The most realistic, and the most unrealistic Sci-Fi films according to NASA

[Eldritch]

Least Realistic Sci-Fi Movies

1. 2012 (2009)

2. The Core (2003)

3. Armageddon (1998)

4. Volcano (1997)

5. Chain Reaction (1996)

6. The 6th Day (2000)

7. What the #$*! Do We Know? (2004)

Most Realistic Films

1. Gattaca (1997)

2. Contact (1997)

3. Metropolis (1927)

4. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

5. Woman in the Moon (1929)

6. The Thing from Another World (1951)

7. Jurassic Park (1993)
Link. (http://www.moviefone.co.uk/2011/01/04/nasa-names-most-unrealistic-and-realistic-movies-of-all-time/)

Any comments? :)

[Beorn]

1. 2012 (2009)

Yeah! Like our government/s would keep the end of the world under wraps. I don't think the world government/s have ever put money before human lives???

[Smaland]

http://exclamationmark.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/war-of-the-worlds.jpg?w=510

I don't know how realistic NASA believes it to be, but one of the best sci-fi films is War of the Worlds (1953).

[Grumpy Cat]

Yeah! Like our government/s would keep the end of the world under wraps. I don't think the world government/s have ever put money before human lives???

I think it was more along the lines of tsunamis the size of Mt. Everest, and planes outrunning a volcanic ash cloud.

[Beorn]

I think it was more along the lines of tsunamis the size of Mt. Everest, and planes outrunning a volcanic ash cloud.

I didn't click the link, but I suppose that is fair enough. :D

[Baron Samedi]

Surprised 2001, A Space Odessy isn't on here.... What the fuck.

They got something SO RIGHT in that film.... NO SOUND IN SPACE!

[Eldritch]

I think it was more along the lines of tsunamis the size of Mt. Everest, and planes outrunning a volcanic ash cloud.

Yeah, as well as the whole "ancient mystic Mayan calendars predict the end of the world" humbug.


http://exclamationmark.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/war-of-the-worlds.jpg?w=510

I don't know how realistic NASA believes it to be, but one of the best sci-fi films is War of the Worlds (1953).

Well, that film is awfully unrealistic in all kinds of ways. A civilization this advanced operating on Mars would almost certainly be observable from Earth. And why would the Martians want to invade the Earth in the first place? And finally, the idea that they would not take precautions to protect themselves from microbes on Earth is just crazy.

It is a good film, just not very realistic at all.

[Beorn]

Well, that film is awfully unrealistic in all kinds of ways. A MAN this advanced operating on EARTH would almost certainly be observable from THE PUB. And why would the MAN want to invade the CLUB FULL OF WOMEN in the first place? And finally, the idea that they would not take precautions to protect themselves from microbes on Earth is just crazy.

It is a good film, just not very realistic at all.

:wink:D

[Gamera]

Well, I read long time ago that "The Day After Tomorrow" was pretty realistic and could actually happen in a way, if I'm not wrong.

[Óttar]

Surprised 2001, A Space Odessy isn't on here.... What the fuck.

They got something SO RIGHT in that film.... NO SOUND IN SPACE!
I'm really surprised too, because that film was released in 1968, one year prior to the moon landing and their spacecraft looked pretty damn realistic. Quite visionary.

[Grumpy Cat]

Star Trek series is up there. I mean, man inventions we have today were inspired by Star Trek (cell phones, tasers, etc.).

Just read the book "How William Shatner Changed the World".

[Eldritch]

Star Trek series is up there. I mean, man inventions we have today were inspired by Star Trek (cell phones, tasers, etc.).

Just read the book "How William Shatner Changed the World".

But Star Trek also has teleportation and faster-than-light travel ...

EDIT:

Not to mention universal translators.

[Grumpy Cat]

But Star Trek also has teleportation and faster-than-light travel ...

True, and you know someone's trying to invent that now.

[Wyn]

Star Trek series is up there. I mean, man inventions we have today were inspired by Star Trek (cell phones, tasers, etc.).

Just read the book "How William Shatner Changed the World".

Aren't cell phones quite old as a concept? I thought prototype models had been around since the 1960s.

[Falkata]

Gattaca and Contact are actually two of my fauvorite sci-fi movies.
Contact was pretty fascinating for me when I´ve watched it even when I think it´s not really popular...Gattaca is more famous i guess

[Adalwolf]

Gattaca was an awesome film. I can honestly see the genetic engineering / profiling to be a big part of our future. Scientists will be able to focus in on the neuron activity within a person's brain to best determine what they should aim for in life.

