Top 30 Favorite Sci-Fi Films

[JaseSF]

My Top 30 Favorite Sci-Fi Movies

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): This is more than just a movie in some ways. This is all about the human potential. This is in many ways thinking outside of the box. Go beyond the limits. And it features one of the best computer gone mad subplots ever put to film thanks to HAL9000.

2. Blade Runner (1982): Rutger Hauer gives a terrific performance as an android faced with the prospect of a death much too soon. It examines the preciousness of life even in the darkest of circumstances. Harrison Ford and Sean Young prove quite memorable in this one too and it's loaded with unforgettable scenery and lines not to mention a future that seems all too close to our own.

3. 12 Monkeys (1995): Beautifully constructed time paradox film that does a terrific job of questioning reality and conventional beliefs about sanity. Good performances too by Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt.

4.. Brazil (1985): A film that shows one Man's struggle to cope with the many challenges in an ever-evolving world where dreams gradually seem to become better than his true reality. One of Terry Gilliam's best works.

5. Metropolis (1927): In this classic from director Fritz Lang, workers are seen as little more than cogs in a machine and treated as such by the wealthy who live in high towers while the workers live in the dirt and the depths. In the end, it's suggested more middle ground must be found between the workers and the elite or the whole machinery of society will crumble in the dust. This film also features a terrific mad scientist in Rotwang and a truly memorable robot menace in Robot Maria.

6. Planet of the Apes (1968): How can you not love a film that has intelligent apes exposing humanity as to the ugly truths about modern human society? And let's not forget Charlton Heston's tour-de-force performance as Taylor. “It’s a madhouse. A MADHOUSE!!”, “Get your filthy hands off of me - you damn dirty Ape!!”

7. Seconds (1966): A man, thoroughly disappointed with his lot in life, is given another chance at life. A new face, a new identity, a new life to start anew and afresh. However he soon learns one cannot escape from who one truly is. Features a terrific performance from Rock Hudson.

8. The Thing From Another World (1951): An alien, a truly different form of life, is discovered frozen in a block of ice in the Arctic. When it eventually gets loose, it becomes a threat to the entire world! Now with the world hanging in the balance, it's up to an handful of people stranded in an isolated and harsh northern climate to find a means of stopping the Thing, which is lurking out there somewhere just outside their door waiting for them!

9. Soylent Green (1973): In a future overpopulated world, food, work and personal space aren't anywhere near as readily available as the vast majority of humanity would like. A murder investigation leads to a most horrible discovery regarding the food supply. The film's most powerful message however may be in its showcasing of the beauty of the natural unspoiled world and how we all need to try our very best to preserve it as best we can. Edward G. Robinson gives a terrific final performance in this one and Charlton Heston once again gets to deliver some great lines.

10. The Omega Man (1971): Germ warfare leads to a world in which seemingly one man, played with gusto here by Charlton Heston, is left alive in a wasteland. However he is not alone, there is an army of crazed mutants out there just waiting to take him out. Surprisingly fun at times, much too dead serious at others. Does have a lot of great scenes though that reminds one of “The Twilight Zone”.

11. Fahrenheit 451 (1966): In many ways, this film is bleak and emotionally uninvolved. However it does feature a good story once it finally get going. Based on the novel by Ray Bradbury, this is a story about a fireman who one day dares to actually read one of the books which he is normally instructed to destroy. In the end, this is all about dreamers unwilling to conform even to the harsh demands of a tyrannical society.

12. Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (1977-1983): traditional tale of a boy coming of age given a science fiction/fantasy bent. Throw in a bit of Kurosawa, a bit of Flash Gordon, some 50s B-Movie style monsters and robots and mix. It's surprisingly good and involving. It has grand heroes, fantastic villains and an overall epic feel.

13. RoboCop (1987): Overly violent film that shows a future society in decay. It explores the potential for corruption within large corporations and how government and the media can become their tools in a world obsessed with money and profits. And yeah, it features a kickass cyborg and robots.

