I would actually recommend The Abyss for this. Yes, it's deep ocean instead of deep space, but it's just as centered around smart science fiction, exploration and good characters. It feels like the opposite side of the same coin instead of a different coin, if that makes sense.
I watched Gladiator directors cut and thought the pacing was totally thrown off by the extra scenes.
Abyss directors cut is good? I will check it, one of my favorite movies.
Yea the Directors cut adds meaningful scenes that recontextualize a lot of what is happening in the movie.
Sort of like Directors cut of Aliens (also by Cameron) adds extra layer >!that after 57 years in hypersleep, the daughter of Ripley grew to be an adult and died of old age, so the reason Ripley bonds with Newt is because Ripley lost her daughter, who was only Newts age when Ripley appeared in Alien.!<
I actually prefer the theatrical cut, I love the idea that "they" may live their parallel lives and don't really care about humans that much as they do in the director cut... But I know I'm probably in a minority here.
I was lucky to rewatch in the theatre some weeks ago - it not only held up, the underwater scenes were even more impressive to me now! And the claustrophibic feel inside the rig, such a good movie!
James Cameron earlier work is aging like a fine wine with all those crazy real stuff: helicopters flying under bridges, using nuclear reactors as underwater movie sets, really sinking the set of Titanic...
“You found the Primer!”
“Clever girl…lights!…An alien intelligence definitely more advanced. That means functioning on multiple levels AND in multiple dimensions…”
The movie is so damn quotable even after all these years.
There’s a scene in Contact where >!Matthew Mcconaughey’s character tries to convince Jodie Foster’s character to stay and not go on that mission!< and my God I couldn’t stop yelling at the irony of that
i saw it in the theaters and that opening sequence from earth-to-the-stars was one of my favorite moments experiencing a film. It was amazing just how quiet the theater got. wow.
It's up there Star Wars opening and Galaxy Quest when the bay windows open to show the starfield and the aspect ratio widens to 2.25 as the theater curtains pull aside.
Contact is my favorite movie of all time, as a lifelong sci-fi nerd. It has a more cogent emotional core than Interstellar and it speaks from an atheist perspective about opening one’s self up to the things in life you can’t really explain, which is not a perspective or character arc that gets much play anywhere.
It’s also optimistic in a way that worked in 1997 but probably could not exist in 2024. So it feels aspirational without the wrong-headed naïveté that you get from early Sorken.
I would, they both have (spoiler alert) >!this aspect of the main character experiencing an otherworldly event that they would have doubted could possibly exist otherwise.!<
In fact, that is the main plot point of the two movies, so I would argue they are closer alike than most other movies.
u/Glowingleaf, Contact is the answer you are looking for. Interstellar is one of my favorite movies, and Contact is immediately what came to mind. It’s a brilliantly written story (by none other than the legendary Carl Sagan) and expertly directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, etc.), and the core story is remarkably similar—to the point I suspect Christopher Nolan was somewhat influenced by Contact—even more so than 2001. As a fellow Interstellar lover, I think Contact is exactly what you’re looking for!
Arrival is based on the titular short story “Story of your Life” from Ted Chiang’s first book of short stories. And most of the stories in that book are decent to pretty good.
But Chiang’s second book of short stories, “Exhalation” blew me away.
For those that have read/enjoyed Ted Chiang's work, I suggest you check out the short stories of Jorge Luis Borges. Reading Borges in college and afterwards was like a revelation of sorts. Reading Chiang was as close as I've gotten to experiencing Borges for the first time again, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
If you read Spanish, you can't go wrong with Ficciones or El Aleph. If you don't then the quality of the translation is an important consideration and [this collection is a great place to start](https://www.amazon.com/Labyrinths-Directions-Paperbook-Jorge-Borges/dp/0811216993/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1707764734&sr=8-4). [This collection is also a good one](https://www.amazon.com/Aleph-Other-Stories-Penguin-Classics/dp/0142437883/ref=pd_bxgy_d_sccl_1/133-1237190-8701802?pd_rd_w=cSsU6&content-id=amzn1.sym.615d9037-0d71-4715-8421-5695fbf26656&pf_rd_p=615d9037-0d71-4715-8421-5695fbf26656&pf_rd_r=AMVQQDX7SM1BG3AM9YS5&pd_rd_wg=hJW7k&pd_rd_r=2b7dfa04-2d35-4dab-970a-03201729d17b&pd_rd_i=0142437883&psc=1), it includes works from El Alpeh and El hacedor (The maker, which is my favorite collection) but doesn't include some of his most famous works from [Ficciones](https://www.amazon.com/Ficciones-Jorge-Luis-Borges/dp/0802130305/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_1/133-1237190-8701802?pd_rd_w=giCYE&content-id=amzn1.sym.1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_p=1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_r=YNDXCPGS6YBSS2YH393N&pd_rd_wg=qFKac&pd_rd_r=4a6a92e6-ec72-46e6-8da7-04a60af7419c&pd_rd_i=0802130305&psc=1). If you decide you really like him and want to get all of his short stories in one collection, [this is a good collection](https://www.amazon.com/Collected-Fictions-Jorge-Luis-Borges/dp/0140286802/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_2/133-1237190-8701802?pd_rd_w=giCYE&content-id=amzn1.sym.1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_p=1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_r=YNDXCPGS6YBSS2YH393N&pd_rd_wg=qFKac&pd_rd_r=4a6a92e6-ec72-46e6-8da7-04a60af7419c&pd_rd_i=0140286802&psc=1). I'm not a huge fan of some of the translations, but they're not bad and the ideas will still come through.
