The best dystopian films of all time

What are the great dystopian films to know? A huge question as the genre is rich, but also very varied. Futuristic, social, political, environmental… There are as many dystopias as there are authors to imagine them. If the literature has major references such as 1984 of George Orwell where the dictatorship of Big Brother is still worrying, many heirs have since seen the light of day. In cinema, the genre is carried by American franchises which fully embrace the fantastic side: this is the case of Hunger Games, Divergent et The Labyrinth which, each in turn, made dystopia popular (formerly aimed at a teenage audience, these films are today considered emblematic works of pop culture). A handful of independent, more or less committed filmmakers have also invested in the register to experiment with their art with creativity and freedom, delivering a strong message about the society of their time. To follow, a non-exhaustive selection of the best dystopian films of all time.

Blade Runner de Ridley Scott (1982)

By Rachel (Sean Young) took (Daryl Hannah), passing through Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), the futuristic heroines of Blade Runner have had a lasting impact on the imagination of dystopian cinema. Thoughts by Ridley Scott as strong and terribly modern figures, they occupy a central place in this post-apocalyptic universe, alongside Harrison Fordwho plays a former police officer called back to hunt down outlaw androids in a dark and decadent Los Angeles.

© Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

Strange Days de Kathryn Bigelow (1995)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and co-written by James Cameron, Strange Days plunges the viewer into the near future, at the dawn of the year 2000, where a clandestine market of sensory clips made possible by SQUID technology circulates. Initially developed for the police, it makes it possible to record the flows of the cerebral cortex in order to restore them identically. A device as fascinating as it is dangerous, as the character played by Ralph Fiennes is required to handle with skill.