Comments on: Watch the Skies! Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us

Watch the Skies! Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us

vronsky — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:05:25 -0800

Watch The Skies! Directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and James Cameron discuss the science fiction movies of the 1950s that influenced them. 1::2::3::4::5::6:: 1 hour.

By: steef

steef — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:19:17 -0800

What's the movie with the giant mantis climbing the Washington Monument? And why is Spielberg dressed as a priest?

By: penduluum

penduluum — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:29:11 -0800

Pretty sure it's "The Deadly Mantis". Thanks, MST3k!

By: fairytale of los angeles

fairytale of los angeles — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:31:39 -0800

Associated critical reading on the topic: Screening Space: The American Science Fiction Film by Vivian Sobchack. That book and Watch the Skies! were two of the sources in the SF genre films class I took a while back, a course that converted me to the lifelong love of Them! as the ancestral bug-hunt film.

By: azpenguin

azpenguin — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:03:27 -0800

Watch The Skies. Great track from Spacer - that CD is tough to find, though

By: digsrus

digsrus — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 07:07:07 -0800

These critiques by famous directors are a terrific walk down memory lane. I have forgotten how much I loved these old movies whose special effects seem lame compared to today's computer generated wizardry. However, I believe the fears generated by these films were actually public service messages. Without being conditioned to tolerate the terrors contained by these films I would have been driven quite mad by the actual horror of real life.

By: wittgenstein

wittgenstein — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:31:27 -0800

This was a fun watch. Thanks for posting.