ALL SCI-FI

[Bogmeister]

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THE ROUGH GUIDE TO sci-fi movies



by John Scalzi * Published by Rough Guides,2005 * 325 pgs, softcover

This is a handy-dandy little guide to sci-fi films. These Rough Guides (there are others, on Comedy, Gangster and Horror films; see roughguides.com) serve as mostly a primer on the subject matter, geared towards those who may not be too knowledgeable on the subject. However, it's an interesting read for any sci-fi fan and you'll probably find out a few things regardless of how much you already know.

The booklet (it is small-sized,about 5-6 inches square) is well organized to cover every aspect of sci-fi films.

The 1st section is titled Origins; 25 pages that covering early science fiction literature.

The 2nd section is The History, also 25 pages, briefly covering each film era at warp speed, from the silents to the present decade.

The 3rd section is The Canon, focusing on 50 classics. These begin with A Clockwork Orange, include the oldies A Trip to the Moon, Metropolis, Things to Come and Bride of Frankenstein, a few big ones from the fifties, 2001, a couple of the Star Wars films, a few of Star Trek ones, and of course, E.T.(sigh)

There's also a few each from the '70s, '80s, and '90s, as well as a very recent one is — The Incredibles — already a classic, it seems. On average a couple of pages on each of these, so there's 100 pages in this section.

The 4th section is The Icons — the faces of sci-fi, which bios FX guys, artists, composers, directors, actors, and characters which had a big impact on sci-fi cinema. There's even a side section on famed vehicles.

The 5th section is called The Crossovers; this attempts to explain the blurry line between hardline Sci-Fi and films which many regard as fantasy, comedy & satire, horror, animated films and action such as the James Bond franchise.

The 6th section is The Science — both the good & bad science in sci-fi films (the bad: noises in the vacuum of outer space). The 7th section is called The Locations. This was the least interesting section to me, going into where various sci-fi films were filmed, though it does get into the made up settings in films later, such as versions of Mars and other planets.

The 8th section is titled Global, which goes thru sci-fi films from countries outside the USA.

The 9th and final section is simply Information. This briefly covers the best-known TV Sci-fi series, video games, soundtracks, websites, conventions, festivals, magazines and reference books. This section is way too brief but we're at the 300th page by now.

The remainder is just an index. As one can see, a lot is covered from several angles, and there are numerous little sidebars along the way. This book cost about $15 new and you can probably get it on sale or 2nd-hand for a better price.

[Bud Brewster]

This book sounds impressive. I like the way it's organized, and Bog does a fine job of explaining the book's structure and contents.

Amazon has it for $2.99!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[WadeVC]

Just added this to my list on Amazon.
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"You look like a pooped out pinwheel."
-Robot Monster