Silver Screen Icons: Sci-Fi (4FE/WS/DVD)

This is a great deal - four movies for one low price. They are all classic Sci-Fi movies. It is interesting to watch them in chronological order starting with the oldest Forbidden Planet, to the newest - Soylent Green. You can see how American culture has changed over the decades.Forbidden Planet, from the 50's has a World War Two vibe, everyone on the spaceship looks and talks like they just walked out of a WW2 submarine movie. The special effects are cheesy to modern eyes, but pretty good for the time. Sort of similar to The Day the Earth Stood Still, but in color. You can also see that the writers of the first Star Trek series borrowed ideas from this movie. For instance, the ships captain, first officer, and doctor, are the three main characters - just like Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. As was prevalent at that time, the government was to be believed, trusted and obeyed.The Time Machine, from the 60's reminds me of other films from the era, like Journey to the Center of the Earth or War of the Worlds. Sort of a squeaky clean, family, Disney ambiance. No sex, minimal violence and profanity. Just the sort of thing for kids, but also fine for adults. You can see the concern for nuclear war that was prevalent during the Cold War era - the sound of the air raid sirens was something I was familiar with as a kid, so it pushed all the "duck and cover" buttons I had growing up. There is also some great social commentary with the relationship of the Eloi and Morelocks that went right over my head when I was a kid.2001 enters the 70's with a sort of movie version of the psychedelic era. Great music and visuals and a plot that makes no sense unless you read the book first. I reviewed this movie elsewhere on Amazon so look for that review if you want more of my thoughts on this movie.Soylent Green is the most recent of these movies, in the mid-1970's. If I recall correctly, this movie came out about the time of the first Earth Day, so the movie is full of environmental doom and gloom. The big American cities were in decline at that time as well - remember the NYC financial problems and crime of that era? - so those two ideas form the setting for the movie. It all seems so overwrought looking back, but it set the tone for much of Sci-Fi going forward - movies like Blade Runner and the zombie apocalypse movies can all trace back to this prototype. You can also see the evolution (maybe devolution would be a better term) of movie making here as well. Much more sex, violence, and profanity compared with the other three movies reviewed here, also setting a trend for much of the movie making that followed.

I like old movies. The titles I grew up with in 60's, 70's, 80" & 90"s. Consider the breadth of titles for Lancaster - Solent Green to Ten Commandments. Money well spent.

"Forbidden Planet", "The Time Machine", "2001: A Space Odyssey", and "Soylent Green." A great collection by any standard. The additional features are pretty good, if not a bit amateurish in places. My only complaint is the packaging. Stacking all four DVDs on the same spindle is just an opportunity to scuff them up.Forbidden Planet: Made in 1956, it was nominated for an Oscar for special effects. The plot is solid, if not simple, and the cast appropriate to the theme. Anne Francis is simply beautiful and Nielson a perfect leading man. Walter Pidgeon plays doting father and distracted scientist simultaneously. The movie paints a very hopeful future for human-kind and it remains on of my favorites from this era.The Time Machine: Released in 1960, about as true to H.G. Wells story as a film can be without running more than an hour and a half. The cast is pitch perfect with an amateur scientist and his four quirky business friends. A very late Victorian view of the world, the Time Machine itself looks like it belongs in a parlor. George Pal won an Oscar for best effects.2001: A Space Odyssey: Made in 1968 and filmed primarily in England, Kubrick went to extremes to create believable sets. The rotating Saturn probe is convincing and the space scenes believable. The costumes look dated, but not the space suits or space-craft. Of course the cast was perfectly chosen. The voice over with Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood is worth the watch; they explain a great deal that isn't always obvious. This is one of the most thoughtful SciFi films ever made.Soylent Green: Released in 1973 this movie presents the result of global warming and food shortages. Thrown into this future is a murder mystery which is a pretty reliable plot. The difference is the cops are only slightly better off than the teaming masses and even the rich are affected. No special effects to speak of, the film is about the story.

La caja viene con 4 DVDs, cada una serigrafiada con imágenes muy colorida de las películas.Todas a excepción de la máquina del tiempo vienen subtituladas al español.La calidad del audio y de la imagen es excelente en mi televisor 16:9.En resumen muy buena compra, la recomiendo ampliamente.

Excellent service yet again from Rarewaves good picture on dvds Graham.

First class

Better than I expected as there are 4 separate discs

Great little collection