Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Best Cityscapes in Science Fiction cinema

If there was anything about science fiction that I would wish to experience in real life it would be the location. Science fiction wouldn't be just aliens, laser guns and evil empires if it were boosted with reality and imagination. The thing that builds imagination in the genre is the art direction. It makes everything about the movie look good and inspiring, that we want to live in these places on our day off. IT can be anything. It can be futuristic with skyscrapers or a city on a floating block of a distant planet.

Given that Skyline and Repo Men had f*@ked the setting of science fiction. So here are the best ever architectures/art directions in science fiction history

Inception (2010)



Name Of City:
Unknown

Setting:
Paris, France

Type of Cityscape:
Dreamscape/virtual reality

Significance:
After Repo Men and before Skyline, there was two memorable scenes [in Inception] where part of Paris begins folding and where Leonardo Dicaprio and Ellen Page can actually stand on the folded area sideways. And then the markets explode when Ellen Page couldn't control the dream on her first time. Besides Page is the architect of this great city that she could actually create any kind of city for a person's dream.

Blade Runner (1984)



Name of City:
Los Angeles

Setting shot:
Los Angeles, USA

Type Of Cityscape:
Futuristic

Significance:
If this was it in nineteen years time, then I would be happy living there. Flying cars rising buildings and skyscrapers almost fill our imaginations of this magnificent science fiction film noir. It is almost a modern landscape filled with globalisastion, slavery and big chunks of product placements and advertising. One thing great about LA in Blade Runner is that the city relies heavily on industry, it totally ignored about the danger of our green environment. Didn't I mention that there is a huge migration of Asians?

The Matrix (1999)



Name of City:
MegaCity

Setting shot:
Sydney, Australia

Type of Cityscape:
Virtual Reality

Significance:
Like Inception, The Matrix goes into a parallel universe that does not interfere with reality. Unlike Inception however, the city for the Matrix stays the same. The Matrix's architecture has a purpose and that purpose is to keep humanity stuck by our brainwashed minds of alien machines. If there was any deeper meaning about The Matrix, it's just that urban life is sick.

Dark City (1998)





Setting shot:
Sydney, Australia

Type of Cityscape:
Futuristic

Significance:
Well it seems so realistic to the current state of every city, but now it's more darker. The main message of this city that it's a cause for living in a deranged state of mind. The cityscape had inspired the landscape for Inception and what else. It condescends into every character's psychological moments. It also opens up and revived the sci fi noir.

Back To The Future II (1987)



Name of city:
Hill Valley

Type Of Cityscape:
Futuristic

Significance:
Hill Valley had prospered back from 1985 and had shown greater use of technology we wish we would want to see. Hoverboards, automatic shoes and jackets, flying cars, hologram ads, a small round dough turned into a huge pizza and uh... Michael Jackson as a waiter? That's a bit odd.

Well these are the best cityscapes in science fiction around. I want to live in one of them for peace and quiets but there are many cityscapes that I would've put in the list. Any suggestions? Please comment.



2 comments:

  1. Wow. I completely agree with your choices. However, I have one addition: Brazil (1985). A bureaucratic world at its finest.

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  2. Great choices. I guess if we are all going to throw in my two cents worth, I like the city scape from METROPOLIS. Maybe not as flashy as BLADE RUNNER, but for 1927 is was pretty cool. Great work.

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