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Ok, it's gotta be "2001: A Space Odyssey." Few movies, in any genre have tried not only to take on the history of mankind, but it's future. And done so brilliantly.
But that's too easy. Leaving it aside, what's in second place?
I opt for the original "The Forbidden Planet." Now that's a movie that's calling out for new sound treatment and re-release. ON the big screen, I bet it's still a knockout. The sound of the creature approaching...the bending of the metal stairs leading up to the space vehicle...and, of course, Robie the Robot!
Follow Ups:
Already contemplated by a studio, but shelved, at least temporarily,
due to massive projected budget costs. - AH
As posted by CornDog71:> I'm a pretty easy going guy. I give movies more than one chance to
> impress me. But each of my 3 attempts to watch 2001 put me to sleep
> or bored me so much I turned it off!Not to be taking swings at CornDog, but this was truly spoken as one who did not see 2001 at the proper time nor in the proper manner.
Indeed that is what makes such topics as this so subjective. To be true to the subject, one must take into account the times in which each film was made/released...not only in terms of society as a whole, but also when compared to other films of the time. I honestly feel this an idea which is lost on a great many people.
I quite agree....were 2001 to be new released today, it would not even rate a snoozer. And, seen on a typical television screen, it's even worse.
But, in 1963/4....viewed in a CinemaScope theatre and in the society that existed then...it was a real achievement. There was no question that this was a spectacular film. Although it has been nearly 40 years ago, I very clearly remember seeing this film. I remember the film...I remember the theatre...I remember it all. It was a film that wowed like no other. How many films can you say that about...especially 40 years removed?
Therefore, with the above in mind and for those reasons, my votes go to:
a) 2001
andb) Metropolis (the 1926 Fritz Lang version)
Once upon a time, I'd hoped dearly that I would have been able to put "Starship Troopers" on such a list....but ultimately Verhooven would have been better advised to film a train wreck.He clearly had no understanding of the book. I've no doubt that Heinlein is, to this day, STILL spinning in his grave. Verhooven took a considered political statement...and turned it into nothing more than cartoon pablum. A herd of chimpanzees armed with box brownies would have done a better service.
A real pity.
....sT
I'm a pretty easy going guy. I give movies more than one chance to impress me. But each of my 3 attempts to watch 2001 put me to sleep or bored me so much I turned it off!Say what you want about Star Wars but imo it's the best. Of course I've been a fan since ANH came out. I also liked TPM quite a lot, including Jar Jar. I saw Artificial Inteligence recently and felt Speilberg and Kubrick had a fascinating vision of the future. Contact also is one of my favorites.
Rob CThe world was made for people not cursed with self-awareness
IMHO the original "The Thing" I liked the good vs. evil, democracy vs. communist threat undertone and the backdrop of the artic
nt
The Abyss (James Cameron's awesome underwater epic should've been more successful at the box office that it was; unfortunately, there is still no anamorphic DVD release for this beautiful film.)AI Artificial Intelligence (Stephen Spielburg's re-envisioning of Kubrick's final project is visually stunning; succeeding on several levels, AI has an ageless feel about it.)
The Jurassic Park series (Perhaps Crichton's original concept is more guilty pleasure than greatest SF, but from a scientific perspective it's an interesting analysis of the possibilities of DNA research combined with a cautionary tale of how nature can change the rules when greed gets enters the picture.)
AuPh
,
Every Science fiction film made since owes something to Metropolis. The Giorgio Moroder soundtrack version (late 1980's) now has the curiosity that the music has aged rather more than the film; the original version was cut to ribbons and current available versions make for rather a silly story; the original must have totally blown audiences away 75 Years ago!
Eric
Tokyo
> > > Few movies, in any genre have tried not only to take on the history of mankind, but it's future. And done so brilliantly. < < <The science in Science Fictions is an adjective. They are not great because they are scientifically correct, but because of their ability to create fantacies, to fulfill unfullable dreams. Which is a fav science fiction you read after say 30years of age?
and I don't read much sci-fi at all. Never have. Too many other things to read; a personal taste. Works better on the screen for me: big difference between the art forms, something the French and Russians, for two, never have understood (with, of course, some notable exceptions...).
the greatest of all time is too daunting a task. In my humble scientific opinion, 40 years from now a bunch of guys will sit at home with their 100ghz machines powered completely and only by battery and sarcasm. They will talk about greatest science fiction of all time; and A few will nomitate Steven Spieldberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence. They will be immediately bombarded with elitist accusations for nominating art films, which otherwise aren't that exciting.For me, it's 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, or anything by Jules Verne. Others are fun, but these pieces of literature really stretched my imagination.
