Hey, so this is the list of movies on my local media server which are tagged as "cyberpunk". I am looking for suggestions on more movies I should add to this list. Cheers,
ETA: Well, OK, this should keep me busy for a while. Thanks - y'all are amazing and awesome.
Johnny Mnemonic
Ghost in the Shell
Elysium
So many titles here to add to my library...
Going for 6000 titles now
Equilibrium
Ghost in the shell
Solid list OP. I didn't watch the peripheral, gonna check it out.
I know everyone recommended a bunch of movies, if you want my take, looking at the compilation list someone posted, from that list if I had to recommend just one cyberpunk movie it would be The original Ghost in the shell (1995)
And now I am questioning what cyberpunk is? I think I had a firm grasp on what it is but now I am not sure because I don't know if The matrix really checks that many boxes, there are no corporations and like poverty. There are people living in dare situations but it is more like in a post apocalypse way.
Anyway, cheers o/
Upgrade 2008
Metropolis (2001)
Don't see Johnny Mnemonic
Movie list pulled from the comments, hard to tell If I missed anything or if there is a question to them being cyberpunk adjacent enough
The majority of these that I've seen I disagree with. M3GAN is cyberpunk? Nah get outta here
Are we getting to a point that people think cyberpunk as the same as sci-fi? Because that is what this lists looks like. A lot of just sci-fi that is not even close to be cyberpunk.
Few things on the list hit 100% of the core tenants; it really depends on how strict you're looking to be.
Corporate tech hubris: a company rushes an AI product to market, ignores ethics, and treats safety as a PR problem.
AI autonomy and loss of control: M3GAN crossing from tool to actor is a classic question about agency.
Tech replacing human relationships: the doll as a surrogate caregiver fits neatly into the anxiety about mediated humanity.
It probably only hits half the criteria, but in a numbers game, there's a lot there that's celebrated as Cyberpunk that fails as many checks.
In all, I was looking to capture the contents strewn about, not make a judgment call on what stays. I fugure if people don't want parts, they can easily just not use that part of the list.
I feel that people think about the high tech and forget about the low life.
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
added
You absolute legend! Amazing! Thank you
I'd like to chime in here and add that just about everything I could possibly think of is on that list.
Okay, maybe Megazone23 if you're into classic anime with great animation and b-tier plots. There's probably a lot more in that genre.
I'd also like to give Avalon a shout since I think it's underrated, and kind of a unique film.
added megazone23
I'm doing the same thing you are, truing up my own stuff. Figured sharing the list might be helpful.
Well timed post. I was about to start a collection myself and have a great list ready now. The Bubblegum Crisis etc stuff is really good, awesome cyberpunk vibe
Nice I have over 160 so far on my server. But yours is impressive list.
Altered Carbon S1
Trying to avoid the already great recs, for varying levels of cyberpunk themes or aesthetics...
Movies
Gattaca 1997
Elysium 2013
Ex Machina 2015
TV
Almost Human
Cowboy Bebop (any)
Devs
Incorporated (highly recommend!)
Max Headroom
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
Snow Crash once someone makes it
Snowcrash (brought to you by Meta)
Yes.
And Neuromancer (goddammit).
Honey, we have Neuromancer at home. ::holds up copy of Johnny Mnemonic::
I want it too, but there's no need. Johnny Mnemonic was the original short-story template for Neuromancer, and fits into a feature-length film just fine. Campyness be damned - I love that movie. Meanwhile, Neuromancer would need a miniseries to do it justice. And we're "people living in orbit" and "AGI" away from being inside that book.
Plus it's permanently stuck in development hell, so we'll probably never get one.
Hackers
Battle Angel Alita was a lot of fun. (Admittedly, I'm a sucker for good action sequences.)
How do you not have Johnny Mnemonic?
I scrolled pretty far and didn't see Duncan Jones's Mute. Very strong cyberpunk aesthetics, and a great story.
Here are a couple "cult" movies:
Hardware (1990) - not a "good" movie, but never boring and very worth watching. Great soundtrack, fun cameos, several interesting ideas.
Johnny Mnemonic (1995) - the best really bad cyberpunk movie. A very fun watch, if you're sufficiently protected from cringeing to death. Apparently there's a 2022 black and white cut that has a much better feel, but I've never seen it.
Videodrome (1983) - it's got lowlifes, it's got high tech (for that time and place), it's got urban dystopias, and it's got evil corporations. I'd argue it's "proto-cyberpunk". Irregardless, it's one of the best SF horror movies ever made. Yes, right up there with Alien, arguably better bc it has more to say about how technology mediates reality and bc it really gets in your head. Heh.
Here's some quick possible additions off the top of my head: Minority Report, Strange Days, Ghost in the Shell.
No cyberpunk collection is complete without Ghost in the shell (not the scar Jo one)
Alright, I'm gonna watch the ScaJo one first then.
Because I have a feeling I'm not gonna like it after I watch the original, much like it's hard to appreciate a lot of movies once you've read the books they're based on, but if you see the movie first then it's fine (and the book is still great)
The OG film (1995), the sequel (GitS: Innocence - 2005) and the series Stand Alone Complex (2002-05) are all essentials in the genre.
Serious question - does the '93 Mario Brothers count?
If this is indeed a serious question, here's a post I made 2 years ago asking that very question. Fun discussion.
Thanks, I guess that settles it then!
Damm, that comment section is buzzing!
Not 100% sure it qualifies but i believe so, i enjoyed the dredd movie with carl urban and it has a very dystopian setting.
There is also an older one with stallone but i believe that one is more comedic.
E: also since you got blade runner in there i cant help myself and must suggest my favorite movie Alien, at least the first two. Supposedly they play in the same universe as blade runner
My favorites I don’t see!
Strange Days A Scanner Darkly Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Campy ones, if you’re into that: Space Truckers Cherry 2000 964 Pinocchio Nemesis
1992 - sneakers
1975 - rollerball
1982 - TRON
2002 - equilibrium
1989 - cyborg
1994 - timecop
2015 - chappie
1995 - 12 monkeys
1992 - the lawnmower man
2002 - minority report
I think Cyber City Oedo 808 hasn't been mentioned yet
Cyberpunk is a science-fiction sub-genre dealing with the integration of society and technology in dystopian settings. Often referred to as “low-life and high tech,” Cyberpunk stories deal with outsiders (punks) who fight against the oppressors in society (usually mega corporations that control everything) via technological means (cyber). If the punks aren’t actively fighting against a megacorp, they’re still dealing with living in a world completely dependent on high technology.
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