From the dawn of his presence on earth, man has wondered about his future, trying to interpret what his development could be. Cinema immediately provided the possibility of making this immense effort of the imagination visible on the big screen. When this happened, between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, the whole world was in the midst of the technological revolution and the creative ferment, of course, was based on the infinite possibilities and horizons that were opening up. Two worlds came together: that of fantasy and that of science, thus giving life to one of the most prolific genres in the history of cinema: science fiction.
The first stone of this vein is laid with Trip to the moon by G. Melies of 1902 (we have already written about the special effects) freely based on the stories of Jules Verne. This film is considered the first of its kind and also contains the archetypal image of cinema - the rocket stuck in the eye of the moon. The story tells of the desire to send an exploratory mission to the terrestrial satellite. The spacecraft reaches the moon and finds it inhabited by hostile aliens – the Selenites – from which the astronauts then flee and return to earth. With this plot, the “bad Martians” trend takes shape, which will be accompanied by another highly successful one: menacing technology. On this theme, mixed with an apocalyptic philosophical vision, the masterpiece by Fritz Lang was proposed in 1926, metropolis.
Years of productions will follow where the fear of the alien, the terror of the end of the world, the destruction of humanity, the monsters created by out-of-control scientists, will accompany the tales of saving-all superheroes to tell, albeit in a semi-serious form, the fear of the atomic threat.
Around the 50s, the science fiction genre exploded, particularly in the United States, both in publishing and in cinema, and important titles such as Ultimatum to the earth of Robert Wise's 1951, Byron Askin's War of the Worlds of 1953 and Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers of 1956. It was the moment of crisis between the two great countries, the United States and the Soviet Union, which threatened each other with destruction through the massive use of missiles, the same ones that in those years allowed the beginning of the so-called "race to space" which a decade later brought the first man to the moon.
With the beginning of the 60s a new trend takes shape, less threatening and disturbing, more reflective and exploratory. The most famous is Fahrenheit 451 by François Truffaut from 1956, inspired by the novel by Ray Bradbury. To remember Henry Levin's 1959 Journey to the Center of the Earth and Richard Fleischer's 1966 Hallucinatory Journey (obtains the Oscar). The turning point comes in 1968 with two fundamental titles: the first is Franklin Schaffner's Planet of the Apes, and the second is considered the absolute monument of contemporary science fiction, 2001 A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick. With this film all the previous science fiction genres are condensed and all the questions are opened for those that will follow. At the same time, the unprecedented and spectacular use of special effects will mark a watershed with all the film production of the following years where masters such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg will find great space, where the first will sign the Star Wars saga and the second Incontri close neighbors of the third kind.
The 80s are particularly prolific and are characterized by a "modern" vision of science fiction, where apocalyptic scenarios and "good" aliens mix together with humanised robots. It's time for masterpieces like Blade Runner by Ridley Scott from 1982, as well as John Carpenter's 1997: Escape from New York from the previous year. The decade ends with the great success of the Matrix by brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski in 1999. Recent years are mostly characterized by sequels or remakes of previous successful films, while a genre intertwined with the world of video games develops which also it drew a lot of inspiration from science fiction: among these Gary Ross' Hunger Games of 2012 together with a whole series of super heroes grappling with menacing and destroying aliens.
Federico Fellini: a name, a myth of Italian cinema. He has a lucky start to his career: he meets Roberto Rossellini who invites him to collaborate on the screenplay of Rome, an open city of 1945 and, immediately after, Paisà. These are important credentials that allow him, in 1950, to collaborate with Alberto Lattuada with whom he creates Variety Lights. With these experiences behind him, he started directing in 1952 with The white sheik and immediately after I vitelloni. From that moment on, a crescendo of international recognition and success began, culminating in 1960 with Dolce vita, undisputed masterpiece with a masterful Marcello Mastroianni. Following what is perhaps his true masterpiece: Half past eight, from 1963. It is perhaps the breaking point with the tradition of Italian neorealist film (his phrase "the visionary is the only realist"), where mixes dream, existential difficulties and aspirations of human nature. Still to remember Fellini Satyricon of 1969, Amarcord of 1973, Il Casanova of 1976 and, finally, the best testimony of its completeness, of its universality, Prova d'orchestra of 1978, initially conceived for television and then made for the big screen.
Awarded four Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film (with La strada, Nights of Cabiria, 8 1/2 and Amarcord) and a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1993, as well as 12 nominations and countless other national and international awards.
