Sci Fi Movies.... Some of my all time favorites..(list as many as you wish, explain if you wish)

[Stuart G]

Aliens
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Back to the Future.

[PJMcK]

1. Alien and 2001

The best of the genre.

[GP6971]

2. The Day the Earth Stood Still

The original or the remake? I'm for the original.

[Stuart G]

3. I agree, the original was fantastic..

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

32. There was a remake?

How in the world did I miss that?

[longship]

46. You aren't missing anything.

Last edited Mon Apr 23, 2018, 05:44 AM - Edit history (1)

Klaatu is played by Keanu Reeves. Not a worthy film for SciFi best.

Robert Wise's original is the only one to consider. The underplayed acting and Bernard Herrmann's incredible score make that film a true classic. The supporting cast is great. My fave here is Sam Jaffee as the professor, one of the truly great character actors.

[First Speaker]

4. I'm old-fashioned enough to still hate the term "Sci-Fi"...

...for us real Truefans, it's like the fingernails on the blackboard. But recognizing that this dates me, and seems almost a paradigm of 20th century quaintness, here's my list:

...Things to Come
...The Day the Earth Stood Still
...Zardoz
...Brazil
...Dune
...The Fifth Element

...and a hundred others...

[lame54]

8. What's wrong with it...

Certainly more accurate than "Reality TV"

[First Speaker]

19. For many years, listening to some TV talking head use the phrase "sci fi"...

...absolutely ensured that their following comments would be ignorant, patronizing, passive-aggressive hostile, or a combination of all three. "Sci Fi" was Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, Lost in Space, or--if the interviewer was sufficiently "sophisticated"--the Twilight Zone. (Which, to be fair, had many interesting SF and fantasy episodes. It also had, alas, plenty of Sci Fi.) It was not the exceptionally intelligent, dynamic native idiomatic literature that produced Robert A Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Theodore Sturgeon, Fritz Leiber, Ursula K Le Guin, Harlan Ellison, and a hundred others. Ellison himself once described "Sci Fi" as being semantically equivalent to "kike" or the N-word. But as time has passed, this battle has been lost, at least in the mainstream culture. I never use Sci Fi myself, but am resigned to its use, as are most of us rapidly aging 20th century SF fans...

[lame54]

25. So what do you call it?

[First Speaker]

26. Simply "SF"...

...for science fiction. Also--speculative fiction, speculative fantasy, science fantasy, speculative fabulation, and maybe some others for all I know. Most of these are regarded as a little high-falutin'...

[longship]

50. Oh dear. We've all been using the wrong terminology all these years.

What more can one say here?


My high falutin' opinion: I call SciFi "splunge-effect". Or how about "mordapror"?


Jeez!

[hunter]

17. The modern world is more like "Brazil" than "1984."

It's one of my favorites.

Zardoz is also appropriate.

[First Speaker]

20. Zardoz is one of the most underrated films ever made...

...it was totally over the heads of the mainstream reviewers in 1974. One of the very few SF films that ranks with the more successful SF novels, in my view...

[hunter]

23. I agree.

The story holds up very well.

[bronxiteforever]

5. I start off with Forbidden Planet

Aliens
Blade Runner.

[CentralMass]

7. +1

[Cartoonist]

33. Forbidden Planet

I first saw it as a kid at a matinee with a lot of other kids. Great memory.

[Iliyah]

6. 1953 - War of the Worlds

The Terminator

[lordsummerisle]

9. THX 1138 n/t

[eppur_se_muova]

89. Definitely ! nt

[Sherman A1]

10. Spaced Invaders

I like

The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Thing

and others as well.

[Laffy Kat]

11. Aliens, for sure.

I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, but "Aliens" was by far my favorite from the movies I have seen. They should have ended the franchise with that one.

[Codeine]

12. 2001, A Space Odyssey

That’s pretty much the pinnacle of science fiction film-making in my book.

Forbidden Planet genuinely surprised me — I expected a corny old rocket ship movie but got a quality film instead.

The original trilogy, of course. I grew up with Star Wars.

[longship]

16. Forbidden Planet is Shakespeare's The Tempest.

It is far more sublime than its campy reputation. Although Earl Holliman certainly attempts to steal the film with his scene with the robot.

Here. Would 60 gallons be enough?

