There is an entire genre of film out there that examines the darker side of humanity and what the future looks like if that darker side continues to thrive. It seems to me that these films offer us a great opportunity to turn a negative into a positive and thus I present you with the Top 10 Dystopian Future Films Telling Us to Act Now!
The films below are the best of the dystopian bunch, each one offering us a great cinema experience as well as insight on how to make the world better today!
1. Metropolis : My # 1 dystopian adventure is also the oldest. Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent, Metropolis, is about a society in 2026 (so soon!) that is split is two, with the rich living above ground and the workers below. When one of the elite goes underground, he falls in love and those above use technology to keep their delicate class system in order. The story’s simple and the messages it provides are abundant.
So takepart & give a home (above ground :)) to those who need it.
______
2. Brazil : Terry Gilliam’s futuristic tale finds us all in a world of bureaucracy, where the tiniest clerical error, as our hero Sam Lowry will find out, can make you an enemy of the state. Full of images of the future and of fantasy, along with great performances from Robert DeNiro, Bob Hoskins, Ian Holm, Jonathan Pryce and especially Michael Palin, Brazil shows us how the real villain is an inefficient government.
So takepart and show that you care how the government works!
______
3. Children of Men : Alfonso Cuaron’s movie finds us one year later than Lang and paints quite a different picture of life. Children of Men’s 2027 is a world of fear and a world without children, as women have stopped having babies (it’s also a well photographed world, with amazing cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki). Countries are crumbling and immigration policy is beyond tight, with folks having no chance to seek a better life. The film is dismal to say the least, but if you’ve seen it, there is some hope. And of course it isn’t 2027 yet.
So takepart and learn more about an awesome organization in Chicago that is working to provide affordable health care for all women.
______
4. Code 46 : Michael Winterbotton takes us to a world of rules and regulations in Code 46. His future is filled with 2 worlds in a sense, there are cities and to live in a city you must have the proper paperwork, if you don’t, you live on the outside, in a world seemingly left behind. Our heroes are played by Samantha Morton and Tim Robbins and even though they aren’t supposed to, they fall in love and violate Code 46, a rule that speaks to the genetics of reproduction.
takepart and learn about some folks who lookout for those that might be trying to immigrate or are refugees.
______
5. The Matrix : There probably isn’t much I can say about The Matrix that you don’t already know. Beyond amazing special effects and action moves, the hugely popular film gave us a glimpse 0f a future that wasn’t real - or that is, most folks in the world of The Matrix weren’t really experiencing the actual future.
So takepart while you can and enjoy the outdoors while supporting our National Park System.
______
6. Blade Runner : Ridley Scott’s world of the future finds humanity fighting a group of human-like robots they created called replicants. Harrison Ford’s Deckard is one the folks given the task of destroying the replicants that have escaped their off-world colony. Deckard and the replicants play out a fantastic film noir-esque story where the state of the planet and those on it suggest a world where An Inconvenient Truth never got released.
While it won’t help the issue of destroying replicants, you can takepart to make sure we always have clean air to breath and land that isn’t submerged in water to breath it on.
______
7. Fahrenheit 451 : Of all of the dire future scenarios this one somehow seems the worst to me. Francois Truffaut’s 1966 film finds us all in a world without books and it is the job of Oskar Werner’s Guy Montag to burn any books found. When Montag meets a subversive young woman with a collection of books, he finally realizes the power of them and sets off to escape his oppressive society.
takepart and make sure children across the globe have access to books!
______
8. THX 1138 : This cautionary tale finds a city underground where people watch sex and violence on TV, while taking drugs that control them. Beyond this, George Lucas’s future is one without real love and without sex. When Robert Duvall’s THX 1138 stops taking his drugs, falls in love with his roommate and they make a baby, they are then both taken to jail. From here on, the film follows THX as he tries to find his lost love and escape to the surface of the earth.
takepart and learn about an awesome store in Chicago where people can explore their sexuality in a comfortable environment and be treated with respect by a knowledgeable and friendly staff.
