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24.91.201.174
1. "2001: A Space Odyssey"
2. "The Day the Earth Stood Still"
3. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"(1956)
4. "Forbidden Planet"
5. "War of the Worlds" (1953)
5. "Them"
6. "Alien"
7."Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
8."The Terminator"
9."Planet of the Apes" (1968)
10."E.T., The Extraterrestrial"
Runners up:1. :Bride of Frankenstein"
2. "Blade Runner" (Director's Cut)
3. "A Clockwork Orange"
4. "When Worlds Collide"
5. "Destination Moon"
6. "The Conquest of Space"
7. "Metropolis"
8. "Cat People"
9."Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978)
10."Rocketship XM"
Follow Ups:
which had one of the coolest and most menacing villains in film history! I'm surprised Star Wars(the first three of course) isn't showing up on more lists. Looks like we all agree on Blade Runner, although I liked the original cut much more.
Also hoping that the current Battlestar Galatica production team think big and decide to make a feature.
Big J.
(Steve Alexander 2006)
...I didn't see Contact on more lists. I don't like all of it equally - I get mighty tired of Jody's terribly pained and put upon expression - but I thought some of it was very good, especially the launch/travel pod and wormhome sequences (thank you Weta).I had 12 Monkeys on mine but I haven't seen Dark Star in ages.
Thanks to all who commented and/or posted additional or alternate lists. If I were to do this over I would change a few of the top ten or, better still, expand the list to 25! Thanks again. I'll be pulling out old favorites over the next week or so.
Since I was a nerdy teenager that decade, these tend to stick with me. They're not necessarily great films, just ones I really enjoyed...Altered States
War Games
Escape from New York
They Live
The Thing
E.T.
Tron
The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai
Dreamscape
Iceman
Starman
The Last Starfighter
Dune
Predator
Akira
Miracle Mile
The Abyss
They Live is absolutely unforgettable for about 10 or 15 minutes, then it kind of spirals into mediocrity. Good to see it on your list though! I've shown friends the first half as an example of good Sci-Fi.
i thought it was pretty fun all the way through. And towards the end is where they show cool teleport/airport thingy.
In no particular order(1)Metropolis, Fritz Lang
(2)THX 1138, George Lucas
(3)WestWorld, Michael Chrichton
(4)Space Vampires (AKA Lifeforce) Tobe Hooper/Colin Wilson
(5)Dark Star, John Carpenter
(6)The Illustrated Man, Jack Smight/Ray Bradbury
(7)The Thing, John Carpenter
(8)Planet of the Apes, Schaffner
(9)Solaris, Andrej Tarkovsky
(10)The Stalker, TarkovskyGrins
...what. I actually saw it on a "Best Horror Films" list the other day.But thanks for reminding me about it - I need to see this again.
Some of my personal favorites, in no particular order:2001: A Space Odyssey
Solaris (Tarkovsky)
Blade Runner
Dark City
La Jetee (I know it's really a short, but I'm stlll putting it in)
Metropolis (still looks amazing)
Forbidden Planet
The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Andromeda Strain
Alien
The Hidden (Every time I take an aspirin I think of this film , lol)
Quatermass & The Pit ("What color is the sky?"...."brrrowwwwnnnnn!"),
I can't decide if the immortal Repo Man is really sci-fi or it's just out there. I LOVE Brazil but again, I don't think I would classify it as sci-fi...maybe as dystopian fantasy or...social commentary...a great film no matter what. But then how does one classify Delicatessen and City of Lost Children? Also fantasy? (Probably) What about Aronofsky's Pi??? Or Winterbottom's Code 46? (I know a lot of people hate Code 46 but I like it. So there.)
Favorite Guilty Pleasure: first 2/3rds of Dune (really)Another guilty pleasure...A Boy & His Dog
Honorable Mentions:
Them, The Abyss, AI (7/8 of it anyway), Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Soylent Green, Things To Come, 12 Monkeys, Tremors, The Thing (both versions)
Last and least...Star Wars Episodes 4-5 (the Ewoks & Episodes 1-3 have tarnished the franchise way too much for me),
adapted from the Harlan Ellison story. Saw it when it first came out...seems
strange now recalling seeing a 17 year old Don Johnson in the film after 'Miami Vice' and 'Nash'. ~AH
"The day the Earth caught fire " and " Village of the damned "Should not be missing on your list.
