Over at Lazy Thoughts From a Boomer, frequent Nobody Move! commenter le0pard13 posted his top 10 list of greatest sci-fi films. In the comments, he expressed an interest in my top 10 list. Paring the list to 10 was a harder task than I thought it would be, there were so many great sci-fi movies made in the last 60 years. After careful consideration, here is my list of the 10 greatest science fiction movies:
The Day the Earth Stood Still - An early classic, this movie relied more on character study than special effects. It's also the first film I'm aware of that portrayed alien visitors as benevolent.
War of the Worlds (1953) - This flick is the granddaddy of hostile alien invasion films.
Forbidden Planet (1956) - This sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest starred Leslie Nielsen as the prototype for Captain James T. Kirk.
Planet of the Apes (1968) - This film portrays what is perhaps the most dystopian of dystopian futures.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - Stanley Kubrick's special effects masterpiece features a classical music-filled score and a dysfunctional computer that'll make you nostalgic for the blue screen of death.
Star Wars (1977) - This blockbuster brought millions of sci-fi fans to the theaters (in some cases, over and over). I saw it five times in its first run, no small feat for a 13 year old who lived 20 miles from the nearest theater.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) - Steven Spielberg's special effects-heavy film manages to avoid becoming a gadget-fest and delivers a fantastic, plot-driven character study.
Alien (1979)/Aliens (1986) - I had a tough time deciding between these two, so I cheated and listed them both. The first film, directed by Ridley Scott, brilliantly captured the claustrophobic feel of a group of space travelers trapped on a ship with a nearly unstoppable creature bent on killing them. James Cameron's sequel does an equally adept job at capturing the predicament of a group of high-tech soldiers who realize too late that they are locked in a battle they don't have a prayer of surviving, let alone winning.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) - The best of the movies based on the iconic series. Ricardo Montalbán reprises the role of Khan, Captain Kirk's most worthy adversary.
Blade Runner (1982) - Ridley Scott's impressive (and visually stunning) telling of Philip K. Dick's excellent Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep.
So there it is. Thoughts? Criticisms? Full frontal nudity? Your feedback is always appreciated.
10 comments:
It's a fantastic list, John (and I'm not saying that because we have some matching selections). All of these are more than worthy of a greatest sci-fi list (and it is quite difficult to pare it all down a top ten, isn't it?). And I'm so glad you went with the original '53 for WAR OF THE WORLDS, too ;-). BTW, since you (and I) are a fan of ST II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, I highly recommend you check out author John Kenneth Muir's recent analytical review of it. It is well worth reading, my friend.
Looking at it all, I could dedicate a weekend of watching nothing but the greatest sci-fi films. Thanks for taking the time and coming up with your list. It was very enjoyable to see what made it and reading your thoughts about them.
p.s., I think we'll leave the full-frontal nudity to Chuck Heston and PLANET OF THE APES ;-).
Excellent list. I need to revisit a few of these.
Bladerunner should have been on the list... oh wait never mind it was.
I would dump Close Encounters though. It was much more a spiritual than Sci Fi type of movie.
le0pard13,
I'm anxious to read Muir's review. And I hear you on the full-frontal thing, Chuck Heston was better suited to that task than I. And can you believe he was in his mid-40s when he made that flick? Makes me feel even fatter and lazier than I already am.
Chris,
Thanks. All of these movies have a high "re-watchability" factor for me.
Mikey,
A valid point, but it could also be said that Alien was more of a horror movie, that it's first sequel was really an action movie, or that Star Wars was as much fantasy/adventure as it was sci-fi. But I think the genre-blending some of these movies did helped them connect with wider audiences and contributed to their success.
Outstanding list! Aliens, Star Trek WoK, and the original Star Wars are fantastic choices.
I would have substituted The Matrix for Close Encounters, though.
Wyatt,
The Matrix was on the short list too. But I'm surprised that there's so little love for Close Encounters from the peanut gallery.
John:
If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were my CLONE.
EVERY movie on that list is on MY list, perhaps in different order.
Like Wyatt, I also like the first MATRIX movie a lot.
I might have replaced CE3K with Rod Taylor in THE TIME MACHINE...good telling of a fantastic story.
Good post.
Bob G,
Matrix is one of my favorites as well. And The Time Machine was excellent too. Rod Taylor's a damned good actor. Did you catch him playing Winston Churchill in Inglourious Basterds?
And don't fret the order of my list. I had enough time paring it to 10, there's no way I could rank it as well.
JohnD said:
"Rod Taylor's a damned good actor. Did you catch him playing Winston Churchill in Inglourious Basterds?"
Oh, yes. One tough cookie, too. Former boxer, I think. Did you ever see his fight in DARKER THAN AMBER from 1970 with William Smith? Actual punches were exchanged during that scene. One of the more brutal fights staged during that era.
I have yet to see Darker Than Amber, but it's on my list of movies to see. If I'm not mistaken, it was directed by Robert Clouse, who directed Enter the Dragon, a favorite of mine. Plus, I'm a big William Smith fan. He was great in Rich Man, Poor Man and Red Dawn (one of my guilty pleasures from the 80s).
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