______
9. A Clockwork Orange : Stanley Kubrick’s violent future tells the story of Alex, a Beethoven-loving young fellow, who along with his pals, engages in a bit of ultra-violence every night. When Alex is caught and sent to jail, he receives aversion therapy to shorten his sentence and upon his release finds that he now hates violence - although his old groups of friends doesn’t share his new opinions.
takepart and learn about an organization that is working to combat violence in more positive ways than the folks in A Clockwork Orange.
______
10. V for Vendetta : The Wachowski Brothers film is a world where the government is scared and are using that fear to detain people and control everything. One of their detainees, Natalie Portman’s Evey, is able to escape and joins with V - a mysterious fellow that rescues her. Together they begin to work on a plan to take down their totalitarian government.
takepart to combat new measures that violate human rights.
CALL TO ACTION: Sign up to preview the new TakePart.com to find out more stories behind the issues shaping our world, and more importantly, what you can do to get involved.
CATEGORIES: Environment, Ethics, Global Health, Human Rights, Peace
Related Posts:
Stay Informed with TakePart:
Get Blog Updates:
Blogroll
- AlterNet
- Amnesty International Livewire
- b-listed
- Boing Boing
- Brave New Films
- CauseCast
- Changents
- Climate Crisis
- Democracy Now!
- Ecorazzi
- EdNews
- Environmental News Network
- Ethicurean
- GOOD
- Grist
- Harvard World Health News
- Huffington Post
- Human Rights Watch
- Inhabitat
- Meatless Monday
- Media Matters
- NewsTrust
- NRDC Switchboard
- Rock The Vote
- SEED Magazine
- SocialVibe
- Sustainablog
- TechPresident
- The Daily Dish
- The Democracy Center
- Think Progress
- TreeHugger
- Truthout
- Why Tuesday?
- Worldchanging
Awesome post! And I love all the youtube videos. Dystopian fiction is my favorite!!
Where is Brave New World?????
Great work on Harry serving for GB, I believe…seriously, I think it was good move.
CHECK OUT THESE CLOWNS THOUGH.
A LIST OF THE LEAST BELIEVABLE SOLDIERS:
http://www.maxim.com/Theleastbelievablemoviesoldiers/articles/2/19095.aspx?src=tstlbs
COPY AND PASTE IT IF YOU NEED TO…IT’S HYSTERICAL!
Yo, sista: Soylent Green is people!!!!!!
Are ‘The Omega Man’ and ’soylent Green’ anywhere on the list? If not, why not?
Where’s “The Postman”? It was unfairly panned by critics, but if you view it with a mind freed of the crap you’ve heard about it, it’s a wonderful film…not, of course, as wonderful as David Brin’s novel, but still…and what about “On The Beach”?
Gattaca. When i saw that film, i thought maybe 50 years from now this could be a possible future. Just this week on the front page of nytimes was a story about people fearing DNA genetic testing being used as discrimenation against them when applying for medical insurance. Other examples abound. Gattaca trumps the matrix.
“The Last Lovers on Earth,” a low-budget dark comedy, is a dystopian film about AIDS that uses a bleak satirical vision of the future to wake people up to what is going on below the surface of AIDS science and politics right now.
http://www.thelastloversonearth.com/
What about Logan’s Run? Life ends when you hit 25.
How could you leave out “Minority Report”? Fantastic movie and a wonderful one about justice.
There’s a new film that just got rave reviews at the recent Sundance film festival. It’s called “Halflife” and I don’t think it’s in distribution yet, but keep your eyes open–I think it fits this category
“Planet of the Apes” is set in the future and has a particularly dire prediction about the future of humanity.
Very good list, and I’ve seen nearly all of these. I agree, however, that the omission of “Soylant Green” is a glaring one. SG is to the dystopian genre what, say, “High Plains Drifter” is to the Western. IMO, of course.
