Filmmakers have loved robots almost from the beginning of movie making. The early German sci-fi classic "Metropolis" featured robots back in 1927.
This summer, two of Hollywood's top robot franchises are back.
Already showing in theaters is "Terminator: Salvation," the fourth installment in the "Terminator" series that began 25 years ago with Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to bump off Linda Hamilton. This time Christian Bale is mankind's savior John Connor trying to destroy a robot army dedicated to wiping out humanity.
Up later this month is "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," the sequel to 2007's hit film about alien robots waging war on Earth. Shia LaBeouf is back as mankind's best hope and Megan Fox as his pretty but tough girlfriend. So, too, are the autobots (good alien robots) and decepticons (bad robots).
Movies about killer robots are not new in Hollywood. Cylons have been killing people since the 1970s television series "Battlestar Galactica." Eve is a beautiful killing machine in "Eve of Destruction" and Gene Simmons unleashes a swarm of killer robots in "Runaway."
Friendly robots have also been around for decades. "Tobor the Great" saves a young boy from bad guys, while a race of worker robots helps a group of friends save their apartment building in "batteries not included."
Some robots are sneaky, though. Bishop turns out to be a robot with his own agenda in the original "Alien" movie. And who knew that the henchmen were robots in "Halloween 3: Season of the Witch."
Many movie robots are in it for the laughs, such as the robot that escapes from the Army in "Short Circuit."
Some robots are just like people, such as Data in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" series and films.
Some robots used to be people, such as the murderous creation Harvey Keitel turns into in "Saturn 3," and anyone unlucky enough to be assimilated by the Borg.
Occasionally, a robot will blow a fuse and then become dangerous. That's what happens with HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "I, Robot."
Here are six films available on video and DVD that feature robots down through the years.
"Kronos" (1957) -- A gigantic electricity-sucking robot lands in the ocean off Mexico and after knocking the crap out of the Mexican air force starts heading for Southern California in this vintage sci-fi thriller that scared me royally for most of my youth. Stars include Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence and Morris Ankrum.
"Bicentennial Man" (1999) -- Robin Williams stars in this film based on Isaac Asimov's story about a robot's quest to become human, which takes about 200 years and brings him into contact with lots of people who would just as soon disassemble him. Other stars include Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill and Oliver Platt.
"The Stepford Wives" (1975) -- Katharine Ross thinks something is odd about the town of Stepford, Conn., and soon finds out the secret the townspeople are keeping. Other stars include Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson and Tina Louise.
"Westworld" (1973) -- Robots at a high-tech theme park suddenly malfunction and start killing off the staff and guests in this sci-fi thriller. One of the guests then finds himself being stalked by an animatronic gunslinger from the resort's Wild West park. Stars include Yul Brenner, Richard Benjamin and James Brolin.
"THX 1138" (1971) -- This film takes place a couple of hundred years after man has retreated underground to survive a nuclear disaster and has turned control of practically everything in the underground city over to robots. Stars include Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence and Maggie Meomie.
"Artificial Intelligence: A.I." (2001) -- In the near future, a robotic boy (Haley Joel Osment) is adopted by a family and then abandoned. The boy then embarks on a quest to find the blue fairy that will turn him into a real boy in this film that was started by Stanley Kubrick and finished by Steven Spielberg. Other stars include Frances O'Connor, William Hurt and Jude Law.
This summer, two of Hollywood's top robot franchises are back.
Already showing in theaters is "Terminator: Salvation," the fourth installment in the "Terminator" series that began 25 years ago with Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to bump off Linda Hamilton. This time Christian Bale is mankind's savior John Connor trying to destroy a robot army dedicated to wiping out humanity.
Up later this month is "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," the sequel to 2007's hit film about alien robots waging war on Earth. Shia LaBeouf is back as mankind's best hope and Megan Fox as his pretty but tough girlfriend. So, too, are the autobots (good alien robots) and decepticons (bad robots).
Movies about killer robots are not new in Hollywood. Cylons have been killing people since the 1970s television series "Battlestar Galactica." Eve is a beautiful killing machine in "Eve of Destruction" and Gene Simmons unleashes a swarm of killer robots in "Runaway."
Friendly robots have also been around for decades. "Tobor the Great" saves a young boy from bad guys, while a race of worker robots helps a group of friends save their apartment building in "batteries not included."
Some robots are sneaky, though. Bishop turns out to be a robot with his own agenda in the original "Alien" movie. And who knew that the henchmen were robots in "Halloween 3: Season of the Witch."
Many movie robots are in it for the laughs, such as the robot that escapes from the Army in "Short Circuit."
Some robots are just like people, such as Data in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" series and films.
Some robots used to be people, such as the murderous creation Harvey Keitel turns into in "Saturn 3," and anyone unlucky enough to be assimilated by the Borg.
Occasionally, a robot will blow a fuse and then become dangerous. That's what happens with HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "I, Robot."
Here are six films available on video and DVD that feature robots down through the years.
"Kronos" (1957) -- A gigantic electricity-sucking robot lands in the ocean off Mexico and after knocking the crap out of the Mexican air force starts heading for Southern California in this vintage sci-fi thriller that scared me royally for most of my youth. Stars include Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence and Morris Ankrum.
"Bicentennial Man" (1999) -- Robin Williams stars in this film based on Isaac Asimov's story about a robot's quest to become human, which takes about 200 years and brings him into contact with lots of people who would just as soon disassemble him. Other stars include Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill and Oliver Platt.
"The Stepford Wives" (1975) -- Katharine Ross thinks something is odd about the town of Stepford, Conn., and soon finds out the secret the townspeople are keeping. Other stars include Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson and Tina Louise.
"Westworld" (1973) -- Robots at a high-tech theme park suddenly malfunction and start killing off the staff and guests in this sci-fi thriller. One of the guests then finds himself being stalked by an animatronic gunslinger from the resort's Wild West park. Stars include Yul Brenner, Richard Benjamin and James Brolin.
"THX 1138" (1971) -- This film takes place a couple of hundred years after man has retreated underground to survive a nuclear disaster and has turned control of practically everything in the underground city over to robots. Stars include Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence and Maggie Meomie.
"Artificial Intelligence: A.I." (2001) -- In the near future, a robotic boy (Haley Joel Osment) is adopted by a family and then abandoned. The boy then embarks on a quest to find the blue fairy that will turn him into a real boy in this film that was started by Stanley Kubrick and finished by Steven Spielberg. Other stars include Frances O'Connor, William Hurt and Jude Law.
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