by Stefano Boni

If it is true that science fiction cinema invents the future to reflect on the present, it is also true that the present finds it very difficult to reflect on this invented future; it has taken on so many forms and masks in one hundred years of motion picture history. Telling the extraordinary adventure of science fiction in film makes it necessary to find a non chronological approach which entails the identification of those characters, places and times most frequently visited by film directors from the past and present. The first section, entitled "Cities of the Future" reflects on the urban prefigurations of the Future, from Metropolis by Fritz Lang to A.I. by Spielberg, examining the surprising THX 1138 by Lucas and Escape from New York by Carpenter. The second, on the other hand, "Alien & Co.", orbits around the revolutionary masterpiece by Ridley Scott, which shows aliens taking over human bodies, identifying both the inspiring titles (Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Siegel) and the direct filiations. Then there are "The Conquest of Space" and "Ultimatum to the Earth", stories of journeys by men to colonize new worlds, but also attempts by aliens to take over our Planet as well. The conclusion of the retrospective is entrusted to "Science (Fiction)", a panorama of fictional scientists that challenged the laws of physics and biology – from Dr. Cyclops by Schoedsack to The Fly by Cronenberg.