My top ten sci fi movies (not in any order, though I do count the first as number one):

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey. The great sf masterpiece by Kubrick, and one of the greatest films ever made.

2. Metropolis. The original sf epic, still stunning today.

3. The Thing (1982 version). Many prefer the 50s version, but the remake is both closer to the original story and an unsung masterpiece of both effects and mood.

4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The great popular hit movie plays well as parable and heart-tugger.

5. Alien. A very realistic, working spaceship set inhabited by believable everyday people and a truly original monster.

6. Gattaca. Melodramatic but still realistic look at how the near future might deal with genetics.

7. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1950 version). The Keanu Reeves remake was awful, but the original is still a powerful experience, as well as one of the few liberal-minded sf films of the 50s.

8. Solaris. Amazing filmmaking married to deep philosophical underpinnings. I liked both Tarkovsky’s original and Soderbergh’s remake.

9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Great on the theme of obsession, and pays off well with a magical conclusion.

10. A Clockwork Orange. Kubrick’s dark futuristic view really did anticipate punk and modern decay, and if the electronic music sounds dated it still remains quirky enough to evoke an alien culture.

Runners-up include:

Blade Runner
Star Wars
Minority Report
The Matrix
The Quiet Earth
The Road Warrior
Wall-E
Dune
Dark City
Forbidden Planet

As a footnote, it’s tragic that more of the great mother lode of science fiction literature isn’t being mined for movie material. There are so many great stories and novels that could be used but are ignored.

Dear Sir/Ms.; Here’s my short list of best and guilty pleasure films.

When Worlds Collide Written by Edwin Balmer. A character actors showcase. Special effects by George Pal,1951

Things to Come, Written by HG Wells. With a cast of 20,000 and Raymond Massey too.1936

Farenheit 451 Written by Ray Bradbury, filmed by Truffaut with Julie Christie, 1966

The Man From Earth, Written by Jerome Bixby Staring people you recognize but don’t know by name. Another character actor showcase 2007

Brother John, Written by Ernest Kinoy Stars Sidney Poitier,Will Geer, Paul Winfield and Bradford Dilman, 1971

The list is in no particular order. They represent what can be done with no time, no money and no big names, or at least not big at the time of filming.

Brother John and The Man From Earth are S.F. movie making at it’s most basic and best. Showing what you can do with no, that’s right; you heard me right. No, special effects.

Yours

George

I am an unabashed sci-fi geek, and would like to give a shout out to the staples of the genre. Star Trek and Star Wars… They are lifelong sci-fi friends who have enriched my life.

In fact, I am still anxiously awaiting my “beam out”.

Not one critic even mentions “Forbidden Planet”???

Walter Pidgeon! Leslie Neilsen as the romantic hero! A very young and exquisitely beautiful Anne Francis! Robbie the Robot!

And, the first ever all-electronic film score, composed by Louis and Bebe Barron (Which in the credits is called “electronic tonalities” or something like that so they wouldn’t run afoul of the musician’s union.

We must be from different planets!

More “Forbidden Planet”

The flying saucer! Probably the best one ever seen on the screen. Used again in at least three episodes of “The Twilight Zone”.

No one mentions “Dr. Strangelove” either. Granted, though, it’s only marginally sci-fi.

I have to say, I LOVE Science Fiction! Ever since I was a child, it was my exile from the reality.

I believe that you will not find a more passionate group of people, maybe with an exception of religious, political and sports fanatics, than sci-fi fans. Although, the latest are the most rational, respectful and polite.

I can’t believe that the “Moon” didn’t make either of the guest’s list. It is by far one of the best sci-fi movies of the recent years.

“Serenity” was amazing and a great continuation to a great sci-fi series “Firefly”.

“Renaissance” should be given credit for its original visual style.

“Fifth Element” is one of my most favorite.
And how about “Angel-A” by Luc Besson as well. It’s not exactly sci-fi but pretty close to it.

