed by Robert Wise. Great story
with lots of fore shadowing of the Cold War. Some even claim it's
Christian allegory with it's message of universal peace, etc.

A very interesting comparision to the original story, "Farewell to The
Master" by Harry Bates which, as a historical sidenote, put the
magazine "Astounding" on the pulp scifi map.

Another of my early favorites, pre-CGI, was "Day the World Ended"
directed by Roger Corman of all people. Very campy.

And what list of early scifi wouldn't include "The Time Machine"
(1960) starring Rod Taylor and Alan Young (~~ snerk ~~). Or "When
Worlds Collide" (1951) which is a hoot viewed by today's perspective.


Forgot "The Day...". Also one I like a lot.

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