The Matrix is a lame entry — too mainstream, not even remotely possible, and not even intended as any kind of dystopian warning. It’s just a basic play on the common human phenomenon of wondering whether the real world is, in fact, real. (Plus the sequels aren’t worth crossing the street to see.) Two mentioned in the comments, Gattaca and Soylent Green, would be much better additions. Metropolis is a great story but difficult for modern audiences to connect with. It would be fantastic remade by someone like Ridley Scott, however.
As a scientist and as a human being I am horrified by what I see of human nature. We are without a doubt the most selfish and cruel species on the planet. Other species survive, compete, (and cooperate too) to succeed. Only we humans taken pleasure in torture, war, genocide, and more. We actually enjoy it. To your list I would add these in order of what I found to be most likely to actually happen. The first is almost certainly prophetic in the near term:
1) Soylent Green : Human societies have almost ALWAYS turned to cannibalism as they over-populate and exhaust their resource base. The green house effect is just icing on the cake in this one. It has it all and accurately pins it on over-population, concentration of power at the very top, scarcity of all resources, and I love the shots of masses of people living in the street with women still carrying crying babies. Absolutely on the mark.
2) Silent Running: about the same era but the entire thing takes place on those awesome orbiting space stations containing the Earth’s last forests, which of course are ordered to be destroyed. Nature is just an expensive annoyance. Bruce Dern is one of my all-time favorite actors. Don’t believe me? check out the amazing list of credits on IMDB!
3) AI: Wow. Just WOW! Robots become the inheritors of the human race and finally purge it’s demons. Or maybe they just purged humans… this one is operating on so many great levels. My friends never got that the hyper-evolved robots of the future were the descendants of the boy prototype, but the whole concept of what makes us human is really interestingly explored. Couldn’t they get someone better than Hurt to play the “creator”? Jude Law’s electronic gigolo with the Fred Astaire dance moves was great.
4) Alien (the second was the best IMHO): I did love Blade Runner and here is another Ridley Scott. He does that dark, dripping, steam everywhere special effects thing so well. The scene of the derelict alien spacecraft sitting out on the planet is the stuff that sets imagination afire. The whole corporate overlord thing with the obvious military/industrial yadda yadda yadda is well done. Loved Bill Paxton as Corporal Hicks in the second installment. My kinda marine! F— star Trek, if we get into space, this is what it will look like.
I am sure there are many more, but in all honesty Soylent actually scares me. By todays standards the effects are a bit silly but the theme is all too near and tangible.
The Day After Tomorrow
TV: The Prisoner
The Handmaid’s Tale is missing. It details the logical outcome of a successful neo-con/religious right victory. Very, very scary.
how about ‘1984′? that is the penultimate dystopian film
I can’t believe that Network didn’t make the list.
Idiocracy.
Don’t forget Colossus: The Forbin Project (Universal, 1970). A super computer designed to protect the United States against any hostile intent (originally a nuclear attack) runs amuck, takes over the nuclear weapons throughout the world, and creates a new world order. It eliminates war, poverty, over-population, etc. and also personal freedom.
THX1138? Have you actually watched this film or did you just read a summary of it?
I’d put it in a top ten worst list. It was Lucas’s first full length feature film, and it shows.
The plot is painfully uninspired and unoriginal.
And the original Time Machine?? We’ve got Morlocks (Cheney) eating ignorant American Eloi right now.
I would agree that The Matrix doesn’t really belong on the list; I consider it more of a SciFi Fantasy. Being the aging baby-boomer that I am, I think “Soylent Green” belongs in there, as well as “Rollerball”. As a dreaded Secular Progressive, I would also include “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
GATACA was pretty good too.
I’m a professional futurist who has used clips from many movies in workshops with clients. I think the original list is excellent, and most of the other suggestions are too. There are still more. One of my favorites is the classic 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still, where the alien Klaatu delivers a stark choice to Earth’s Cold War leaders: “If you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder.†The Terminator movies will be classics. Look for a new collection of four short films on one DVD that’s in video stores now called Robot Stories. The four stories are all good, but I think the last one, portraying a William Gibson-like future where people can upload their minds into computers and live forever, will become a classic.