A very very unfortunate event is that the latest Hitchhiker’s Guide movie didn’t make the list of “top xx sci-fi” films. I think it is awful. It was a good attempt, but it failed as a great sci-fi film. I think it should be a prime example of why great sci-fi books are very hard to make into movies. Things that are so good written and that are so vivid in a reader’s imagination, are just hard to translate into the screen.

I shudder with horror at a thought, that some “filmmaker” will try to make “Foundation(s)” into a movie and what a possible disaster that might be.

My top ten picks:

1 – Moon
2- Pan’s Labyrinth
3 – The Fountain
4 – Minority Report
5 – The Empire Strikes Back
6 – Inception
7 – Pitch Black
8 – Solaris
9 – Alien
10 – Forbidden Planet

The regular gang at the Syfy channel have ongoing discussions about television and film daily.

Forbidden Planet is my pick for best science fiction film of all time. In 2012/2013 there is a remake planned. It will have the respected writer of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski doing the project.

This topic on a Friday should generate a lot of comments. I’m hoping to see some titles I may have missed.

One not familiar to many was done in the international market as a television series. It’s called Charlie Jade. You really have to see this to believe how well it is done and for the writing and characters drawn in particular. It should have a dvd release in the NTSC format for US audiences. It was made in South Africa.

Which reminds me: District 9.

I heard this was on the show today and am glad to see that several comments already include Moon (2009) – it should definitely be near the top if not at the top of the list.

Joshua Hendrickson—”Gattaca–a look at the possible future”

i would contend that it could possibly be the present–how would we know? When cloning is such an itching desire of some scientists ( i had one at my university some years ago trying to convince us in a lecture that it was good and useful), and the elite own 99% percent of the wealth–mutli-billionaires with the wealth of nations–isn’t it possible they do have secret underground communities harvesting human organs for the pleasure of the rich.

Umm, I think I may have confused the film…

P.S. There are too many Josh’s on this site-I’m changing my alias.

Joshua Hendrickson–i’m struck by your denigration of Blade Runner–so far down on the list.

What about “The Fifth Element”?

28 Days Later deserves some sort of honorable mention. While not a traditional sci-fi (read: space-oriented), 28 Days Later serves up a novel take on zombies, adroitly mixing stunning British landscapes with an intriguing plot sporadically sprinkled with absolute terror.

“Creation of the Humanoids” is badly acted, crudely staged, and contains ideas that are still way beyond what most people ever think about (robot religion and human personality uploading, in particular).

“The Flesh Eaters” was made with an all “art” (soft-pore corn) cast, and shows it in their bad acting, but the “monster” is inventive and can be taken as a prescient warning about nano- or biotech “grey goo”.

Another vote for “The Man Who Fell to Earth”—a real work of art, as evidenced by what a “stone bummer” (as the kids don’t say) it is. A good training-film for any outsider in America, gay or Muslim or Jew or autist or otherwise.

“Them!”—really science-fantasy, given the squared-cube rule that makes really big insects impossible, but effective; beautiful deserts.

“It Came From Outer Space”—alien invasion—no, possession–no, it’s not as bad as all that, and more great desert idylls.

“2001: a Space Odyssey”—for giving us some idea of the intense boredom that might be the most intractable problem of space-travel. It’s boring for a lot of it, but entirely on purpose.

“Doctor Strangelove, or…”—’This is the way the World Ends/This is the Way the World ends/ This is the way the World Ends/Both with a bang and with a pie-fight’ Someone once said that the end of the world would be like a time a comedian literally died on-stage, and everyone thought it were a part of his act.

“Gojira”—uncut, unadulterated, in Japanese with accurate subtitles. Moving.

“Dune”—David Lynch’s—for being in touch with the basic Enlightenment project that is the major impetus behind good science fiction, and includes hatred for all gods, aristocrats, and every other wielder of arbitrary power, everywhere.

“Solaris”—the Clooney-less one. People say a few other things by Tarkovsky are good enough that they’d be on this list had I yet seen them.

