Science fiction has existed as a film genre since as far back as 1902 with Georges Melies' A Trip to the Moon. Science fiction often contains fantastic elements like space or time travel, robots, and aliens though they are often presented in a way grounded in reality. That is to say that these fantastic elements are often explained in a way that uses what contemporary knowledge we have of science and where it is headed. Other times they are not really elaborated on at all and are based more on fantasy, like Star Wars. Despite all the technological wizardry and complex science presented in science fiction films, science fiction at its core is most frequently used to explore humanity. Two movies that are excellent examples of this are the classical Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and the baroque Blade Runner: The Final Cut (
Classical science fiction was usually set in a much less complex world than later entries in the genre. The films usually had a contemporary setting where some sort of outside or alien force would make its presence known, for example, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing from Another World and War of the Worlds. Over time science fiction would be set more and more in a futuristic world where humanity would seem more and more out of place in an increasingly cold universe. These types of films often depict a 1984-inspired dystopian world with little hope or warmth, like Blade Runner, Planet of the Apes, and The Matrix. The major contrast between the classical and the baroque seeming to be the place of the science fiction elements themselves. Whereas in the earlier movies it was often invasive, in the later films it became the natural and humanistic that tends to be out of place in a mostly technological world. Even so, from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to The Wrath of Khan, the most interesting aspect of all these films is how they explore humanity and being human.
Today both Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Blade Runner are considered to be major entries in the science fiction genre, although in their time, Body Snatchers was somewhat of a low budget film and Blade Runner was a financial flop. Invasion of the Body Snatchers would go on to be remade multiple times, whereas Blade Runner would go through multiple revisions and "director's cuts" over the years. As mentioned before the two films are largely about humanity and they each explore this theme in different ways. Body Snatchers takes place in a contemporary 1950s small town in California where the people are slowly being taken over by alien pods. The pods assume the place of the humans, turning them into efficient automatons. The film is very allegorical which has seen many people to attach political connotations to it; some seeing it as a condemnation of communism or its antithesis, capitalism. Whereas Body Snatchers dealt with the loss of humanity in society in an allegorical way, Blade Runner takes a more direct approach. Set in the future, 2019 Los Angeles to be exact, Blade Runner is about what it truly means to be human. Science and technology have advanced to the point that we are able to create synthetic human beings; androids, or replicants as they are called in the film. The film chronicles a cop whose job it is to execute a group of rogue replicants who have come back to earth seeking to understand themselves and prolong their soon-to-expire life. At all times throughout the film the question of what it means to be human is present, and even the main character's humanity is called in to question.
Blade Runner and Invasion of the Body Snatchers belong to other genres as well. Blade Runner combines science fiction with film noir and Invasion of the Body Snatchers is just as much a horror film as it is anything else. In fact science fiction has a history of intertwining with these two genres. A big reason why science fiction lends itself to noir and horror so well is once again, the genre's dealings with humanity. In Body Snatchers people are in danger of literally having their humanity taken from them. The most horrifying moment in Body Snatchers being when the hero looks down and realizes that the woman he loves has completely changed. Despite all the people changing this one hits the hardest because it is the most personal, and that is humanity at its core; the relationships between people. In Blade Runner the existential questioning of what it means to be human is straight out of film noir, although it too is in a different and more literal context with replicants struggling with their existence and the motto of the company that manufactures them being, "more human than human."
Now, getting down to the actual quality of the films. Invasion of the Body Snatchers was directed by Don Siegel at his very best. Siegel had a history of working in Hollywood, learning his craft before taking the reins and becoming a director himself. Siegel, at his best combined art and intelligence with expert craftsmanship on every level, and he may not have directed a better film than Body Snatchers. The film too excels on every level, with expert characterization and believability, pacing and rhythm. Being a horror movie it is at moments truly terrifying, which is amazing considered how long ago it was made. Horror films have a tendency to become cheesy with time and that has not happened here. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a great work of science fiction, a great horror story, and above all a great film.
The visuals in Blade Runner are some of the most beautiful in film. Blade Runner was only director Ridley Scott's third film after a career as a director of TV commercials. Sadly that shows. While Blade Runner is in fact great and touches on some very interesting themes, it is not a great film. As beautiful as it is to look at, it gets monotonous because the film is really just close up after close up. The images never have a chance to breathe. Scott's previous career probably had a lot to do with this, as directing for TV is different than directing for the big screen, and directing a commercial is even more different than a film. Here, stylishness comes at the expense of everything else, and outside of the art direction and music the film is not even really that stylish. Aside from that, Don Siegel does so much more in relating the audience to the characters in 80 minutes than Scott does in 2 hours. It stands as a wonderful artistic achievement yet it lacks the cohesiveness of Invasion of the Body Snatchers that comes from being well crafted and takes something good and turns it into something great. But oh well. Both films are very interesting and are definitely worth seeing multiple times.
