Great Sci-Fi Movies

It has been mentioned, but War of the Worlds is my favorite.

Not necessarily SciFi but all the Hitchcock films. I watch them over and over again. He is in everyone. Try to spot him.

There are some great movies listed by some of the members here. Let me add:

The Fifth Element
2001: A Space Odyssey
Fahrenheit 451
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the original, not the remake)
Invaders from Mars (1953 original)
1984 (George Orwell novel adaption)

and a great one because it is so BAD it comes off corny and actually funny: Plan 9 from Outer Space

Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi...the three prequels ruined my childhood retroactively.

Blade Runner - i went into it expecting more action, maybe more blades & more running, i dunno...but i came out of it very very happy, its an excellent movie.

Tron - awesome for its time, one of those huge leaps forward in special effects.

Brazil - not quite sci-fi, but set in a dystopian future...just a weird movie about weird people doing weird things.

Predator 1 and 2 - two totally different movies, i love them both...there's a whole insane sub-culture devoted to the creatures, a whole backstory created about their entire race...its fun "research" if you have some time to kill.

The Matrix - the first one blew everyone away...the 2nd one got too wordy & preachy & forced-philosophical...i havent gotten around to seeing the 3rd one yet.

The Fifth Element - milla jovovich in that outfit would make any movie awesome, but this one stands on its own.

Rocky Horror - cmon, it's sci-fi in it's own way :)

Pi - numbers, stock market, jewish conspiracies, self-lobotomies...good stuff.




just from my personal tastes, i love time-travel movies...its one of those things i just love to work thru my brain, trying to figure out the logic of an illogical concept

Twelve Monkeys - one of my fave time travel movies
Primer - one of the most complex and confusing time travel movies i've ever seen.
Back to the Future trilogy - interesting ideas about the effects of time travel, plus mjfox kisses his mommy...ew.
Terminator 1 and 2 - the first one was really great, a very dark atmospheric movie...the 2nd one turned a bit less sci-fi, a bit more action...i had problems with the 3rd one, because the ending of the 2nd one was just so tight, it didnt make sense to make another...the 3rd one basically spent most of the time trying to explain why the movie even took place, the idea worked, but i still havent warmed up to it.

each of these time travel movies also differ with their main philosophies...BttF believes that going back in time & changing a small detail will alter the present/future, whereas 12 Monkeys says that whatever is going to happen is going to happen, regardless of how we try to affect it...and the Terminators sort of blend that, the first and second movies go with the idea that you can change the future, the third says "just kidding! its all inevitable"...and Primer just makes my brain hurt.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Time Enough for Love are my favorites from Heinlein.

Other than Starship Troopers and Destination: Moon (I think that was the name of the book), did anything else by Heinlein get adapted to film?

I couldn't agree more, I'll never forget that sinking feeling at the cinema when 'clones' was first shown.



DAMN....how could I neglect to mention this!!! Fabulous film, AWESOME soundtrack.....my favourite part.....

Magenta: I ask for nooothing masterrr....

Frank'n'furter: And sooo you shall receive it.....IN ABUNDANCE!

Sounds like the US X-Rated version was the UK Cinema version.

I truly think The Hunger was a very stylish and amazingly believable take on the vampire legend.

You've surprised me! The first time it was shown on tv here all the Bowie penis shots had been removed and in the Rip Torn scenes they used the "pan and scan" technique to keep his penis out of shot.At the time it was said to be the U.S version.
The original uncensored version is always shown these days.

Actually, the X-rated version was shown on cable in the 80s. In LA, back when HBO was only on from 8 PM to 4 AM, there was "Z Channel" AKA Theta Cable Television. They would occasionally show something X-rated. Not porno, but real movies that got that rating for content (Think the uncut version of Last Tango in Paris). The Man Who Fell to Earth was one of those movies.

huge sci fi geek, so surprised i haven't tripped on this thread before. for my money, here are my tops:

Serenity
Donnie Darko
Children of Men
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars
Return of the Jedi
The Matrix
Fifth Element
even numbered Star Trek films
Star Trek: First Contact
Ghostbusters
Back to the Future
ET
Close Encounters of a Third Kind
Jurassic Park
Brazil
12 Monkeys
Terminator
T2
Men in Black
Blade Runner
Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
The Iron Giant
Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Independence Day
Pitch Black