“Minority Report”—for the computer interfaces and the obnoxious, ubiquitous, personalised marketting.

I will nominate Blade Runner as the most influential. It not only changed the look of science fiction films that came after, but it also influenced the literary s-f subgenre, cyber-punk (e.g. William Gibson).

I will never forget the 1953 movice “Invaders from Mars.” I was born in 1951 and was only a few years old when I first saw it. The scenes of people falling through the sand and then the young boy, David, running through the tunnels to avoid the explosion that finally kills the Martians will stick with me forever.

I’d like to see a remake of the fanatastic classic, “Robinson Crusoe on Mars.”

“Forbidden Planet” was an obvious precursor of the original Star Trek show in terms of look, feel, and crew members… another great sci-fi classic.

Outland is a terrific and under-rated sci-fi flick.

The Thing is probably the best sci-fi remake EVER!

I am always fasinated by the problems with time travel in scifi. i think that 12 Monkeys is overlooked as a great SciFi movie. Bruce Willis’s character is so confused and conflicted because of the time travel that he starts to believe that he is going crazy and not time traveling.

Argh! How could I forget A.I.? I would have popped that into the top ten easily, but it slipped my mind. I find it haunting and beautiful, and a great synthesis between two masters (each of whom have two movies already in my top ten), Kubrick and Spielberg.

… Yes, AI! Fantastic!

The Day the Earth Stood Still – Michael Rennie
War of the Worlds – the first one
Forbidden Planet
Dr. Strangelove
Night of the Living Dead – the first one
Evil Dead / Evil Dead II
2001
Alien
Fifth Element
Men in Black
Men in Black II

I’d like to include “Children of Men”– not necessarily the best of all time, but a very compelling story.

I would like to capitalize on the allegory point. Russell T. Davies’ Torchwood: Children of Earth which the BBC produced for the small screen captivated audiences for a whole week with very little flashy special effects and much emotional suspense and played off three “what would you do if”:

1) A force held your child [and everyones] in peril and you couldn’t do anything about it.

2) Drug addictions gone from bad to worse (an alien “getting high” off of the chemicals in children, which is horrible)

3) Can anyone get preferential treatment because of class or power to avoid the peril that everyone else faces.

Russell did this in an amazing way and definitely worth watching. I love the emotion and human elements he brought into the revival of Doctor Who and the creation of Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures.

I don’t hear you playing, “Science Fiction, Double Feature”
from the Rocky Horror Picture Show -

how can you Not use that song on this show? (Antici-pation!)

The Gojira release which remastered the original film and restored it to all its initial glory is the one to see… not GODZILLA.

The film set a new standard for miniature set construction and for creature sound effects.

I’m surprised that no one has mentioned Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine”. To me it’s one of the greatest recent Sci-fi films, and deserves a ranking among the greats.

Has to be 2001! I saw it in the day as a 14 year old,and was awestruck,I have seen it yearly ever since,it is a masterpiece,no other movie has used music so effectivly,it actually increased the popularity of classical music! And Kubric is my favorite director of all time,with a very diverse collection of movies to his credit,I only wish he had made more…

District 9 has been overlooked (I think only one person has listed it in the listener comments) but it’s worthy of any top 10 list. It was great science fiction and a compelling human/alien story.

I really enjoy the movie, Silent Running which came out in 1972 by Douglas Trumbo. It portrayed a stark future where the earth is being completely destroyed in an unseen war. It takes place on a space craft preserving what could be the last flora of our world, which is called back for the war effort. After my friends and I saw it in an old college dorm basement, we all looked up once out, and let out a sigh of relief. The trees were still there.

I find the film haunting, funny, well acted by Bruce Dern, and memorable

What about Woody Allen’s Sleeper?

