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

April 4, 2009 6:05 PM

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.
posted by vronsky (6 comments total)

What's the movie with the giant mantis climbing the Washington Monument? And why is Spielberg dressed as a priest?
posted by steef at 6:19 PM on April 4, 2009

Pretty sure it's "The Deadly Mantis". Thanks, MST3k!
posted by penduluum at 6:29 PM on April 4, 2009

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.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 7:31 PM on April 4, 2009

Watch The Skies. Great track from Spacer - that CD is tough to find, though
posted by azpenguin at 1:03 AM on April 5, 2009

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.
posted by digsrus at 7:07 AM on April 5, 2009

This was a fun watch. Thanks for posting.
posted by wittgenstein at 1:31 PM on April 5, 2009