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John Costello
John Costello is a lecturer in Film and Media Studies and Screenwriting at the Universities of Warwick, Coventry,
and Birmingham. He has also written Pocket Essentials on David Croenenberg, and Writing A Screenplay.
ISFDB Bibliography
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A review by Kit O'Connell
Science Fiction Films from the Pocket Essentials
series is more than just a quick overview of the better films of the genre
-- it makes you want to go out and rent a personal movie marathon of some
of the greatest, most entertaining, and memorable movies of the 20th
century. The book opens with a selection of the author's favourite scenes
from The Day The Earth Stood Still, Blade Runner , The
Thing and others; this imaginary timeline of science fiction's great
moments, stretching from the dawn of humanity to the 23rd century, is surely enough
to grab the imagination of even a total novice to SF films:
Washington DC, 1951: A humanoid figure and a giant robot
emerge from the first alien spaceship to land on Earth. The humanoid
raises its hand. In the surrounding army cordon a nervous young soldier
aims his rifle and fires.
Los Angeles, 2019: As his life ebbs away in genetically programmed
termination, an android 'Replicant' delivers a lesson in humanity to his
human nemesis whose life he has just spared.
Antarctica, 1982: The two survivors of an attack on a US research station
by a shapeshifting alien lifeform face the prospect of freezing to death
together, neither certain that the other is really human.
After the introduction whets the reader's appetite and explains John Costello's
definitions of the genre, the chapters are laid out roughly by the era
within which each movie appeared, starting with the genre's first
appearances at the beginning of the 20th century with La Voyage Dans La
Lune and ending with 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
In addition to rating each film and giving the usual synopsis, the author
tries to give context to each film by discussing some of the era's
prevailing philosophies and influences from the obvious touch of George
Lucas and Steven Spielberg on the films of the late 70s to the influence
of the Roswell crash on the films of the 50s. The last two chapters of the
book detail science fiction in animation and some of the great bad
movies, including of course Plan 9 From Outer Space. but also
Logan's Run and Zardoz. While anime fans and Z-movie
enthusiasts will undoubtedly have a few favourites that were left out, I
think the inclusion of these chapters more than makes up for their
necessary brevity.
The biggest source of controversy in the minds of the average reader will
be Costello's ratings -- is Terminator 2: Judgment Day (five stars) a
better film than Star Wars: Episode IV (four stars)? At four stars,
are both Ghost in the Shell and Final Fantasy: The Spirits
Within equally good? However, it is the double-edged sword of the
Pocket Essentials imprint that the series' editors actually allow the
authors to have an opinion of their own. It is my opinion that the
benefits outweigh the drawbacks, because it allows this book to be
entertaining even if you happen to have seen every film in it (in which
case, congratulations or, in some cases, my condolences). When John
Costello calls Lucas a 'megalomaniac' for messing with his classics, or
refers to The Black Hole as "so bad it created its own singularity
and disappeared straight into it," the writing rises above the level of a
mere Dummies guide.
The real drawback to Science Fiction Films is that there is no
page-by-page index, either alphabetical or by chapter, of the films in the
volume. This is especially irritating in light of the book's purported
goal to be a pocket reference guide to film and makes it hard to find a
film in a hurry (for example, to write this review). This is probably not
the author's fault, as it shares this editorial error with at least one
other entry in the Pocket Essentials series.
Overall, the Pocket Essentials Science Fiction Films
is an inexpensive, and entertaining volume. Even though I'm a fan of SF
film, I haven't seen nearly all the films in its slim 160 pages, and the
web resources included in an appendix will undoubtedly point the reader to
even more great information. As a writer, critic, and fan I am sure this
is a reference I will reach for frequently.
Copyright © 2005 Kit O'Connell
You can read the 'pocket essentials' of his life (a new excuse for not updating more often) at
todfox.livejournal.com.
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