...had Leo McKern, no? Thanks for reminding me. I must check it out again one of these days - as I recall, the dialogue was rather snappy for its era.Although the science of the movie's premise is a little creaky, what with global warming etc. in our shaky present the movie seems more relevant than ever.
Children of the Damned is truly creepy but for some reason it's not one of my favorites (it's a fave list, not a best of list). Still, I agree CoD is an iconic and influential film.
Curiously, TDECF, was a very influencable film in my life, I never forgot it, until I bought it on DVD twoyears ago.
The Same with that G. Sanders film, or almost.
obviously, does "Solaris."
"Solaris" easily could take first...
I'm a sucker for this one.I'm never sure whether Repo Man is actually sci-fi or not...but hey, I like it so it can be sf if we say so.
the end?
Anyone that loves Ferraris and loud punk rock gotta love this film.
This is one very underrated film.
Like Repo Man, it's so much more than a cult classic.
"Hidden:" the relationship between the detective and his daughter is very poignant: how many sci-fi films have such emotion at their core?
Plus... the humor in it is wonderful: the stripper scene is hilarious! And the dog... and, and and...
Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers - (1956)
The Thing - (1951)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - (1982)
War of the Worlds - (1953)
Star Wars: Ep.V - The Empire Strikes Back - (1980)
2001: A Space Odyssey - (1968)
Aliens (1986)
Village of the Damned (1960)
The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)HONORABLE MENTION
The Time Machine (1960)
Coneheads (1993)
2010 (1984)
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Forbidden Planet
3. Stalker
4. The War of the Worlds (Spielberg).
5. Godzilla, (Original Japanese Version)
6. Planet of the Apes (original).
7. The Matrix
8. Star Wars- (original un-"enhanced").
9. Bladerunner
10. RobocopHonorable Mention in no order: Alien, Terminator II, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, Starship Troopers, The Quatermass X-periment, The Empire Strikes Back, Fantastic Voyage, The War of the Worlds (Haskins), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Planet of the Storms.
Maybe not top 10 material, but I like these...
The Andromeda Strain
Colossus - The Forbin Project
Soylent Green
Iceman
I'm not a big fan of "lists" (because they're all subjective and a bit too judgmental) but you've composed a pretty darn good one. As alternates, I'd be inclined toward placing Bride of Frankenstein and Cat People in Horror and dropping E.T. from my lists altogether, but generally I agree. If I were to compose a list of SF films here is what it would probably look like:1) "Metropolis" (1927 - Fritz Lang's great expressionist SF film, classic German silent about class warfare in a Utopian/Dystopian future; think of King George II as Johhan Fredersen and Karl Rove as Rotwang and this masterpiece even more prophetic)
2) "The Thing" (John Carpenter's remake; much closer to of John W. Campbell's original story, it has a truly 'alien' alien)
3) "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (fascinating story about adjusting to physical changes in one's world, the fears one faces and philosophical acceptance that Man is a very small part of a vast universe; takes down-sizing to a whole new level)
4) "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (Simply the best film to study human nature and how governments might react to a highly publicised first contact visitation; it also proves that energy providers are the ultimate power brokers in the world)
5) "Brazil" (Terry Gilliam's nightmarish, dystopian view of the future where individualism is considered a threat to order and torture is as common an accepted practice as afternoon tea)
6) "The Abyss" (James Cameron's exploration of the alien worlds under our own seas, how little we actually know about what could be going on just below the surface and the effect an unknown intelligence might have on the surface world. Note: Cameron's first wet-suit adventure; it wouldn't be his last)
7) "Blade Runner" (Director's cut - Noirish detective story of android's inhumanity to android, and Man's greed and exploitation of his own creations)
8) "AI - Artificial Intelligence" - (Beautifully realized film taken from an android's perception of mankind's selfish nature and cruelty taken to it's own inevitable demise; it takes the phrase 'frozen in time' to a whole new place)
9) "A Clockwork Orange" (Cautionary tale with biting sarcasm about how the near future would succumb to it's own decadence and how a permissive compassionate society would enable youth gangs; Beethoven's works have never been portrayed with such violent passion)
10) "Lord of The Rings" (I added this to my list just to bug Victor -grin)
Best bug movies:
1) "Starship Troopers" (Great "bug" movie; maybe it's not Heinlein's vision, but the subtext provides a fine commentary on war, patriotic zeal, propaganda and facism; remove LoTR from the SF list and it would be among my Top 10)
2) "Men In Black" (Tongue in cheek send-up of alien visitation, government cover-ups and "bug" movies; very clever, unlike it's sequel)
3) "Aliens" (Assertive woman gets bugged and proves who's queen)
4) "Alien" (Spooks galore; someone have a Giger counter?)
