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In discovering different ways to present the future, the members of the Futuricity team actively researched three futuristic science fiction films. The research was undertaken by Bryon who viewed three films and then produced a write-up upon each film, to express any important points noted. The following films specifically identified in the research included:
- Fifth Element
- Star Wars – Return of the Sith
- Lost in Space
Fifth Element
The first film, Fifth Element, is about all life on earth being threatened by a being of pure evil, but there is light, a secret priest hood present on earth in order to keep the secret of an alien race with the only weapon, the fifth element, able to destroy this evil.
The story unfolds from different points of view at an exhilarating pace and closely follows the footsteps of the hero, Korben, as he continues to wipe out the bad guys in protection of Leeloo, whilst in search of the four precious stones which encase the other four elements needed to combine and use the fifth element as the weapon against pure evil.
The special effects created are amazing, comprising of a modern city, with flying cabs, futuristic design buildings, new technology dotted about the scene to give the audience a realistic future perspective. The best scene of the film is said to be the combination of the Diva’s performance with Leeloo's fight. These parallel scenes run simultaneously and are totally synchronized. One must consider the ample time that must have been inputted into the chorography of action with the music.
In conclusion, Fifth Element is the best science fiction film of 1997. Heavy research must have been carried out before its production so as to enable the producers to provide the audience with a realistic reality of the future. The CG graphics for the modern future city are excellent, even real objects such as the cockpits for vehicles within the film such as Dalla’s cab, Zork’s space craft are carefully designed with video screens, interactive talking computers, automatic doors the list goes on.
Star Wars – Return of the Sith
The Second film Return of the Sith is the sixth film of the Star Wars saga, (technically number 3 in the series). This film focuses on the character Anakin Skywalker and his transformation from Jedi knight to Dark Vader. The first scenes of Star Wars – Return of the Sith are truly amazing with an action package beginning sequence with lots of CG battle ships above city planet Corusant.
The final light sabre scene in star wars – Return of the Sith is between the two main characters Obi - Wan and Anakin which was absolutely mind blowing. Compared with the last fighting light sabre scene in Return of the Jedi of which the effects were manually inputted (i.e matt painted), this battle was largely composed using up to date technology incorporating the use of CG graphics, animation and the processing power of computers. In comparison of these two scenes one finds that the use of CG graphics has yielded the previous battle scene as less realistic, for light saber beams are less crisp. This scene is also very well choreographed that it worked and proves to possibly the best light sabre fight scene in the series compared to Return of the Jedi. The best part is that the audience finally understand why Anakin becomes Darth Vader and this scene makes the audience tingle.
Star Wars III – Return the Sith in my opinion is mind blowing; full of dark action and with hints of humour and it is definitely the best prequel. The graphics that are used in this film are amazing not surprise considering the birth of Pixar from the same company, the futuristic planet has massive hulking skyscrapers dotted about the scenes composed as Futuristic Architecture. Although the story talks of a galaxy far far away, this film tells of a possible future not too unrealistic from our own. The Star Wars films give the audience a sense of a possible future as well as keeping a proportional sense of reality. For instance many of the creatures are highly more technologically advanced compared to the human race, yet the films portray what it could be like for humans, when technology has developed, for humans to travel at the speed of light.
Lost in Space
The third film Lost in Space is set in the year 2058. The audience is immediately made conscious of the time in which this film is set, as the year is listed in the very first scene. The inhabitants of Earth are rapidly depleting resources all countries in the world have put aside their differences and have decided to work together in other resources, using a theory developed by scientists called warping space. The plan is to send a ship called Alpha One where the team can build a Hypergate, a Hypergate on earth has already been constructed, once the gate situated at Alpha one has been constructed ships will be able to instantaneous jump to Alpha One’s solar system.
It also has a lot of good special effects and one of the best Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound tracks. At "theatre volume", expect your powered subwoofer to "bottom out" a few times. The sounds in the rear channels, like in the fine opening battle scene, augment the main sound track at appropriate times. It is a fantasy, involving things the audience don't yet know if are possible - time travel, deep space travel, suspended animation, and travel through warped space. Much of this is based on sound science, or at least peripherally to sound science.
The DVD menu that first pops up is designed like the cockpit of a futuristic space ship, with futuristic music. There are a number of nice "extras", including cast, trailer, deleted scenes, building special effects, the future of space travel, two different audio commentary tracks, a feature on the mid-60s "TV years”.
An important nice touch to the film is the use of computer voice recognition, not to mention the excellent CG graphics of the alien Monkey, which superimposes the entirety of the character so well that the audience believe it to really exist in the scene. The circle computer display is very well crafted, including all the scenes of the family still on Earth. The producer’s retain a positively futuristic reality by composition of modern architectural designs, (such as the presence of glass), and presenting to the audience with micro gadgets and portable technology (such as the penny webcam, Will’s robot, and Don West’s armour which builds around his face as he goes in battle). In all, a very innovative and radical science fiction film for 1998.