Capatin Kirk
Mr. Spock
Bones McCoy
Scotty
Hikaru Sulu
Pavel Chekov
Nyota UhuraDirected by: Robert Wise
Created & Produced by: Gene Roddenberry
Music by: Jerry GoldsmithI had to add another to your list.
As I recall there's a sequence where Kirk and Spock are having a conversation. They're both in close up profile, one facing right and the other left. As they alternate lines the film jumps back and forth from one giant head facing one way to another ginat head facing the opposite way. After a couple of such cuts the audience in the Times Square theater where I saw the movie burst into laughter.
I remember something like that taking place in Star Trek III. They actually went to close ups on their mouths in profile.
nt
I wouldn't be suprised if it were both. Odd numbered Trek movies suck. It's the law
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
Alien
Aliens
The Thing (Carpenter remake)
Star Trek 2,4,6
Contact
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the original)
Silent Running
Planet of the Apes (the original, of course-remake was gawdawful)
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Galaxy Quest
Time after Time
Mars Needs Women (just kidding!A few of these are kinda cheesy, but I like them all.
Im not a big fan of "The Best" or top ten lists since art is not an athletic competition but..........two words
STAR WARS
For me it's "Them" and "Wolfen"...fortunately they are scheduled for DVD in a few months !
Excellent film, only hindered by cumbersome effects. Little mute
girl in shock is superb, the Professor is excellent too. Definitely
recommended for the sci-fi buff's collection. - AH
I loved Them. Never saw Wolfen
I swear that every single line in this movie is perfect.Other great Sci Fi:
Forbidden Planet
Aliens
Rollerball (does futuristic = scifi?)
Star Wars
2001
The Terminator
The Thing (second one)
The Time Machine (first one)
Brazil
Dark City
Logan's Run
The Dead Zone
Starship Troopers
Altered States
The Hidden
Spaceballs
Galaxy QuestLots of cheese in this list, but they're all fun movies.
One of my all-time favorites. There isn't a thing wrong with that movie. If only I could rediscover it again for the first time.
how'd I forget that one! Absolutely..and the "Repo Code" as described by Harry Dean Stanton: one of the greatest monologues in movie history.
great movie, with the exception of watching a VERY hairy Sean Connery running around in a loin cloth.
Maybe not the greatest scifi film but certainly one of the most entertaining and suitable for multiple viewings. "Is this your God's house?". "Yes, gods and goddesses, kings and queens, they're all here, but they're all dead".
.
:p
... 2001 is NOT the Greatest SF film of all time in my estimation. Don't get me wrong, I regard Kubrick and 2001 quite highly, especially since I was one of the fortunate ones to see this film in Cinerama during it's initial run. However, other movies with science fiction themes have stronger stories with visionary concepts that have aged much better than those presented in 2001.Here are some SF films I consider generally more inspired than 2001 (no particular order):
Metropolis (Fritz Lang)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegal)
The Thing (John Carpenter) Note: This choice will be controversial to some fans of the original release. However, this version is somewhat closer conceptually to the original John W. Campbell story without the cold war overtones of the Hawks/Nyby version
Clockwork Orange (Kubrick) Note: I find this bleakly ironic near future SF tale to be a greater achievement in just about every way to the film Kubrick directed immediately preceeding it.
Blade Runner (Ridley Scott) Note: Scott's noirish interpretation of Phillip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" is a thoughtful cautionary SF fable that ages like fine wine.
--- Guilty pleasures (movies I love but might not be on everyone's "greatest" list):
Forbidden Planet (greatest Shakespeare in Space flick, with a scantily clad Ann Francis guarded by Robbie the Robot and her overprotective father's ID)
Starship Troopers (The greatest CGI bug movie ever made; more Verhooven's vision than Heinlein's, but what the hey! It's action all the way, with a non-judgmental subtext about patriotism taken to the level of fascism (i.e., in an overpopulated world trying to colonize other planets while at war with aliens); pretty good SF fare, IMO.
Just Imagine (the greatest straight SF/musical/comedy ever made, Rocky Horror Picture Show being the greatest not-so-straight SF/musical/comedy ever made)
Well, this "greatest SF hits" list is far from complete, but perhaps I'll come back with an addendum later.
Cheers,
AuPh
but you're a bit off on 2001. The scope of the story, the cinematography, the humor, the mystery (is it really a 500# slab of Afghani hash?), and the special effects tour de force ending...c'mon. It's in another dimension from the other films. Except, perhaps, Clockwork Orange. Hint: Kubrick rules, in my dimension.