[DBoon]

13. Frau im Monde

Fritz Lang's 1929 film about a rocket to the moon. Introduced a multistage rocket, scientifically accurate depiction of weightlessness, and established the countdown, all in 1929

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_the_Moon

[Tikki]

14. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Logans Run, Arrival, and for

sentimental reasons..Robinson Crusoe on Mars.

Tikki

[Sancho]

15. Ok...I'm avoiding the classic ones most folks will pick (2001, Dune, etc.)...

ones that were good for me at the time I first watched them:
Planet of the Apes (you know, Charlton Heston)
The Abyss
The Fly
Logan's Run

Comedy Sci Fi:
Ghost Busters
Gardians of the Galaxy (both are cute)

The best Sci Fi to watch with friends and alcohol:
Night of the Lepus (DeForest Kelly, Janet Leigh)

The best to watch with friends and drugs:
Barbarella

[hunter]

22. If you're going to go Barbarella...

... may as well go Nude on the Moon.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056293/

It's a rather different and irreverent take on Fritz Lang's Frau im Monde mentioned above.

[Sancho]

54. That's a good one too...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. Night of the Lepus was hilarious!

Giant mutated carnivorous killer bunnies!

Another one of a similar genre was "Frogs," in which Ray Milland gets hopped to death.

[Sancho]

55. It's hard to beat a sheriff with a megaphone saying "there's a herd of killer rabbits coming..."

[exboyfil]

40. The trailer for Night of the Lepus is also a hoot

It shows every actor's death scene while announcing their names. Talk about spoilers.

I saw Barbarella as a 10 year old boy. I am still scarred from the experience. I guess that is where my lifelong obsession with Jane Fonda comes from.

[Archae]

18. Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan is my fave.

Others I love, ST: The Motion Picture, 2001, 2010, Dark Star, Original Star Wars trilogy, many more.

[longship]

49. 2010 is certainly an up-and-comer.

The support cast is far better than a sequel to 2001 arguably deserves. And the main cast is top notch.

My fave support is Elya Baskin who, due to his native accent, always plays eastern block characters. Here he is perfectly cast. Sadly, his character dies too soon. Baskin is a helluva actor.

One can get a glimpse or two of him in the trailer.

[longship]

21. Simple. 2001: A Space Odyssey!

Pure science fiction. No phasers, lasers, blasters. No action Jackson impossible rubbish. Just science fiction.

And... Oh so what science fiction!!!

Another: Robert Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still. "Klaatu, barada nikto." (Okay, it has Gort and his blaster.)

Forbidden Planet. Shakespeare's The Tempest as space opera.

Arrival: one of the best pure sci-fi films in years. Beautifully filmed.

Then there's an awful lot to like in the original Star Trek TV series.

Speaking of TV. There's Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. There are so many greats from The Twilight Zone that it's hard to pick one out as the best. My favorite of The Outer Limits is Demon with the Glass Hand, unfortunately written by that utter asshole Harlan Ellison, however it is the best of this iconic series. Starring Robert Culp and Arlene Martel (also of Star Trek fame) and filmed in LA's iconic Bradbury Building.

Lots of others, some with blasters, phasers and such. For instance, it's really difficult to dislike Alien.

Please, not Star Wars in any of its episodes. Too much suds and toy product placements for my taste. Disagree? Consider Jar-Jar, then. Or the fucking Ewoks. Or all the Wookie toys.

The worst SciFi ever? That's easy, too. Lost in Space. Childish plots, with an annoying, sniveling, one dimensional weekly antagonist and a cheap imitation rip off of Forbidden Planet's Robby the robot. Utterly unwatchable.

[eppur_se_muova]

34. Glad to see I'm not the only one who equates Harlan Ellison with the ...

... least attractive part of the human anatomy. I know some people worship him, for reasons I've never understood, and there have been times when I've read his stuff just to give him a chance, but his own commentaries just nail the coffin shut.

It particularly pisses me off that he got away with suing the screenwriters of Terminator. If you read the HE story that he claims the screenplay "plagiarizes", it's *NOTHING* like Terminator -- it is, in fact, an unimaginative, banal little tale that begins with a couple of the worst-worn cliches in SF. The idea of time travel is NOT a HE invention. The idea of a war aross time is NOT a HE invention. I have read at least one very good SF short story, much older than HE's "Soldier", which is far closer to the plot of Terminator (but still significantly different) than HE's meager little tale. Apparently he has quite a track record of suing for plagiarism based on percieved similarities in plot lines -- something that's bound to occur even with very original screenplays, and quite unjustifiable.

