James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction (Blu-ray Review)
JAMES CAMERON’S STORY OF SCIENCE FICTION is a uniquely intimate look at science fiction’s roots, futuristic vision and our fascination with its ideas through interviews by James Cameron with A-list storytellers, stars and other whose careers have defined the field, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith and Sigourney Weaver, among many others. Cameron takes us on a journey of discovery and exploration, helping us understand where science fiction’s ideas came from – and where they’re taking us.
Film 
Back in 2018 there was a special that aired for a few weeks on AMC. It was called James Cameron’s Story of Science of Fiction. It had the King of the World sitting across from some of today’s most legendary directors. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Guillermo del Toro, and Christopher Nolan all sat down for candid interviews with Cameron to talk about science fiction in their films and in general. Now, for the first time this 6-episode series in collected on two shiny Blu-rays.
I remember the advertisements for the series in 2018 but since I do not have AMC, this Blu-ray set was the next best thing. Right off the top, this is a fascinating look at the genre of science fiction films and science fiction in literature. Not only does Cameron interact with these filmmakers on a one-on-one basis, but you have a ton of separate interviews with actors and experts on the genre.
What I can deduce is that this is required viewing if you’re a casual fan or even a student or scholar of film and sci-fi. I appreciated that everyone involved talked about the genre with a love for it. No one came of like a jerk in terms of trying to denigrate the genre being “kid’s stuff” or anything like that. Also, this being James Cameron moderating the interviews, he was great. He let everyone speak their mind and they stayed the course. He was never rude and never interrupted anyone, while keeping the interviews flowing properly.
There are six episodes spread out on two Blu-ray discs. The second Blu-ray has some additional footage that was most likely trimmed for time. It’s basically the intro to each interview and how some folks have to settle down into interview mode. It’s fun stuff, but I understand why they are supplements. Each episode runs about 45-minutes in length.
Considering how busy James Cameron is with the next Avatar films, to see something as cool as Story of Science Fiction with him actively involved was a treat. Here’s hoping we get a future “second” season someday with more directors. James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction is highly recommended!
Video
Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Clarity/Detail: There’s a lot of flashy transitions and camerawork during the non-James Cameron segments in addition to the really cool opening titles. These scenes are enhanced by the high definition presentation of the Blu-ray.
Depth: The opening title crawl benefits the most, sucking in the viewer to some stimulating talk about science fiction.
Black Levels: Considering this is an interview series, I don’t think that “black levels” apply. There’s a ton of archive footage, with varying degrees of crush, but the guests and the warehouse they’re in does not suffer from these anomalies.
Color Reproduction: The color palette looks great. There’s no pixilation or banding.
Flesh Tones: Cameron, his guests, and everyone else look great. No one comes of sickly or ill.
Noise/Artifacts: Clean, with the exception of the previously mentioned archive film footage.
Audio 
Audio Format(s): English DTS HD-MA 2.0
Subtitles: English
Dynamics: This Blu-ray is presented in DTS HD-MA 2.0. 95% of the series is roundtable interviews in addition to footage from classic and contemporary science fiction films. Everything is contained to the 2.0 sound-field and sounds great.
Low-Frequency Extension: N/A
Surround Sound Presentation: N/A
Dialogue Reproduction: Cameron interviews the primary participants at a table, sounding clear and crisp. There are interviews featuring countless entertainers, scholars, historians, etc., and all sound great on this 2.0 DTS soundtrack.
Extras
The extended interviews are basically the introduction to each interview, which are fun, especially when Cameron starts off with Guillermo del Toro, but I’m sure they were trimmed for timing. I had fun with them since they were short enough. Each one is less than five minutes long, so it goes by quick.
- Extended Interviews with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan, Guillermo Del Toro and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Summary
James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction is an informative piece of entertainment that will enlighten fans of science fiction films and science fiction literature. The Blu-ray has great video, audio, and entertaining supplemental special features.
The images used above within the review are not actual Blu-ray screenshots. They are for illustrative purposes only.
James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction is released
on Blu-ray & DVD July 28, 2020!
ORDER NOW!
Gerard Iribe
Gerard Iribe is a writer/reviewer for Why So Blu?. He has also reviewed for other sites like DVD Talk, Project-Blu, and CHUD, but Why So Blu? is where the heart is. You can follow his incoherency on Twitter: @giribe