5) "Them" (Formic acid, eerie electronic squeeks and paper mache chills make for a rollicking "nukular" gone wrong adventure)
Best space travelogue & hallucinogenic visual experience:
1) "2001: A Space Odyssey" (A great, occasionally visceral film experience with magnificent music and somewhat slow pacing; it's epic cinematography sometimes appears to trumpet it's own greatness in spite of a rather obtuse storyline, but it exudes a feeling of rich spectacle and should be seen in it's original Cinerama to be fully appreciated)
Also rans (frequently magnificent, and occasionally in competition for my Top 10):
1) "Forbidden Planet" (Shakespeare never had it so good with Honey West)
2) "War of The Worlds" (both major release versions; Welle's is still rolling in his grave and whispers of "someday they'll get it right" are carried on the wind in his otherwise cryptic message)
3) "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (pod casting gone wrong)
4) "This Island Earth" (great fast paced pop-corn flick about a advanced civilization of brainiacs in their final hours!)
5) "Pitch Black" (scarey pop-corn flick that effectively bridges SF with horror)
6) "Planet of The Apes" [original] - (NY cabbies several generations removed frrom civilization)
7) "Serenity" (Joss Whedon takes the conventions of the old west into space and successfully meshes two genres)
8) "Tremors" (blue collar rednecks match wits with prehistoric beasts and somehow out smart them)
9) "Jurassic Park" [& sequels] - (Well, the science may be a little flawed, at least what can be achieved currently, but these dinos ROCK!)
10) "Mysterious Island" (Well paced story on steroids, with supurb Harryhausen special FX; hormones are raging, and they aren't all growth hormones!)
Next, someone should do a list of horror movies (especially since Halloween is just around the 'coroner')!
Cheers,
AuPh :o)
ddd
10) "Mysterious Island" (Well paced story on steroids, with supurb Harryhausen special FX; hormones are raging, and they aren't all growth hormones!)Getting sealed in a giant honeycomb on a mysterious island with a hot shipwrecked babe- yummy. I cant understand why they didn't spend more time in there before escaping...
GREAT list and (funny) commentary. I also forgot ""...Shrinking..." which is actually one of my favorites.
The Invisible Man
Day of the Triffids
Time Machine
Soylent Green
Planet of the Apes
First Men on the Moon
Fantastic Voyage
Rollerball
and Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde (Spencer Tracy)
If you mean the 1962 movie starring Howard Keel, it definitely wouldn't make my list. That's probably because it simply doesn't reflect the novel particularly well, and I was quite familiar with John Wyndham's novel when I first saw the film.On the other hand, if you're referring to the 1981 BBC TV series, then it's a very different matter. A much better production in every way possible.
David Aiken
I did read the novel and I meant the movie - you apparently don't like. I think it's marvelous.
I will try to find your BBC version. Thanks
"Tremors" or any version of "Dune"? I vote for "Tremors".
*
"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods." - Albert Einstein
...Tremors.For Dune, you really need to read the book. The film pales...
Somehow the movie just works. The sequels don't pull me in in the same fashion.Love the Dune mini-series though too :)
.
Who's aggitat'in my dots?
;^)
.
Who's aggitat'in my dots?
...but as a member in good slithering of the BIG Tentacled Party, are ya feelin' aggitated yet? :o)Cheers,
AuPh
.
as a child.That was one wild experience. I can't understand why Drive-In's aren't much more popular. There is actually one in the Town in which i live but they are overall few and far between but is there a better way to see a movie ? Especially something like Planet of the Apes or 2001.
~AH
I agree, especially now that the sound is FM radio thorugh your modern automobile's sound system. We have one in the next town here on outer Cape Cod and it is well maintained and very popular. Once a year they have a "Fifties Night" and run a vintage film (usually CinemaScope). Talk about being in a time warp!
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