[exboyfil]

41. You are absolutely right about the lawsuit

I watched the episodes again a few years ago, and I was shocked about them.

Harlan Ellison never grew out of being the child prodigy. Their is a comment to the forward to one of his short stories in a collection (it might have been Asimov's edited Hugo edition) that talks about another obnoxious young writer running around and how they(the other writers) should kill him before he becomes the next Ellison. I might go through my old books sometime to find that quote.

I was a big Ellison fan in college. His work does have merit. It is just not as good as he thinks it is.

[longship]

45. He spoke at my university in the 70's.

Sponsored by the SciFi club.

It ended up being nothing but HE auctioning his scripts, autographed by himself. My friends and I left. Apparently he just wanted the money.

He was a bit of a jerk, actually.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

81. I am under the distinct impression that Harlan Ellison

is a complete persona non grata in the science fiction world. He has behaved despicably on many occasions, not the least of which was grabbing the breast of a well-known and well-liked female science fiction author at an award ceremony.

He also tied up a great many stories submitted to him for an anthology that he never got around to publishing, pissing off all of the writers who were unable to sell the stories elsewhere.

I also get the impression that no one wants to work with him in any way these days.

[Dave Starsky]

98. Harlan Ellison is one of my favorite writers.

But even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally. His best stories are among my very favorites, but he produced a lot of "meh" and quite a bit of utter shite. Now he doesn't produce ANYTHING, except for lawsuits.

I, too, thought the whole Terminator thing was out of bounds. But apparently Cameron was on record admitting to someone that he had been inspired by a couple of episodes of Outer Limits (specifically, Soldier and Demon with a Glass Hand), and that was enough to get a jury to think it was outright plagiarism.

I have a problem with a lot of artistic plagiarism lawsuits, particularly those involving literature or music. People have been writing millions of stories and songs, over hundreds of years. There is only a finite set of ways to write a compelling story or an interesting song. Over time, someone HAS TO produce something that reads or sounds like something else that someone has made, even if it's completely unintentional. It's inevitable.

I think Ecclesiastes 1-9 in the Bible stated it best: "There is nothing new under the sun."

[Aristus]

27. Rollerball - 1975.

A highly underrated film. Its observations on the evils of corporate power are still relevant today.

One of James Caan's finest performances.

[exboyfil]

42. James Caan

Starring in four genre flicks that my be my favorites (or near favorites) in each one.

Rollerball - SF
Misery - Horror
Godfather - Gangster
A Bridge Too Far - War

The remake to Rollerball is one of the worst desecrations in cinematic history. My father did not live to see it. Seeing that movie is one of my best experiences I had with him as a kid. He would have been really upset if he had seen it.

[Dave Starsky]

66. Have you seen Thief (1981)?

Caan considers it his best role, and I agree. It is a tense, exciting, and BEAUTIFUL film with outstanding performances from Caan and Tuesday Weld.

It was Michael Mann's precursor to Manhunter, and it has a lot of the same atmospherics, including appearances by Dennis Farina and William L. Petersen before anyone knew who they were.

[exboyfil]

72. I will check it out

Thanks for the recommendation. I am mostly into SF and horror so my depth of knowledge of other genres is limited.

It is available on Hoopla. I know where one of my three monthly library credits is going.

[Dave Starsky]

64. Absolutely. An unsung classic.

It was pretty much a dead-on prediction of the world we live in today.

I remember when it came out, it was considered shocking in its graphic violence, and the Rollerball sport was considered too over-the-top violent to ever really exist. But that movie would probably score a PG-13 today, and the sport depicted was like badminton compared to MMA or even the NFL of today.

[Orsino]

75. And the "hero" is really just kind of a meathead. But one with...questions.

I like that a lot.

[Dave Starsky]

107. It's his intelligent questions that mess everything up.

Plus the fact that he will not die when they try to get rid of him.

[redstateblues]

28. Blade Runner

[exboyfil]

43. My personal favortie

Rutger Hauer simply owned Harrison in that movie. If you can't figure out that Deckard is the villain you aren't paying attention.

That is what I felt when I saw the sequel. Maybe there was "love" for Rachel, but he was still working for slavers and using his power relationship over her to pursue a sexual relationship.

