1984 (1956)
Jan 13, 2014Dystopia
The first film adaptation of the classic George Orwell dystopian work. The brilliance of the book only comes through in occasional moments but mostly the film befalls the leaden hand of director Michael Anderson
Michael Anderson
Doc Savage – The Man of Bronze (1975)
Dec 14, 2001Pulp Superhero
The final film from legendary 1950s SF producer George Pal, an adaptation of the celebrated 1930s pulp hero Doc Savage. Alas, this is given the campy unserious tone of tv's Batman, which utterly wrecks the show
Logan’s Run (1976)
Feb 2, 2003Dystopian Future
Dystopian SF mounted on a big budget by people that don't have a clue what they are doing. This creates one of prettiest depictions of the future of any film of this era but it is surface deep depiction that swims free of any sociopolitical understanding
Orca (1977)
Aug 6, 2000Killer Whale
After his crass remake of King Kong, Dino de Laurentiis went on to make this blatant copy of Jaws, which was widely ridiculed. Contrarily, i rather liked it – a Moby Dick by way of Jaws, it comes with some visually fantastic moments
Dominique (1978)
Apr 19, 2016Psycho-Thriller
A creaky old-fashioned psycho-thriller – one that draws heavily on Les Diaboliques and a contrived plot to drive somebody crazy – that came out the same year as Halloween changed the horror genre. It also suffers the leaden directorial hand of Michael Anderson
The Martian Chronicles (1980)
Aug 12, 2012Human Colonisation of Mars/Ray Bradbury Adaptation
Ray Bradbury's book about the human colonisation of Mars is an SF classic for its wistful, nostalgic poetry. This tv mini-series adaptation is killed by a lumbering director who over-explains Bradbury's imagery in the most literal ways
Bells (1981)
Feb 7, 2000Exploding Telephone Calls
Rather silly thriller in which Richard Chamberlain tries to track a madman who has discovered a means of transmitting explosions by telephone
Second Time Lucky (1984)
Jan 25, 2003Adam and Eve Comedy
One of the most excruciatingly painful films ever made - a softcore comedy in which God and The Devil make a bet to replay the Garden of Eden by reincarnating Adam and Eve throughout history. Filled with ghastly over-the-top performances and much eye-rolling innuendo
Millennium (1989)
Mar 9, 2001Time Travel
Film adaptation of a time travel novel by John Varley, one of the finest SF writers in the world, that ends up bluntening and dumbing the story down
The New Adventures of Pinocchio (1999)
Jan 8, 2011Living Puppet Boy
Sequel to the 1996 CGI The Adventures of Pinocchio, this is a shabby and drearily made piece of filler that unimaginatively shuffles around the basic elements of the first film without making an effort at all