4 posts tagged with robot and sciencefiction.
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Movie: Ikarie XB 1
Awesome 1963 Czech scifi film directed by Jindrich Polák about a spaceship crew bound for Alpha Centauri, based on an early Stanislaw Lem novella. It's been called an influence on 2001 (we know Kubrick saw it) and Star Trek. It includes eerie encounters with alien spacecraft, fantastic sets and costumes, a wonderful experimental electro-acoustic score by Zdeněk Liška (who later scored Jan Svankmeyer shorts), and the 2nd best outer space dance scene ever, complete with casual drug-sniffing. Available in a beautiful 2016 restoration from Second Run DVD with neat extras, and currently up at YouTube. [more inside]
Book: A Psalm for the Wild-Built
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.
One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.
But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.
They're going to need to ask it a lot.
Star Trek: Voyager: Prototype Rewatch Season 2, Ep 13
The system goes online on August 4th, 2297. Humanoid decisions are removed from strategic defense. The automated units begin to learn at a geometric rate. They become self-aware at 2:14 AM, Pralor time, August 29th. In a panic, the Builders try to pull the plug. [more inside]
Movie: Moon
In Duncan Jones (nee Zowie Bowie, son of David)'s debut feature, astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell in a celebrated showcase performance) has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, alongside his computer companion GERTY. Despite not storming the box office, Moon (trailer) drew comparisons to movies like Solaris, Alien, and 2001, found critical praise (though not universally), won several awards, and still maintains a healthy following seven years later. (Some links contain spoilers)
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