# Best Science Fiction



## BookStop (Mar 30, 2007)

Hey y'all. I want a list of really good science fiction films. 

New, old, doesn't matter. Sweet special effects or limited budget - either is good. I wish to *exclude* space opera(not that there aren't some darn fine SO movies too), and science fiction with huge space battles and gun-toting mercenaries.

I want the odd, the thinkers, the cult classics. Blockbuster ok if you really, really think it's good.

Here's a small start:

*Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*
*Gattaca*
*Soylent Green*
*AI -* hey I really liked it
*Invasion of the Body Snatchers -* 1978 version
*Stepford Wives -* 1975


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## Pyan (Mar 30, 2007)

*The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)*

A classic, and still one of the most powerful condemnations of the folly of mankind ever made.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)


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## bruno-1012 (Mar 30, 2007)

Would have to agree with that one as well.

Although, how do you feel about the concept of the US - OK this guy comes from a race that has space travel, he has a giant robot that can obliterate any weapon we have he was able to block all non-critical power on the planet and he tells us that there are many more.....

As soon as possible lets mow him down with a machine gun.  I mean the rest of his race won't be a little peeved about that will they?


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## HardScienceFan (Mar 30, 2007)

UHHMM
The Midwich Cuckoos?

I thought AI was pretty good(and moving)

Eternal etc. was terrific


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## Talysia (Mar 30, 2007)

I'll suggest War of the Worlds (the original version.)


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## j d worthington (Mar 30, 2007)

*The Lathe of Heaven* (1980). Granted, this was a production for television (PBS), but a very intelligently done piece for all that.

The Lathe of Heaven (1980) (TV)

*Charly* (1968), from *Flowers for Algernon*:

Charly (1968)

*Things to Come* (1936):

Charly (1968)

*First Men in the Moon* (1964)

First Men in the Moon (1964)

*When Worlds Collide* (1951)

When Worlds Collide (1951)

I'd also have to vote for *Silent Running*, despite logical flaws you could drive a planetary system through, it's a wonderful film; *The Midwich Cuckoos* (*Village of the Damned*; 1960), and *The Day the Earth Stood Still*... However, I'd argue that the original of *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* (1956) is much more effective, on the whole -- especially as it was the product of the entire McCarthy era and can be seen as a critique of either side....

*The Last Man on Earth* (1964), which is a low budget, a bit rough-around-the-edges filming of Matheson's *I Am Legend*, but a very good film, for all that:

The Last Man on Earth (1964)

*2001: A Space Odyssey* (1968) and *A Clockwork Orange* (1971), by Kubrick.

I'd also go for *It Came from Outer Space* (1953), which, under the guise of a horror film, took a completely different tack before things were over... and had a very good message for our time, as well.

*The Incredible Shrinking Man* (1957), which still remains one of the most intelligent sf films done, whatever could be done better now in the way of special effects (for its time, it was very highly ranked on this).

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

And some might argue this isn't a sf film, but I'd say it may well be... and the nominations for the Hugo that year indicated they thought so, too.... *Last Year at Marienbad* (*L'Année dernière à Marienbad*; 1961):

Année dernière à Marienbad, L' (1961)

At any rate, those are the ones that come to me right off the bat....


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## dustinzgirl (Mar 30, 2007)

The Black Hole
Logan's Run (that movie still creeps me out)
Blade Runner
Running Man 
(thats a lot of running, lol)
12 Monkeys
1984
Johnny Mnuemonic
Soylent Green
The Day After The Day After

I'm going to add Cyborg, although it is very mecenary, it is a freaking awesome movie.

And THX-1138 THX 1138 (1971) because Robert Duvall is a hottie, plus, that movie is creepy too.

There is also Metropolis (1927), which plays on AE late nights and that other channel that plays old movies at 2 am. I caught it a few times, and it was interesting. Metropolis (1927)

The Village of the Damned---god that movie was creepy with all those little blond kids. Then there is the Bad Seed, which wasn't as sci fi, but still pretty crazy kids. And then there are the other fun kid sci fis: Space Camp comes to mind

PS: There is another movie I wanted to list but I can not remember the name of it....Its a 1970-80 flick, and I remember the astronauts landing on the moon, the part that creeped me out and the only scene I really remember is one astronaut turned to the other and her face mask shield filled up with black oily stuff. Then she turned into a monster thing. It was kind of like The Thing, but in outer space. And I just can't remember the name!


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## The_Warrior (Mar 30, 2007)

The cult classic A boy and His dog? 