What I’ve found most fascinating - and disturbing - is that dystopian future films are easy to find because virtually all science finction films present dark images of what tomorrow could bring. I’ve searched in vain for SF movies that present inspiring images of highly desirable futures that are within our reach if we mobilize to strive for them. The best I know of are the Star Trek TV series and movies, in particular the “Next Generation” variant.
This absence of positive images is distrubing. The Dutch historian Fredrick Polak argued in his macrohistory opus The Image of the Future that the heights of classical civilization, Judaic culture, Islamic culture, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the early industrial era were all preceded by daring imaginative leaps away from the present to new positive images of human possibility. Powerful positive images of the future, he argued, exert an attractive force on people in the present, pulling social developments toward the imagined future. He offers a a terrifying depiction of modern cultures repressing growing fears of what tomorrow may bring, their imaginative capacities crippled by pervasive cynicism, lacking any compelling vision of human possibilities beyond the quest for wealth and technological power. The lack of positive images in film makes me worry that Polak’s dark diagnosis of our present state may be right.
I’d very much appreciate seeing any counter evidence. Are there SF movies out there that present positive images of futures worth striving to create?
Good article but yes, clearly The Matrix DOES NOT belong on the list. Regarding some of the other comments, am I the only person who thinks both AI and Minority Report are terrible movies? Why are people blinded by good effects and all that Spielberg-ness. Minority Report has only a slight message and AI has absolutely nothing to say at all. Empty.
And by the way, why does everyone keep saying Aliens is better than Alien? Because it’s got bigger guns? Because it’s got Bill Paxton? Don’t get me wrong, I love Bill Paxton and Aliens is a fun ride…but Alien is a better movie.
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmiad’s Tale is by far the most terrifying glimse at a future that can and may occur. No special effects required–read it, see the movie and vote!
For me, the most prophetic cautionary tale of the future is and will always be “Duck Dodgers in the 23rd and a Half Century.” It was the perfect Cold War parable: Here you had the all-American hero, Daffy Duck, facing off against the Marvin the Martian (read: the menace from the “Red” planet) over mining rights on a literal Third Word. And what does Daffy do? At the end of the picture, he destroys the planet in order to save it. Now, the political subtext of that wasn’t lost on anyone, particularly Daffy. He knew just what he was doing. He was proud of it, and it got him blacklisted. By the early 60s, his career was in ruins, his was reduced to making B comedies in Mexico with Speedy Gonzales.
The Brits have produced some amazingly realistic near future dystopias in the past few years. I include 28 Days Later in that list. Zombies, no, but the outbreak of a fast moving, deadly virus would probably have the same effect on society as protrayed in the film.
For me, the most prophetic cautionary tale of the future is and will always be “Duck Dodgers in the 23rd and a Half Century.†It was the perfect Cold War parable: Here you had the all-American hero, Daffy Duck, facing off against the Marvin the Martian (read: the menace from the “Red†planet) over mining rights on a literal Third Word. And what does Daffy do? At the end of the picture, he destroys the planet in order to save it. Now, the political subtext of that wasn’t lost on anyone, particularly Daffy. He knew just what he was doing. He was proud of it, and it got him blacklisted. By the early 60s, his career in ruins, he was reduced to making B comedies in Mexico with Speedy Gonzales.
And “Mad Max”?
I’m surprised that Matrix, as fun a ride as it is, is on the list while the Terminator series is absent. After all, the “T” series was first to warn about ‘the machines.’ I would also include Equilibrium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equilibrium_(2002_film)) on the list.
Also, don’t worry about Daffy’s career. Just recently he had a comback playing scrooge, placing him with such prestigious actors as Alec Guiness, George C. Scott, Patrick Stewart, and… Bill Murray?
Yeah what about Mad Max? That trilogy along with Soylent Green seem to be the most plausible and are my personal favorites along with Silent Running…Funny how prescient the film makers of the 70’s and 80’s were…
Gatteca and Children of Men are my two modern faves.