14. The Terminator (1984): A robot is sent from the future to terminate a woman living in the past in hopes of eliminating all opposition to an eventual takeover of humanity by machines. Arnold Schwarzenegger was never better than when in this role. Here he does seem very cold and calculating - in essence very machinelike in his approach.

15. Aliens (1986): James Cameron moves ALIEN much closer to “Starship Troopers” in his approach here as a military team must try and wipe out a nest of Aliens and even worse their gigantic Queen. This film is also memorable for its unique mother-child dynamic with Ripley and Newt.

16. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951): A visitor from another world and his giant robot bodyguard pay a visit to the Earth but the reception he gets isn't none too kind. In the end, this film warns that if humanity cannot find more tolerance and stop our destructive ways, perhaps humanity shouldn't be allowed to advance and become a threat to other more peaceful worlds.

17. Alien (1979): A ragtag group of employees aboard a spaceship find themselves trapped on a spaceship with a vicious and hungry alien. Sigourney Weaver steals the show here as strong female lead Ripley who uses her guts, mind and wits to try and elude the alien menace.

18. War of the Worlds (1953): George Pal produced this epic of Martians invading the Earth and attacking Earth's forces with no remorse. It was directed by Byron Haskin. Pretty action-packed and filled with thrills and fairly true to its source material aside from the way religion gets tied in with the plot.

19. The Time Machine (1960): Good adaptation of H.G. Wells’ Time Machine. Plenty of excitement and thrills to be found here. Stars Rod Taylor in a good perfromance as H. George Wells, here the film's time traveler but the real star here is the terrific FX. This too was directed and produced by George Pal.

20. Forbidden Planet (1956): A science fiction adaptation of Shakespeare's “The Tempest” in many ways, this features a crew of space travelers landing on an alien planet named Altair-4. There they find a reclusive scientist and his beautiful daughter, not to mention their robot servant - the unforgettable Robby the Robot. But an unseen menace almost too terrible to comprehend stalks them all. Great FX, great sci-fi adventure at its very best.

21. Invaders From Mars (1953): A nightmarish tale of alien invasion as a young boy becomes the sole witness to a Martian takeover and must try and get others to believe him before the entire Earth is taken over by Martians but will anybody even listen?

22. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1956): This film actually dares to do something different. It looks at the world through new eyes and questions whether man really is the center of the universe, it forces us to reconsider the smallest ordinary things and even their viewpoint and I like that.

23. Gojira (1954): An atomically mutated monster dinosaur runs rampant and destroys Tokyo. Action packed, this first appearance by Godzilla is unforgettable and highly symbolic of the real-life horrors that were caused by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the air-raid bombings of World War II.

24. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991): Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor wants no part of being a victim anymore and as such has armed herself at the ready for the next inevitable attack from the future via a terminator. However the Terminator who comes looking for her this time isn't quite the same as the one who pursued her last time around.

25. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982): The best Trek film by far. It features Kirk and Khan engaged in a game of wits while Spock must make a great sacrifice for the well-being of all. Great acting, action and terrific storytelling. As good as Trek gets.

26. Island of Lost Souls (1933): Terrific little horror/sci-fi chiller has Charles Laughton as the mad Dr. Moreau creating horrible hybrid mutants on an isolated island. Only are the mutants happy with their lot in life?

27. The Blob (1958): Fun, suspenseful sci-fi/horror has all the ingredients popular to the Drive-In era: Teen Heroes, a seemingly unstoppable monster and adults too dumb to listen. Great entertainment. Perfect Drive-In Fare.

28. The Quatermass Xperiment (1955): Something went awry during a secret space mission. After finding a single astronaut Victor Caroon (Richard Wordsworth)alive, Quatermass is stunned by the changes taking place within the man. In fact, is he even a man at all anymore? Wordsworth is effectively creepy in his role here.