Some say it's the worst piece of bs ever made,and some say it's the best SF ever. I say it's one of those kind of films that you might have to watch a second time to get it.


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## Pyan (Mar 30, 2007)

One you really* must* see, if only the once!

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)


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## j d worthington (Mar 30, 2007)

pyan said:


> One you really* must* see, if only the once!
> 
> Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)


 
Oh, Pyan! They're looking for the best sf, not the worst films ever made... I mean, this one's so bad the Golden Turkey will hardly touch it... right up (or down) there with The Terror of Tiny Town....

The Terror of Tiny Town (1938)

As for A Boy and His God... except for that last line (which was in poor taste), it is a good film. I won't say it's the best, by any means, but it's a good film, definitely; and a respectable adaptation of Ellison's original story (though some things had to be changed, obviously).


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## Pyan (Mar 30, 2007)

You must see the worst as well - after all, there must be a base-line! As one of the reviews says:


> If you have any interest in old movies, you should see this if you have the chance, as long as you can do so without paying for the privilege.


And another:


> Plan 9 is some of the most fun you'll EVER have watching a movie. Almost every scene is so bad I broke out laughing. Few other movies achieve that kind of humor, whether intentional or not.


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## iansales (Mar 31, 2007)

Worst sf film ever is Galaxina. It took me three goes to watch it. It is so bad it's _not_ fun to watch.

Sorry, JD, I'm with those people who think Last Year at Marienbad is pretentious twaddle. I wouldn't recommend it to my own worst enemy 

OTOH, I second the mention of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and will also add The Man Who Fell to Earth, Galaxy of Terror, Immortal, Casshern, Avalon, Returner, Slaughterhouse Five, Primer and Millennium (I have a soft spot for it)


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## iansales (Mar 31, 2007)

And Natural City.


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## chrispenycate (Mar 31, 2007)

Nobody cites "Forbidden Planet"?

It was the first SF movie I ever saw, (and I haven't seen it since) so perhaps I'm seeing it through rose-coloured hindsight?


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## j d worthington (Mar 31, 2007)

chrispenycate said:


> Nobody cites "Forbidden Planet"?
> 
> It was the first SF movie I ever saw, (and I haven't seen it since) so perhaps I'm seeing it through rose-coloured hindsight?


 
Would have, but the OP specified "no space opera"....

On *Marienbad*... obviously I don't agree; I found the film to work on a lot of levels, and it can be seen as a film about memory, or it can work as a strange sort of time-travel, or alternate realities tale, and it also has a quirky sense of humor I found enjoyable. Unlike a like of the French New Wave, I found this one quite approachable and enjoyable, myself....

But then... I thought *Ulysses* (save for the first part) was immense fun....


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## HappyHippo (Mar 31, 2007)

I really like 'Earth Girls Are Easy' *shamefaced* it's fun, there's a sing-a-long element, the special effects came out of a Christmas cracker...

I like Sci-fi films where the sets wobble, and the acting's dire!

Having said that, I LOATHE Mars Attacks.


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## The_Warrior (Apr 2, 2007)

j. d. worthington said:


> Oh, Pyan! They're looking for the best sf, not the worst films ever made... I mean, this one's so bad the Golden Turkey will hardly touch it... right up (or down) there with The Terror of Tiny Town....
> 
> The Terror of Tiny Town (1938)
> 
> As for A Boy and His God... except for that last line (which was in poor taste), it is a good film. I won't say it's the best, by any means, but it's a good film, definitely; and a respectable adaptation of Ellison's original story (though some things had to be changed, obviously).


 

Do you mean A Boy and His Dog?


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## Harpo (Apr 4, 2007)

Silent Running

Dark Star

Fantastic Voyage


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## j d worthington (Apr 4, 2007)

The_Warrior said:


> Do you mean A Boy and His Dog?


 
Oh, dear... that's what I get for sitting here typing after having gone nearly 24 hours without sleep....  Yes... although Blood might argue that the other way is more accurate....


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## Connavar (Apr 4, 2007)

My favs are Terminator 2,Matrix,old star wars,Alien.


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## Raoul Mitgong (Apr 9, 2007)

I agree with most of the films mentioned but when I see that Alien and Blade Runner haven't been mentioned, I worry that the crowd may be too highbrow for me. 

Twelve Monkeys was nothing to sneeze at as well.


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## Raoul Mitgong (Apr 9, 2007)

Oh yes, another recent film that is worth watching is Equilibrium.