As with any topic it is important to reflect on the founders of the genre. Sci-Fi began with luminaries that truly had scientific minds and not simply an affinity for the “fantasy” of fiction. H.G. Wells and Jules Verne brought us a future that was not that far off. This I think is a very powerful tool; the not so distant future. C.S. Lewis can also be included by merit of his trilogy Space (starting with Out of the Silent Planet). I think the evolution has been Exploration/Technology -> Socio-economic commentaries (including the previous two) –> Psychology (including the previous topics)… There is a tangent that inserts spirituality by way of Lewis. We are now in a mix that largely focuses on the mind. Is Sci-Fi what it was? Would there be room for Lewis’ Space Trilogy today?

Sci-Fi is also a great medium for existential commentary. Avatar, as juvenile as it was, would fall into this group I think.

It was “The Tingler”, a William Castle film and some of the movie seats were wired–supposedly–to give the sensation of the Tingler invading your body thru the soine.

Dark Star – John Carpenter

You have left totally unmentioned one of he greatest of the dystopian cinematic triumphs – Rollerball – with an eloquent and accurate futuristic analysis on our corporate society. Talk PLease about Rollerball.
Jerry M Landay. Bristol RI – 401-254-2291

Joshua Hendrickson’s list works for me. Although I would put Alien higher up in the list as well as Clockwork Orange and Blade Runner would be in my top 5.

I know this is about films but the Twilight Zone episode called “To Serve Man” is a classic.

I am a huge sci-fi fan and I am often annoyed by the fact that science fiction films and books are not taken as seriously as other genres. It seems that most critics dismiss them as fluff or not as worthy of awards and recognition. They often have intricate plots and allegorical references to the real world meant to teach us something about humanity and many warn of the dangers of over zealous progress.

p.s. It seems everyone has forgotten 12 Monkeys!

I would like to see a remake of the little known Quatermass and The Pit (AKA US release: 5 Million years to earth) but as an update to the effects not to the really original story.

Watch the original: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3434833733223827719#

I will pick Sci-fi movie to watch any time any day over any other movie. BUT! The problem is that the majority of sci-fi out there is so crappy, that even watching a crappy rom-com or historical movie would be better.

My favorite sci-fi movie moment, is from “Fifth Element”.
The scene where the chinese food “boat” pulls away from the window and you see the spread of The City underneath.
I know the whole movie by heart because I probably watched it about 100 times.

Hi

Instead of movies lets look at some of the best sci fi today thru BBC america – Dr. Who with 2 fantastic actors in the last 4 years, David Tenant (10th) & Matt Smith (the newest, #11).
The other is the wild, Torchwood, which has yet to appear this season but has an amazing cast and far edgier than Dr. Who.
This has hooked my whole family (4 kids, girls and a boy, – ages 12-20)into sci fi like no other movie has!

And if we are going to talk sci-fi TV shows – “Red Dwarf”
- AWESOME!

No one has mentioned the brilliant Zardoz!!

/slightly tongue-in-cheek

One of the best sci fi movies I’ve ever seen, disturbed and enthrawled me. Event Horizon reached DEEP into space and even deeper into the mind.

Also, Inception was a great movie. I loved how none of the people died; it was just one of the unpredictables that made it an extra ordinary film.

My memorable SF movies: War of the Worlds, the final scene where the Martian falls out of the spaceship. Based, of course, on Orson Wells’ radio play of 1938.

When Worlds Collide, when the movie goes form black and white to color at the end. Very impressive to an 8 year old, which gives you an idea of how old I am. Based on a book by Arthur Balmer and Phillip Wiley.

The Fifth Element, especially for the multi-layer traffic above the streets and in and around the cityscape.

Tom Baehr

While I preferred the more optimistic films (Star Trek, 2001, etc.) in my youth; I have begun to believe the more distopian films such as Blade Runnner and Silent Running probably present a more likely future for our self-serving species.

I always liked Time After Time, speaking of time travel.

I think one of my favorite moments in SciFi is the whole opening scene of John Boorman’s post-apocalyptic film Zardoz. The floating stone head of Zardoz traveling silently to a choral arrangement of Beethoven’s 7th (if my memory serves), drifting slowly into the film’s first baffling dialogues, with Zardoz’s booming voice proclaiming that “the gun is good!” and “the penis is evil!” — just brilliant.