Mad Max II - The Road Warrior. All hail the savage future of oil dependency!
Thanks for the list.
I just watched “On the Beach”, and it seemed really creepy and realistic, too. Although it is based on a nuclear armageddon, the same themes and situations might be applicable to a pandemic virus, earth-bound asteroid, or other apocolyptic event. Check it out.
How can Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville NOT be mentioned. Best independent sci-fi movie ever
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FbprR2W9pD4
Equilibrium Is One Of Those Dystopian Movies That Looked Awesome But Went Almost Nowhere In The Theatres
Bob O,
I tried to think of a utopian, rather than dystopian, SF film and the closest I could come was ET, and that was simply that a bit of sprawl in LA wasn’t obliterated by either spacemen or our own government. Happy ending, though. Perhaps the readers of the Left Behind books would consider their things as utopian SF? It’s dystopia for the non-believers, utopia for the true believers?
Your picks are basically outstanding… Many comments add wonderful omissions but basically you got it right. I disagree with one commenter who said the Matrix was too “mainstream” and “lame”. The Matrix was truely innovative and changed the way we think about reality. Gattica was the Best suggestion so far that I too would strongly consider for the top 10. Mad Max/Road Warrior would be another. One that no-one mentioned so far was Don Johnson’s first film (or at least very early) A Boy And His Dog. And Don’t forget Stanley Kubrick’s 2001.
Oh, and Be Afraid! Scary robots are coming to get you! More dystopian things to fear! Do whatever your leaders say to stay safe!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333091,00.html
What about Idiocracy?
How about “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”. I know it is a comedy, but it paints a really bleak outlook on the state of nuclear war and our country similar to the way things are today.
Oh and don’t forget Equilibrium too. It didn’t do jack at the box office, but what a great movie.
why do you people always forget zardoz that which shows you the new age agenda in it’s fullest for god sake
plus here’s the super rare brave new world from 1980 only ever show twice for your viewing pleasure
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3536993421073315692
also worth viewing is this gene roddenberry tv movie from the 70’s showing such similar things called genesis 2
http://stage6.divx.com/user/Number6ix/video/1876177/G-II
a bruce campbell movie called mindwarp
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100152/
which is written by the two fellers writing the new terminator movie
a low budget movie from the mid nineties called darkdrive
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116032/
which are two sources from which the brothers wackowski ripped off the matrix idea check them out if you can find them
a rare unknown movie from the 1970’s called no blade of grass
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066154/
a rare movie from the 80’s called the last chase
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082642/
an old woody movie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070707/
memory run
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117017/
land of the blind
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433405/
How can we forget Running Man??? Damian!!!
I’m a huge fan of dystopian film and literature. Margaret Attwood nailed it with “The Handmaids Tale” and “Oryx and Crake” (though not in film yet). Overall though, you put together a good list, though I join others in questioning “The Matrix”. I would have a very hard time keeping “Idiocracy” off the list. All one has to do is look around modern America and see that we are quickly becoming a nation of idiots. Substitute Wal-Mart for Costco in the film and it’s perfect: “Brawndo, it has what plants crave”!
Metropolis is fantastic. A movie that is still as powerful today as I assume it was 4/5 of a century ago.
Sounds like most don’t think Matrix should be on here, but if you liked it, you’ve got to see Animatrix.
Speaking of anima, Akira (I hear someone is making a new version) and Ghost in the Shell (I and II) are great films, but don’t know about their dystopian status.
2001 belongs on the list.
so does Alien.
and Soylent Green.
as well as Road Warrior.
V for Vendetta? did you see that movie? gack!
Equilibrium; generic and not well done.
Great List:
“Harrison Bergeron” the Kurt Vonnegut story was a TV movie (HBO?) in 1995. Very good.
The Wikipedia synopsis:
In the story, societal equality has been achieved by handicapping the most intelligent, athletic or beautiful members of society down to the level of the highest common endowment, a process central to the society which is overseen by the United States Handicapper General. At the time of the story, the office of Handicapper General is filled by the shotgun-toting Diana Moon Glampers.