29. Colossus: the Forbin Project (1970): Colossus and Guardian are opposing supercomputers built to control the U.S. and Soviet defense systems but alas the computers establish a connection between one another, begin to talk and then come to the conclusion to eradicate war--they have to take over and with them controlling the world's main defense systems, who will stop them?? Colossus is in many ways a modern take on the old Frankenstein tale with Dr. Charles Forbin creating not an intelligent man out of dead body parts but a living computer mind that is much too advanced for his, or our, own good - once again a man is in essence destroyed by his own creation. "Your mother was right---FRANKENSTEIN should be required reading for all scientists”. The ideas at work in Colossus are not as far removed from reality as one would like to think. Computers do already control a lot of devices in our world today. A computer intelligence could be a very real threat.


30. Quatermass and the Pit (1968): Professor Quatermass is fascinated when an ancient spaceship is unearthed beneath London. Its ramifications upon the world proves to be quite extraordinary as a link is found between the ancient devil-like insectoid inhabitants of the spacecraft and modern day humanity! Truly frightening and nightmarish at times although time has tamed its impact a bit.

Honorable Mentions (I like practically all the following quite a bit too but for one reason or another, they fall below the above-mentioned. Some I consider more appropriate to other genres, others just don't quite pull off the intended effect as well as I'd like):

The Lost World (1925)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Frankenstein (1931)
The Invisible Man (1933)
The Man Who Changed His Mind (1936)
Things To Come (1936)
Destination Moon (1950)
Rocketship X-M (1950)
20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
Donovan's Brain (1953)
Fiend Without a Face (1958)
The Fly (1958)
It Came From Outer Space (1953)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
Quatermass 2 (1957)
This Island Earth (1955)
Village of the Damned (1960)
When Worlds Collide (1951)
X the Unknown (1956)
Crack in the World (1965)
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Fail-Safe (1964)
First Men in the Moon (1964)
The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970)
Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Logan's Run (1976)
Mad Max (1979)
The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
The Fantastic Planet (1973)
Rollerball (1975)
Silent Running (1972)
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
Solaryis (1972)
Westworld (1973)
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
Akira (1988)
Back to the Future Trilogy (1985-1990)
Dark City (1998)
Cube (1997)
Contact (1997)
The Arrival (1996)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Naked Lunch (1991)
Pi (1998)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
The Matrix (1999)
The Thing (1982)
Videodrome (1983)
Total Recall (1990)
Escape From New York (1981)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
Cocoon (1985)
Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force (1987)
Patlabor: The Movie (1990)
Patlabor 2: Mobile Police(1993)
Ghost in the Shell (1996)
The Truman Show (1998)
On the Beach (1959)
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

[InformationGeek]

My favorite sci-fi movies are:

Star Wars (The whole franchise)
Ghost in the Shell
Naussica and the Valley of the Winds
Jurassic Park
The Thing from Another World
Them!
20th Century Boys
Alien Trespass
The Blob
Mars Attack!
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Hmm... would this movie be considered sci-fi?)

[SPazzo]

Wow JaseSF, that's a big one.  (List I mean).
My favourites:

Alien
2001
Brazil
Plan 9 (yes that IS in my top list)
12 Monkeys
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (for the Hoth scene)
Akira

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Hmm... would this movie be considered sci-fi?)

Yeah, it counts.  I haven't seen that in a long time; it was a fun movie.

[paula]

my list is populated by more recent movies.
no particular order:

1.  The Matrix
2.  The Thing (1982)
3.  Star Wars
4.  Empire Strikes Back
5.  Return of the Jedi
6.  Terminator
7.  Terminator 2
8.  Alien
9.  Aliens
10.  Star Trek (2009)
11.  Total Recall
12.  Predator
13.  Escape from New York
14.  Blade Runner
15.  Terror of Mechagodzilla
16.  Mad Max
17.  Road Warrior
18.  Armageddon
19.  Transformers
20.  Robocop
21.  Star Trek 2
22.  Outland
23.  Pitch Black
24.  Serenity
25.  Wall-E
26.  The Prestige
27.  V for Vendetta
28.  Tron
29.  The Black Hole
30.  Close Encounters of the Third Kind

[Jack]

I have a terrible time with lists.  When it comes to my favorite movies of all time, I've seen them so many times I can't sit through them any more.  Like Aliens - last time I tried to watch that, I realized I'd memorized entire scenes worth of dialog.  And I really lack the ability to say that this movie should be #23, but I like this one slightly less, so it'll be #24.  Anyhow, this list is only somewhat arranged in any sort of order.


