Historical
Dark Skies (1996)
“History as we know it is a lie.”
Did you know that the famous Roswell UFO crash was not the end of aliens among us? If you don’t believe it, watch “Dark Skies.”
Great, Emmy winning series from 1996 starring Eric Close, Megan Ward, J.T. Walsh and, for 8 episodes, Jeri Ryan. “Dark Skies” explores the possibility [...]
Peace On Earth
An MGM cartoon from 1933 that foreshadows a lot of apocalyptic science fiction.
Hosted by Dailymotion
Suggested by Matt Staggs at Enter the Octopus
JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS
1963. Jason And The Argonauts. One of Ray Harryhausen’s finest efforts. The running battle between Jason and the skeleton soldiers can never be forgotten by anyone who has seen it – and there’s just something entirely weird and creepy about watching the colossus stride along the beach.
HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN
1964. Hercules Against The Moon Men. (Why not ‘versus’?). A whole series of these spaghetti mythologies were produced in Italy during the 60s and they enjoyed some degree of popularity.
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923)
1923. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Perhaps equally as famous as Charles Laughton’s portrayal of Quasimodo is Lon Chaney’s silent film depiction. Cheney is said to have worn a leather harness that kept him bent over – and in agony – during the filming.
Based on Victor Hugo’s “timeless classic”, this tale of redemption and true [...]
THE H. G. WELLS & ORSON WELLES INTERVIEW
1939(?). An amazing historical find. Shortly after Orson Welles produced his radio version of War of the Worlds, H. G. Wells was in New York. The two were interviewed together during another radio program.
This is an extraordinary demonstration of how technology (as first imagined in science fiction works) affects our world. Two men – [...]
JOURNEY INTO SPACE
953. Journey Into Space. From the BBC. A highly acclaimed series.
Hosted by the Internet Archive.
My rating – 4/5
Listen:
Operation
Luna 1
Operation
Luna 2
Operation
[...]
THE CHALLENGE OF SPACE
969. The Challenge of Space. A BBC production considered to be one of the most technically accurate radio presentation of man’s conquest of space.
Hosted by Rimworlds.
My rating – 3/5
Listen:
Another
Galaxy
Clapper
[...]
ATOMIC WAR SURVIVAL
A host of movies, educational films and military training films devoted to the subject of how to survive (and thrive) when everyone else around you is glowing green!
From the well-known Duck and Cover to the less well known Atomic Attack with a very young Walter Mathau in attendance.
Yes, they really did tell us to hide [...]
ATOMIC WEAPON TESTS
So much of my life was spent under the threat of nuclear annihilation that the mushroom cloud has almost become a comforting image. If you saw one of those on the horizon, it did mean that things were pretty much over – but it also meant that you didn’t have to worry about it anymore [...]
APOLLO XI WITH WALTER CRONKITE
1969. Documentary coverage of the first landing on the moon, hosted and narrated by Walter Cronkite.
I had to make a stand back in 1969. I was off to summer camp and there was no guarantee that I’d have access to a television set while there; heck, I didn’t even know if the camp had a [...]
MARS AND BEYOND
1957. Disney’s Mars and Beyond. This Wonderful World of Disney feature completes the 1950’s trilogy that informed a generation of what our future in space would be like.
Too bad it didn’t turn out this way.
Hosted by Youtube.
My rating – 4/5.
WATCH
Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6
MAN AND THE MOON
1956. Man and the Moon. Another (partially) animated documentary from the Wonderful World of Disney. This featurette takes the viewer past the background from Man in Space and goes all the way for a trip around the moon. More von Braun, Ley and Disney special effects.
Once again, this series inspired rides and model kits (probably [...]
MAN IN SPACE
1955. The Wonderful World of Disney presents Man in Space. Featuring Willy Ley’s and Wernher von Braun’s technical assistance and Disney animation.
An excellent mid-50’s look at what the future of man in space would be like. This TV show focuses on von Braun’s original proposals for establishing space stations and moon bases as the first [...]
DUCK DODGERS
953 (and 1980). Only the maestro of cartooning – Chuck Jones – could deliver something like this: Duck Dodgers in the 24th1/2 Century. A truly respectful send-up of the genre in living Warner Brothers color. Daffy and Porky are perfect as Dodgers and a Space Cadet, and we meet Marvin the Martian [...]
Robert A. Heinlein
I have to admit – RAH is one of my faves – as he is for many of my generation of fan.
Sadly, there isn’t much freely available video content of him, but what there is, you’ll find here.
First up – Brass Cannon. ‘Bob’ included a small brass signal cannon in one of his best known [...]
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is a hard SF writer who’s Mars Trilogy has inspired millions and offered serious food for thought towards the concept of terraforming Mars.
Robinson is no stranger to the internet nor to delivering talks on the future uses and effects of technology on mankind.
Here are several clips from Link TV and a lecture [...]
Polaris 21 Convention
Polaris 21, held in Toronto in July, 2007.
Hosted by the Internet Archive.
Con Report
Dragoncon
Dragoncon is one of the country’s largest fantasy, comics, gaming annual conventions. It’s grown steadily since 1987 and now regularly hosts tens of thousands of fans.
Dragoncon has grown so large in fact that they hold a parade every year.
Dragoncon parade 2007
Dragoncon parade 2008
Damon Knight
Damon Knight was a golden age science fiction writer and editor. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association; the Grand Master Award (given for lifetime achievement in SF&F writing) is named for him.
Here are several Youtube clips featuring Damon discussing the history of science fiction literature:
SF History [...]
Tour of the Ackermansion
Forrest J Ackerman was Mr. Science Fiction and was voted the #1 Fan Personality at the 1953 Worldcon science fiction convention.
He is credited with creating the ‘Sci Fi’ abbreviation (about the only thing I have a problem with – but since it was “4E”, I can easily let it slide).
I had the wonderful opportunity of [...]
LOST HORIZON
1937. Lost Horizon. Based on James Hilton’s famous novel – and directed by Frank Capra!
Seminal, foundational work. Re-made in the 70’s, but watch this version too.
Remember, you can never go back to Shangrila…
Hosted by Classic Cinema Online
My rating – 4/5.
WATCH A DIFFERENT MOVIE
SCIENCE FICTION DOUBLE FEATURE
By admin on April 20, 2009
Movies referenced in the film THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
Films on this site that are referenced in this movie have a ‘LIPS’ icon –
associated with them.
All of these movies are named or referenced in the opening title song of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, known as the SCIENCE FICTION DOUBLE FEATURE song. The actual [...]
Posted in 2000s, 2009, Commentary, Educational, Genre, Historical, Medium, P to T, Print, Title, Year | Tagged Rocky Horror Picture Show | Leave a response