[Cicada]

52. Blade Runner is an artistic tour de force

One of the trades described it that way when it came out and I agree. The look and sound of the movie are achingly beautiful. It’s like it was made by fucking Rembrandt.

[Codeine]

58. How did I forget that one?!

Fantastic film.

[eppur_se_muova]

91. Not to mention based on a PKD book ... but realized very differently from the book.

Ultimately, both come down to the question "what defines 'human'?", which is really a question of what decides human worth -- something we have nad trouble with over the centuries, even without meeting an 'other' of our own creation.

(FWIW, I enjoyed many of PKD's short stories, but was favorably impressed by only one or two of his novels. Not something SF fans are supposed to admit, but there it is.)

BTW, I've never seen "Total Recall". If it stayed reasonably close to the book, I'd be interested to know that. If it was reduced to action and SFX -- not so interested.

[sorcrow]

29. Two favorites beyond the classics mentioned above

Repo Man
And
Brother From Another Planet

Regards,
Crow

[Yupster]

30. Ender's Game

was good. Not as good as the book, but still a good movie.

Star Trek 4 - the one with the whales has the best dialogue of all the Star Trek movies.

The Last Starfighter has the best sidekick.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

74. I LOVE The Last Starfighter

Shame that they were not able to do any sequels to it. OTOH it's perfect just being a standalone movie too.

"I'm a million miles away from home and some gung-ho Iguana is telling me to relax!"

[Tikki]

31. They Live, Silent Running and The Man Who Fell To Earth

Tikki

[exboyfil]

44. They Live is a hugely underrated film

and Roddy Piper gave a great performance. I am not a wrestling fan, but it is a shame he did not do more acting.

Also John Carpenter kicks butt. He doesn't get the props he deserves. His Apocalypse Trilogy (The Thing, Prince of Darkness, and In The Mouth of Madness) is still the best representation of Lovecraft like horror on the screen.

[longship]

47. I agree with "They Live"

Awesome film.

Of course, one has to post this iconic scene.

Nope! No bubblegum!

[Dave Starsky]

68. Agree completely with everything you said.

I also don't think Dark Star or Escape from New York get all the love they deserve, either. Those are also two of my faves.

[eppur_se_muova]

92. Another vote for Dark Star. nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. For me, a lot of the beloved science fiction movies aren't all that good.

I am very aware that my opinion isn't shared by many.

But here are some I've loved:

Twelve Monkeys. To me that's the most purely science fiction movie I've ever seen. I agree with the person who said much the same about The Arrival.

The Butterfly Effect. They carefully thought out the consequences of the changes the hero made each time. Very good.

Groundhog Day. It's not generally considered science fiction more a simple comedy, although the short story that was the idea for it is pure s-f. Again, they thought carefully about the consequences of what he was going through, living the same day over and over.

Galaxy Quest. Absolutely brilliant.

[longship]

53. Ah! The Arrival!

No action Jackson. Just thoughtful narrative and a rather incredible story arch. Who knew that linguistics could be so interesting? (I mean other than Noam Chomsky.)

A deliberately paced film whose narrative is rather bigger than would be expected -- always a good sign as SciFi films go. The incredible music score certainly helps things along, but that's always been true.

I've been a rather huge Amy Adams fan since Charlie Wilson's War. Glad to see her Oscar nomination for The Arrival

She is going to go places. She certainly shows her depth here.

A wonderful SciFi film.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

63. I liked the Charlie Sheen movie of the same name (from the 1990's)

The new movie (which has nothing to do with the other one) was interesting as well- and I liked that they didn't do anything dramatic or take the story in some kind of cliche' direction even though they could easily have done that.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

84. Yes, that is the one I'm referring to.l

The Arrival, NOT Arrival.

The latter is, in my opinion, overrated. And highly confusing. The former is an excellent story, well cast, well acted. Unfortunately, it didn't get the hype the other movie got, which is a shame, in my opinion.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

85. The Arrival is an earlier film

with Martin Sheen. Not even remotely connected to Arrival, and note the second one lacks the definite article.

[longship]

86. Dumb-De-Dumb-Dumb me!!

Of course, you are correct.

[GReedDiamond]

36. How about some very early John Carpenter?..Dark Star...

[backtoblue]

37. Gattaca, Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I thought Lucy was pretty good.

[Mister Ed]

38. The Man Who Fell to Earth. n/t

[longship]

51. Definitely an interesting film.

David Bowie pulls it off, more or less.

