Sci Fi Movie Canon
One blogger has compiled a list of the most significant science fiction films of all time. As Darren Barefoot notes, it’s missing a couple doozies like DARK CITY, but it’s otherwise a decent list. I’ll be highlighting the movies I’ve seen after the break.
I don’t normally do lists like these, but since I discovered the part of WordPress that lets me hide things behind a break, I’m desperate to do use it.
Commence with the meme!
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension!
Akira
Alien
Aliens
Alphaville
Back to the Future
Blade Runner
Brazil
Bride of Frankenstein
Brother From Another Planet
A Clockwork Orange
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Contact
The Damned
Destination Moon
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Delicatessen
Escape From New York
ET: The Extraterrestrial
Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers (serial)
The Fly (1985 version)
Forbidden Planet
Ghost in the Shell
Gojira/Godzilla
The Incredibles
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version)
Jurassic Park
Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior
The Matrix
Metropolis
On the Beach
Planet of the Apes (1968 version)
Robocop
Sleeper
Solaris (1972 version)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The Stepford Wives
Superman
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
The Thing From Another World
Things to Come
Tron
12 Monkeys
28 Days Later
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
2001: A Space Odyssey
La Voyage Dans la Lune
War of the Worlds (1953 version)
That’s the most bolding I think I’ve ever done in any such list. Go me.
October 28th, 2005 at 10:23 am
I agree with many of those choices, but I also agree that some major things were left out.
I can’t think of any right now, mind you… I’d have to look over my DVD collection.
Surely LotR belongs in there? At least one of them? Or does the list specifically exclude Fantasy?
October 28th, 2005 at 12:23 pm
I’m surprised that I’ve seen this many. I’m surprised I haven’t seen more. Finally, I’m surprised they left off quite a few deserving movies.
How do two Star Wars movies and two Alien movies make it, but not two Superman movies or two Star Trek movies? Where is King Kong or Mighty Joe Young? Where is Debbie Does Uranus?
Alien
Aliens
Back to the Future
Blade Runner
Bride of Frankenstein
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Damned
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Escape From New York
ET: The Extraterrestrial
The Fly (1985 version)
Gojira/Godzilla
The Incredibles
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version)
Jurassic Park
Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior
The Matrix
Planet of the Apes (1968 version)
Robocop
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Superman
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
The Thing From Another World
Tron
12 Monkeys
28 Days Later
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
2001: A Space Odyssey (only 1/2 of it; couldn’t get through the rest of it)
War of the Worlds (1953 version)
October 28th, 2005 at 1:37 pm
Star Wars? What the heck are those two doing there? None of the Star Wars movies are science fiction — they’re all fantasy. Merely setting a story in space, or draping it with the futuristic trappings common to science fiction, do not make it so. I mean, come on: white knight, black knight. Crazy old wizard(s). Dragon. Damsel in distress. Comic-relief “narrators.” Irreverant but heart-of-gold buddy. “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” Guys. Please. That’s just a paraphrase of “Once upon a time in a faraway land,” the lead-in to every fairy tale ever written.
And yeah, the LOTR trilogy would be excluded because it, too, is fantasy. Fantasy. Science fiction. Two different genres.
Several others on the list are also not science fiction — can you spot ‘em?
October 28th, 2005 at 6:22 pm
You haven’t seen Robocop, 12 Monkeys or the original Planet of the Apes? Really? Please return your geek card at the next meeting :)
October 28th, 2005 at 7:10 pm
I have seen 29 on this list. I was shocked that I had not seen them all. Mainly the older titles are the ones I have missed. I did noticed that most of all are already on my netflix list. I guess I already knew I wanted to see them before I saw this list. Ok now my list of movies that should be on this list…
Farenheit 451
Fifth Element
Logan’s Run
Galaxy Quest
Dune
Stargate
Resident Evil
Being John Malkovich
Starship Troopers
Last Starfighter
Cocoon
Event Horizon
Slipstream (1989)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Alien Nation
Robot Jox
Cherry 2000
Being John Malkovich
Pi
eXistenZ
War Games
Star Trek: First Contact
Tank Girl
October 29th, 2005 at 3:45 pm
Lotsa good choices there, Patton.
October 29th, 2005 at 11:55 pm
Thanks Overworm, I did not choose any of them because they should be on any greatest sci-fi movie list of all time. I chose them based on the theme of most significant, to me that is. Each one of these films holds a special place in my heart and I realize some of them are bad, really bad. I still love them though. Most of all Dune.