The Top 50 Science Fiction Movies Of All Time

Mood: Geodesic.
Track Injection:Logan's Run <-- Click to Listen (REALPLAYER)


John Scalzi's Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies is Officially Out!

ere's his list (alphabetically) of The Top SF Films of All Time
(brief comments are mine)


The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension!
(love it - cult SF nirvana)

Akira
(masterpiece)

Alien
(masterpiece)

Aliens
(heavily enjoy it)

Alphaville
(enjoy it)

Back to the Future
(enjoy it)

Blade Runner
(masterpiece)

Brazil
(love it - borderline masterpiece)

Bride of Frankenstein
(love it - surprised me that he picked this over original, I thought I was the only one :) what's next, RETURN OF DR. X!)

Brother From Another Planet
(haven't seen it - but suspect AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON - which I have seen, more deserves this spot)

A Clockwork Orange
(masterpiece)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(heavily enjoy it - borderline masterpiece but decreasingly as a function of time - feels dated)

Contact
(love it, save for the last 10 minutes)

The Damned
(masterpiece)

Destination Moon
(love it)

The Day The Earth Stood Still
(masterpiece)

Delicatessen
(love it - Jeunet's CITY OF LOST CHILDREN should also be here)

Escape From New York
(heavily enjoy it - but entry reminds me of what ISN'T on the list that ought be: THE THING - Carpenter's)

ET: The Extraterrestrial
(love it)

Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers (serial)
(heavily enjoy them whenever I catch an ep)

The Fly (1985 version)
(1st surprising bloke-has-testicles proof, this film is almost entirely dismissed today - heavily enjoyed it)

Forbidden Planet
(the monster from the id says this is a masterpiece)

Ghost in the Shell
(masterpiece)

Gojira/Godzilla
(love them)

The Incredibles
(enjoy it)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version)
(heavily enjoy it)

Jurassic Park
(love it)

Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior
(heavily enjoy it)

The Matrix
(second proof of critics testicles - masterpiece)

Metropolis
(masterpiece)

On the Beach
(haven't seen it)

Planet of the Apes (1968 version)
(love it)

Robocop
(enjoy it)

Sleeper
(love it)

Solaris (1972 version)
(love it)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
(love it)

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
(love it)

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
(love it)

The Stepford Wives
(love it - borderline masterpiece)

Superman
(love it)

Terminator 2: Judgement Day
(enjoy it)

The Thing From Another World
(heavily enjoy it - second reminder that Carptenters THING [remake] is missing from this list)

Things to Come
(masterpiece)

Tron
(love it)

12 Monkeys
(heavily enjoy it)

28 Days Later
(love it - but its entry on the SF list raises an issue to me, namely if it belongs on the list based on the science used in the central premise, so then does Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD, and the latter is the superior film - imo)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
(heavily enjoy it)

2001: A Space Odyssey
(masterpiece)

La Voyage Dans la Lune
(masterpiece)

War of the Worlds (1953 version)
(masterpiece)

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Notable TOP-CONTENTER ommisions (imo): EQUILIBRIUM (criminally ignored by many), LOGAN'S RUN (criminally under-rated by many), THE OMEGA MAN (classic armageddon SF), SOYLENT GREEN (classic paranoid SF), THE THING (a remake many would contend is equal to if not superior to the original) UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD (criminally ignored borderline masterpiece).

regards,
michael