Robots In Movies Timeline



Robots In Movies Timeline

1926: Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" introduced the first robot, “Maria”, in a feature film. Metropolis was produced in Germany as a silent movie. Obsessed inventor, Rotwang, creates a robot that lacks a soul. When he transfers the lead female's soul, Maria, to the robot, an evil robotic "Maria" is born. The world in this movie is harsh and mechanized. It is a grim picture of the future. This fear of the lost soul in the robot reflected the soulless devastation and mechanization that rampaged through the battlefields of Western Europe and the technological advances made during the twenties. The twenties saw the mass production line and the increased alienation of workers who feared they were being replaced by machines.

The Depression of the 1930s

The 30s were harsh years where huge numbers of people were out of work. The future was harsh and fears of technology remained. People wanted escape from unemployment and hunger. The movies offered this.

1935: "Phantom Empire", starring Gene Autry “The Singing Cowboy”, discovers a lost city called Murania, 20,000 feet under his ranch. The evil Queen Tika wants her robots to rule the world.

1939: "The Phantom Creeps", a mad scientist, played by Bela Lugosi, tries to take over the Earth with a kind of Gargoyle like robot.

1936: The first "Flash Gordon" film series is set in the future. Flash is captured many times by evil robots. The robots are evil mechanized people.

1939: "Buck Rogers" film series, Buck is turned into a living robot but manages to overcome the evil induced mind control proving that human will is stronger than technology.

The Warring 40’s

The dark days of the depression was capped by World war 2 during the early 40s. The war saw inhuman acts and a technology gone wild as in the atom bomb. Isaac Asimov ideas on robotics grew out of this turmoil.

1940: Republic's film serial, "Mysterious Doctor Satan", features robots from their previous series, Phantom Empire. For years, this robot design saw little change and appears again in the 1949 movie, King of the Rocket Men.

1949: "The Perfect Woman", the failure to produce a perfect woman who is a robot demonstrated that people are not toys to be played with and that “being a woman” is far more than a manipulation by men or science.

The Fabulous 50’s

Science fiction in the 1950s. The fear of the cold war, alien invasion and the uncertainty of what was really happening that people did not know about sparked a huge surge in Science fiction books and film. But not everything was evil and not everything unknown was out to cause harm.

1951: In "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (20th Century Fox), a flying saucer lands in Washington D.C. releasing "Gort," a menacing and invincible yet protective figure. Klatuu had come in peace and unfortunately the good will and gifts of knowledge which he brought were destroyed by people who were so overwhelmed by fear they attacked. The fear of humans unleashed “Gort” the robot sent to protect Klatuu. The robot "Gort" must determine the fate of all earthlings. This is a seminal film.

1956: The feature film "Forbidden Planet" (MGM) introduces a likeable, and one of entertainment's most memorable robots, "Robby, the Robot. "Robby, the Robot" must be one of the most influential robots of all time. The design had a profound impact on the toy market and was the first movie prop to be heavily merchandized and targeted to both children and adults.

1957: "Robby, the Robot" again makes an appearance in "The Invisible Boy", where he plays a boy's mechanical friend turned kidnapper while under the influence of crazed computer banks. (Robby's other credits include roles in feature films: "Earth Girls Are Easy", "Hollywood Boulevard", "Gremlins"; and on television in: "The Twilight Zone", The Addams Family", "Hazel", "The Red Skelton Show", "The Thin Man", "Columbo", "Wonder Woman" and The Dobbie Gillis Show.)

The 1960’s

With space exploration a reality in the 60s, the robot is no longer a fantasy in everyday life, but is quickly moving into reality:

1966: television serial "Lost in Space", the robot always managed to save the day. He develops human and becomes a significant character in the show.

1966: "Dr. Who"introduced the evil "Dalek".

The Psychedelic 70’s

Significant advances in robotics and computers during the 70s bring a fear of human disappearance and an imminent fear of self destruction

1973: " Westworld " (MGM), sees robots take over a theme park and try to gain domination.

1977: "R2-D2" and "C-3PO" in "Star Wars" (20th Century-Fox) become the next most popular and influential robots after "Robby, the Robot" from Forbidden Planet. These robots are friendly and comical.

The 1980’s

The age of the microcomputer is born and with it new fears.

1984: "Terminator" (Hemdale), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, deals with the confrontation between humans and machine in which machines have developed self will and want to change the past to eradicate humans.

The 1990’s

movie robots continue to mirror the values and mores of present and future society. With this decade's advances and extensive understanding of new technologies

1990: Robocop 2 (Orion Pictures) Part robot part human.

1998: "Lost in Space - The Movie" (New Line Cinema) is a makeover of the popular 1967 television series.

Other notables: "Total Recall" (1990), "Hardware" (1990), "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" (1991), "Robocop 3" (1993), "Robot Wars" (1993), "Cyborg Cop" (1993), "Cyborg 2" (1993), "American Cyborg" (1994), "Judge Dredd" (1996), "Austin Powers" (1997) and "The Fifth Element" (1997).

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download