Harrison Bergeron, the protagonist of the story, has exceptional intelligence, height, strength and beauty, and as a result he has to bear enormous handicaps. These include distracting noises, three hundred pounds of excess weight, eyeglasses to give him headaches and cosmetic changes to make him ugly. Despite these societal handicaps, he is able to invade a TV station and declare himself emperor. As he strips himself of his handicaps, then dances with a ballerina whose handicaps he has also discarded, both are shot dead by Diana Moon Glampers, the brutal and relentless Handicapper General. The story is framed by an additional perspective from Bergeron’s parents, who are watching TV but cannot concentrate enough to remember the incident.
A Boy and His Dog. Harlan Ellison’s story. Starring Don Johnson. (Though by definition, I suspect that dystopian does not allow for post apocalyptic stories.)
Hey everyone - thanks for your thoughts and suggestions - I just picked 10 I liked, but of course there are more. I think I might post a follow-up next week, so keep the comments coming!
-gina
Stephanie I love you!!!
Spielberg is a hack. He is a great cinematographer with the artistic soul of a Flatworm. Minority Report is a pretty movie with a great concept and a great concept that falls apart after the first reel. The apartment overview is a hitchcock ripoff, the little spiders were stolen from the hack movie version of “Lost in Space”, and the bouncing eyeball gag, in addition to being an out of place non sequiter, is stollen from “beetlejuice”. Crap, Crap, Crap.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, w/ Donald Sutherland. Not exactly dystopian but kinda sorta.
Where is “1984″? Sorely disappointed this grandfather of dystopian films was left off the list. “Equilibrium” is another.
Let me toss into the soup a couple I didn’t espy above (I could have merely overlooked their mention):
- Logan’s Run (average film, but a strong statement about how we’re going to be treating the elderly in the future).
- Ghost in the Shell (an animated feature about a future where cybernetic enhancements are commonplace, as well as vulnerable to external hacking).
Wow - not only have I seen and enjoyed nearly all of these (need to add Code 46 to Netflix, I guess), but three of my all time favorite movies are among the top five here: Brazil, Matrix, Children of Men. Didn’t realize how much of a pessimistic dystopian I was! Think I’ll go home now and watch Raising Arizona to balance my equilibrium…
As an aside, “12 Monkeys” gets an honorable mention. Not up to the standards of this list, but an enjoyable ride nonetheless.
Ummm. Nice list. Have you watched Metropolis, though? I don’t mean to ruin it for you, but it’s not about helping the poor if you’re rich, or the two levels of society. It’s about creating a state (Freder’s “Heart”) to lord over the womanly christian class (the heart) and the manly lower class (the hands). Oh, and that state? Just happens to be a fascist one. Maybe re-watch it. And try not to take so many messages from Hitler’s favorite movie.
What about:
Until the End of the World
Exinstenz
and lastly…
Back to the Future 2
Since Clockwork Orange is included, I would venture that Videodrome would be worthy of the list, a cautionary tale about media and sex addictions, among our other vices.
Also missing is Dark City - I’ve watched it a dozen times and all I can offer is that it’s an amazing visual spectacle and certainly trying to warn us about Something Very Important and Scary!
My own list would also certainly include 12 Monkeys - as brilliant as Brazil, IMO. Also Mad Max/Road Warrior (I think they should come as a set) has to be included - it’s about post-nuclear war bike gangs hoarding gasoline for gawd’s sake!
At least one of the 1970s Heston films should be included - Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green or Omega Man - I lean toward Soylent Green myself. (As an aside, the first version of Omega Man, “The Last Man on Earth” with Vincent Price is a superior and overlooked film.)
