5 of the Best Films about Space
With the release of Cuarón’s Gravity finally upon us, RIVKAH BROWN selects some intergalactic highlights of the big screen.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Fucking weird is probably the best way to describe this Stanley Kubrick classic. Though praised for its pioneering special effects and scientific accuracy, the film is more than a bit of a miscalculation of 21st century life. However, not only will seeing this film open the door to thousands of references to it throughout pop culture (this is a particular highlight), but will enable you to say that you’ve seen 2001: A Space Odyssey. Meta.
2. Apollo 13 (1995)
Picking up the baton for space cinema in our generation is Ron Howard’s telling of the attempted 3rd landing of the moon going awry, starring my absolute fave Tom Hanks, who, it turns out, can really rock a space suit. Now more frequently found on ITV3 than in the cinema, this film is credited with a realistic portrayal rather than shitting on your face with its dramatic licence.
3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
It seemed a nigh-on impossible task to take Douglas Adams’ classic novel from page to screen, and it is almost indisputable that Garth Jennings and co failed spectacularly. However this is more a testament to the quality of the book than that of the film. The screenplay (co-written by Adams himself) and the all-star cast still – including Martin Freeman, Zooey Deschanel, Mos Def, and the voices of Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman and Bill Bailey – help bring this intergalactic story to life.
4. Solaris (2002)
Interesting mainly for how little it relies on its galactic setting, George Clooney and Natasha McElhone star in this sexy space psychodrama by the unbeatable Director/Producer duo Stephen Soderbergh and James Cameron. The film is made up largely of the astronaut’s flashbacks about their lives on Earth, in particular Dr. Chris Klein (Clooney)’s memories of his dead wife Rheya (McElhone). Shit begins to get a bit weird when we realise that these ‘memories’ are in fact replica human beings who have the capacity to kill and masquerade as their human counterparts.
5. Wall-E (2008)
Despite grappling with a scifi/romcom/kids film identity crisis, WALL-E is one of the most beautiful films to have come out of a Disney-Pixar collaboration, and the first Pixar animation with segments featuring live-action characters. Against the backdrop of a planet ravaged by mass consumerism, the story follows the romance of WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth Class) and EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator). The result is as cutesy as it is profound.