The 5: Films that Predicted the Future

This Week on the 5:  Prophetic Films

Some films are smart and talk about what’s coming down the road.  Other films are downright prophetic.  These five films predicted the future in ways that others really didn’t see coming.  Even though all five films were appreciated when they were released– it wasn’t until time went by that it was realized exactly how brilliant and ahead of their time they really were.

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• Network.  (1976) Director: Sydney Lumet.  Paddy Chayfesky wrote this Oscar-winning screenplay as a middle fingered salute his former employer was intended as pure satire. But with time, everything presented in the film – news anchor rants and meltdowns, news as entertainment, and corporate philosophy disguised as populist commentary – can be seen on a daily basis on cable news outlets. Top to bottom, the cast is perfect: Peter Finch as news anchor turned ‘mad prophet of the airwaves’ Howard Beale; William Holden as Beale’s best friend and news director Max Schumacher; Faye Dunaway as the cold and driven programming head Diana Christensen; Robert Duvall as the power-hungry network executive Frank Hackett; Ned Beatty as conglomerate head Arthur Jensen and Beatrice Straight in her Oscar-winning role as Max’s wife Louise. Directed by Sidney Lumet. This movie is no longer satire. It’s prophecy.  Watch the trailer below or on YouTube.
• A Face In The Crowd.  (1957) Director: Elia Kazan.  Elia Kazan’s cautionary tale about how media, if put in the wrong hands, controls and corrupts was too much for movie audiences when it released in 1957. It’s now considered one of Kazan’s best films. Andy Griffith plays Larry ‘Lonesome’ Rhodes, a drunken drifter who is hired by a producer (Patricia O’Neal) to sing on a local radio show . Rhodes’ down-home style is an immediate hit and Rhodes gets TV shows first in Memphis and later, New York. But as his popularity soars, so does his ego. Realizing he has a persuasive hold on his audience, Rhodes positions himself as a king maker and worse, the real voice manipulating those in power. Budd Schulberg (who also wrote the classic On The Waterfront) wrote the screenplay as a warning. But with the rise of the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and to a certain degree, Oprah Winfrey, Schulberg comes across as a visionary.  Watch the trailer below or on YouTube.
• The Truman Show (1998) Director:  Peter Weir.  This  film stars Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, a man who, unbeknownst to him, has been the subject of 24 hour a day, 7 day a week reality show since birth. His ‘hometown’ is actually a giant soundstage and archeological dome. Everyone involved in his day to day life – his wife, parents, best friend – are all played by actors. Ed Harris plays Christof, the show’s creator and director, determined to keep the show – and the charade – going at all costs. Andrew Nicccol’s script – which was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar – essentially laid the template for Big Brother, Survivor and all of the 24 hour webcams that you can view online.  Watch the trailer below or on YouTube.
• The King Of Comedy (1982). Director Martin Scorsese. Martin Scorsese’s biting dark comedy about fame – and one man’s pathetic attempts to achieve it – has lost none of its punch 30 years after its release. Robert DeNiro is a fine form as Rupert Pupkin, a would-be comedian who is so obesssed on ‘The Jerry Langford Show’, that he shows up at the host’s office and later his house, with the hopes of get a shot to perform on the show. When that doesn’t work, Pupkin and another stalker (Sandra Bernhard) kidnap Langford (Jerry Lewis). As ransom, Pupkin demands that he perform his rountine on that evening’s show. His act is well received, and upon his release from prison, Pupkin is about to release his memoir of his one night of glory. Released at the time the nation was still reeling from John Lennon’s murder and the assassination attempt on President Reagan, The King Of Comedy bombed at the box office. It has since grown in stature and despite, its dark content, is now considered one of Scorsese’s best films.But the film also predicts the notion of crime as a path to celebrity and Americans endless obsession for and about fame.  Watch the trailer below or on YouTube.
• Soylent Green (1973).  Director:  Richard Fleischer.  This 1973 thriller was considered science fiction at the time, but several of the themes presented – the after-effects of climate change, corporate takeover of food production, and even assisted suicide – are just as relevant today. Charlton Heston plays Robert Thorn, a police detective living in New York City in 2022. The city is overcrowded (population: 40 million), housing is bad, scores are homeless and food is scarce. Forests, wild animals, rivers and ocean life are all but extinct because of climate change. The main source of food is produced by The Soylent Corporation, but its new wafer – Soylent Green – is in short supply. When a Soylent official is murder, Thorn, with the aid of his roommate and friend Sol (Edward G. Robinson in his final film), investigates the crime and discovers Soylent Green is really made out of.Robinson’s final on-screen scenes, in which his character goes to a euthanasia clinic, predates the efforts of Dr. Jack Kavorkian by nearly two decades. Software engineer Rob Rhinehart has found a way to bypass traditional food growning methods by developing a food substitute intended to supply all daily nutritional needs. It contains powered starch, whey protein, olive oil and chemical powders and Rhinehart plans to roll it this fall. It’s named Soylent.  Watch the trailer below or on YouTube.

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