But beyond that, I love 70s and 80s science fiction. Rollerball, Solaris, Logan’s Run, Escape from New York, Running Man, Time Bandits, Ice Pirates, and other assorted weirdness.

I agree with Art, 12 Monkeys has always been one of my favorites. Wild post- and pre-apocalyptic Terry Gilliam scenery combined with some great performances and a plot that unfolds to a chilling conclusion.

Children Of Men is another near-future distopian sci-fi film that takes place in the erly/mid 21st century when humans have mysteriously stopped reproducing. The scenery and cinematography in the film do an outstanding job of demonstrating environmental, societal, and economic collapse.

My favorite films are 2001, Day the Earth Stood Still (original), ET, Close Encounters & Avator.
My favorite scene comes form 2001 when the ape discovers the club (as a club) and throws it the air.
The worst movie is amongst one recents listener’s favorites, “The Tingler.”

A lot of the choices seem disappointingly un-nerdy.
What about “Quatermass and the Pit”? Or “End of Evangelion” indeed?
(And I’m not even mentioning “Gunbuster”!)

Some others not yet mentioned –

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Series
Matrix

Dune was mentioned; great series!

Starship Troopers was great. You’re either a citizen or a civilian. The propaganda was so subtle and I was never sure if the humans were the heroes or just what.

Other greats include Being John Malkovich, The Fifth Element and the original (James Caan) Rollerball (Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan!)

For me, the great innovation of Star Wars was the way in which the technology looked as if it was “lived in.” No utopian gleaming white spaceships without a speck of dust; instead we get cobbled together devices, Luke’s landspeeder missing a body panel and looking like it needs to be washed, and grease like the inside of your uncles garage.

For me, the most compelling science fiction is social science fiction–speculation on how changes in technology or institutions would change how we treat each other. Or even change the human character itself.

Blade Runner offers a wonderful example. Even when cutting edge technology is focused on manufacturing inhuman slaves, the human spirit emerges–the will to live, the ability to cooperate, the need for association, the imperative to transcend our circumstances.

Blade runner reminds us as well that the fact of our mortality should commend us to live fully while we can. The Harrison Ford character finds that Rachel did not have a specific termination date. “We don’t know how long she will live.”

None of us ever does.

Gattaca is just a fantastic study of the psychological turmoil imposed upon people living in a world obsessed with genetic testing.

This has long been a favorite of mine as well.

My list posted at the top is my picks for the best science-based science fiction movies. While I love several of them, I don’t love them all equally well. My favorites are 2001, Contact, Blade Runner, and Alien/s. I have a compilation of top ten science fiction movie lists at http://www.mikebrotherton.com/?p=654

Galaxy Quest!

@Camilo,

… of course, you realize that Deckard was also a replicant?

Galaxy Quest! Yes!

my choices,

“Bladerunner”, directors cut

“12 monkeys” , Terry Gilliam, also “Brazil” terry Gilliam

“the fifth element”, Luc Besson (also Angel-A, Luc Besson)

Alien (first one)

I really like the first 10 minutes or so of “Planet of the Apes”, (original version) when their ship crashes into the lake (Lake Mead?)

I would love to see more Philip K. Dick made into films; Minority Report wasn’t so great

and how about “The Wizard of OZ”
“20,000 leagues Under The Sea” with James Mason as captain Nemo.

I agree. Moon was excellent.

to g: hehe!

Hal “I can’t hear you Dave….”

I am surprised that people are not remembering Alien Nation (so clever, since the title is really about alienation) with James Caan and Mandy Patemkin. It was an interesting TV spin off afterwards, but the movie was really terrific, and had huge social commentary. Any one else remember this movie?

JP,

I am afraid that a lot of the audience for Blade Runner is not aware of the possibility that Deckard is a replicant. Although the clues are in the film, they are not sufficient to suggest this to most viewers, or are too subtle. Of course, it’s not spelled out in the original novel, either.