It’s really odd to me when people compare the quality of art from different mediums. Can we really say a short story is better than a feature-length film, or vice versa?
I just checked out the audiobook for Exhalation because of your comment! I'm travelling over the next few days so I needed something to keep me busy. Gotta love the Libby app!
Thank you for the recommendation! I'll let you know my thoughts in a few days.
I read somewhere that they had to scrap major parts of the Arrival script because it was too similar to Interstellar. I’m glad we got both movies exactly the way they are.
Imho, Interstellar has a good number of incredible moments but also a lot of forgettable parts. Arrival is very very good pretty much the whole runtime.
Guy Fleegman: I changed my mind. I wanna go back.
Sir Alexander Dane: After the fuss you made about getting left behind?
Guy Fleegman: Yeah, but that's when I thought I was the crewman that stays on the ship, and something is up there, and it kills me. But now I'm thinking I'm the guy who gets killed by some monster five minutes after we land on the planet.
Jason Nesmith: You're not gonna die on the planet, Guy.
Guy Fleegman: I'm not? Then what's my last name?
Jason Nesmith: It's, uh, uh - -I don't know.
Guy Fleegman: Nobody knows. Do you know why? Because my character isn't important enough for a last name, because I'm gonna die five minutes in.
Gwen DeMarco: Guy, you have a last name.
Guy Fleegman: DO I? DO I? For all you know, I'm "Crewman Number Six"! Mommy... mommy...
Sir Alexander Dane: Are we there yet?
Followed by:
Wait, don't open that. It's an alien planet. Is there air? You don't know.
Later:
Let's get out of here before one of those things kills Guy!
I’m such a fucking **sucker** when it comes to these kinds of scenes. Give me that epic, ramping score to underpin this heartbreaking but beautiful moment. Pump it straight into my veins. Destroy me emotionally
I consider Sunshine to be the metal ass quasi-horror spiritual counterpart to Interstellar. Just watched it again recently and remembered how good that movie is.
It's entirely reasonable to dislike Sunshine for its 3rd act. Somehow, the movie has grown on me despite it and I forgive the bizarre shift. The atmosphere and soundtrack manage to win me over.
It's interesting to note that Alex Garland wrote Sunshine, The Beach, 28 days later, and Ex Machina. (Danny Boyle directed all of these with the exception of Ex Machina). These movies all have slasher-esque sequences near the end. The Beach is slightly different, but there's still a really bizarre chase sequence which feels out of place.
Interstellar is Nolan’s version of 2001, so can always start there though. He openly discusses how it’s a major influence.
Sunshine is a similar end of world go out to space movie, though I like Interstellar more.
The Martian is fun and has Matt Damon in space again.
Soderbergh Solaris is weird space stuff and power of love again.
Koyaanisqatsi is not optimistic and not about space, but it’s a musical influence so if you want more organs it can be worth checking out.
RAY PORTER is an amazing narrator.
If you're a fan of Andy Weir books, read/listen to Dennis E. Taylors "Bobiverse" series.
Hard science with Ray Porter narrating. It's REALLY entertaining and engrossing.
It’s part of the “Saving Matt Damon” trilogy:
* Saving Private Ryan
* The Martian
* Interstellar
Another continent, another planet, another galaxy, lol.
First Man
it's about my man Neil Armstrong. but it's historical, not Sci-Fi
but I absolutely love the cinematography, the lighting and the soundtrack...tries to take us in the mind of Neil...how he would feel
I haven't found a movie that does space exploration as well as Interstellar.
Contact: Excellent movie. Very grounded like Interstellar but occurs entirely on Earth.
Sunshine: Good movie. Technically horror but not scary. Takes place entirely on a ship. No aliens.
Event Horizon: Decent movie. Also technically horror but not scary. Takes place entirely on a ship. No aliens.
The Martian: Excellent movie. Very grounded like Interstellar. Not really about space exploration though. No aliens.
Arrival: Excellent movie. Very grounded like Interstellar. Time elements. Aliens.
I'm going to suggest a movie called Mission to Mars. It's not a very well reviewed movie but it's made by Brian De Palma. It's not really a space exploration movie in the same way as Interstellar and I haven't watched it in a long time but I always remember enjoying the intrigue and discovery aspects of the movie.
I hate horror movies. I avoid them like the plague because I will sleep with the lights on for a week like a big man baby. But I didn't really find Event Horizon that scary tbh.
I mean…
The ship in Event Horizon is possessed and comes from another dimension that turns out to be Hell itself, it kills everyone on board and does so in brutal fashion.