This film certainly deserves a viewing or two.

A great cast.

[quickesst]

39. The original Star Wars....

..... for the most obvious reason. It changed everything.👽

[longship]

48. Yup! The most toy product placements than any other so-called SciFi film.

I wonder what an authentic, original Jar-Jar Binks character figure would bring at auction.

[quickesst]

56. I saw Star Wars....

.... when it first came out. I was awestruck by the special effects. Mind

[longship]

57. Special effects themselves don't always make a good SciFi film.

However, I understand that after 2001: A Space Odyssey special effects became more important to SciFi.

It's regretful that Lucas ignored the more important cinema element, narrative. That is why Star Wars is more properly termed a space opera than a SciFi film. It only obliquely qualifies as SciFi.

Action Jackson and special effects are rubbish without a cogent narrative.

[quickesst]

60. I guess I'm just a simple guy...

....because I thought Star Wars was a great sci-fi film. On the other hand 2001 A Space Odyssey for me was . I actually watched Space Odyssey years later to see if I had missed something important the first time around. All it did was reaffirm my initial impression.

[longship]

65. Well, I won't comment much further here.

No need. It's apparent that we see things differently.

However, I am a bit astounded that so many negative reviews of great films seem to characterize them as boring. One often sees such reviews all over the place for even the cream of cinema's crop.

I mostly ignore such characterizations.

My best to you. I hope that you are ever entertained.

[quickesst]

100. "My best to you. I hope that you are ever entertained."

As is my wish for you as well.

[longship]

73. Please don't get me wrong. I like the first two Star Wars films. (ep. 4 & 5)

The second is, if anything, better than the first.

But the entire story arch of the series makes little sense to me. I certainly don't think the series rises to great SciFi. Plus, Lucas destroyed his child beginning with Return of the Jedi and only went inexorably down hill with subsequent episodes. After the Ewok and Jar-Jar Binks product placement debacles there was nothing left. Don't get me started about midi-chlorines.

My best to you.

[exboyfil]

77. The original sin of Star Wars

was pulling the Wookies and replacing them with the Ewoks. Lucas had the opportunity to flesh out a beloved character who is the only major one not human as well as offering a credible threat to the empire. All we got from that was the partial scene in The Revenge of the Sith.

Up to that point they were hitting on all cylinders. The final Luke/Darth/Emperor encounter was wonderfully executed but punctuated by the ridiculousness on the moon. A life or death struggle is no time for comedy.

[longship]

78. Yup! The plot line was so damned muddled, it made no sense whatsoever.

Then, episodes 1, 2, & 3 compounded the damage in a major way. I only watched 6, 1, 2, & 3 once, mainly out of loyalty to episodes 4 & 5. I regretted it.

I didn't even bother with the Disney sequels. I may try out the first sequel some day, however none of them are very high on my to watch list.

It's like the Alien franchise, two good films then BLARGH! (BTW, the same with the Terminator franchise. Funny about that.)

HA! I just remembered that both Aliens and Terminator 2 Judgement Day were directed by James Cameron. I wonder if he is the responsible party for killing SciFi franchises. Enquiring viewers want to know.

[exboyfil]

79. So many franchises crash with the third movie

It is like a curse.

I like the idea of some resets and visit the characters in their old age.

Some concepts kicking around for a 3rd Batman movie with Michael Keaton. This would ignore the Schumacher messes.

I think a "3rd" Alien movie that ignores the other two with Sigourney Weaver.

I don't want another Terminator movie. That franchise just needs to end.

Heck even a "third" Toby McGuire Spider-Man movie might have potential. I could see some thoughts about Bruce Campbell actually being the villain.

X-Men has moved so far afield that no way could you redo a 3rd movie. Still Famke Janssen is so much better than Sophie Turner.

A redo of Blade III?

[longship]

80. I confess to being totally ignorant of super hero films.

My love affair for that genre ended with Superman 3 years ago. Havent seen one since.

Sorry, my friend. Action Jackson just doesn't trip my trigger these days. There has to be something more to it or I am not interested.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

108. In my mind the reliance on special effects is an enormous problem

especially in s-f films.

When I saw Episode 1 of Star Wars, all I could think of was, "How amazing are the special effects!" and "I can't believe a seven year old is a skilled racer" because the kid playing the young Anakin (do I even have the characters name right?) looked like he'd at best just had his seventh birthday. And if you'd have told me he was only five I'd have believed you.

