What flicks have you seen lately? (part 2)

[AndyC]

I thought it was the 30s. But I checked the copyright on my copy of the story (ironically, so nobody would catch me with the wrong date) and it said 1951. It was a compilation of classic stories that were made into movies, so I think it was the movie's copyright, although it was right next to the title "Who Goes There." I need to look at that again, and figure out what the heck they've done. Serves me right for checking my facts :)

[Master Blaster]

The idea of a self aware computer is one. And there's the scene where the computer insiminates the wife and gives her some sort of cosmic vision where she flys through the cosmos in a display of color and whatnot similar to the famous scene in 2001. It came off to me like they sat down and asked, "what if 2001 was a horror movie?"

[AndyC]

Seems like a very small similarity to me. Demon Seed has very little in common with 2001.

Still, it wasn't particularly original either. Computers were coming of age at that time, still not well understood by most people, and there were quite a few stories of computers built too well, that figured out how irrational and self-destructive their masters were. Pretty standard SF fare, and an idea that fit well with 70s-style preachiness - the inhuman machine that could teach us a thing or two about being human. Demon Seed's only real claim to fame is that it went one further, and added sex , also a big deal in 70s cinema. Wonder how many people paid money just to see a woman get raped by a computer.

[Cheecky-Monkey]

That;s certainly not why I rented it.

[AndyC]

No, but it's what the movie's known for.

[Cheecky-Monkey]

If that's what it's known for, then the people who say that obviously didn't pay much attention to the movie! Those_scenes_took up very little screen time. We didn't even see_it_happen!

[AndyC]

Now, you should know that a movie's reputation doesn't necessarily reflect what's actually in it. People are very good at taking the more provocative aspects of a movie like this and blowing them out of proportion. The racier they make it out to be, the more disappointing the reality usually is. Filmmakers have been known to encourage this, because it puts bums in seats.

Personally, I'd never heard any of this about Demon Seed until after I'd seen it in the late 80s. But discussing it with coworkers afterward brought a few variations on the "movie about computer rape" theme, from those a bit older than me.

Why so touchy about it? You sound like you think I'm accusing you of something.

[Fearless Freep]

People are very good at taking the more provocative aspects of a movie like this and blowing them out of proportion.

"Entrapement",...Catherine Zeta Jones, butt sliding under string...

[AndyC]

Yeah, I'm reminded of Basic Instinct's reputation, centred almost entirely around a tiny glimpse of Sharon Stone's beaver.

[Wence]

Saw Troma´s "Nymphoid Barbarians in Dinosaur Hell" today.

Although it is total trash and nonsense (like nearly everything troma has produced) it is not very funny. Some actions and dialogues are ok but altogether this is a boring film. The best is probably the title...

On the back of the cover you can read s.th. like:
"Nymphoid Barbarians in Dinosaur Hell: Forget the brontosaurus and tyrannosaurus and prepare for TROMASAURUS..."