Melancholia

[West End Wendy]

Saw the film Melancholia last night. It's an interesting film - a piece of art house cinema with a disaster movie plot.

Anyway, the basic premise is that a planet hiding behind the sun breaks out of its orbit and starts on a collision course with Earth.

There was, of course, a time when scientists believed there was a planet hiding behind the sun, and only Einstein and gravitational lensing ended that theory of explaining Mercury's non-Newtonian orbit. So of that bit is possible, could, in theory, the rest also be also? What force could move such a planet out of its existing orbit? A collision with another body perhaps...

Ok, the film is an allegory not a piece of science, but it's always interesting to think about such things.

Tim

[x6gas]

Yeah but a planet 'hiding' on the other side of the sun would also effect the orbits of the other planets... so no!

[661-pete]

Not quite the same storyline, but didn't one of the early Doctor Who serials - The Tenth Planet - feature a planet that had formerly shared an orbit with Earth before 'escaping' and then returning: complete with Cybermen for their first 'visit' to our screens ?

Also that was the last appearance of William Hartnell as the first Doctor.

[acey]

Melancholia is an interesting film but the science in it can't be taken seriously (and there isn't much). Main astro interest is the Meade telescope that Kiefer Sutherland uses.

Also check out Another Earth which has a similar premise and has a little bit more of a sci-fi element to it (though again it's not really sf). The telescope in that one is Bresser I think. There's an amusing bit when they're looking at the new planet with the telescope indoors aiming through a window - and the lens cap is still on!

[JB80]

I nearly watched this the other night but didn't in the end, it looks dire but I guess it's a Von Trier thing. It looks like he has managed to take a story with promise and make it as dull as possible.

[West End Wendy]

Melancholia is an interesting film but the science in it can't be taken seriously (and there isn't much). Main astro interest is the Meade telescope that Kiefer Sutherland uses.

Yes - I have to admit I was rather interested in that too (was it a 127? I want one).

Thanks for the other film reccomendation, I'll check it out.

I guess it's a Von Trier thing

Von Trier is guaranteed to polarise opinion. I thought Melancholia worked really well, but I do find some of his stuff almost unwatchable.

Tim

[West End Wendy]

Not quite the same storyline, but didn't one of the early Doctor Who serials - The Tenth Planet - feature a planet that had formerly shared an orbit with Earth before 'escaping' and then returning: complete with Cybermen for their first 'visit' to our screens ?

Also that was the last appearance of William Hartnell as the first Doctor.

Yes that does ring some bells, although I only really go back to Tom Baker with Dr. Who.

I do love a good ridiculous Sci Fi plot though. The Daleks killing everyone on the Marie Celeste is my favourite.

[acey]

Von Trier is guaranteed to polarise opinion. I thought Melancholia worked really well, but I do find some of his stuff almost unwatchable.

I saw Antichrist the other night and parts of it are definitely in the "almost unwatchable" category. But I reckon Dogville is a masterpiece.

Melancholia left me feeling physically unwell by the end - but I was glad I saw it.

[assasincz]

Melancholia was awful. There are better words to describe it but I am afraid of being banned. I had to watch it at 1,5x speed to suffer through it and felt as a squeezerd slice of lime afterwards. Terrible.

[heathenwoods]

I saw Antichrist the other night and parts of it are definitely in the "almost unwatchable" category. But I reckon Dogville is a masterpiece.

Melancholia left me feeling physically unwell by the end - but I was glad I saw it.

I'm looking forward to it. My wife and I have a list of ''challenging' but worthwhile' films and Antichrist joined Dead Ringers and Ichi the Killer when we saw it last year. We're also watching Kingdom at the moment - very subtle, funny and human. Love it.

I really enjoy how science fiction sometime has the capacity to shape the future it sets out to describe: Asimov's three laws' application in modern robotics; Gibson's 'cyberspace' and so on.