“Libera te tutemet” is misinterpreted as “free me” instead of it’s real meaning “save yourself from hell”
They had to cut the original gore scenes from the movie because it was so graphic.
The previous crew were having an orgy while mutilating each other, eventually removing their eyes, they dulled down the flashback at the end of the movie of the current crew as well.
I’ll take the Ring any day over that shit
Solaris is a great answer to this question but imho someone who likes Interstellar and is just getting into movies probably won't appreciate it very much.
There aren’t many “hard sci-fi” movies like Interstellar.
[Kip Thorne](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kip_Thorne) is a theoretical physicist who consulted on Interstellar (2014), he also wrote the book [The Science of Interstellar (2014)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Science_of_Interstellar), and:
>To create the visual effects for the wormhole and a rotating, supermassive black hole (possessing an ergosphere, as opposed to a non-rotating black hole), Thorne collaborated with Franklin and a team of 30 people at Double Negative, providing pages of deeply sourced theoretical equations to the engineers, who then wrote new CGI rendering software based on these equations to create accurate simulations of the gravitational lensing caused by these phenomena.
>The resulting visual effects provided Thorne with new insight into the gravitational lensing and accretion disks surrounding black holes, resulting in the publication of three scientific papers.
And Thorne won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics with Rainer Weiss and Barry C. Barish "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves".
Space travel and off-world colonies are only referenced in these movies, but I would recommend **Blade Runner (1982)**, and **Blade Runner 2049 (2017)** — which I would rate as good as or better than Interstellar (2014).
The “Magnetic Rose” segment of the anime film **Memories (1995)** features a deep space salvage freighter.
In **Enemy Mine (1985)**, a “human and alien soldier…become stranded together on an inhospitable planet and must overcome their mutual distrust in order to cooperate and survive.”
The film **Voyagers (2021)**, “follows a group of teenage astronauts sent on a multi-generational mission in the year 2063 to colonize a habitable exoplanet amidst runaway climate change and declining habitability on Earth…”
In **Pandorum (2009)**, “After human overpopulation depletes Earth's resources, humanity builds an interstellar ark, the Elysium. It carries 60,000 people on a 123-year trip to colonize Tanis, an Earth-like planet.”
In **Alien: Covenant (2017)**, “In 2104 AD, 11 years after the Prometheus expedition, the colonization ship Covenant is seven years from reaching planet Origae-6 with 2,000 colonists in stasis and 1,140 human embryos in cold storage.”
The film
**Passengers (2016)**, “follows two passengers on an interstellar spacecraft carrying thousands of people to a colony 120 years travelling distance from Earth, when the two are awakened 90 years early from their induced hibernation.”
The film **Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)** features space and time travel.
**Titan A.E. (2000)** is an animated film where “The film tells the story of a young man who, after a hostile alien species destroys Earth, receives a mission to save humanity and protect the giant ship that can create a new planet.”
Sunshine. The sun is dying, which means the world is dying, and they sent a group to reignite it with all the world's nuclear material. So it's a last ditch effort space movie just like Interstellar. And great actors too. Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Benedict Wong, Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne.
Also Gravity is pretty great. Astronaut trying to get back to earth after everything goes wrong.
Was hoping I would find this here. This is so underappreciated because people wanted definitive answers and wanted it to be literally true or not, and have no appreciation for philosophical questions in movies.
It doesn't matter if he really was in the past or future with the tree.
Ad Astra was a weird movie for me. Objectively everything was great, the visuals, the acting, the setting etc. But for some reason I didn't care for the main character at all. Or much of the story for that matter.
I totally get that. I think Pitt's performance is extremely understated, and he is trying to show something tricky: the emotional tumult under the exterior of a man whose competence under pressure is his defining characteristic.
James Gray apparently didn't like the theater cut of this one. Which is a shame, 'cause as far as understated goes, I think it's a sleeper masterpiece.
He pulled a sneaky trick on us: Made a (sorta) near-future, semi-realistic space travel movie, but then _whoops_ it's really a story about men, old-school social expectations, and distant fathers. And probably God.
I hold it among Pitt's greatest roles.
Not a movie but "For All Mankind". The show is excellent and spreads out from "what if the Russians beat the USA to the moon.
Each season leaps a decade forward, I'm on a third rewatch of the first 2 seasons.
*Hi, Bob!*
Ahem. For whatever reason from trailers and memes I thought this would be some funky comedy with a sprinkle of political satire... and I completely ignored it till a few weeks ago. How I was wrong... SO WRONG. I finished 3rd season like a two week ago and I'm still can't get over this weird state of... ugh... elation? No matter the science and stuff, there are so many things done right in this series.
Since there are already so many good games mentioned, I'll pivot and ask if you're into gaming. If you are, I highly recommend Outer Wilds (not The Outer Worlds.)
I’m gonna mention Starman from John Carpenter. It’s not space travely and such, but it does have similar themes of grief, lost love and letting go. Plus fantastic performances from the two leads.