(yes, i do enjoy some cheese with my sci-fi from time to time. )

for sci fi TV:

Firefly
Battlestar Galactica (current)
Lost
Doctor Who
Cowboy Bebop
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Heroes
The 4400
Futurama

just to name a few.

as for graphic novels being adapted soon, Y the Last Man seems on the fast track. Neil Gaiman is apparently well on the way to getting his adaptation of his own Death: The High Cost of Living made. Hellboy sequel coming soon, and i'm so psyched about that! and of course the long awaited (and in some circles slightly dreaded) adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, which i'm hoping will be good. oh, and The Dark Knight which looks excellent. i think those are the only ones in development that i'm really looking forward to right now. oh, and Brian Michael Bendis' Jinx is supposedly still coming out at some point with Charlize Theron as the title character...and Mark Millar's Wanted, though some of what i've heard makes a bit hesitant towards it. we'll see. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's We3 has been optioned by New Line, i believe...but i think they're still drafting a screenplay.

Excellent list, Reverend! Especially the Hellboy II and the movie of Gaiman's graphic/comic series Death: The High Cost of Living. Actually, anything by Gaiman is worth a movie... fortunately he seems to be the writer on those adaptations rather than some shlocky hacks that they grab to fuck up most of the excellent books out there.

Steam Boy - This is my favorite sci fi movie of all time. It's pure brilliance. The detail is impressive, from the Manchester dialect to the very long train scene (you'd know it when you see it)

Steamboy - Official Site

Saturn 5 - This is a great suspense movie. I loved it.
Demon Seed - The AI was very believable.
AI - I loved this movie. It fascinated me to see these main characters figuring out how to deal with their various problems... you could almost see the gears churning.
I, Robot - Great action scenes and a decent story.
Star Trek - The Motion Picture - Everyone seems to hate this movie but me :(
Clash of the Titans - I have no idea why I like this movie.
The Day the Earth Stood Still - I love the moral. It was an intense movie. I'd like to see a remake.
Alien and Aliens (Alien II) - These are almost ideal sci fi movies: gritty, raw, real, and some horror and suspense thrown in.
The Matrix (just the first one) - This was incredibly original and had me from the first scene.
Equilibrium - I love how a puppy changed this brutal man's character.
Blade Runner - I saw it as a kid and it creeped me out, but it deserves it's cult status.
Stargate - An underrated movie. I love these "ancient futuristic" movies.
Chronicles of Riddick - This movie showed all the workings of a technologically-advanced but culturally-primitive society that was fascinating. Everything was so big.
Terminator (just the first one) - This is one of the best sci fi movies ever made. It was somewhat like Saturn 5 though, so I feel it lacks in originality.
The Mist - I loved this movie... including the ending!
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - I know many people who hated this movie, but i have to say that I loved the 50's sci fi theater feel.
Silent Running - Loved Huey, Dewey and Louie! Awesome ending that I can't mention here
Sunshine - The ending sucked, but this is how I like my sci fi -- gritty and raw.
The Animatrix - The second story explained the origins of the matrix from the very beginnings.
The Andromeda Strain - This was a very intense movie.
Minority Report - I didn't like it as much as Ebert (it was his favorite movie of the year) but I enjoyed it
The Abyss - The CGI is still impressive. I loved the mini-sub demolition derby.
Serenity - Much better than the series
Contact - So much better than Sagan's book
Soldier - A very simple plot. Reminiscent of Shane
Predator - Mostly a hunt that didn't really need the sci fi element, but that made it more interesting.
Twelve Monkeys - Barely sci fi, but an awesome complex story that is very engaging.

Universal Soldier

I really liked Larry Niven's short story "Inconstant Moon," and the made-for-TV film version was a reasonably good adaptation. It's sometimes on late on the SciFi Channel.

NCbear (who also likes The Fifth Element and Pitch Black)

Has anyone heard of a movie called "Day Watch" I saw the previews for it on the DVD of "28 weeks later" and it looked very good. Reminded me of the Matrix.