London’s cinema scene is full of gimmicks, but here’s one with a little more star-factor.
This weekend sees the start of the Silver Screen Sci-Fi Season at Royal Observatory Greenwich, where a series of cult films will be projected overhead onto the planetarium’s screen, featuring all the goods you can expect from a decent sci-fi flick: deep space, defective androids, dystopian rebellion.
As you sit back in the Observatory’s chairs and cast your gaze upwards, the usual stars and planets will be joined by cyborgs and parallel universes. After the screening in London’s only planetarium, film-goers can get into the nitty-gritty of the science behind the film with a talk courtesy of one of the Observatory’s very own astronomers.
The films on offer are:
13 June: Silent Running (1972) - In a future where all plant life on Earth is extinct, a few specimens have been preserved aboard a spacecraft with the aim of one day returning them to the planet. When the resident botanist is given orders to destroy his life’s work, he rebels and begins a crusade to save the last of the Earth’s flora.
9 July: A Scanner Darkly (2006) - Oscar winner Richard Linklater adapts Philip K. Dick’s dystopian tale of mass drug addiction and intrusive police surveillance. When an undercover copy goes searching for the source of a mysterious new drug, he finds himself losing his own identity along the way. 15+.
6 August: THX-1138 (1971) - In a dystopian future where mankind’s emotions are controlled by forced medication, a man and woman rebel after committing the crime of falling in love. Directed by George Lucas (in his pre-Star War days).
10 September: West World (1973) - Written and directed by the creator of Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton, a visit to a futuristic amusement park goes awry when a robot malfunctions and guests are left fighting for their lives.
Tickets to Silver Screen Sci-Fi Season cost £8 adults, £7 concessions and £5.50 children, which includes the screening and post-film talk. All screenings take place in Peter Harrison Planetarium at Royal Observatory Greenwich, to book tickets (only June's is currently available) or for more information please visit the website.