[Eldritch]

Gattaca and Contact are actually two of my fauvorite sci-fi movies.
Contact was pretty fascinating for me when I´ve watched it even when I think it´s not really popular...Gattaca is more famous i guess

Contact is quite a rarity among SF films: a film that's actually more realistic (or should I say less unrealistic) than the novel it's based on. :p

[Agrippa]

http://exclamationmark.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/war-of-the-worlds.jpg?w=510

I don't know how realistic NASA believes it to be, but one of the best sci-fi films is War of the Worlds (1953).

Well, if you ignore the stupid end. I mean, if they can do all the other things, it is quite unlikely that they can't deal with foreign microbes and have no defensive strategy at all ;)

But of course, it came to me always like a rather "forced happy end" in this movie and the method of killing humans is also quite weak.

I mean if there would exist such a highly evolved species, they could surely use a smoother way to get rid of mankind, actually it would be more likely that they send us a virus than vice versa...

[Psychonaut]

What about Sunshine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_%282007_film%29)?


To shape the science of the film, Boyle and Garland hired scientist advisers, including NASA employees and astrophysicists.[31] One physicist, Brian Cox of University of Manchester, was hired to advise the cast and crew after the director had seen Cox on the science TV series Horizon.[32] The physicist gave regular lectures to the film's cast members about solar physics. Cox also advised the filmmakers to scale down the nuclear device in the film from the mass of the Moon to the size of Manhattan.

[Smaland]

http://exclamationmark.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/war-of-the-worlds.jpg?w=510

I don't know how realistic NASA believes it to be, but one of the best sci-fi films is War of the Worlds (1953).


And finally, the idea that they would not take precautions to protect themselves from microbes on Earth is just crazy.


Well, if you ignore the stupid end. I mean, if they can do all the other things, it is quite unlikely that they can't deal with foreign microbes and have no defensive strategy at all ;)

Fair enough. :) According to the film narrator, the Martians had been studying Earth prior to their invasion. Since they had the foresight and discipline to study us beforehand, and the technological ability to build their war machines, it was a monumental oversight for them to overlook our viruses and bacteria.


A civilization this advanced operating on Mars would almost certainly be observable from Earth.

At the time this film was released, the first satellite had not yet been launched into space (Sputnik, 1957), and space probes of other planets didn't come along until much later. In 1953, the best available devices for observing other planets were large telescopes housed in observatories, such as the Palomar Observatory in California.

The narrator also pointed out that the Martians were living on a dying planet in the "last stages of exhaustion". At night, the temperatures descended below zero even at the equator. It would have been to their advantage to become a subterranean civilization, to escape the harsh climate.

I see your point, but it wouldn't have been impossible for the Martians to camouflage or hide their structures from telescopes, especially if they lived underground.


And why would the Martians want to invade the Earth in the first place?

Since Mars was a dying planet, the Martians needed to migrate to a new one that would sustain life. Their study of the available alternatives convinced them that Earth was the best choice.

[Eldritch]

Gattaca was an awesome film. I can honestly see the genetic engineering / profiling to be a big part of our future. Scientists will be able to focus in on the neuron activity within a person's brain to best determine what they should aim for in life.

Well I just finished watching this (I was inspired by the article to find the film), and indeed it was a pretty impressive film in all kinds of ways.

However I wish the reason why they were flying to Titan (wearing suits!) was explained.

Also, dividing the populace simplistically into "valid" and "invalid" people was pretty absurd, given the accuracy of the sequencing they were using. I suppose that was needed to give the whole technique a sinister spin, since Hollywood assumes film audiences are threatened by new technologies.

[Agrippa]

GATTACA was a stupid movie, because it just showed "discrimination" of natural born people, but no advantages of the technique. I mean they can design a baby in every detail, but can't cure a paraplegia?

Then the "designed" humans were in no way that superiour, considering the possibilities and oh yes, "the damaged boy" being better than all designed ones, yet he is "so imperfect" and was "discriminated" by the "evil genetic police".

Then the whole atmosphere was depressive, grey in grey, standardised, inhumane, negative - rather like 50's at their worst than a bright future, so again, a stereotype of how "humans ruined humanity" by "genetically designing people" and oh yes, they call the crippled "god's children".

The whole movie was just completely inconsistent, superficial and bigoted.

It was only realistic insofar, as technologies were shown and partial implementations of those, which seem to be achievable and would be, if the developments go on that way, applied.

Yet, the scene and results were ridiculous in my opinion, as if everything would go rather down the drain by selecting for more desirable genes - in fact the opposite would be true and this robotic grey-in-grey world with the "crippled superman" is a bad joke for todays ants, mass people, which just don't want to be evaluated or judged by any higher standard and prefer to live in a meaningless and corrupted society, because they being made FEEL THREATENED by something which should actually help them and their children - since Eugenic-medical measures would increase personal potential and alternatives rather than narrow it down - especially if being made available on a broad bases.