1)  Alien
2)  Aliens
3)  Star Wars
4)  Babylon 5 Third Space
5)  Star Trek Wrath of Khan
6)  Terminator
7)  2001
8)  Mad Max
9)  Terminator 2
10)  Dune (1984)
11)  Jason X
12)  Starship Troopers
13)  Event Horizon
14)  Robocop 2
15)  The Road Warrior
16)  Empire Strikes Back
17)  Forbidden Planet
18)  The Thing From Another World
19)  Starship Troopers 2
20)  Species
21)  Robot Jox
22)  Crash and Burn
23)  Predator
24)  The Thing
25)  Farscape Peacekeeper Wars
26)  Ghosts of Mars
27)  Hollow Man
28)  Inseminoid
29)  Journey to the Center of the Earth (the one with Dee Dee Pfeiffer and Greg Evigan)
30)  Lethal Target

Honorable mentions:

LEXX I Worship His Shadow
Phoenix the Warrior
Sphere
Virus
Serenity

[Skull]

1... Empire Strikes Back
2... Halloween 3 Season of the Witch [Sci-Fi and Horror]
3... The Thing (I love both versions equally)
4... Horror Express (its actually the Thing remade and put on a train)
5... Star Wars (original, not that digital walking around Jabba crap)
6... Rollerball (1975)
7... Forbidden Planet (1956)
8... Aliens (1986)
9... Event Horizon
10... The Looker
11... The Andromeda Strain (1971)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC-dwjrinK0
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12... Starcrash (1978)
13... The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (The BBC version)
14... Cosmos: War of the Planets and War of the Robots (great boxset)
15... Planet of the Vampires
16... The Crazies (1973) [A deadly chemical destroying the planet seems Sci-Fi to me]
17... Blade Runner
18... Moontrap
19... Moonraker
20... Demolition Man
21... Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (I'm not a big Star Trek fan but I do like Wrath of Khan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf8kdmw7vQc
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22... Capricorn One
23... The Black Hole
24... Jurassic Park
25... The Road Warrior
26... Westworld
27... The Land that Time Forgot
28... The Last Dinosaur
29... At The Earth's Core

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj-78jRaWJ4
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30... Horror of the Blood Monsters (1970)



I dont like... ET

[JaseSF]

Thanks for sharing your favorites too guys and gals. Obviously I'm more a classic film kinda person as I really haven't seen a lot of the more modern sci-fi but I'm doubtful at any of them knocking off my classic faves anyways. Some cool choices there by many of you. I sort of wanted to put Terror of Mechagodzilla higher and on the main list but I felt one Godzilla film was enough as therefore it had to be Gojira. Really like the bad movie bent of your list Skull. Most of the films on it are definitely fun viewing. Glad to see I'm not the only anime fan. Part of me wanted to include one on the main list but really I feel the best anime sci-fi is in the form of TV series.

[lester1/2jr]

phase IV
demon seed
that ursula le guin one with the horrible print

[Skull]

phase IV
demon seed
that ursula le guin one with the horrible print

I'm still waiting for part 2 of demon seed :)

[angrywarhol]

...
that ursula le guin one with the horrible print

Are you talking about Lathe of Heaven?  That's a fantastic movie, certainly near the top of my scifi favorites.