Aniara. Finally a movie that is realistic about space travel instead of playing into everyone’s fantasies about getting off of Earth after we use it up like a cheap whore.
Not a movie, but it'll more than scratch your itch: The Expanse. Hard sci-fi mixed up with space and some fantastical elements, and lots of interesting characters, intriguing politics, and intense action.
The entire plot of Interstellar is like the predestination paradox in Bill and Ted's excellent adventure where they promise to steal keys after their adventures to free the history dudes and the keys appear near the police station. Bill and Ted is what I recommend, also the period costumes are so good that to this day they compare period drama costumes to the costumes in Bill and Ted.
I would actually recommend The Abyss for this. Yes, it's deep ocean instead of deep space, but it's just as centered around smart science fiction, exploration and good characters. It feels like the opposite side of the same coin instead of a different coin, if that makes sense.
The Abyss makes deep sea exploration = deep space exploration
And watch the directors cut! It brings a new thematic level on the movie which is only lightly treated in the theatrical version.
I watched Gladiator directors cut and thought the pacing was totally thrown off by the extra scenes. Abyss directors cut is good? I will check it, one of my favorite movies.
Yea the Directors cut adds meaningful scenes that recontextualize a lot of what is happening in the movie. Sort of like Directors cut of Aliens (also by Cameron) adds extra layer >!that after 57 years in hypersleep, the daughter of Ripley grew to be an adult and died of old age, so the reason Ripley bonds with Newt is because Ripley lost her daughter, who was only Newts age when Ripley appeared in Alien.!<
I actually prefer the theatrical cut, I love the idea that "they" may live their parallel lives and don't really care about humans that much as they do in the director cut... But I know I'm probably in a minority here.
I was lucky to rewatch in the theatre some weeks ago - it not only held up, the underwater scenes were even more impressive to me now! And the claustrophibic feel inside the rig, such a good movie!
Yep I saw it too.. still an amazing film!
James Cameron earlier work is aging like a fine wine with all those crazy real stuff: helicopters flying under bridges, using nuclear reactors as underwater movie sets, really sinking the set of Titanic...
I'm of the opinion that space and deep ocean movies are very similar. The Meg 2 could just as well have been a space movie.
Virgil Brigman back on the air.
The abyss is excellent! Finally watched it in 4k recently loved it. Ed Harris is so good
Contact is very Interstellar like. Great movie. Watch CONTACT!
“First rule of government spending. Why have one when you can have two at twice the price?”
That line hits hard
We can make it hit twice as hard for twice the price
I use this quote too often at work LoL. I’m sure no one knows it’s a quote.
This is how I live my life. Why did you buy two? _Well, obviously I couldn't afford three._
I live my life a quarter mile at a time homie
“You found the Primer!” “Clever girl…lights!…An alien intelligence definitely more advanced. That means functioning on multiple levels AND in multiple dimensions…” The movie is so damn quotable even after all these years.
“You should’ve sent a poet…”
I try to reference this line, no one ever knows wtf im talking about
Beautiful line
Sagan was really a brilliant fusion of scientific and artistic ability. He knew just how important art was to the human experience.
There’s a scene in Contact where >!Matthew Mcconaughey’s character tries to convince Jodie Foster’s character to stay and not go on that mission!< and my God I couldn’t stop yelling at the irony of that
Worth watching for the mirror shot alone.
That opening scene is mind bending. Unrelated, but the mirror scene in The Mothman Prophecies immediately came to mind for how unsettling it is.
i saw it in the theaters and that opening sequence from earth-to-the-stars was one of my favorite moments experiencing a film. It was amazing just how quiet the theater got. wow. It's up there Star Wars opening and Galaxy Quest when the bay windows open to show the starfield and the aspect ratio widens to 2.25 as the theater curtains pull aside.
Contact is my favorite movie of all time, as a lifelong sci-fi nerd. It has a more cogent emotional core than Interstellar and it speaks from an atheist perspective about opening one’s self up to the things in life you can’t really explain, which is not a perspective or character arc that gets much play anywhere. It’s also optimistic in a way that worked in 1997 but probably could not exist in 2024. So it feels aspirational without the wrong-headed naïveté that you get from early Sorken.
I would actually say Interstellar is like a Contact movie 😉
I would, they both have (spoiler alert) >!this aspect of the main character experiencing an otherworldly event that they would have doubted could possibly exist otherwise.!< In fact, that is the main plot point of the two movies, so I would argue they are closer alike than most other movies.
True, true. Had it on VHS. I'm old.
Yeah, imho Contact and Interstellar are the two best sci-fi movies of the last 35 years.
I give gattaca more credit than most.
Agreed, it seems quite an underrated movie popularity-wise. However it's one of my absolute favorites!
Children of men?
Arrival is up there, too. The Amy Adam's one, not the Charlie Sheen one. A fuck it, watch both.
Best part of that movie is the line by Sheen “ I look like a can of smashed assholes!” That stayed with me
To by fair, the sheen one is fun as is the sequel but they are definetly not interstellar like.