And yes, John Carpenter’s The Thing is the best sf remake ever, absolutely. It’s a masterpiece and I never grow tired of it. The last scene is perhaps the only last scene in any horror movie that isn’t a cheat. Is Childs a Thing? Is Macready? Both? Neither? Sharing the bottle…

@Joshua,

The clues about Deckard being a replicant are indeed subtle in the original version of the film, but the idea is blatantly asserted in the Directors cut.

Deckard is able to prove to Rachel that she is a replicant because he read her file on implanted memories and can tell her about memories that she never told anyone.

… here is where the very key image of the unicorn from the Director’s Cut comes into play.

Deckard has a dream (or implanted) memory of a unicorn, something he’s never had any reason to tell anyone about… Gaff, however, demonstrates at the very end of the film that has been privvy to Deckard’s memory file in the same way Deckard was privvy to Rachel’s file. Gaff leaves the little origami unicorn behind in Deckard’s apartment as a way to tease Deckard and clue him in.

Deckard is the mysterious 2nd replicant that Bryant accidently lets slip is still in need of termination, the 1st being Rachel.

And then there are novels that practically beg to be made into films.

First on my list here would be Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash.” A truly wild near-future, hilarious and hyperactive, with great characters.

“The Mote in God’s Eye” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. A terrific space opera about first contact with a genuinely interesting and realistic alien species, it has great mystery, space battles, and intrigue.

“The Forge of God” and “Anvil of Stars” by Greg Bear. These linked novels are, first, the finest and most realistic aliens-destroy-Earth story ever written, and second, the finest and most realistic depiction of space war ever written, as children of the Earth’s survivors hunt down their home’s killers. These might be too complex for cinema, but not if they ended up in the right hands.

(I’m sure that old school sf fans will want to beat me up for this, but I don’t think Asimov’s “Foundation” series would make a good film, or even a good tv series. I recall the books as being long on concept and extremely short on background detail and character–with the exception of the Mule.)

Blade Runner
Alien
and to that eariler commment yeah, Creation of the Huminoids, Lousy movie but their is something to it. Kind of pre Blade Runner.
and for that matter what about
Fantastic Voyage – for all of us that got involved in science, microscopes, etc,
and the all time favorite…Wrong Trousers by Nick Park

JP,

glad to meet another Neal Stephenson fan here. I have to disagree with you about “full animation”, though. Personally, I find cgi depictions of human beings repellent. It ruined Beowulf for me despite the screenplay having been written by Neil Gaiman, one of my favorite writers. Keep human beings human and digitalize the rest, I say.

Jim Goldman,

I remember Alien Nation vaguely. I liked it. The premise about the aliens being slaves, minorities, was a good one (District 9 was an interesting update on the same basic premise). I recall the opening scene of the movie introduced the premise in an effective way. But apart from that and the idea of salt water being lethal to the aliens, I don’t remember anything else about it.

While I’m sure everyone recalls the original Twilight Zone tv series fondly, I must mention the Twilight Zone series that CBS aired in 1986. While some of the episodes were mediocre, quite a few were excellent, first rate science fiction. And they weren’t just remakes of old TZ stories, either.

As far as it goes, the Twilight Zone movie of 1983 has a bad reputation, but I always thought that the versions of “It’s a Good Life” and especially “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” were both superb.

My Science Fiction movies choices pretty much encapsulates those already mentioned.

But if I were putting together a cheesy science fiction giant monster movie festival and the cities they wreck havoc in would include:
Godzilla – 1950′s and with Raymond Burr (Tokyo)
Godzilla – 1990′s remake (New York City)
Them! – 1950′s (Giant insects – ants and bees) (Los Angles)
Reptilicus – 1960′s (the unlikely city of Copenhagen)
It came from beneath the sea – 1950′s (San Francisco)
Gorgo – 1960′s (London)
The Giant Behemoth – 1950′s (London)
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms – 1950′s (New York City)
The Beginning of the End – 1950′s (Chicago)
The Flying Serpent – 1940′s (New York City)
Q – 1980′s (remake of above and also in NYC)
Rodan – 1950′s (multiple Japanese cities)
The Giant Claw – 1950′s (New York City)
Twenty Million Miles to Earth – 1950′s (Rome)

Yeah, that’s why I say circa and look of Hackers.