[diamondwaspvenom]

My Favourite Sci-Fi flicks include:
Blade Runner
The Fly (1986)
The Fly II (Yes, you heard me)
Alien 3
The Empire Strikes Back
Star Trek parts II through V
Predator
The Terminator
Robocop

[The Burgomaster]

In no particular order:

1. WAR OF THE WORLDS (Gene Barry version - - R.I.P. Gene!)
2. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (James Mason version)
3. FORBIDDEN PLANET
4. THE THING (FROM ANOTHER WORLD)
5. THE BLOB (Steve McQueen version)
6. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (Kevin McCarthy version)
7. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (Donald Sutherland version)
8. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
9. PLANET OF THE APES (Charlton Heston version)
10. SOYLENT GREEN
11. THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN
12. ALIEN
13. ALIENS
14. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
15. THE TERMINATOR
16. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
17. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (Michael Rennie version)
18. ON THE BEACH
19. WESTWORLD
20. BLADE RUNNER
21. THE FLY (Vincent Price version)
22. THE TIME MACHINE (Rod Taylor version)
23. THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN
24. THE OMEGA MAN
25. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
26. VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (George Sanders version)
27. CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED
28. JURASSIC PARK
29. CRACK IN THE WORLD
30. STAR WARS

Honorable mention to the previously-mentioned SECONDS.  I love this movie and it definitely has a sci-fi element to it, but I'd categorize it more as a thriller . . . so it might end up on THAT top 30 list instead of this one.

[JJ80]

- 1 - "Planet OF The Apes" (Original);
- 2 - "2001 - A Space Odyssey";
- 3 -  "Them!"
- 4 - "Gojira" (1954);
- 5 - "War Of The Worlds" (1953);
- 6 - "Westworld";
- 7 - "The Man Who Fell To Earth";
- 8 - "The Terminator";
- 9 - "The Quatermass Xperiment";
- 10 - "Village Of The Damned" (1960);
- 11 - "The Andromeda Strain";
- 12 - "Star Wars - A New Hope";
- 13 - "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai";
- 14 - "X The Unknown";
- 15  -"Fiend Without A Face";
- 16 - "Destroy All Monsters"
- 17 - "Escape From The Planet Of The Apes";
- 18 - "Silent Running";
- 19 - "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind";
- 20 - "The Running Man";
- 21 - "Farenheit 451";
- 22 - "The Land That Time Forgot";
- 23 - "Lifeforce";
- 24 - "The Philadelphia Experiment";
- 25 - "Marooned";
- 26 - "The Road Warrior";
- 27 - ""Enemy Mine";
- 28 - "Day The Earth Stood Still" (1951);
- 29 - "The Incredible Shrinking Man";
- 30 - "Dark Star"

[JaseSF]

Good lists JJ80 and Burgomaster. I very much enjoyed all those films you've listed which I've sent.

[RCMerchant]

ARGHHHH!!!! I just typed in 15-COUNT em!-15 !!!! Favs!!! With reviews!!!! And I hit the wrong button on this friggin laptop-AND ERASED IT ALL!!!    SWEET JEEBUS!!! Uh. I'm just gonna do 5 atta time now...okay...
1.BRIDE OF THE MONSTER-my favorite movie of all time. ALL TIME. Bela.Tor.Ed Wood. Octopus. Heaven on Earth.
the fact of the matter is-this was Bela's last stand. he was 72 years old....and dam if he didn't give a bravura performance comparable to the RAVEN (1935). He took a cheap jack piece of s**t and made a masterpiece of it.Lets see Brad Pitt or Bruce Willis do that!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cE1fzfOogo
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2.2001: A SPACE ODDESEY-Too much has been sed about this film...by real writers...so I'll just say its too cool...and I actually saw it at a drive in in 1969.

3.TARANTULA-A giant spider,mutated folks,planes and bombs,and John Agar! And look quick fer Clint the Squint flying a jet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_2ouqYZgBs
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Of corpse...NIGHT OF THE#LIVING DEAD

and...THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SDjGFeSo6E
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I'll post more...but this comp is about to make me commit harry cary!