12 films that will help you understand what "cyberpunk"is
Recently, public attention has been strongly attracted to such a genre of science fiction as cyberpunk. The works of this genre, whether books, games or films, tell about the future of humanity, which has suffered from technological progress.
To get to know cyberpunk better, it is enough to watch several tapes dedicated to this direction. We are sure that you have already seen some of them, but you did not even guess what you were facing. You can read the list of films that will help you understand what it is below.
"Blade Runner", 1982
No such rating is complete without the film "Blade Runner", which is a kind of source for all cyberpunk cinema aesthetics. This film, based on the novel by Philip K. Dick " Do androids Dream of electric robots?", claims that the world around us is just an illusion. In the center of the plot is a police detective Rick Deckard, on whose shoulders lies the task of finding and destroying artificially created people called replicants.
There are two versions of the film – the original one with a happy ending and the director's one with an open ending. If you want to fully get into the spirit of the computer era, we recommend watching both of these pictures.
"Tetsuo-the Iron Man", 1989
Tetsuo-The Iron Man is a Japanese film directed by Shinyi Tsukamoto, who is more like a horror clip of the band in the style of industrial metal. The purpose of the tape is to show the viewer all the pain from the process of merging people with machines. Here you will find a continuous stream of black-and-white horror, which perfectly describes cyberpunk in its most hardcore form.
"Galaxy THX 1138", 1971
"Galaxy THX 1138" is a dystopian film directed by George Lucas, a remake of the short film "Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB". The film takes place in a world where people are forced to live underground and follow all the orders of computers that use them as slaves.
Once a citizen of THX 1138 gets tired of such a life (alphanumeric combinations are used instead of names in this universe) and he decides to go against the system alone. Whether he has any chances and what this riot will turn out to be, see in the film.
"The Matrix", 1999
There is hardly a single person who has not watched The Matrix. This 1999 film is still popular, and the term "red and blue pills" is used in all corners of the world as understandable speech phrases for everyone. However, at the time when The Matrix was just released, no one thought of it as one of the brightest representatives of cyberpunk.
But the creation of this tape by the Wachowski brothers was inspired by the novel by the writer William Gibson "Neuromancer", which is considered a classic of the genre. And although " The Matrix "is a" lightweight " version of the anti-utopian universe, it is an ideal film to start getting acquainted with this section of science fiction.
"Pi", 1998
Another film with a monochrome picture, during which the viewer's brain gradually boils. "Pi" tells about a talented scientist Max Cohen, who suffers from hallucinations, paranoia, migraines and social phobia. He is sure that everything in the world can be comprehended with the help of numbers and performs the most complex arithmetic calculations, thereby impressing a little girl living next door.
Next, the hero is waiting for endless questions and riddles, mainly related to a certain 216-digit number, which was given out before "death" by all computers. This thriller Darren Aronofsky has surprisingly combined cybernetics, mathematics and kabbalistics, so he definitely deserves your attention.
"Brazil", 1985
The events of the dystopia directed by Terry Gilliam unfold somewhere in the XX century, in a society that is shackled by bureaucracy. All its residents are mired in paperwork, including the main character Sam Lauri, who works as a small clerk. Sam is quite happy with his life, but one day he meets a girl from his dreams and finds out that she got into trouble. The only way to save it is to delete the record from the system, but this is not so easy to do…
In the end, Sam carries out his plan, and it seems that a happy end is coming. But don't forget, cyberpunk is not about romance. Therefore, after the heroes spend the night together, they are waiting for a very unpleasant surprise.
"Coder", 2002
"Coder" is a relatively new representative of the genre, shot by the director Vincenzo Natali. The film tells the viewer about the ubiquitous corporations engaged in espionage and turning agents into obedient puppets who have lost their "I".
Morgan Sullivan does not know about the atrocities of his superiors for a long time and completely enjoys life, but soon a mysterious girl will open his eyes to what is happening, after which the agent will have to act against the system.
"Strange Days", 1995
The actions of a fantastic thriller Katherine Bigelow is set in a very turbulent Los Angeles. The main character – a former policeman, and now a dealer in memories-one day receives a mysterious disk on which the death of his friend is recorded. Then Lenny decides to find out who committed the murder, and here he is waiting for real adventures.
It is worth noting that the film was shot according to the script of James Cameron and was awarded many awards.
"Robocop", 1987
"Robocop" is a cult fantasy action film directed by Paul Verhoeven, telling about a policeman who, by the will of fate, partially turned into a car. The film received high ratings from critics and viewers, and led to the appearance of several sequels of the film, which, however, could not surpass the original.
Many researchers believe that "Robocop" has a deep philosophical meaning, but we advise you not to think about it, but just enjoy a spectacular film. By the way, he has received many awards, including one award and two Oscar nominations, as well as five prestigious Saturn awards. That's why the old-style" Robocop " should be paid attention to.
"Existence", 1999
The plot of the film "Existence" is not unique – during the testing of a computer game, a certain error occurs, which leads to the fact that the main characters are in danger not only in the virtual world, but also in the real one. However, all the events of the film are so seasoned with adventures, anomalies and riddles that the audience simply will not be able to tear themselves away from watching.
It is worth noting that the British science fiction writer Christopher Priest wrote a novel of the same name to accompany the film "Existence", and in many moments it is very close to the themes of his own works. Therefore, if you are a fan of Pierce's work, this tape is a must for you to watch.
"The thirteenth floor", 1999
The film "The Thirteenth Floor", like many other representatives of the genre, was undeservedly missed by the general public because of the hype around the "Matrix". However, we assure you that this film can boast of no less contribution to cyberpunk, because it focuses on time travel, blood, guns, computers, science and much more.
It should be noted that in 2000, "The Thirteenth Floor" was nominated for" Saturn "in the category" Best science Fiction film", but" The Matrix " prevailed.
"Hardcore", 2015
The youngest Russian-American film in our selection is "Hardcore", which once again proves that Russians also know how to make good movies. Its director Ilya Naishuller really managed to surprise the audience by showing the adventures of people and cyborgs in the first person.
Thanks to this shooting mode, you will be able to feel like the main character and go through all the adventures with him, and believe me, there will be plenty of them.
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