Burning Chrome, Fragaments of a Hologram Rose, and Johnny Mnemonic were all pre-blade runner
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What is the absolute best Cyberpunk movie of all time?
- Thread starter Black Chamber
- Start date
Burning Chrome, Fragaments of a Hologram Rose, and Johnny Mnemonic were all pre-blade runner
Sure, if you want to look at it that way you can but to me that train thought can easily lead to just about any sci-fi film with any type of advanced technology qualifying. Is Star Wars not about a bunch of scrappy underdogs in a dystopian sci-fi setting trying to stop a WMD?
What is going in Akira has more in common with a monster movie than anything else, I think, with Kaneda and Tetsuo being thrust into this mad science plot. The 'cyber'(advanced tech) and the 'punk'(the characters as outsiders and their relationship to society) are there but only on the periphery, they aren't the things that make the story engine go.
The characters exist in a word where a Cyberpunk story could be happening right around the corner(and might be if the story was focused on the resistance movement Kei was a part of) but it isn't the story they are in.
The Matrix and Blade Runeer: 2049
Not a fan of the original Blade Runner and I've watched Ghost in the Shell twice and didn't understand all the fuss, it was alright.
Not a fan of the original Blade Runner and I've watched Ghost in the Shell twice and didn't understand all the fuss, it was alright.
Absolutely not
That said, Robocop for me.
And BR 2049 is much better than the original.
This is what got me into Cyberpunk I would also think about 5th element but... I feel its loose on cyberpunk and harder on space opera
Blade Runner is the obvious choice because of its iconic aesthetic, but hell, I really loved Strange Days and completely forgot about that movie so it gets my vote. :P
It's bladerunner 1 & 2, but RoboCop is highly overlooked in this regard. Paul Verhoeven had a lot of interesting not bladerunner takes on the genre.
Tetsuo and Akira. Both depict a dystopian world at vastly different scales and styles. I really gotta watch 964 Pinocchio.
No. Neuromancer is cyberpunk. Blade Runner is an extremely influential piece of cyberpunk media. Though it's honestly more noir than anything.
BR 2049 is the best movie. BR is the most important.
Blade Runner 2049. Yeah, it's better than the original, bite my origami unicorn.
Blade Runner predates Neuromancer, so I'm not sure what you're even getting at here. Even Gibson said he saw Blade Runner and despaired because what he was writing felt redundant to it, but pressed on anyway.
Blade Runner predates Neuromancer, so I'm not sure what you're even getting at here. Even Gibson said he saw Blade Runner and despaired because what he was writing felt redundant to it, but pressed on anyway.
OP
OP
Parts 2 & 3 are coming this year as well👍Here's a really cool small documentary type video on cyberpunk if anyone wants to watch it.
Cyberpunk Documentary PART 1 | Neuromancer, Blade Runner, Shadowrun, Akira
Let’s take a journey back to the 1980’s and beyond, to discover the origins of the Cyberpunk movement, in literature, cinema, television, video games, comics...youtu.be
Agreed.
Good choice!
It's on my poster in the OP👍
Neuromancer is the originator of the genre. Blade Runner exerts a justifiably heavy influence on the visual identy of the genre. Yes, it came out a bit before (novels take time, you know). But neither one is because of the other.
Blade Runner has elements of cyberpunk, but it is more noir than cyberpunk. Neuromancer is the cyberpunk Bible. If all we had was Blade Runner and no Neuromancer, things would be a lot different than the reverse.
If you gotta go with MOVIE only then nothing tops MATRIX for me. It blew my mind in the theaters and is still amazing if not a little cheezy now since everything aped it.
BUT the greatest cyberpunk if were talking series and movies is hands down Ghost in the shell. NOTHING beats it in terms of world building and everything i imagine a cyberpunk universe would be. 1st and 2nd gig and movies are the greatest. At least IMO. Bladerunner 2049 is close though.
BUT the greatest cyberpunk if were talking series and movies is hands down Ghost in the shell. NOTHING beats it in terms of world building and everything i imagine a cyberpunk universe would be. 1st and 2nd gig and movies are the greatest. At least IMO. Bladerunner 2049 is close though.
As much as I didn't really like it (need to rewatch it) I'd have to say BR2049 is probably it. It checks all the right boxes aesthetically, tonally, and narratively.
But Neuromancer is the definitive foundation of "cyberpunk". Both Electric Sheep (the book) and Blade Runner are Sci Fi Noir while Neuromancer defined both the cyber and punk parts of cyberpunk, which BR and Electric Sheep have neither of. I say this as a massive fan of PKD. He is my favorite writer, let alone sci fi writer. That said, Neuromancer IS cyberpunk.
Edit: again this is why I say Johnny Mnemonic because it's a definitive character and story from the definitive creator of the cyberpunk genre, Gibson.
If we argue best as in best movie that could be classified Cyberpunk, that's too subjective to ever find. If it's "The most cyberpunk movie" than Johnny Mnemonic wins hands down.
Ghost in the Shell is popular because it's super inspiring to the genre (kinda like Akira). Like the Wachowskis spoke on how GITS inspired The Matrix.
2nd most Cyberpunk movie is The Matrix with punk hackers diving into a virtual world wearing trench coats. Even starring the original Johnny Mnemonic.
I want to choose GiTS for how it may be the best diving into the nature of consciousness and a virtual world but it lacks the punk part for the most part. More cyber cop than punk, even though the major herself is pretty punk.
I want to choose GiTS for how it may be the best diving into the nature of consciousness and a virtual world but it lacks the punk part for the most part. More cyber cop than punk, even though the major herself is pretty punk.
2049 is a masterful movie, and I love its exploration of a lot of the central themes of the genre.
Seems weird that Johnny Mnemonic is getting so little love considering it is based on a book literally written by the man who created the Cyberpunk genre.
It has:
It has:
- Cybernetic implants
- Dystopian future where corporations have strong control
- Brain hacking (lol)
- Cyberspace
- and the staple Asian influence
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Because Blade Runner/2049 are associative enough and are easily the best films in the poll.
I thought I was the only person that loved Freejack. I also unironically love Jagger as a military goon.
It's probably fair to say that Blade Runner/2049 are the best films containing Cyberpunk elements alright - but I'd say (even if it's not a great movie) that Johnny Mnemonic is more "cyberpunk" than both.
The Running Man feels like perfect Cyberpunk entertainment. That was my vote.
