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Science fiction cinema has dramatically affected the perception of science by the general population. If science fiction and actual science sometimes seem at odds, they importantly share the elements of curiosity, creativity and imagination--and there are many examples of yesterday's science fiction becoming today's science.
This book explores the imaginative elements of biology seen in 20th century science fiction films. Written by a professional scientist and science fiction lover, this second edition includes recent updates of biomedical science and science fiction cinema. It covers different categories of biology, biochemistry (or molecular biology), and medicine, each subcategorized into chapters such as cell biology, hematology, and dermatology. Within each chapter are several film examples explaining the biological sciences principles involved, what is right and what is wrong with the science, and what changes could be made for the science of the film to become a reality.
List of contents
Table of ContentsPreface to the Second Edition
Introduction
Scientific Principles: An Overview
1. Cell Biology
The Man Who Lived Again (1936)
The Man with Nine Lives (1940)
Donovan's Brain (1953)
Indestructible Man (1956)
Giant from the Unknown (1957)
The Blob (1958)
The Blob (1988)
Caltiki the Immortal Monster (1959)
The Flesh Eaters (1964)
Atom Age Vampire (1963)
Frozen Alive (1964)
The Creeping Flesh (1972)
Deep Red (1994)
Zombie 6: Monster Hunter (1995)
2. Molecular Biology
The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)
The Fly (1958)
The Fly (1986)
Humanoids from the Deep (1980)
The Thing (1982)
Watchers II (1990)
Carnosaur (1993)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Moonchild (1994)
Proteus (1995)
Species (1995)
The Relic (1996)
3. Pharmacology
White Zombie (1932)
The Undying Monster (1942)
The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)
Zombie (1980)
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1987)
I Come in Peace (1997)
4. Endocrinology
Island of Lost Souls (1933)
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
The Ape (1940)
The Ape Man (1943)
Bride of the Gorilla (1951)
The Wasp Woman (1959)
The Leech Woman (1959)
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971)
Food of the Gods (1976)
Project Vampire (1992)
5. Surgery
The Monster and the Girl (1940)
The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
Frankenstein's Daughter (1958)
The Head (1959)
Terror Is a Man (1959)
The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)
Astro-Zombies (1967)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973)
6. Hematology
The Return of Dr. X (1939)
Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
House of Dracula (1945)
Not of This Earth (1957)
Not of This Earth (1995)
Queen of Blood (1966)
Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969)
Blade (1998)
7. Microbiology / Immunology
Man Made Monster (1941)
The Brain Eaters (1958)
The Angry Red Planet (1959)
Dark Breed (1996)
8. Virology
Last Man on Earth (1964)
Horror of the Blood Monsters (1972)
Outbreak (1995)
9. Biochemistry
The Devil Bat (1940)
20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
X-The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)
The Horror of Party Beach (1964)
10. Entomology
Them! (1954)
Beginning of the End (1957)
The Deadly Mantis (1957)
The Deadly Bees (1966)
Skeeter (1993)
Mosquito (1994)
Mimic (1997)
Tarantula (1955)
Ticks (1993)
11. Shrinkology
The Devil-Doll (1936)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
12. Culfology
The Killer Shrews (1959)
The Crawling Hand (1963)
Island of Terror (1966)
Sssssss (1973)
13. Life Cycles
Alien (1979)
Aliens (1986)
14. Reanimated Brides
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Bride of the Re-Animator (1989)
15. Dermatology
Doctor X (1932)
The Face of Marble (1946)
The Monolith Monsters (1957)
The Man Who Turned to Stone (1957)
Darkman (1990)
16. Plantimals
The Day of the Triffids (1963)
The Navy vs the Night Monsters (1966)
The Revenge of Dr. X (1967)
The Freakmaker (1974)
17. Planet of Primates
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1969)
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
Appendix A: The Notebooks of Frankenstein
Appendix B: Accuracy of Laboratory Sets
Index
About the author
Mark C. Glassy is a professor at the University of California, San Diego; Moores Cancer Center, Translational Neuro-Oncology Laboratory and a member of the advisory board for the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine.
