Wednesday
May192010
33 Great Sci-Fi Movies
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 1:46PM
I love science fiction [1] - books, books on tape, and movies. I've been revisiting some of my favorites in the latter category, and was reminded how difficult it must be to create a good science fiction movie. So of the 100s of films out there, I'd like to share the ones I find most entertaining.
So just for fun, following is my take, culled from the The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)'s Best/Worst "Sci-Fi" Titles and Sci-Fi Lists' Top 100 Sci-Fi Films, which span the range from 1951 to last year.
I'm curious: What are your favorites?
(Related: Check out my Definitive Guide To Superhero Novels, which links through to my Listmania list, The Definitive Guide To Superhero Novels.)
Some of Matt's Favorite Sci-Fi Movies
- The Abyss (1989)
- Alien (1979)
- The Andromeda Strain (1970)
- Batman (1989)
- Blade Runner (1982)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
- Deep Impact (1998)
- District 9 (2009)
- Fantastic Voyage (1966)
- Forbidden Planet (1956)
- Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009)
- Galaxy Quest (1999)
- Ghost in the Shell (1995)
- The Incredibles (2004)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- The Lost Room (2006)
- The Matrix (1999)
- Men in Black (1997)
- Minority Report (2002)
- Planet of the Apes (1968)
- Quatermass & the Pit (1967)
- Serenity (2005)
- Soylent Green (1973)
- Spider-Man (2002)
- Star Trek (2009)
- Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (1982)
- Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
- Star Wars (1977)
- Westworld (1973)
- X-Men (2000)
References
- [1] Note that I don't include fantasy, even though they're grouped mysteriously together. No disrespect to readers who like the genre - it's just not my cup of tea. Interestingly, when I asked my local library why the didn't at least use different genre stickers on the spine, they said the board couldn't decide on an image. How about this: Space ship and Unicorn ;-)
Reader Comments (8)
A few of my favorites:
Stargate - But this my possibly be because I loved the SG-1 series.
2001 A Space Odyssey - I like this one not because it is particularly exciting, but because so many other sci-fi films reference it in one way or another.
Primer - One of the most complicated plots you'll ever see. Written directed and produced by a mathematician on a budget of $7,000.
Stargate I couldn't get into. 2001 is a classic, of course, though it should be included for the reasons you point out.
I didn't know about Primer - can't wait to check it out! Found it online: [ Primer (2004) | http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3909854615539675694# ]. Thanks for the tip Mark.
I'd like to add:
Dark City
eXistenZ
Contact
Gattaca
Innocence (Ghost in the Shell 2)
There is a great Polish sci-fi movie "Seksmisja" ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088083/ ).
Looks awesome, TesTeq. Thanks!
Thanks, Alex. I hadn't heard of Dark City, eXistenZ, or Innocence - thanks! I haven't seen Contact in ages.
I would definitely add:
Sunshine - I LOVE this movie, especially the soundtrack
Contact - the machine is amazing, despite the crazy ending!
Solaris - Soderbergh suits science fictionh
Moon - Amazing film
Great List though!
Thanks for the movies, Matt.
Sunshine - couldn't stand it!
Contact - I need to re-watch it.
Solaris - couldn't get into it
Moon - hated it!
As always, opinions and arse holes ;-)