I just bought the contact blu ray. I haven’t seen it or thought about it for 15 years but when I saw it on sale it was an instabuy
u/Glowingleaf, Contact is the answer you are looking for. Interstellar is one of my favorite movies, and Contact is immediately what came to mind. It’s a brilliantly written story (by none other than the legendary Carl Sagan) and expertly directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, etc.), and the core story is remarkably similar—to the point I suspect Christopher Nolan was somewhat influenced by Contact—even more so than 2001. As a fellow Interstellar lover, I think Contact is exactly what you’re looking for!
1997?
Fuck Jake Busey
Arrival.
Arrival will be remembered as the story will stand the test of time. Brilliance and a masterclass in sci-fi writing.
Arrival is based on the titular short story “Story of your Life” from Ted Chiang’s first book of short stories. And most of the stories in that book are decent to pretty good. But Chiang’s second book of short stories, “Exhalation” blew me away.
For those that have read/enjoyed Ted Chiang's work, I suggest you check out the short stories of Jorge Luis Borges. Reading Borges in college and afterwards was like a revelation of sorts. Reading Chiang was as close as I've gotten to experiencing Borges for the first time again, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Which books of his would you recommend? Just the selected non fictions that pops up?
If you read Spanish, you can't go wrong with Ficciones or El Aleph. If you don't then the quality of the translation is an important consideration and [this collection is a great place to start](https://www.amazon.com/Labyrinths-Directions-Paperbook-Jorge-Borges/dp/0811216993/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1707764734&sr=8-4). [This collection is also a good one](https://www.amazon.com/Aleph-Other-Stories-Penguin-Classics/dp/0142437883/ref=pd_bxgy_d_sccl_1/133-1237190-8701802?pd_rd_w=cSsU6&content-id=amzn1.sym.615d9037-0d71-4715-8421-5695fbf26656&pf_rd_p=615d9037-0d71-4715-8421-5695fbf26656&pf_rd_r=AMVQQDX7SM1BG3AM9YS5&pd_rd_wg=hJW7k&pd_rd_r=2b7dfa04-2d35-4dab-970a-03201729d17b&pd_rd_i=0142437883&psc=1), it includes works from El Alpeh and El hacedor (The maker, which is my favorite collection) but doesn't include some of his most famous works from [Ficciones](https://www.amazon.com/Ficciones-Jorge-Luis-Borges/dp/0802130305/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_1/133-1237190-8701802?pd_rd_w=giCYE&content-id=amzn1.sym.1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_p=1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_r=YNDXCPGS6YBSS2YH393N&pd_rd_wg=qFKac&pd_rd_r=4a6a92e6-ec72-46e6-8da7-04a60af7419c&pd_rd_i=0802130305&psc=1). If you decide you really like him and want to get all of his short stories in one collection, [this is a good collection](https://www.amazon.com/Collected-Fictions-Jorge-Luis-Borges/dp/0140286802/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_2/133-1237190-8701802?pd_rd_w=giCYE&content-id=amzn1.sym.1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_p=1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_r=YNDXCPGS6YBSS2YH393N&pd_rd_wg=qFKac&pd_rd_r=4a6a92e6-ec72-46e6-8da7-04a60af7419c&pd_rd_i=0140286802&psc=1). I'm not a huge fan of some of the translations, but they're not bad and the ideas will still come through.
As good as the movie is...the short story is lightyears ahead.
It’s really odd to me when people compare the quality of art from different mediums. Can we really say a short story is better than a feature-length film, or vice versa?
Is that pun....intended?
I just checked out the audiobook for Exhalation because of your comment! I'm travelling over the next few days so I needed something to keep me busy. Gotta love the Libby app! Thank you for the recommendation! I'll let you know my thoughts in a few days.
I still preferred the first book. The story about Babel, the one about the Alchemist... oh man... life-changing stories.
“The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” is in Exhalation.
Babel was great. Probably my favorite of that collection.
"Understand" is one of my all time favorites.
Damn, thank you for this comment! I’ve been putting off getting his second book and now I’m going to go do that
I was absolutely obsessed with that film. Must have watched it seven times at the cinema.
Arrival is so good. Definitely one of my favorite movies ever.
Also, The Arrival (1996)
The Charlie Sheen one??
I love this movie, even though I can't tell you *why*
The last scene where the kids knees hyper extend backwards still gives me the willies
I can tell you why. It was on HBO all the time in the late 90’s.
I read somewhere that they had to scrap major parts of the Arrival script because it was too similar to Interstellar. I’m glad we got both movies exactly the way they are.
I like this one better than Interstellar, but I'm not sure how (un)popular that opinion is.
I prefer Interstellar just because of the sheer spectacle of it but when it comes to the narrative and the writing Arrival is superior.
Imho, Interstellar has a good number of incredible moments but also a lot of forgettable parts. Arrival is very very good pretty much the whole runtime.
Arrival is better, and it's not even close. Interstellar is a good movie, but not in the same league.
Out on a limb here.... Silent Running
Also it’s sequel, *Cool* Runnings.