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## j d worthington (Apr 9, 2007)

Raoul Mitgong, eh? Well, you didn't help much....


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## Nesacat (Apr 9, 2007)

Pyan ... Definitely Plan 9. That was quite something else altogether and in a league of it's own.

I'd add Scanners; Puppet Masters; City of Lost Children and Galaxy Quest. 

I was going to put The Saragossa Manuscript and Naked lunch but I guess they'd be more fantasy than science fiction.


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## The Wanderer (Apr 14, 2007)

> And some might argue this isn't a sf film, but I'd say it may well be... and the nominations for the Hugo that year indicated they thought so, too.... Last Year at Marienbad (L'Année dernière à Marienbad; 1961):
> 
> Année dernière à Marienbad, L' (1961)



I sort of Nightmares and Dreamscapes film, if I play this film late at night it really gets to me and seeps into my bones, it's that kind of film


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## The Wanderer (Apr 14, 2007)

Raoul Mitgong said:


> Oh yes, another recent film that is worth watching is Equilibrium.



The heroes are in Long Black Trenchcoats with a Pistol in Each Hand, firing while doing Sommersaults, now that reminds of me of another movie, hmmmm


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## that old guy (Apr 14, 2007)

Some of these probably slide into fantasy, maybe horror...I'll try to honor the OP and also not re-post anything previously posted, if I noticed it.

Jacob's Ladder
Videodrome (the James Wood original, I think I saw that it was remade?)
Silent Planet (are cartoons okay?)
Planet of the Apes (first one only, the rest are horrible)
Brazil
Altered States


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## HardScienceFan (Apr 15, 2007)

that old guy said:


> Some of these probably slide into fantasy, maybe horror...I'll try to honor the OP and also not re-post anything previously posted, if I noticed it.
> 
> Jacob's Ladder
> Videodrome (the James Wood original, I think I saw that it was remade?)
> ...


Some good calls in there OG.Tim Robbins was excellent in JL.Spooky movie,very good.Brazil:idiosyncratic,not too everyone's taste I suppose,
but also very good.Have never seen Altered States!Bit of a cult hit,that one?
Call me an idiot,but "signs' wasn't half bad....


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## that old guy (Apr 15, 2007)

HardScienceFan said:


> Have never seen Altered States!Bit of a cult hit,that one?


 
More like an old one, I'm afraid (1980 or so). Not sure how well the f/x have stood up over time, in all honesty. I saw this in its theatrical release, and was candidly freaked out by it. But that's a long, long time ago now.


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## HardScienceFan (Apr 16, 2007)

that old guy said:


> More like an old one, I'm afraid (1980 or so). Not sure how well the f/x have stood up over time, in all honesty. I saw this in its theatrical release, and was candidly freaked out by it. But that's a long, long time ago now.



Had the same experience with "the Howling",remember that one?


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## High Eight (Apr 17, 2007)

My top ten:​ 
1. Solaris (the Russian original)
2. Stalker
3. The Andromeda Strain
4. Quatermass and the Pit (Though the TV series was better)
5. Phase IV
6. Things to Come (if only for the music)
7. Farenheight 451
8. The Bed Sitting Room (OK, it's an absurdist comedy, but it _is_ set in the future after the collapse of civilisation)
9. The Fifth Element (makes no sense but _looks_ lovely)
10. Not sure if my last one counts as it was a Play for Today on the BBC: Stargazey on Zummerdown.​


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## that old guy (Apr 17, 2007)

HardScienceFan said:


> Had the same experience with "the Howling",remember that one?


 
In fact I did see the first one in the theater. I think they're up to the The Howling MDCCXVII or something, right? To my eyes, that one actually seemed kind of silly even back then, the way they did the werewolf transformations with what looked like brown trash bags with air blown into them.  

BTW, last night another name occurred to me: The Serpent and the Rainbow. Good, maybe great, flick, though perhaps more to the horror end of the spectrum.


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## HardScienceFan (Apr 17, 2007)

To most people,best sf movie has something of an oxymoron


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## Raoul Mitgong (Apr 20, 2007)

The Wanderer said:


> The heroes are in Long Black Trenchcoats with a Pistol in Each Hand, firing while doing Sommersaults, now that reminds of me of another movie, hmmmm


 
Well yeah, but I didn't say it was great just worth the time to watch it. Other than the long black trench coats it was hardly a Matrix ripoff.

Be careful you are treading on my dreams.