Hackers was a terrible movie, but Jolie and the haircut she has in Hackers look exactly as I pictured Y.T. in my mind’s eye.

Take a look if you can find an image of Jolie from the movie, and see what you think.

I was surprised to not hear mention of Dune, 1984 film, as well as Logan’s Run no today’s show. At least, the portion I was able to tune into.

BTW,

Raven in Snow Crash is probably the best villain I’ve ever come across, and I’ve read everything Peter O’Donnell ever wrote, so I’ve come across some great villains.

Why people in Hollywood aren’t falling over themselves to make a movie from Snow Crash is utterly unfathomable.

Any takers? James Cameron? Guillermo del Toro? Peter Jackson?

Snow Crash would be a sweet movie.

If you like Gattaca, you should read The Chrysalids.

The book of Fahrenheit 451 is also well worth reading, though there is a place in my heart for the movie as well.

I thought Blade Runner moved really slow when I saw it on TV, but when you see it on a big screen, you realize that it’s just giving you time to appreciate the details of the scenery.

I think that The Running Man and Tron are both often underrated.

Serenity and Firefly are awesome!

I think my favorite of all might be Brazil though, especially after watching Metropolis.

Oh, and District 9! So good!

A few more for my list;

THX1138

On the Beach

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

JP,
I can picture what you mean about Trazan. That could be a savage combo on film.

The second more science fiction series by Stephen R. Donaldson is “The Gap” series, originally five books rereleased as four. These are loosely based on Wagner’s Ring Cycle. At least two intertwined plots through several planets in different galaxies. Diverse well formed characters put through very difficult situations. I know this description is rather vague, but though the basic plot and several scenes stay with me, I don’t know how else to characterize the books.

In terms of movies, these books are very visual and follow two intertwined plots with diverse and well formed characters. Perhaps he has refused to allow rights to filmmakers.

By the way, the first series is formally, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever.

I would put the orginal Star Wars at the top of the list, although the quality of the later three movies ruined its image somewhat. Maybe it is because I saw the original 3 movies as a young kid and movies with special effects of this kind were so new (at least to me) at the time. I would also put the original Planet of the Apes on my top ten list, but most of Joshua Hendrickson’s list above works for me.

Not sure if Cloverfield was SF…I’m not sure what it was, but I liked how it was made with respect to the viewer. No details, just draw your own conclusion.

Another vote for Alien Nation. It explores the concept of alienness and learning to understand it the best that has ever been written. The film is ok, but the television series (including the late release of some made for tv movie specials) shows what real speculative fiction can be. Overcoming bigotry is a big message in that series.

I’m not through the whole thread here yet but Oliver Stone’s The Wild Palms is operatic in it’s story line and pressages what is being done with Caprica. I have seen The Wild Palms more than once all the way through. Worth seeking out.

I’m surprised by the reviews on “Inception” by your guests as well as Mr. Edlestein. (SP?) I wasn’t quite sure of what I thought about Mr. Nolan’s dream opus immediately after viewing it but it did “haunt” me a little and I gave it enough thought to watch the film again. Upon a second view I was sold. I found those elements of existential crisis that Mr. Scott found missing. There is a fun ambiguity about the movie that lends the viewer to interpret the ending in a way that I have vacillated over. To say this movie is visually compelling but lacks depth makes me wonder if we watched the same movie. To me, this movie is about perception, reality, suicide, religion, psychology and almost any other aspect of being human that has been questioned since “Blade Runner” all of which are the epitome of “deep”. The allegory of “Wizard of Oz” and the Psychology of Jung are present in this film if one has the audacity to imagine what dreams are made of.

