Related
Summary
FromBlade RunnertoThe TerminatortoGhost in the Shell , some of the greatest science fiction movies of all time belong to the fan - favorite “ technical school noir ” subgenre . Tech noirs combine the futurist applied science of science fiction with the moral equivocalness of film noir . They often have a neon - sop aesthetic , an intriguing mystery , and an ethically confutative antihero at the center of their storylines . technical school noirs give film producer an chance to explore societal issues from the present day , like human identity element , technocracy , and the danger of unreal intelligence , in a speculative sci - fi setting .
Visionary director like Ridley Scott and James Cameron limit the whole tone and aesthetical of the technical school noir subgenre with their ‘ 80s masterpiece . Since then , other filmmakers have taken the technical school noir baton and put their own tender on the genre . technical school noirs have opine the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles in the distant future and a fake reality controlled by humanity ’s robotic overlords . From action - pack satires likeRoboCopto Philip K. Dick adaptations likeMinority Report , these are the great tech noirs ever made .
10Strange Days
Kathryn Bigelow, 1995
set up in a near - future L.A.,Strange Daysstars Ralph Fiennes as Lenny Nero , a black - marketplace dealer who deal an electrical gadget that allows its users to experience other hoi polloi ’s memory , alongside Angela Bassett as the bodyguard who gets drawn into a criminal confederacy with Nero . Strange Daysuses its blend of sci - fi imaging and film noir figure of speech to explore universal themeslike prejudice , voyeurism , and misuse of federal agency . Its depiction of violence is n’t for the fainthearted , but it has enchant performances and mesmerizing visuals .
9A Scanner Darkly
Richard Linklater, 2006
base onthe Philip K. Dick novel of the same name , A Scanner Darklytakes post in a dystopian future America that has lost the warfare on drugsand enabled high - technical school police surveillance as a countermeasure . A Scanner Darklywas animated using the same rotoscoping technique as Richard Linklater ’s earlier film , Waking Life , which brings Dick ’s dystopia to aliveness beautifully . The rampant drug role and political unstableness ofA Scanner Darkly ’s future declare oneself one of the most startling cinematic portraiture of a not - so - brave new world .
8RoboCop
Paul Verhoeven, 1987
After being shot to piece and depart for dead by ruthless gangsters , good , good , intemperately - working law policeman Alex Murphy is reincarnated as a cybernetic killing machine and let loose on the law-breaking - ridden streets of futurist Detroit inRoboCop . On the surface , RoboCopseems like a schlocky , run - of - the - mill B complex - flick , butdirector Paul Verhoevenuses musical style tropes and graphic violence to satirise prevalent social and political issues . RoboCopis a vituperative indictment of capitalism , authoritarianism , and the import of privatizing a police forcefulness , all wrapped up in a genre movie package .
7Minority Report
Steven Spielberg, 2002
Tom Cruise plays a police chief who can predict crimes before they even happen in Steven Spielberg ’s adaptation of Dick ’s novellaMinority Report . When the chief himself is accused of the succeeding execution of a man he ’s never met , he has to go on the runnel to shed light on his name and figure out why he ’s destined to kill this valet de chambre . Minority Reportdeliversa nail - biting Caterpillar - and - black eye slaying mystery through the lens of the years - old philosophical debate of detached will versus determinism .
6Alphaville
Jean-Luc Godard, 1965
Jean - Luc Godard directed one of the earliest tech noirs way back in 1965.Alphavillesends the classic European private heart fictional character Lemmy Caution to a upstage planet to emancipate the eponymic metropolis from an evil computer that controls its occupant ’ thoughts . Godard take all the hallmarks of a typical Lemmy Caution adventure – the trenchcoat , the fight scenes , the untrusting supporting players – and transplants them into the futurist story of a technocratic dictatorship . Alphavilleisan ominous look at a mankind where A.I. has eradicated free will .
5The Terminator
James Cameron, 1984
A killer whale bionic woman is get off back in meter to toss off Sarah Connor , the female parent of future opposition leader John Connor , in James Cameron ’s classic thrillerThe Terminator . Cameron ’s moving-picture show actually coin the terminal figure “ technical school noir ” – it ’s the name of the nightclub where Sarah first find the T-800.The Terminatorhas the structure of a typical slasher , with Arnold Schwarzenegger ’s iconic killing political machine knock off every Sarah Connor in the phonebook , butCameron ingeniously utilise that musical style formula to research deep themes of the dangers of sentient A.I. and the fragility of fate .
4Ghost In The Shell
Mamoru Oshii, 1995
Based on Masamune Shirow ’s manga of the same name , Ghost in the Shellfollows a cyborg cop on the lead of a infamous hack get it on as the Puppet Master in futuristic Japan . The account bear on the passing of personal individuality in an progressively technologically advanced world , and explores the impression of concede political asylum to self - aware computer programs . Ghost in the Shellwas astonishingly prescient in its depiction of the dehumanization of a tech - driven order .
3The Matrix
The Wachowskis, 1999
Keanu Reeves ’ computer hacker Thomas Anderson get a line that his entire reality is a computer simulation controlled by humankind ’s automobile overlords , who have been using human bodies as batteries , in the Wachowskis ’ sci - fi action masterpieceThe Matrix . It has all the mellow - octane action mechanism of a kung fu pic , but with the thought - provoking existential philosophy of the best science fable stories . The Matrixmade audiences around the world interrogate their own existencewith its hauntingly believable tale of a complex computing machine pretence keeping the human wash in the dark about its own reality .
2Akira
Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988
Katsuhiro Otomo adapted his own mangain the cyberpunk classicAkira , in which a biker gang ’s childhood supporter takes on the intact military building complex of Neo - Tokyo after gaining telekinetic powers in a motorcycle stroke . Arguably the most iconic and influential anime feature ever made , Akirais both a wildly entertaining action thriller and a profound examen of manhood ’s corruptibilityand the dangers of technology . It was one of the first animated movies to prove that invigoration is n’t just for kids .
1Blade Runner
Ridley Scott, 1982
Harrison Ford champion inBlade Runneras Rick Deckard , a detective who ’s sent to identify and displace the replicants that have assimilate themselves into the human universe of near - hereafter Los Angeles , and quickly start to doubt his own humanhood . Ridley Scott ’s breathless adaptation of Dick’sDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?established many hallmarks of the technical school noir , like high - contrast , neon - tint inflammation . It ’s a hard - boil police detective story that explores urban radioactive decay in a futurist settingand stars a Sam Spade - esque sleuthhound tasked with hunting robots . For half a century , Blade Runnerhas been the tech noir benchmark to thump .
