In Search of Tomorrow

I can't imagine a better documentary about 80s science fiction movies than In Search of Tomorrow. Superb interviews, top-notch production and use of film footage. The producers were able to get interviews with lots of key people involved in making these films as well as top-notch commentators. They were not the top figures, such as George Lucas or James Cameron, but still included many big stars such as Billy Dee Williams and many lesser known figures who nonetheless had A-level insights. I was very happy to see interviews with people such as Nicholas Meyer, Peter Hyams, Joe Dante, Kerry O'Quinn, Peter Weller and Alex North. I gained a lot of appreciation for them and all of the films that were featured. I learned a lot and enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who loves 80s science fiction. I was a backer of the film on Indiegogo and am extremely happy with the results.

Less than 5 minutes in and a young hipster-looking guy says "a lot of these films are warning about global warming,.." as if climate change was a thing in the 70's and before. It wasn't. 'Limits To Growth', one of the classic books of the environmental movement in the 70's, has not one mention of global warming or climate change or anything resembling it. Back then it was all about overpopulation, pollution of the seas and running out of resources. Global warming or climate change hadn't been invented and popularized yet. I'm not sure the thoughts of the said interviewees warrant the running time, but maybe nostalgia is enough to entertain you.

Is it perfect? No, but it comes pretty damned close. At five hours you could easily binge this if it was on your favorite streaming service. Own this, there is still time at the writing of this review, and you can take your time, savor it and watch an hour a day for a week. Fair warning though, if you do break up your watching, you will definitely find yourself wanting them to spend more time on your favorite movies! There are only a handful of movies touched on that I hadn't heard of or have avoided for one reason or another, and now I have some motivation to hunt those down. I also really enjoy how they connect many of the films to the events of their day, and how and why some of the films resonate more so today, how prescient so many of them were. In many ways those were simpler times, in others more difficult or close-minded, but fortunately for us, there were some hopeful storytellers, and much of what they created inspired so many of the people making our lives better today and for years to come.

Excellently structured, brilliantly paced and very very thorough at over 5 hours long, and what a fantastic documentary it is.

To go through each year and go from movie to movie per year just fills the whole documentary with so much content, and it's amazing to see and hear from so many talented people that not only worked on these films, but many people who were inspired by these films.

It's a deep dive into all aspects of what made 80's sci-fi so amazing, so captivating, so memorable and how a lot of the ideas of the technologies have even come into existence in every day life today.

I grew up with so many of these movies that I still watch today and this documentary gives a great insight into the making of these films, the ideas that came together to get these films made and how they inspired many aspects of not only the making of future films but how the technologies have been developed from these ideas.

The documentary doesn't just go through each year with some of the most important films per year, it also goes over the scores, the heroes/villains/anti-heros, the development of the special effects, the science behind the movies, and so much more.

My review can't do this documentary any justice so I can only say, if you haven't watched it yet, watch it. It's a must see for Sci-fi fans and movie buffs alike.

Highly recommended.

Director David Weiner and the team Creator VC return with In Search of Tomorrow. A massive Extravagant Sci-fi documentary that takes us into the depths and wonders of the genre like never before. Delivering us with Top of the line interviews from Such Films legends as Clancy Brown, Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Will Wheaton, and Much more. Spotlighting some of the most iconic films of all time E. T, Back to the Future, and Aliens. To Cult Classic like such as Flash Gordon and Blade Runner. To even more obscure films like Megaforce and Howard the Duck. Over 5 Hours going into the Awe and wonder of 80s sci-fi from 1980-1989. In search of Tomorrow get down to the core of Sci-fi as a whole, not only just deliver on insightful commentary, but also inner looks from Directors like John Carpenter and Ivan Reitman. Seeing everything from the impact of Music, art, and Marketing. The essence of creating these worlds is through special effects and the Evolution of the Genre as a whole. The impact of star wars and its game-changing contribution to the genre, the connection, and inspiration to real-life events. Describe the different ideas of the future through real-world events such as the paranoia of nuclear fallout and dystopias of the cold war-like. It's an all-around Wonder and One that many Lover of Sci-Fi Should check out.