San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Gina Basso has curated an incredible science fiction film series that’s just started at the museum. The series, titled “The Future of the Past: Utopia/Dystopia, 1965-1984” presents a rich history of cinematic futures: Westworld, Logan’s Run, Soylent Green, A Clockwork Orange, Fantastic Planet, Stalker, Alphaville, Sleeper, Fahrenheit 451, and 1984 (the 1984 version). The series is tied to the current special exhibit, “Patterns of Speculation,” on the architecture of the J. Mayer H firm. The movies are $5 or free with museum admission. It’s rare for some of these to show on a big screen. I hope to catch several. And if you’re not in the Bay Area, add these films to your movie rental queue. Every one of them is a must-see. Tonight is Logan’s Run! From the series description:
Released from 1965 through the iconic Orwellian year 1984, these films present not-too-distant worlds that reflect extremes in the social, moral, and political trends of their time. These imagined tomorrows are more often dystopian than hopeful, with the world as we know it exhausted and collapsed. The resulting new architecture – glass domes, surveillance corridors, solitary structures – is the means of future survival and evokes a world of bleakness and sinister intent.
Future of the Past film festival (Thanks, Brad Steinberg!)