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## K. Riehl (Apr 21, 2007)

Another movie with Long Black Trenchcoats but no pistols,
*Dark City -*it has the feel of the 40's pulp short stories.

*Time After Time-* a good treatment of the Jack Finney book.


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## BookStop (Apr 22, 2007)

Good call K. - that reminds me that I need to list *Somewhere in Time. *


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## j d worthington (Apr 22, 2007)

BookStop said:


> Good call K. - that reminds me that I need to list *Somewhere in Time. *


 
Lovely film! But oh, that damned coin!


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## Steve Jordan (Apr 29, 2007)

Let's add *Day of the Dolphin* and *Contact* to the list.



HardScienceFan said:


> To most people,best sf movie has something of an oxymoron



That's their problem.


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## kafka (Apr 29, 2007)

"Serenity" -A fun new one I really enjoyed

"Search For Spock" -Classic

"A.I. Artificial Intellegence" -It could have been better but I enjoyed it.


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## The Wanderer (Apr 29, 2007)

7. Farenheight 451


Truffaut


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## tangaloomababe (Apr 30, 2007)

In no particular order
Soylent Green
Serenity
Blade Runner
Can we call Planet of the Apes sci fi?

I have seen Metropolis and although I wouldnt rate it as a favorite, I did find it interesting.


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## j d worthington (Apr 30, 2007)

Yes, Planet of the Apes is sf. While it is an allegory and not really based on hard science (save in the most vague, general fashion), it belongs to a long sf tradition.


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## 2nddan (May 6, 2007)

_The Postman_, even if it did butcher the book.
But, I'm easy. I also liked _Waterworld_. And _Judge Dredd_. And _The Crawling Eye_. And the original _The Thing_.


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## iansales (May 6, 2007)

Have these been mentioned?

*Delicatessen* - dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro
*Galaxy of Terror* - dir. Bruce Clark
*Until the End of the World* - dir. Wim Wenders


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## Triceratops (May 6, 2007)

Okay, looks like I'm first up to mention Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and I don't know how anybody missed this.  I certainly liked it, at least for great characterization.  Speilberg also wrote the tiny book and it wasn't bad reading either.  This film made me a Richard Dreyfus fan.

Do you remember The Omega Man?  What a creepy soundtrack and mood.  I'm surprised that it hasn't attained cult status, at least on par with Soylent Green.  Same actor.

How about Them?  Not bad for a b/w fifties film.  Some damn good pupetry, since they had very little special effects in that film.

Fantastic Voyage.  Well, I liked it back then.  Now that I see it again, well, a little on the cheesy side.  But Oh!  What a premise!  Into the micro world we go!

Planet of the Apes.  Classic all the way around, until they began to bastardize it with all the sequels and the ridiculous TV series.

How could someone remember Village of the Damned?  Scared the crappie out of me when I was a weed-hopper.

Escape from New York.  Not bad--Kurt saves it.  Good premise.  Sequel stunk.

Mighty Joe Young, both versions actually.  This probably qualifies as action adventure, but I've got a soft spot in my heart for a domesticated, over-sized ape.

Some more old favorites:

The Valley of Guangi (sp?)

The Beast from 20,000 fathoms  (I think that's it)  Same little scientist that appeared in Them.

Rodan.  Well, it was hot then, and so was Godzilla.

The Blob.  Scared the daylights out of me when I first saw it--so many moons ago.

Logans Run.  I'll never get tired of watching this one.  One of my favs.

Tri


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## gully_foyle (May 6, 2007)

All of the above. Plus I will throw in Demon Seed, though I haven't seen it for a score.

Favourites are hard because you end up watching them to saturation point and get bored. Alas Star Wars (pre cgi) and Blade Runner, and even Alien, while still looking as fantastic as ever, have little impact for me any more.

Oddly I can watch Galaxy Quest again and again. There are some actual humanist elements in it, especially Tim Allen's fading TV star. Also I just love seeing a big starship grinding its way out of a space dock.

Serenity was great, but I'm looking forward to the next movie that makes me think "no-one has ever done a movie like this before!"


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## Triceratops (May 6, 2007)

It's funny you should mention frequently watching Galaxy Quest over and over again, because I do the same thing.  I think I've made it one of my official cult films.  Oh, does she ever look good in a blonde wig!

There will always be a special place in my heart for The Time Machine.  Rod Taylor has always been one of my favorite actors.  

Some of the Ray Harryhausen flicks could be deemed SF, I think.  Mysterious Island was rather ground-breaking for its time.

Tri


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