And if a society would be able to be as good in this field, it would be for sure much better in other fields too, rather than falling back into something that uninteresting like the society of GATTACA.

[Adalwolf]

GATTACA was a stupid movie, because he just showed "discrimination" of natural born people, but no advantages of the technique. I mean they can design a baby in every detail, but can't cure a paraplegia?

They had a choice to make: either go in the direction of a utopian society or a dystopian one, they chose the latter. It would be impossible for the plot to be engaging if they showed both sides.


It was only realistic insofar, as technologies were shown and partial implementations of those which seem to be achievable and would be, if the developments go on that way, applied.

In a future world, I for one can see genetic profiling being a big part of a child's upbringing, specifically within school.


since Eugenic-medical measures would increase personal potential and alternatives rather than narrow it down - especially if being made available on a broad bases.

Indeed I agree here. Hopefully a similar movie will be made at some point where they show all the advantages to this sort of technology. To be honest, it probably wouldn't be as successful though as the masses like a movie with emotional inner conflicts...

[Great Dane]

I saw a movie last week called Knowing starring Nicolas Cage. A massive solar flare fries the earth, everyone dies except two children carried off by aliens, or angels, to a virgin planet to become the new Adam and Eve. I don't usually like science fiction but this one was different, there was no hero to save the day.

[lei.talk]

Originally Posted by Eldritch http://www.theapricity.com/forum/images/buttons/green/viewpost.gif (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=326720#post326720)
But Star Trek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek) also has teleportation and faster-than-light travel ...

EDIT: Not to mention universal translators.

Originally Posted by DragonRouge http://www.theapricity.com/forum/images/dinda/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=326721#post326721)
True, and you know someone's trying to invent that now.


Ectaco Manufacturers and sells a wide variety of speech to speech translators for individual and institutional usage. The interesting aspect about these units are that no internet connection is required. Another noteworthy fact us that the translated phrase will be spoken out in a real human voice. They have worked with the United States Army as well as other Governmental agencies.http://i56.tinypic.com/2ah729l.png (http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1929346/ectaco_speechguard_assists_military_linguists/)

Google has announced that it is developing a translator. Using a voice recognition system and a database, a robotic voice will recite the translation in the desired language.http://i56.tinypic.com/2ah729l.png (http://www.pcworld.com/article/188777)

The United States Army has also developed a two-way translator for use in Iraq. TRANSTAC (Spoken Language Communication and Translation System for Tactical Use), though, only focuses on Arabic-English translation.http://i56.tinypic.com/2ah729l.png (http://news.softpedia.com/news/US-Army-Wants-Automatic-Translators-for-Iraq-Soldiers-60817.shtml)

In February 2010, a communications software called VoxOx launched a two-way translator service for instant messaging, SMS, email and social media titled the VoxOx Universal Translator. It enables two people to communicate instantly with each other while both typing in their native languages.http://i56.tinypic.com/2ah729l.png (http://gizmodo.com/5472968/voxox-real+time-language-translation-for-smschatemailtwitter-makes-you-fluent-across-the-globe)

In May 2010, a communications software called Trippo VoiceMagix, was launched for iPhone. It allows to translate English speech to 14 languages. It is available also for J2ME, Android and Windows Mobile. Developed by Cellictica.http://i56.tinypic.com/2ah729l.png (http://www.cellictica.com/files/Cellictica_introduces_revolutionary_speech.pdf)

In June 2010, a communications software called Speechtrans™, launched a beta prototype two-way Speech to Speech translator service as an IPhone App. It enables two people to communicate instantly with each other while both speaking in their native languages.http://i56.tinypic.com/2ah729l.png (http://www.speechtrans.com/)

In July 2010, an Android app was released by DLP Mobile, called Speaking Universal Translator, with the same purpose. The languages it can translate to and from include English, Spanish, Italian, and French.http://i56.tinypic.com/2ah729l.png (http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/travel_and_local/universal-translator_iabk.html?nav=recategorized)

http://i54.tinypic.com/r7p3t5.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_translator#Non-fictional_Translators)

[Klärchen]

In the 60s, "Raumpatrouille" (Space Patrol) was a big success in Germany:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR8aSPT81pA

Especially funny were the "submarine disco" and the instruments, e.g. flat irons and plastic cups hanging from the ceiling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPVpg0HY6qw&feature=related

And I still love the theme. http://www.smilies.4-user.de/include/Musik/smilie_musik_116.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-p5A_GislM&feature=related

[Finsterer Streiter]

Where's Blade Runner in the list? Most issues mentioned in the movie are already reality, save for the existence of Replicants.