So I didn't watch the next two episodes.

Then part 7 came out and the plot flaws were the size of the Grand Canyon. I have completely given up on the entire franchise. For those of you who love them all and think I'm nuts, that's okay. It's good if you enjoy a particular movie.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

59. Godzilla

[Leith]

61. Star Trek First Contact

Of course, it was built on decades of background, but it was so good in so many ways.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

62. Some of mine

1. Alien/Aliens
2. Fifth Element (schlocky movie but still fun)
3. Event Horizon (not the greatest in terms of execution but still suspenseful and entertaining)
4. Blade Runner
5. Back To The Future Series
6. Strange Invaders (one of the first sci-fi films I saw. Strange and creepy but fascinating)

[longship]

67. Oh! I like the "Back to the Future" series!

Also, Alien/Aliens. I've only seen Blade Runner once. The rest you mention I have never seen.

Might put them on my list.

Thanks!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

69. Welcome!

The Fifth Element is sort of a comedic action/sci-fi movie from 1997 by Luc Besson with a ton of great actors like Bruce Willis, Milla Jovivich, Ian Holm, and Gary Oldman. It's not hardcore sci-fi but it does have some interesting concepts and, well, elements. Also, the special and technical FX are gorgeous.

Event Horizon has a heavy "Aliens" vibe to it though the threat to the crew is more supernatural/psychological instead of creature-based.

Strange Invaders is from the early 1980's and sort of reminds me a little of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" although it doesn't really involve an alien takeover (but aliens are definitely involved). It stars Paul LeMat, Nancy Allen, Wallace Shawn (in a bit part), and Lousie Fletcher.

[longship]

70. It's INCONCEIVABLE that a bad movie would have Wallace Shawn in the cast.

In my NetFlix queue they go.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

71. LOL

[Orsino]

76. Flash Gordon (1980), Serenity

The first is cheesy fun, and the second a lesser (but still good) wrap-up of the series that showed so much damned promise.

[FSogol]

82. Logan's Run, Silent Running, Moon, Blade Runner, Forbidden Planet, Them, The Thing (both versions),

Brazil, and District 9.

I also love all of those old cheesy movies with giant creatures, growing or shrinking protagonists, atomic destruction, etc.

[Orsino]

111. Moon is pretty much all Sam Rockwell.

The part was written for the actor, and he's great.

[FSogol]

83. Anyone seen Alien Trespass? It's a modern version of those old sci-fi alien movies.

Highly recommend.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

87. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Hands down my favorite Sci Fi movie of all time. Probably in my top 10 movies of all time and an example of a movie I saw in my childhood that has remained just as strong with age.

I enjoyed all the other Star Trek movies, and I like the Star Wars movies too, but The Wrath of Khan will always be a notch above the rest.

So operatic in its execution. A true piece of art.

James Horner's adventurous score and Ricardo Maltoban's surprisingly strong turn really makes the movie in my opinion.

Case in point: How the tension is built up when Chekov and Terrell first encounter Khan on Ceti Alpha V. Brilliant.

Other honorable mentions: Blade Runner (which I confess I only saw for the first time a few years ago) is visually gorgeous and has aged flawlessly.

Two out of the six stories in Cloud Atlas (a personally favorite movie of mine) can be classified as Sci Fi, so it's what--1/3 of a Sci Fi movie?

[TheDebbieDee]

88. Outland (1981) & Outlander (2008?)

Great movies but I believe that both BOMBED at the Box Office...

[Dave Starsky]

99. Wait a minute! They remade Outlander?

I thought the first Outlander was not great, but pretty good!

[TheDebbieDee]

109. I was talking about this version...

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462465/?ref_=nv_sr_2

I don't know about any other version except for the movie channel time travel/romance series...

[ailsagirl]

90. Hands down...

Plan 9 from Outer Space




Just sayin'

[eppur_se_muova]

94. How about some Victorian SF, rendered in the 1950/60's ?

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is probably as responsible as anything for the Steampunk movement. (Oh, and it won a couple of Oscars.)

Other Verne novels made it to the big screen:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Mysterious Island
In Search of the Castaways
Master of the World
Used to have a Bernard Hermann LP with music from two of these. Lots of Ray Harryhausen SFX !