Cloverfield! Very good movie … no answers offered or necessary. Probably the best take on the Godzilla theme yet filmed. I love the scene where one of the characters, having been bitten by a critter, just suddenly explodes behind a screen.

For Cloverfield fans, here’s a bit of trivia (gleaned from dvd commentary) that really puts an interesting spin on the movie: “Clover” the giant monster is actually a newborn baby!

2004′s “Primer” was, in my opinion, the best film to deal with time travel and one of my favorite sci-fi movies. Its gritty realism and the intense psychological dynamics of the characters made it truly mind blowing.

Thanks for the show!

Just got this show by accident. Top 10 lists for movies are always problematic. In one’s own mind there are so many ties, so many things get unmentioned, there’s always the cultural bias (US films vs foreign), and style bias (pulp sf, 50s monsters, 70s cerebral, fx extravaganza).

Great that “Brother from Another Planet” gets a nod & someone remembered ’68 Planet of the Apes. “Slaughterhouse 5″ might not really be SF but commentary on SF as Billy Pilgrim may just be suffering from PTSD & retreating to his childhood SF pulp. Curious that M. Crichton’s stuff seems unmentioned (Jurassic Park, Coma, The Andromeda Strain, Westworld). “Dark Star”, while not perfect, is perhaps one of the better true SF spoofs on film so far by making fun of SF elements as opposed to just sight gags and puns (HHGTTG movie does as well but BBC radio/TV series better, & Galaxy Quest great spoof of SF-film).

Ashbrook’s show was great yesterday; yet… it was his airing of Bernard Hermann’s overture to “The Day the Earth Stood Still” that got me combing the www for more background on the composer. Wow! On Point could do an entire show dedicated to the genius. How ’bout it Tom? I’ll even call in! (What an awesome picture of the assistants tending to the robot in between takes for Metropolis!)

What about I Robot? Even though it borrowed from a number of Issamov’s robot stories (I’ve read them all), the pieces were skillfully weaved together. The movie stayed pretty true to his writings and contained many of the ideas he introduced.

“Blessed Saint Lebowitz – keep em dreaming down there!”

A Canticle for Lebowitz…

La Jetee by Chris Marker … the most haunting, time travel sci-fi film ever. Remade and embellished as 12 Monkees, but still a stand out. Only 28 minutes, B&W, Netflix on demand … check it out if you haven’t seen it. I just watched it again 2 days ago; I can’t forget it.
Also overlooked, Quatermass and the Pit. Great premis … the swarming hive within us!
Yes, Deckard=Replicant … but checkout how many of Phillip K. Dick’s short stories have been pirated for sci-fi. Many of his stories read more like “treatments” than conventional sci-fi.

Planet of the Apes (1968 version w/ Heston)
Empire Strikes Back
Metropolis
Alphaville
Galaxy Quest
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (70′s version with Donald Sutherland)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (original version)

Man there are so many good sci fi movies. If you look at this list http://www.filmcrave.com/list_genre_movie.php?genre=Sci-Fi it is hard to dispute that sci fi is the greatest genre.

In no particular order:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Alien
War of the Worlds
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Metropolis
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Blade Runner
Matrix
Forbidden Planet
Pandorum

I’m a Sci-Fi purist – Star Wars, in my mind, is not Sci-Fi.

My list:
1) Contact
2) The Matrix (maybe influenced somewhat by Dark City – at least the soundtrack)
3) 2010
4) Blade Runner
5) GATTACA
6) District 9
7) The Prestige
8) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
9) Starship Troopers (1997 – a more complex movie than given credit for)
10) Moon

Honorable Mentions: Terminator, Aliens, Alien, The Thing (1982), Enemy Mine, Twelve Monkeys, Total Recall, Dark Star, Predator, Robocop, Minority Report, Primer, Children of Men, Alphaville.

Top Cult Favorites: A Boy and His Dog , Escape from New York, Logan’s Run, Dune