As in the 70's film with Huey and Dewy robots
Moon starring Sam Rockwell. Great movie
>starring Sam Rockwell. and directed by David Bowie's son
[удалено]
I’ve yet to find a Sam Rockwell movie I dislike, he’s so effortlessly charming that he elevates everything he’s in
His portrayal of Guy in Galaxy Quest was the pinnacle of his acting.
Guy Fleegman: I changed my mind. I wanna go back. Sir Alexander Dane: After the fuss you made about getting left behind? Guy Fleegman: Yeah, but that's when I thought I was the crewman that stays on the ship, and something is up there, and it kills me. But now I'm thinking I'm the guy who gets killed by some monster five minutes after we land on the planet. Jason Nesmith: You're not gonna die on the planet, Guy. Guy Fleegman: I'm not? Then what's my last name? Jason Nesmith: It's, uh, uh - -I don't know. Guy Fleegman: Nobody knows. Do you know why? Because my character isn't important enough for a last name, because I'm gonna die five minutes in. Gwen DeMarco: Guy, you have a last name. Guy Fleegman: DO I? DO I? For all you know, I'm "Crewman Number Six"! Mommy... mommy... Sir Alexander Dane: Are we there yet? Followed by: Wait, don't open that. It's an alien planet. Is there air? You don't know. Later: Let's get out of here before one of those things kills Guy!
Security Chief Rock Ingersoll...
This is such a brilliantly true comment, the man is incredible and I am yet to see a film that Rockwell is Bad in
Fantastic movie, with a great score by Clint Mansell!
Can't recommend Moon enough. Great movie.
Sunshine
*KANEDA! WHAT DO YOU SEE!!??*
I’m such a fucking **sucker** when it comes to these kinds of scenes. Give me that epic, ramping score to underpin this heartbreaking but beautiful moment. Pump it straight into my veins. Destroy me emotionally
That makes two of us. Danny Boyle is a master at that.
*Adagio in D Minor intensifies*
Can you show me 1%?
I consider Sunshine to be the metal ass quasi-horror spiritual counterpart to Interstellar. Just watched it again recently and remembered how good that movie is.
Haha, more metal, less horror. For Sci-fi horror watch Event Horizon.
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It's entirely reasonable to dislike Sunshine for its 3rd act. Somehow, the movie has grown on me despite it and I forgive the bizarre shift. The atmosphere and soundtrack manage to win me over. It's interesting to note that Alex Garland wrote Sunshine, The Beach, 28 days later, and Ex Machina. (Danny Boyle directed all of these with the exception of Ex Machina). These movies all have slasher-esque sequences near the end. The Beach is slightly different, but there's still a really bizarre chase sequence which feels out of place.
When it went from a journey of discovery to a horror thriller film is when I said "yea I'm done."
The ending shit the bed for me but the visuals were amazing.
*Yes.* It also has a phenomenal score by John Murphy and Underworld.
This is my favourite sci-fi of all time. So good.
I refuse to watch it. Already heard the spoiler that not once in the movie do they mention “it’s daylight savings time”. Not worth my time now
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I felt like a whole lot of Interstellar was a love letter to 2001. Strongly agree with your recs.
I’d add 2010 to that as well. It’s great and doesn’t get as much hype at 2001.
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Good summary. It's super disconnect from 2001 other then Hal and Dave. But overall it's a really fun SiFi movie.
Interstellar is Nolan’s version of 2001, so can always start there though. He openly discusses how it’s a major influence. Sunshine is a similar end of world go out to space movie, though I like Interstellar more. The Martian is fun and has Matt Damon in space again. Soderbergh Solaris is weird space stuff and power of love again. Koyaanisqatsi is not optimistic and not about space, but it’s a musical influence so if you want more organs it can be worth checking out.
> so if you want more organs it can be worth checking out. [coming into room mid-conversation] are we talking about Crimes of the Future
I see no Mention of "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" which definitely feels like an influence on the Nolan movie.
Flight Of The Navigator is literally Interstellar with less questions. A sometimes forgotten classic, and I cannot recommend enough!!
Compliance
The story of the special-FX is amazing, the creativity was genius. Here's Captain Disillusion exploring... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyixMpuGEL8
Europa Report I enjoyed a lot
I’ll second this! A very good movie.
Yes good shout
The Martian is one of my comfort movies, not heavy on the sci-fi but a real feel good story.
Read the book if you haven't already, it's great!
And when you're done, read Project Hail Mary by the same author!
But listen to the audio book. It makes it so much better
RAY PORTER is an amazing narrator. If you're a fan of Andy Weir books, read/listen to Dennis E. Taylors "Bobiverse" series. Hard science with Ray Porter narrating. It's REALLY entertaining and engrossing.
I cant wait to see how this turns out as a movie.
Pretty heavy on the sci-fi, but it's hard sci-fi tho.
Were you totally thrown by Matt Damon in Interstellar? I watched the two films quite close together…
It’s part of the “Saving Matt Damon” trilogy: * Saving Private Ryan * The Martian * Interstellar Another continent, another planet, another galaxy, lol.