I liked many of your selections, but couldn't suspend my disbelief because of the poor special effects. That's excusable in early movies, but Star Wars? Very disappointing stuff. If 2001 had never been made, ok. Anyhow, SW has always seemed rather juvenile to me. Those silly creatures. The black and white, good and bad. Ho hum.
It is in the form of classic myth. Most classic myths are fairly unambiguous about who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.
one-dimensional characters...I mean, it's jolly good entertainment. With a childish hero (Luke Skywalker), a child-like hero helper (Hans Solo), and dialogue that a teenager or youngster....Oh, what's the use. It either reminds you of your childhood sci-fi tv programs, or it doesn't. You see it as childish drivel or you don't. But it fails at anything resembling a thinking person's creation.
the characters are hardly one dimensional. They may be bigger and better than life but far from one dimensional.
on Ann Francis. And...who's that strangely square commander making goo-goo eyes at her??? Also, the special effects of the energy shaft still are superb! FB rules...
And the best Sci Fi film that most people don't pay much attention to...... Quatermas and the Pit.
"...it's...BROWN!"Here this one's getting a remake.
It seems we will be getting the new DVD by the end of this year or very early next year. Ridley Scott is working on some commentary. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll get a DTS version from Warner.
.
But is it sci-fi? I would be curious to hear what leads to you to regard the film as science fiction. This is one I've been meaning to dig up and watch again sometime soon. An excellent adaption of the rather fine novel as well.
Bryan K.,
Music Lover & President-elect of C.C.A.C. (Concerned Citizens Against Cilantro)
Is it SF? Perhaps not in a simplistic sense. But I was put in that mood by the list of offerings here. Is Star Wars a SF? Hardly. What is so scientific about it? It was my impression that most films mentioned here would actually be better described as fantasies.I admit to not having read a sci-fi novel in decades, but I still recall the better ones of the day moving from the tech talk to philosoply, the human element. In that context I could easily see the Kobo Abe novel fit right in.
I recall actually being irritated by the novels like that, that would be included in the Sci-Fi libraries, as back then I was still firmly in the ray gun and space travel camp.
***... 2001 is NOT the Greatest SF film of all time in my estimation.Thank you for saying that. It is not a great film by many standards, not just SF.
I think even the Pi is a far more elegant effort. Is it a SF? I have no idea.
And I promise not to reopen our old debate.
no one mentioned "The Thing." Best thing Carpenter ever directed (damning with heavy praise...). Alien got lots of ideas from it. (The original "Thing" was plenty good, too.
Hi,
I don't do 'greatest lists'. But there are a few sci fi movies that really stand out. I saw Lost Planet when it came out, I was about 10,
got in trouble becaue I was supposed to come straight home. Went down the street and watched 3 Stooges go to Mars (another classic ;).
2001 and Star Wars are obvious picks. Aliens sends me through the roof. Every damn time. Last time it was nearly dawn before I got to sleep. Great horror flick that just happens to be scifi, IMHO. In my not so humble opinion, Contact hase enough content to be considered serious scifi. I love Contact. Scifi is the contemplation of change. And Contact does that quite nicely.
.
...
... "King of the Rocketmen" staring Tristram Coffin ('49)! ;^)AuPh
I have King of the Rocketmen on LD and find it quite enjoyable, but I believe it falls well short of any of the Flash Gordon serials, the first one probably being the best, and the third one probably the worst. There are people who say the Buck Rogers serial, also starring Buster Crabbe, was better, but I would vehemently disagree. It is essentially an uninspired variation of Flash Gordon, crippled by the lack of any real romance between Buck and Wilma, which was mostly the fault of the script, I believe. OTOH, the chemistry between Flash and Dale, particularly in the 1936 serial, was not equaled in any serial I have ever seen.Tris Coffin played a bad guy in most of the serials I've seen, but he really was pretty likable as the protagonist in King of the Rocketmen.
Todd
nt
I confess to liking Dune...what's left of it after Dino got through hacking it to pieces.
THX1138 would be a strong contender on my list. Maybe too dark for some tastes. Maybe too slow for others (not enough explosions per hour). What I appreciate about it is that it has no corniness or cutsiness, unlike Lucas' swashbucklers-and-wizards-in-outer-space movies.
Clarke's story told by Kubrick is great, but there is absolutely no way "2001" bettered Star Wars in popularity.
I vote Lucas.
Star Wars - certainly a significant breakthrough
ET- the best alien of all time?
Close Encounters - tremendous acting
Soylent Green- thought provoking
Silent Running - a different take on science fiction
Invasion of the Body Snatchers- still gives me the creeps
The Hidden - the sexiest alien of all time?
Alien - the best action series science fiction
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