Lastly, I would include 28 Days Later - totally gripping look at biology out of control. It has the unfortunate scientific failing in that it is impossible for any virus or bacteria to act that quickly on its victim, but otherwise it’s a fascinating look at human nature, science experimentation run amuck, mob rule, and how not to evacuate a city. And IT’S NOT ABOUT ZOMBIES! (Had to get that in there). Most dystopian movies about biology gone bad aren’t very good, which is too bad because it’s ripe territory. I’m waiting for someone to make a good movie version of The Cobra Event, by Richard Preston, a nail-biting gag-fest of realistic bio-horror.
I would add Dark City and The City of Lost Children to the list.
And how about A Scanner Darkly.
4: “look out” not “lookout”
6: “breathe” not “breath”
TAKE ACTION and proofread your copy.
Another anime feature is Miyazaki’s Nausicaa.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0087544/
Silent Running.
Next you should do a top 10 dystopian books list. Its the times we live in that could actually change “1984″ from fiction to non-fiction with a few simple name and dates changed.
How could I forget… 20 Minutes into the Future?!
It’s got Max Freakin’ Headroom!
People, people…
ZARDOZ with Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling.
“I am innocent of psychic violence…the evidence against me is a travesty…I have always worked in the interest of the community….uh, nooo…nooo…I will not go to Second Level with you…NOOOO…Alright. It’s not true. I hate you. I hate you all.”
(Sentenced to be aged seven years.)
“They all died, monster. Died of boredom.”
Gattaca is my number one pick. However, nowadays the themes that seemed so futuristic back then have already become reality (designer babies, DNA/genetic discrimination, crazy cosmetic surgeries such as increasing one’s height). Maybe the impact of the film has been lessened in the since that so much of it is no longer science fiction.
The only Sci Fi I can recall with a Utopian future is William Cameron Menzies’ “Things to Come” written, if I recall correctly, by H. G. Wells.
Interesting list.
I would have included:
Mad Max
Soylent Green
Zardoz
but not
2001, which was more about discovery and actually had a positive ending
1984, as the movie was mediocre although the novel is certainly the father of the distopians
Dark City, which while quite unusual is essentially science fiction rather than a social distopia
The Postman, as the movie was mediocre
The Time Machine, only as it is set too far in the future
while I have my doubts as to characterization of these otherwise fine movies:
Silent Running
Omega Man
Alien
Planet of the Apes
War of the Worlds
as these films primarily center on one or a few individuals and their interactions with non-humans, rather than a human society
The only movies I would probably not have included in the list are Brazil, Code 46, and V for Vendetta, but only as I have not seen them, and Children of Men which I would not put in the top rank. I am also undecided about Matrix and for that reason probably would not have included it in this list.
Lastly, I wonder about a film like Oliver Twist (whichever version is best). Although from our perspective set in the past, is this not essentially distopia?
AI: Artificial Intelligence. I think someday this movie will be recognized for its sheer brilliance.
solyent green is people!!
my only complaint being that their currency didn’t foretell the great currency crisis of the first decade of the new millennium.
things will cost much more by 2022 than they describe, or we wont be using dollars any more
pax et bonum
A Boy and His Dog
My personal opinion is that “children of men” is the absolute best entry in this list. It seems to me to be the most realistic presentation of the human existence and seems to be the most perfect answer to a question I once asked my professor about dystopian literature, “can a dystopia exist in the present?”
THEY LIVE……… a greatly underated John Carpenter film, if i may say so! Just substitute greedy corporate elites and smarmy,lying politicians for all the ghouls and you have our current, and possibly future, reality. You all better start wearin your shades if ya know the truth!!!!
“Zardoz” should have been included. Cheesy, campy and enigmatic–all with a 70’s hippy stone trip sensibility on the dystopian future. What other film can boast of Sean Connery starring in a red diaper (lioncloth) with bandoleer. Or a gigantic flying stone head, or a stone talking head with a magic marker moustache? A cult classic waiting to be seen by a larger audience.
Wonderful list! Thanks for posting.
It seems to me the movie that got it closest to today were the Robo Cop movies horribly dreadfuly up to date.