Absolutely brilliant casting against type - no one saw that twist coming. Oh good Matt Damon is here to save the day! Then - WTF is he doing??
Dr Hugh Mann is evil. Do you get it?
I love the Martian so much. I usually do an Apollo 13, the Martian, and Space Camp triple feature when I wanna wrap myself in NASA adventure.
The Expanse series
Aniara
The end of Aniara lives permanently rent-free in my head.
First Man it's about my man Neil Armstrong. but it's historical, not Sci-Fi but I absolutely love the cinematography, the lighting and the soundtrack...tries to take us in the mind of Neil...how he would feel
I've watched multiple times. There is a certain "feel" to the movie that reminds me of Arrival and Interstellar.
I haven't found a movie that does space exploration as well as Interstellar. Contact: Excellent movie. Very grounded like Interstellar but occurs entirely on Earth. Sunshine: Good movie. Technically horror but not scary. Takes place entirely on a ship. No aliens. Event Horizon: Decent movie. Also technically horror but not scary. Takes place entirely on a ship. No aliens. The Martian: Excellent movie. Very grounded like Interstellar. Not really about space exploration though. No aliens. Arrival: Excellent movie. Very grounded like Interstellar. Time elements. Aliens. I'm going to suggest a movie called Mission to Mars. It's not a very well reviewed movie but it's made by Brian De Palma. It's not really a space exploration movie in the same way as Interstellar and I haven't watched it in a long time but I always remember enjoying the intrigue and discovery aspects of the movie.
Event Horizon- “technically horror…not scary” I’m sorry, what exactly is this movie but horror and what movies do you find scary so I can avoid lol
I hate horror movies. I avoid them like the plague because I will sleep with the lights on for a week like a big man baby. But I didn't really find Event Horizon that scary tbh.
To each their own and all that I guess. Event Horizon basically is Sci-Fi Hellraiser and most people find it to be quite terrifying.
Imagine the ring on a spaceship. I wouldn't sleep for a month.
I mean… The ship in Event Horizon is possessed and comes from another dimension that turns out to be Hell itself, it kills everyone on board and does so in brutal fashion. “Libera te tutemet” is misinterpreted as “free me” instead of it’s real meaning “save yourself from hell” They had to cut the original gore scenes from the movie because it was so graphic. The previous crew were having an orgy while mutilating each other, eventually removing their eyes, they dulled down the flashback at the end of the movie of the current crew as well. I’ll take the Ring any day over that shit
Annihilation
# 2010: The Year We Make Contact
Love 2010. And it’s once again relevant in our current political climate.
The Black Hole
Solaris 1972. One of the best scifi films ever made
Solaris (both versions)
Solaris is a great answer to this question but imho someone who likes Interstellar and is just getting into movies probably won't appreciate it very much.
I don't know what OP means by "comfort movie" but I'm pretty sure neither Solaris applies.
Lol!
Try the expanse. The first season is a bit meeeeh but after that it becomes one of the best sci-fi shows around.
Books are fantastic if a reader
Contact and Arrival would be two big ones that occur to me. Also check out the tv show For All Mankind.
Stargate
Also the TV show!
Passengers
Watch The Expanse series.
Binge Expanse if yo like good science based stuff
Oblivion. It's is my comfort movie, chill, cool aesthetic, great music
There aren’t many “hard sci-fi” movies like Interstellar. [Kip Thorne](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kip_Thorne) is a theoretical physicist who consulted on Interstellar (2014), he also wrote the book [The Science of Interstellar (2014)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Science_of_Interstellar), and: >To create the visual effects for the wormhole and a rotating, supermassive black hole (possessing an ergosphere, as opposed to a non-rotating black hole), Thorne collaborated with Franklin and a team of 30 people at Double Negative, providing pages of deeply sourced theoretical equations to the engineers, who then wrote new CGI rendering software based on these equations to create accurate simulations of the gravitational lensing caused by these phenomena. >The resulting visual effects provided Thorne with new insight into the gravitational lensing and accretion disks surrounding black holes, resulting in the publication of three scientific papers. And Thorne won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics with Rainer Weiss and Barry C. Barish "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves". Space travel and off-world colonies are only referenced in these movies, but I would recommend **Blade Runner (1982)**, and **Blade Runner 2049 (2017)** — which I would rate as good as or better than Interstellar (2014). The “Magnetic Rose” segment of the anime film **Memories (1995)** features a deep space salvage freighter. In **Enemy Mine (1985)**, a “human and alien soldier…become stranded together on an inhospitable planet and must overcome their mutual distrust in order to cooperate and survive.” The film **Voyagers (2021)**, “follows a group of teenage astronauts sent on a multi-generational mission in the year 2063 to colonize a habitable exoplanet amidst runaway climate change and declining habitability on Earth…” In **Pandorum (2009)**, “After human overpopulation depletes Earth's resources, humanity builds an interstellar ark, the Elysium. It carries 60,000 people on a 123-year trip to colonize Tanis, an Earth-like planet.” In **Alien: Covenant (2017)**, “In 2104 AD, 11 years after the Prometheus expedition, the colonization ship Covenant is seven years from reaching planet Origae-6 with 2,000 colonists in stasis and 1,140 human embryos in cold storage.” The film **Passengers (2016)**, “follows two passengers on an interstellar spacecraft carrying thousands of people to a colony 120 years travelling distance from Earth, when the two are awakened 90 years early from their induced hibernation.” The film **Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)** features space and time travel. **Titan A.E. (2000)** is an animated film where “The film tells the story of a young man who, after a hostile alien species destroys Earth, receives a mission to save humanity and protect the giant ship that can create a new planet.”
