ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Bongopete has gone Alien Loco, today!

First he visits a planet with vampires!

Then he brings aliens from Mars!

And finally he fills the skies over Washington with alien spaceships which do more damage to the Capital than these guys did on January 6th!


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Planet of the Vampires (1965)

If I'm not mistaken, you have an American (Sullivan), Spanish (what was his name..Wes I think) and Sonya (Brazilian). I read that while filming, pretty much all the actors spoke their own language and that was taken care of during post.

Very few scifi films are as atmospheric as this one.
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War of the Worlds (2005)

I agree with that! Even a short pov of the hell going on over that hill would have been great! Instead we are left with a tease of the Marines going over the hill and a few seconds later a bunch of driverless Humvees driving back in retreat aflame.

While I agree that it seems that most movies today are all flash and no heart, I think a little less of the estranged family dynamic (in place of real story mind you) and a little more of what the title says the film is to be about . . . well, you get the idea.

ID4 would have been great (for me at least . . . hey, I still LIKE the movie) if it didn't have all the humor it had. ESPECIALLY Randy Quaids character!!!!! ID4 made a fun popcorn movie, but War of the Worlds seemed to be trying for something perhaps a bit more adult.
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Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956)

But WERE the aliens initially trying to muscle in and scare us?

IF when they first approached Marvin in his car and he HAD understood them and they then landed at Skyhook . . . how else COULD they have arrived? They come in the vehicle they arrive in . . . as we would.

So the scenario might (and I do say 'might' as the movie really doesn't give ANY details as to what they want. ANY combative reactions in the movie COULD be as a result of their having been met with silence and attacks) the scenario might have been that —

They fly over Marvin in his car and ask him to meet them the next day at Operation Skyhook.

They land the next day and meet with Marvin. They explain that they are the survivors of a destroyed solar system and are refugees. They ask Marvin to set up a meeting with the leaders in Washington.

This meeting would have given us, the viewer, details as to WHAT the aliens want!!

Do they just want a planet to live on?

Are they interested in just sharing the planet? or . . .
Do they want a planet to reestablish their civilization?
If simply to share OR to reestablish their civilization . . . humanity could be the winners!

WHY meet with humanities leaders?

War or . . . no war?

If war . . . it couldn't be the infrastructure being destroyed that they would be worried about . . . humanity would not be much of a threat after losing a war.

But, they interestingly tell Marvin that they want to avoid a war because they don't fear losing . . . but are concerned that the few of them would be left running around policing and putting down trouble by a post war humanity and that they COULD be the only ones left standing (masters?) of another destroyed planet.

Again . . . WHY would they be concerned about a post war humanity?

I could see them being concerned about a 'destroyed' Earth . . . a planet that would not produce food . . . but destroyed in what way?

It really seems important that humanity itself is not destroyed.

Are the aliens looking at humanity as a source of slaves?

Really? Think about how few aliens there are . . . would they REALLY need billions of slaves? For that matter . . . why risk destruction at all . . . they could simply MEET with humanity's leaders and avoid war!

How would THIS be beneficial to the aliens?

They themselves are commented on as being ancient and having the suits they wear (APPARENTLY EVEN ON THEIR OWN SHIPS) in order to survive!

WHAT is the probability that they are still capable of procreation?

By negotiating with Earth, they could have land upon which to live . . . to build something of their civilization (are there enough aliens to even make a 'civilization'?).

HERE is the interesting part . . . they would need somewhere to land . . . they would need somewhere to live . . . and . . . they would need SOMEONE TO FARM AND PROBABLY BUILD FOR THEM.

Even if they were looking at being a conquering race (which by their own self description doesn't seem to be the case), at some point they are not going to want to simply be rulers of a backwards world. They are going to be doing things that are going to advance that world and bring it closer to their own level of advancement.

At SOME point, while this is happening, THEIR civilization would become co-opted by ours! Our civilization would have been technologically advanced, we would probably take on some of their culture . . . but because they don't seem to be a race that is capable of procreation due to their age and weakness of body . . . their numbers will decline leaving us to carry forth.

However in the movie . . . Marvin does NOT understand their message for contact at Skyhook due to the aliens goof.

They land, expecting to meet Marvin (who didn't get their message) and are met by a gun crew with a twin 40 bofors gun mount and some riflemen. One of their crew is probably killed.

At this point, they think Marvin DID get the message and Earth has taken a dim view to meeting with them . . . they are po'd and level Skyhook. They see a survivor and bring him on board to explain.

The General tells them that all Marvin heard was meaningless noise. The aliens sort of seem surprised and explain what must have happened and by extension that they goofed.

Marvin later makes contact and meets with the aliens rather covertly. Here is where the aliens show some of their power . . . but it is also here where the aliens tell us of where they are from (survivors of a destroyed planet) and that in a round about way they tell us why they are here (their world is destroyed).

They don't just want to come down and take over as they know this will lead to war and leave them as the only technological group standing on the planet (the Masters?) with a starving human population.

From here on out, things spiral out of control and turn from bad to worse for the aliens.

Attempting to show Marvin their force they obviously plan on destroying a navy ship (though once again, notice that it is the humans who actually shoot first . . . granted this is now post-Skyhook). This action however does the opposite and makes humanity DECIDE to not meet with them and instead fight them.

Things to think about.

~ What would have happened at Skyhook IF they had made contact with Marvin as they had wanted to?

~ They tell Marvin's wife and all, that the motorcycle cop and her father the General will be returned to them (assuming that the infinitely indexed memory bank works both ways). If they weren't operating on good faith, why even bother to say so.

~ The aliens never say that they are there to conquer or that they are the master race of any of that sort of claptrap. They are never given a chance to explain. WE assume that they are there to take over. THEY only say that they are the survivors of a destroyed solar system.

They COULD simply be refugees . . . desperate refugees and acting similar to a person who has gone without water for a couple of days and is finally offered it while in a crowd of people.

They are the rare alien invader who even TRIES to talk to us (discount Klaatu here . . . a fifth columnist!) without any bluster about being superior and all that sort of thing.

Marvin is THE only human whom the aliens even get to talk to (not including the General). They NEVER get to speak to any government representative.

'Earth vs the Flying Saucers' comes across as a simple invasion film of the 50's, but contains things that lead to many questions and what ifs.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)