subject: Sci-fi Film History [print this page] Phasers vaporizing Klingons, giant spiders attacking buildings, monsters coming to life. Who doesn"t love a good sci-fi flick. But have you ever wondered where they come from. World you believe the first movie wasn"t a movie at all but a short film from France called La Charcuterie Mecanique in 1895 by Lumiere Brothers.(The Mechanical butcher) These short films last only a minute or so and were meant to be funny. It wasn"t until 1902 La Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip to The Moon) created by George Melies that the first feature film came out. Thus Sci-fi films were about to be changed forever. The early 1900s brought adaptations that were classed Sci-Fi. Mary Shelley"s "Frankenstein" in 1910 and Jules Verne"s "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea were both brought to the silver screen. In fact Frankenstein was revolutionary combining both horror and Sci-fi, other films naturally followed this mix genre.
Most of those films gave way to using stop animation. The movie industry was being revolutionized. "The Lost World" was one of the first films to use the stop animation. But lacking originality from their only source which at the time were only books written in the late 19 and early 20 century, the industry needed something new and in 1972 they made "Metropolis." A original film that wasn"t an adaption of a book. It was the first Sci-fi film to show the social qualities of humanity in modern events. Made in Germany by director Fritz Lang, the special effects were anew. Using miniature cities, flying cameras, and mirrors to "place" the actors into the small city. The film explored social crisis between two very different societies and reflects Europe at the time.
Sci-fi had then begun to emerge into its own and become something more than a joke. In 1936 "Flash Gordon" hit the big screen being one of the first films to bring action and adventure to the Sci-Fi world. The over the top hit would be cheesy for today"s films. The movie was a serial with 13 episodes culminating in about 245 minutes of films. This type of cinema went out of fashion but the films that it spawned certainly didn"t.
The power of storytelling in Sci-Fi is certainly one of the greatest and because of its overlapping similarities to the fantasy genre, endless of great stories can be written again and again. Star Wars, using both of these elements, a new "in-between" genre has formed, called: Space Opera.
The 20th century era brought many great adaptations and unique creations to cinemas worldwide such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still. With those came some that was forgettable: Robot Monster, Plan 9 From Outer Space and Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.
The early history of the Sci-Fi genre was clearly not always perfect but it was certainly pioneering, risky and brought a wealth of new and brilliant films to the world. Without the pioneers we wouldn"t have some of the greatest Sci-Fi films of today, or even tv shows such as Fringe, Stargate SG-1, or Star Trek and scientists probably wouldn"t have got us to the moon without inspiration from these films!