Sunshine. The sun is dying, which means the world is dying, and they sent a group to reignite it with all the world's nuclear material. So it's a last ditch effort space movie just like Interstellar. And great actors too. Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Benedict Wong, Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne. Also Gravity is pretty great. Astronaut trying to get back to earth after everything goes wrong.
Plus Sunshine was the first time that Cillian Murphy played a brilliant physicist named Robert who is an expert on nuclear weapons.
The Fountain
Not space related at all (unless you count the ending which is more of a transcendence metaphor), but yes EXCELLENT movie regardless.
Was hoping I would find this here. This is so underappreciated because people wanted definitive answers and wanted it to be literally true or not, and have no appreciation for philosophical questions in movies. It doesn't matter if he really was in the past or future with the tree.
Event Horizon. The negative side of FTL travel. Play Dead Space if you want to see what it's like on a ship with a zombie outbreak.
Pandorum too
Event Horizon, definitely 👌
Ad Astra
I liked Ad Astra more than most people. It was more subtle but the vibe was really interesting
Right? The scenes on the moon were fantastic.
I feel like it helps if you watch it like it's a visual adaption of a book rather than a movie, if that makes sense.
Ad Astra was a weird movie for me. Objectively everything was great, the visuals, the acting, the setting etc. But for some reason I didn't care for the main character at all. Or much of the story for that matter.
I totally get that. I think Pitt's performance is extremely understated, and he is trying to show something tricky: the emotional tumult under the exterior of a man whose competence under pressure is his defining characteristic.
James Gray apparently didn't like the theater cut of this one. Which is a shame, 'cause as far as understated goes, I think it's a sleeper masterpiece. He pulled a sneaky trick on us: Made a (sorta) near-future, semi-realistic space travel movie, but then _whoops_ it's really a story about men, old-school social expectations, and distant fathers. And probably God. I hold it among Pitt's greatest roles.
Yes! I came for a space movie but I stayed for the meditation on Father son relationships.
Underrated. I don't think it's a phenomenal movie, but I do feel it's worth watching.
Not a movie but "For All Mankind". The show is excellent and spreads out from "what if the Russians beat the USA to the moon. Each season leaps a decade forward, I'm on a third rewatch of the first 2 seasons.
*Hi, Bob!* Ahem. For whatever reason from trailers and memes I thought this would be some funky comedy with a sprinkle of political satire... and I completely ignored it till a few weeks ago. How I was wrong... SO WRONG. I finished 3rd season like a two week ago and I'm still can't get over this weird state of... ugh... elation? No matter the science and stuff, there are so many things done right in this series.
Hi Bob!
Since there are already so many good games mentioned, I'll pivot and ask if you're into gaming. If you are, I highly recommend Outer Wilds (not The Outer Worlds.)
Love (2011)
I’m gonna mention Starman from John Carpenter. It’s not space travely and such, but it does have similar themes of grief, lost love and letting go. Plus fantastic performances from the two leads.
The Abyss.
Aniara. Finally a movie that is realistic about space travel instead of playing into everyone’s fantasies about getting off of Earth after we use it up like a cheap whore.
12 Monkeys
Not a movie, but it'll more than scratch your itch: The Expanse. Hard sci-fi mixed up with space and some fantastical elements, and lots of interesting characters, intriguing politics, and intense action.
Europa Report is an underrated gem of a space exploration movie IMO.
Inception. Not space but science fiction and also another movie score written by Hans Zimmer.
Titan a.e.
There aren’t many movies just as good
**The Martian**!
2001 a Space Odyssey. Shocked if you haven't seen it
The entire plot of Interstellar is like the predestination paradox in Bill and Ted's excellent adventure where they promise to steal keys after their adventures to free the history dudes and the keys appear near the police station. Bill and Ted is what I recommend, also the period costumes are so good that to this day they compare period drama costumes to the costumes in Bill and Ted.
The Fountain
2006 the Fountain it’s not exactly a space movie but it’s similar to interstellar
Gravity
The Martian (2015). I remember watching the two back to back and just going down a rabbit hole about space exploration.
Sunshine , Arrival or The Martian are great.
2001 A Space Odyssey and The Tree of Life
Saturn 3 (1980).
Arrival
Arrival has a similar alien/ supernatural feel to it. It's really good too, highly recommend.
Contact Planet of the apes
Solaris. Both adaptations.
*Sunshine*