Best Science Fiction film of all time

[Validus 0]

I'm sure there are many who will claim I've left out something important, but i did decide based on what seem to be the most influential science fiction films. I left out all the Star Trek films because there are, after all, so many forums and polls already devoted to them.

 

It is my hope that this thread will spark discussion about science fiction cinema as a genre and how it has evolved & grown.

 

In looking at the above list I will say that it was hard for me to pick but in the end it came down to 2001 and Blade Runner, and I had to give it to 2001. Some might wonder at my choice, but you should remember that when looking at science fiction film it is entirely possible to look at it in terms of Pre-2001 and post-2001.

 

2001: A Space Odyssey was the first science fiction film that had the virtue of looking real, and of having a plot that was not filled with rubber monsters and ray guns. It also managed to combine a variety of themes into a unified whole (alien artifacts, space travel, artificial intelligence, dehumanization, faster-then-light travel, etc). it is also important to remember that it was made in 1968 for an unheard of $10,000,000 (the original Star Wars, in 1976, would cost $9,000,000).

[A l t e r E g o 9]

 

Forbidden Planet for me, it tops the list of those on the list I've seen. Metropolis may be better but I haven't seen it yet.

 

Hard to believe the lead in FP is actually Leslie Nielson. :P

 

Those characters and the story are very Trekkish, although I never heard him say so; Roddenberry must have drawn some inspiration for Trek from it.

[APW 0]

I always liked "Escape From New York".

Kurt Russell was great as Snake Pliskin.

:P

 

(BTW...I let my little brother vote for Terminator.That kid is a Schwarzenegger loving fool :P )

Edited July 15, 2005 by admiralpeewee

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Klatu Barada Nikto ... umm, not on the list.

 

I didn't vote because I really haven't seen all of the movies on the list.

 

Which version of Planet of the Apes? I would say the original had the best ending of any movie Scifi or not. (the remake had a lame ending to say the least)

 

I think as far as cultural influence it would be between 2001 and the original Star Wars trilogy. But if I really went with the story - I like the original Planet of the Apes - there was a lot to that.

[sea trooper 0]

I'm discluding Star Wars and picking ALIEN :P

[Ace 0]

I've gotta go with the original Star Wars trilogy, specifically "A New Hope." There are few, if any, films that can claim to have had the worldwide impact that Episode 4 had.

[starsinmyeyes 0]

I know it is not on the list, but would anyone consider 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' original version of course? I always see it on lists as a sci-fi you must see... Just caught it last year, the story was good but the acting was stilted.

 

My aunty who I would never have guessed watched sci-fi movies recommended Metropolis. I'll try to catch that one when I can.

 

As for cultural influence Star Wars.

 

As for story: Blade Runner. Poses a lot of questions for our future

and 2001 Space Odyssesy

 

As for excellent real life animation and story about modern issues would anyone consider Final Fantasy?

Edited July 15, 2005 by starsinmyeyes

[Dark Reality 0]

I would say the original Star Wars as well. Episode IV/A New Hope was simply amazing, great story, stood on its own... the sequels were just as good, though unnecessary. I like the new trilogy as well, except for Jar-jar Binks, who annoys me.

 

Dark City... Amazing film. I think it's based on or inspired by Metropolis... I think I remember that from the extras on the DVD. Metropolis is certainly mentioned. I haven't seen Metropolis yet, though.

 

The original Matrix was amazing. The sequels were pretty, and the technobabble just didn't completely make sense. The first one was fine in this regard... And Neo was just way too powerful in the sequels. To the point of silliness. And Smith posessing someone and making his way into the real world? Not very realistic.

 

Which Final Fantasy? "The Spirits Within"? The only movie, I guess, though Advent Children is coming out soon. That's an ~80 minute computer-animated sequel to Final Fantasy 7 (the only "really great" Final Fantasy... before they were too old-school for me to enjoy, and after 7, they got lost in pretty graphics IMHO). Also there's going to be a Sephiroth collectible, so look out for those later this year. Story-wise, Final Fantasy 7 is one of the most amazing stories ever told, transcending just about every genre... Too bad it's only a video game. If it were a book, I'd have read it 10 times by now. It would probably be impossible to make it into a movie, but if they did, and did it right... Star Wars wouldn't stand a chance. It would be complete obscene ownage...

 

As far as Trek films, while I like them all but the first one, the only ones I consider great movies outside and completely removed from all things Star Trek are Voyage Home (IV) and Insurrection (IX). Voyage Home had the plot that's going to sell any film: time travel, and people from one time period interacting with another. Insurrection went after American history, being sorta based on what America did to the natives a couple hundred years ago, forcing them out of their homes, etc. The way they translated it to the 24th century worked really well, and it had the right mix of action, romance, and comedy. So those two, I think, more than other Trek films, are more accessible to non-Trekkies, more so than the other Trek films.

 

 

What "advances" science fiction? I'd have to say Lucas deserves the credit for a lot of that, first with remaking the original trilogy to look a lot newer than it actually is, and then what he did with the new trilogy. Love it or hate it, you have to admit, at least it LOOKS pretty. I wasn't too fond of I and III (II rocked) but each one, first time I saw it, I don't think my jaw left the floor.

 

I think a lot of advancements in sci-fi are going to come from computer animation. The advantage, and part of the purpose of animation is that you can do things you couldn't do with live-action sequences. Or which would cost a lot of money to do. But a lot of animation tends to get silly (again, like the Matrix sequels) and then the message gets lost. If they do another TNG/VOY style Star Trek in the future, and use a lot of CGI... well, a lot of what Voyager did would just be the beginning.

