in the 1970's version the Cylons were robots (centurions) ruled by one alien with many base stars. cylons attacked the city in cylon ships; again the ships themselves were not 'alive' as in the current version. There were three cylons per ship which attacked the city. The base stars then blew up the planet. This can be seen in the movie based on the original series. The Galatica wasn't a obsolete model in that version. also, the vipers flew more like a plane in space vs the realistic way the current one's pitch/yaw. Very campy show but for it's time there was nothing like it.
Best computer/scifi flick ever.Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)"We built a super computer with a mind of its own and now we must fight it for the world!" Oh dear. Someone warn Sarah Connor.
The author of this article misses the point on some of his examples. Metropolis, for example, he touts the machine interface as being "conceptually faulty" due to it's highly mechanical nature because 1920's culture had no conception of digital computing. His conclusion is WAY off the mark. Director Fritz Lang was saying that in a highly mechanized world were workers have no rights, freedom, or protection from exploitation by the ruling class they will be treated as machines with no concern for their well being. The work is supposed to be mechanically grueling and inhuman, as is the underworld environment the working class is forced to live. There is no conceptual fault here. It is, in fact, a perfect depiction of an industrial dystopia. Perhaps what the author meant to point-out is the lack of electronics as we know it, which can be ethereal in nature, as in the idea of cyberspace, but also efficiently interfaced. All equipment used by the workers in Metropolis is heavily mechanical in nature, which is reasonable since the allegory of the film focuses on contemporary (1920's) factory worker rights. The author should have discussed the scene where Rotwang creates the robot duplicate of Maria, the first android (gynoid in this case) in cinema. Rotwang's lab is filled with all the classic mad scientist gadgetry, mostly flashy electrical devises like Tesla coils. He flips big switches and turns dials as electrictiy arcs through the air to transform the mechanical, and very C3-P0-ish, android into a perfect human replica. Electricity is often seen as almost magical and certainly ethereal in nature - traits sometimes shared with modern computers. But unlike modern digital devices that expertly control and manipulate electricity and light to perform complex tasks in well defined ways, the electronics in Metropolis are vague in how they operate. Without a lexicon of computing principles to play upon the only option an early sci-fi film had to express new and complex ideas was with ambiguity. As technology progresses viewing audiences become more sophisticated and familiar with both real and fictional computing principals. Sci-fi gadgetry can in turn become more specific and defined in how they function.But I find it funny that the author considers rotating a dial to be lacking of HCI when I use a very similar gesture, albeit smaller, to operate my iPod.
howskiApr 5, 2007
Still reading, but good lord! The author should try some grammar.
znicketApr 5, 2007
Not one mention of Star Wars? Holographs? Faulty machinery? Power generators placed in conveniently explosive locations?
yournamehereApr 5, 2007
in the 1970's version the Cylons were robots (centurions) ruled by one alien with many base stars. cylons attacked the city in cylon ships; again the ships themselves were not 'alive' as in the current version. There were three cylons per ship which attacked the city. The base stars then blew up the planet. This can be seen in the movie based on the original series. The Galatica wasn't a obsolete model in that version. also, the vipers flew more like a plane in space vs the realistic way the current one's pitch/yaw. Very campy show but for it's time there was nothing like it.
railocelotApr 5, 2007
Keanu Reeves from "Johnny Mnemonic" "I only got 600MB memory in my brain.
roadskillApr 5, 2007
Best computer/scifi flick ever.Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)"We built a super computer with a mind of its own and now we must fight it for the world!" Oh dear. Someone warn Sarah Connor.
atavus68Apr 5, 2007
The author of this article misses the point on some of his examples. Metropolis, for example, he touts the machine interface as being "conceptually faulty" due to it's highly mechanical nature because 1920's culture had no conception of digital computing. His conclusion is WAY off the mark. Director Fritz Lang was saying that in a highly mechanized world were workers have no rights, freedom, or protection from exploitation by the ruling class they will be treated as machines with no concern for their well being. The work is supposed to be mechanically grueling and inhuman, as is the underworld environment the working class is forced to live. There is no conceptual fault here. It is, in fact, a perfect depiction of an industrial dystopia. Perhaps what the author meant to point-out is the lack of electronics as we know it, which can be ethereal in nature, as in the idea of cyberspace, but also efficiently interfaced. All equipment used by the workers in Metropolis is heavily mechanical in nature, which is reasonable since the allegory of the film focuses on contemporary (1920's) factory worker rights. The author should have discussed the scene where Rotwang creates the robot duplicate of Maria, the first android (gynoid in this case) in cinema. Rotwang's lab is filled with all the classic mad scientist gadgetry, mostly flashy electrical devises like Tesla coils. He flips big switches and turns dials as electrictiy arcs through the air to transform the mechanical, and very C3-P0-ish, android into a perfect human replica. Electricity is often seen as almost magical and certainly ethereal in nature - traits sometimes shared with modern computers. But unlike modern digital devices that expertly control and manipulate electricity and light to perform complex tasks in well defined ways, the electronics in Metropolis are vague in how they operate. Without a lexicon of computing principles to play upon the only option an early sci-fi film had to express new and complex ideas was with ambiguity. As technology progresses viewing audiences become more sophisticated and familiar with both real and fictional computing principals. Sci-fi gadgetry can in turn become more specific and defined in how they function.But I find it funny that the author considers rotating a dial to be lacking of HCI when I use a very similar gesture, albeit smaller, to operate my iPod.
Closed AccountApr 7, 2007
Yes, as Hollywood tries to release these 'futuristic' movies, they age very badly. Hell, I have 60 gigs in my damn pocket now. Funny stuff, indeed.
n25anDec 3, 2008
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