Second Sight, out 18 February

Simulacron 1 is a virtual reality world inhabited by 9,000 artificial people (or ‘Identity Units’) but when its project lead dies mysteriously, the line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s two-part 1973 science fiction TV movie has often been cited as major influence on everything from The Matrix trilogy to The Sims computer game, so it’s great to finally see what it’s all about. But the only warning is that you need to be dedicated to the cause as it’s a fairly heft three-and-a-quarter hours of subtitled drama that is paced in a way that 1970s programmes were.

Based on Simulacron-3 by Daniel F Galouye, the novel also served as the source material for the more recent film The Thirteenth Floor (1999). It’s shot on 16mm film, helping to disguise its TV origins, and it really is full of big ideas about the nature of reality and just who really is pulling our strings. If you’re prepared to put in the time, there’s an abundance of mind-bending ideas to nourish your mind.

Second Sight’s release includes some nice extras – an interview with assistant director Renate Leiffer, a tribute to photographer Peter, a documentary and on-set featurette. The Simulation Argument is an interview with Professor Nick Bostrom, revisiting the themes we’ve experienced in the movie.

Verdict: Rarely seen influential sci-fi that holds an abundance of ideas. Its length, subtitles, pacing and vintage look may be a test too far for even the most hardened film buff, but bear with it and you’ll get the opportunity to enter a fantastic world. 9/10

Nick Joy