Where the hell is “1984″? If there was ever a film that provided an accurate portent of today’s situation (”big brother is watching”) it’s that file!
gina … next time put the list in reverse order!! ggive us some drama..
bob o:
why not quote from this [http://www.wilsoncenter.org/docs/staff/Rejeski_futurismfailed.pdf ] article, rather than plagiarize?
I am sorry but ‘There will be blood’ is not futuristic, but has the best warning of a future ever made; since it’s future is here now.
Logan’s Run and a Handmaids Tale should be on there somewhere…. poingnant in light of the increasing power far right these days
IMHO “Day After Tomorrow” should have been on the list instead of Matrix. Don’t get me wrong - we have and enjoy the Matrix series, but it’s no more futurist than “Judge Dredd”, and maybe even less believable - but “Day After Tomorrow” - the north Atlantic screwed? Polar caps melting? Government still in denial?
I’d also add “Armageddon” (likely way for the world to deal with an incoming asteroid) and “The Island” (harvesting clones? we’re getting closer every day!) - they were both lots of fun.
Oh yeah - I forgot Johnny Mnemonic -
Several people regret the omission of “1984″. The book is definitely my favorite dystopia of all time, but the movie just didn’t click for me, although Richard Burton and John Hurt were great. Interestingly enough, “Brazil” was made at about the same time, and was infinitely better. In fact, that’s one of my favorite movies, full stop. Generally, I nod at your list with utmost approval.
Soylent Green should be on that list.
Agree with Hariss — Soylent Green was shamefully omitted. People. People who eat people — will be the luckiest people in the world!
1984 was also filmed by the BBC in the 1950’s and that version is FAR superior to the John Hurt version.
Personal Dystopian top 10
——————————
10. Harrison Bergeron
9. Soylent Green
8. 1984 (BBC Version)
7. Children Of Men
6. A Boy and his Dog - Great surprise ending
5. Handmaid’s Tale
4. Clockwork Orange
3. V for Vendetta
2. The Matrix
1. Brazil
A lot of posters here don’t seem to know what ‘Dystopian’ means so just for the benefit of future posters:
Dystopian: a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.
So, guys, something like 2001 or Alien doesn’t qualify.
Nice Site!
http://google.com
Very nice list! I’ve always loved dystopian movies but they are not that easy to come by. You may want to check this out: http://hem.passagen.se/replikant/ I don’t know if all of the movies they talk about are dystopian though.
Interesting list and comments. However, SimonR is correct in calling everyone’s attention to the more specific and correct definition of “dystopian.” Many of the movies/books/short stories cited here are more accurately labeled as “SciFi”, not dystopian, although this is a common error largely because of the frequent overlap of scifi and its vision of technology in the future and the dystopian fear of technology and it’s potential for the loss of human freedom. Post-apocalyptic visions are especially difficult to sort out in this regard.
Thanks for the post
Where is southland tales?!?!?
There’s this new movie out called “W.” that shows what might happen if the country were taken over by a cabal of scheming ideologues who install a half-wit puppet as president…thank goodness it’s just fiction.
Although the status of the movie, ‘Atlas Shrugged’, is ‘back in development according to IMDB I would like to add it to the list.
The book by the same name written by Ayn Rand is a literary masterpiece depicting a utopian or dystopian society depending upon your philosophical view.
As a side note, Angelina Jolie is comfirmed to star in the film and, possibly, Brad Pitt.
hello it is test. WinRAR provides the full RAR and ZIP file support, can decompress CAB, GZIP, ACE and other archive formats.
oqbzwmilcjpupbnzfivckrjnannqograghuhello
What about “Serenity”? Not verry dystopian compared to some of the others on this list, but take away the standard space-adventure mishmash and you have a story of everyday people trying, (with very limited success) to survive and retain their freedom in a universe where it is increasingly difficult to do so.
A.I. is my favorite Futuristic film…
I agree that idiocracy could be in the list. Imagine our world in the not too distant future if all computers stopped working. We would know nothing. Just the other day I bought 2 cans of softdrink for $1.50 each and the shop assistant needed a calculator. As each generation comes to age they know more about computers, but a lot less about everything else.