[DutchDebbie 0]

Even though i love Starwars films and i know Hang is going to hate me but..i went with Alien :vampire:

Not only a good scifi film but scary as well :P

[HRH The KING 0]

The Original Star Wars Trilogy.

 

Absolutely untouchable.

 

Brilliance.

[TransporterMalfunction 1]

I would say that the best science fiction work (other than Star Trek) would be the Quatermass stories, although I prefer the BBC serials to the actual Hammer films. Both the Twilight Zone and original Outer Limits are works I would give credit to, along with the televison version of Day of the Triffids. However all those mentions are really at their best in the televison productions to date and so I voted for Forbidden Planet.

 

Other films that deserve a mention are Day the Earth Stood Still and (on the b-movie side of things) This Island Earth.

[HRH The KING 0]

I guess I should mention Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.

 

That movie was brilliant.

[Validus 0]

I know it is not on the list, but would anyone consider 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' original version of course?  I always see it on lists as a sci-fi you must see... Just caught it last year, the story was good but the acting was stilted. 

 

My aunty who I would never  have guessed watched sci-fi movies recommended Metropolis.  I'll try to catch that one when I can.

339668[/snapback]

 

Wasn't "Day the Earth Stood Still" directed by Robert Wise, who later did Sound of Music (won Best Picture that year) and ST: The Motion Picture?

[Bethlehem 7]

Planet of the Apes Movies, they came out when I started dating. Those Drive-Inn days what memories :rockon:

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Klatu Barada Nikto .... is a famous phrase from The Day the Earth Stood Still, you'll hear the phrase occasionally in movies that like to spoof or reference old movies. I'm thinking some people didn't get the reference in my first post.

[hangon 3]

Even though i love Starwars films and i know Hang is going to hate me but..i went with Alien :vampire:

Not only a good scifi film but scary as well B)

339687[/snapback]

:lol:

 

For me its The original Star Wars Trilogy,but i was in 2 minds cuz yesterday i just happened to watch Blade Runner on dvd and soon as it finished i watched it again but it didnt hold up to empire strikes back thats why i voted the way i did B)

[Odo 0]

Would Frankenstien Be considered

sifi or horror or both?

[mj 7]

I would have voted for The Day the Earth Stood Still if it was up there.

 

I have seen Metropolis, I think, if was originally done as a silent film. Was it made in Germany, or am I mixing it up with something else? If it is what I have in mind, a very intriguing film, for the time in which it was made. I rented the video several years ago, I think.

 

So, left with the choices I have, I vote for 2001: A Space Odessy, for the feelings of awe it generated in me, which I still remember. I was completely drawn in.

[Validus 0]

Klatu Barada Nikto  ....  is a famous phrase from The Day the Earth Stood Still, you'll hear the phrase occasionally in movies that like to spoof or reference old movies.  I'm thinking some people didn't get the reference in my first post.

339945[/snapback]

 

Yup....it was used to great effect in Sam Raimi's masterpiece Army of Darkness.

 

"Groovy"

[Validus 0]

Would Frankenstien Be considered

sifi or horror or both?

340036[/snapback]

 

Frankenstein is considered by many academics to be the very first science fiction novel. Of course the novel has it's influences from the Jewish myth of the Golem and from the Greek Promethius. It is interesting that science fiction, as a genre, was invented by a woman (Mary W. Shelley). Shelley herself considered the story to be a kind of Gothic romance that shares much with the works of Victor Hugo, especially the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I've never seen Frankenstein as horror, but Universal Pictures decided that it was so that they could put it in their stable of monster movies (along with Dracula, The Mummy, and so forth).

[KIMIMELA 1]

Planet of the Apes. :lol:

[Validus 0]

I have seen Metropolis, I think, it was originally done as a silent film. Was it made in Germany, or am I mixing it up with something else? If it is what I have in mind, a very intriguing film, for the time in which it was made.  I rented the video several years ago, I think.

 

So, left with the choices I have, I vote for 2001: A Space Odessy, for the feelings of awe it generated in me, which I still remember. I was completely drawn in.

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Metropolis was indeed a German film and it was directed by Fritz Lang, one of the greatest film makers that ever lived. The quality of the video you rented was probably pretty bad. Recently the German Film Institute spend three years and a fortune to have the entire film digitally remastered and restored. It is currently avalable on DVD and it now breathtaking, especially since they found the original music and re-scored the entire film. It can be found at Kino.com. I've got it and I highly recommend it....you might also find it at Blockbuster under scifi or "foreign" films. Considering it was made in 1925, it stands as a real acheivement unrivaled in my opinion.

 

I share your feelings about 2001...stunning even today. I only wish I could have seen it like my parents did -on the big screen.

[DaboGirl 7]

I voted for 2001: a Space Odyssey. (groundbreaking)

 

I know it didn't have a lot of explosions and killing, but an excellent movie.

 

Note: I would have voted for Alien, however it wasn't on the list.

[oldfan1 0]

Of the choices listed I picked Forbidden Planet, it's the best one of the bunch but for me the movie with the most lasting impact for me was Day The Earth Stood Still.

[Wishfire 2]

I'd say Metropolis.

[GhostofMajorHayes 10]

A great list of films to say the least, but I voted for the Matrix.

[Lizy 1]

my favorite science fiction movie

 

The X-files fight the future

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

Probably The Matrix trilogy is what influenced the most philosophical debate.