Tag: HAR: Science/Technology
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Earthlings. Dir. Shaun Monson. Nation Earth. 2005.
Fig. 1 The original release poster for Earthlings, the film’s oft repeated challenge to the viewer to ‘make the connection’ features prominently alongside pictures of plants, animals and the evil emperor Commodus (representing humankind). ‘How do you know if someone is Vegan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you’. So proclaims an increasingly popular meme. Type preachy into…
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Jaws. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Universal Studios. 1975.
Jaws, Spielberg’s second major film[1] , released in 1975 is widely recognised as an important piece of cinema, with one of the most memorable and suspense building soundtracks of all time. Despite the creepy and more blood thirsty elements of the film there are also moments of humour, as comedy plays quite a large role in…
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Planet of the Apes. Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner. Twentieth Century Fox. 1968.
Planet of the Apes is a story that takes a look at what the world would be like if Apes filled the role of humans, and vice-versa. What the film manages to do is not only point out how humans perceive animals as wild, and something that should be locked up and studied, but also…
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Never Cry Wolf. Dir. Carrol Ballard. Buena Vista Distribution. 1983.
Carroll Ballard’s 1983 adaptation of Farley Mowat’s 1963 dramatised autobiography Never Cry Wolf is as intricate and astonishingly baffling as it is brilliant. The film tells the story of biologist Tyler and his time in the Canadian arctic where he has volunteered to take part in a scientific study of wolves, largely considered by the…
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The Fly. Dir. David Cronenberg. 20th Century Fox. 1986.
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Jurassic Park. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Universal. 1993.
Revisiting ‘Jurassic Park’ in light of ‘Blackfish’. With next summer’s release of ‘Jurassic World,’ recently teased with a trailer starring Chris Pratt, I think it’s worthwhile to revisit the original film in the paleontological franchise in light of the 2013 SeaWorld-documentary ‘Blackfish,’ with a focus on the inherent abuse captivity represents for wild animals and…
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Blackfish. Dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Magnolia Pictures. 2013.
Blackfish is a documentary which focuses on the danger of keeping killer whales in captivity. The documentary film argues that this danger affects, not just the human trainers of these highly intelligent animals, but also the marine creatures themselves. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite focuses on one whale in particular; Tilikum a 6 ton bull orca, who…
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I Am Legend. Dir. Francis Lawrence. Warner Bros.. 2007.
Synopsis: I Am Legend, a cinematic adaption of a 1954 horror novel of the same name, is a post-apocalyptic “zombie” film with a difference; the genetically-engineered virus which transforms humans into flesh-eating undead is also active in some animals. The survivors we meet, Robert Neville (Will Smith) and his dog, co-exist with these monstrous creatures…
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Doctor Dolittle. Dir. Richard Fleischer. 20th-Century Fox. 1967.
The genesis for Richard Fleischer’s 1967 film Doctor Dolittle came from Hugh Lofting’s successful chain of children’s books first published in 1920, and focuses on the character of a veterinarian named John Dolittle (Rex Harrison), who can talk to animals after being taught by his multilingual pet parrot Polynesia. The film is bursting at the seams with…
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Doctor Dolittle. Dir. Betty Thomas. 20th-Century Fox. 1998.
Representation of animals in Betty Thomas’s Doctor Dolittle The animal presence in Doctor Dolittle (1998) is extremely intriguing, using impressive CGI and a vast spectrum of species to depict a humanistic side to animals that was, until then, uncommon in film. Eddie Murphy’s character, John Dolittle, provides audiences with an identity crisis: family man vs…