Hollywood Aliens & Monsters

A fairly good documentary about sci-fi in movies. It's a historical odyssey through the 20th-century science fiction movie making. It's not exactly brimming with informative and interesting facts, but it's not drenched in empty phrases and clichées either. It doesn't deal with special effects very much, which is sad, since it's such an important aspect of sci-fi movie making.

I found it interesting that that they approached the sociological impacts on sci-fi, how what's happening in the world around us influences the subjects dealt with, for instance the subject of fear. The american culture is one built on fear. Fear of communists, fear of terrorists, fear of the government or little green men. Nowhere is this as prominent as in american sci-fi. This was sufficiently explored in this documentary.

I was absolutely horrified when I discovered that they had omitted Blade Runner. They obviously thought that it had no place in a documentary about science fiction movies. While we're at it, the WWII holocaust never happened.

The product description above is certainly accurate. Chock full of examples, it entertains and kind of keeps you on the edge of your seat. Definitely not a dry documentary sort of thing. Mark Hamill does a great job of hosting and his is not the only voice. You get some super heros in the industry like Robert Wise (among others) as well. It takes a straight line approach through time and adds just enough background about what's happening in the real world at the time to put things in that perspective. So, let me put my 10 star rating in perspective.

Two sci-fans walkin' down the street; you and me. You say - "Dude, I love the sci-fi movies. I wish I could find a really good historical overview that runs less than two hours." In a heart-beat, I'd be like "Dude: 'To the Galaxy and Beyond With Mark Hamill: A Century Of Science Fiction Cinema', you've got to see it." You'd thank me. So really - what I'm saying is this is really good.