Classic sci-fi will never die!

Not long ago I was watching a couple of science fiction films from the 1950's. One was called Kronos and the other was The Monolith Monsters, both made in the year I was born, 1957. I had first seen these films about 50 years ago and I can clearly recall that they scared the heck out of me. Although these days I can have a bit of chuckle at the special effects and other aspects of the films, I can say that time has not diminished my enjoyment of them. 

Sure, these days we are spoiled with computer generated effects and sophisticated productions; carried along by galloping scientific and technological advancements, as well as facing massive social and cultural changes. However, I don't believe that this devalues the worth of such vintage sci-fi films as those mentioned above. After all, they are refreshing if you look at them with "new eyes" and informative if you realise that they occurred in a particular social and historical context. You'll also probably see how little these days is truly new. How many times have I seen plot lines and issues in films these days which I have come across in the vintage sci-fi films.

What brings me back to the classic sci-fi films is their entertainment value (even if they are sometimes funny without intending to be!), their simplicity by virtue of coming from a somewhat less complicated era (not to mention budget restraints!) and the fact that they can be so easily appreciated if we see them as doing what we have all done from time to time: imagining what if.....? 

There is no intention on my part to pick any film mentioned in this blog to pieces and thereby spoil anyone's viewing pleasure. Sure there are many faults and inaccuracies, many of which are glaring if we view these films with hindsight or through 21^st century lenses. The films in this blog (like Rocketship X-M) are products or their time and should be accepted for what they are and not used as vehicles to show how “enlightened,” “advanced” and “clever” we may imagine ourselves to be!

And so, dear reader, over time, what I hope to do with this blog is to share with you my own enjoyment of many individual classic films from the golden age of science fiction. Happy viewing to all!


©Chris Christopoulos 2013