H.G.Wells didn't fare as well -- War of the Worlds and The Time Machine were both "contemporised" because you just have to include the A-Bomb when you can ! (Haven't seen the remake of WOTW).
First Men in the Moon fared better -- used the Apollo missions as a springboard for a flashback retelling of the Wells version. I have to admit I saw that a long time ago, don't remember it so well.

I am well aware that audiences of a certain age will consider this "cheesy" because it doesn't have the latest in (cheesy) CGI effects, and consequently will miss out on some great entertainment. They have my deepest sympathy.

X-Men's Bryan Singer takes the plunge with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea remake

18 September 2015 Digital Spy - Movie News

X-Men's Bryan Singer takes the plunge with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea remake
Bryan Singer will take a break from X-Men to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

The filmmaker revealed the news by posting an image of the script on his Instagram page, saying Jules Verne's story is one he's "wanted to retell since childhood".

A photo posted by Bryan Singer (@bryanjaysinger) on Sep 17, 2015 at 10:14am Pdt

"I promise this will be an epic and emotional adventure for all ages! An adventure very dear to my heart," Singer wrote. "Not abandoning the X-Men universe. Very excited about X-Men: Apocalypse and beyond."

Singer co-wrote the script for the film with Rick Sordelet and Dan Studney. Verne's classic novel was originally published in 1870 and forms a loose trilogy with In Search of the Castaways and Around the Moon.

A new 20,000 Leagues has been in the works for some time, with directors as diverse as David Fincher and McG circling the remake.

https://www.imdb.com/news/ni59017371?ref_=tt_nwr1

[geardaddy]

95. Here are mine

Alien
Aliens
2001: A Space Odyssey
Moon

[Bayard]

96. I just re-watched Alien vs Predator again last night

Sci Fi--definitely my favorite genre. Love the usuals....Star Wars, Terminator, Star Trek, Predator, Blade Runner. But also Avatar, Galaxy Quest, Pitch Black, Independence Day, The Thing, Mad Max.

And of course--Buckaroo Bonzai!!

[Permanut]

101. I'm goin' with Earth vs. the Flying Saucers..

for the Ray Harryhausen special effects, and

The Mole People, just because every accent that Nestor Paiva attempts is hilarious.

[Zorro]

102. Total Recall

Arnie's version. Saw it in the theater when it first came out, and thought it was destined to be a classic.

[Rustynaerduwell]

103. Going way back

Things To Come, or better yet, Metropolis.

[DBoon]

114. Another Fritz Lang favorite

nt

[JDC]

104. So hard,

Alien

The Matrix (at the time I saw it)

Blade Runner, as others have said.

Forbidden Planet when I was a kid - loved it

12 Monkeys(Again, when I saw it) was great

Many more, again as other have said.

[Rustynaerduwell]

105. Death Watch

From 1980. Incredible track shot opens a great movie. Beautiful soundtrack as well. Stars Romy Schneider and a young Harvey Keitel.

[CTyankee]

106. Mission to Mars. Great ending scene...

[miyazaki]

110. Along with the definitive classics mentioned, Code 46, Moon, and Gattaca

for more semi recent films that are well done, thought provoking. The Riddick films are fun popcorn movies.
Both remakes of The Thing, The Fly, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers were terrific.

And I don't care what anyone says, I dig Alien³.

Would be cool if they could do a good movie version of the novel Blood Music.

[NewJeffCT]

112. It's a long list

Not in order

1) The original two Star Wars movies - A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back
2) Star Trek 2 - the Wrath of Khan and Star Trek First Contact
3) The Matrix
4) Back to the Future
5) Alien and Aliens
6) Mad Max and The Road Warrior
7) Terminator and Terminator 2
8) Avatar
9) Galaxy Quest
10) A Clockwork Orange and 2001
11) Brazil
12) Star Wars Rogue One and The Force Awakens

I've never seen ET or Blade Runner

[bif]

113. The Martian

[mopinko]

115. the astronauts wife.

didnt get very good reviews, but i thought it was great. it could be because i have a weakness for movies shot in chicago, but...

suspense never let up for me.

[Niagara]

116. I've watched these countless times

Flight of the Navigator (1986 Disney, it's family friendly)
The Astronaut's Wife
I Am Legend
Resident Evil Series
Back to the Future Series

[Tikki]

117. I thought "Fire In The Sky" was interesting. I remember a little movie called UFOria...

with Cindy Williams.


Tikki