The Zone's Fave Sci-Fi Film (w/ Thoroughly Scientific Poll!)

[Cbabbitt]

Heres the place to talk, list, discuss all your favorite Science Fiction & Horror Films.

My favorite sci fi/horror films list: (no particular order)

Frankenstein
Dracula
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Taste The Blood of Dracula
Brides of Dracula
Invasion of The Body Snatchers
The Blob (orig)
Black Sabbath
Black Sunday
Frogs
Pirahna
Jaws
Alligator
Planet of The Vampires
Battle of The Planets
X The Man With X Ray Eyes
The Exorcist
Black Christmas
Sisters
Reanimator
The Fly (orig and remake)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1 and 2
Poltergeist
Friday The 13th 1-5
Saturn 3
Carrie
Eaten Alive
Suspiria
Lifeforce
Night of The Living Dead
Dawn of The Dead
Creepshow 1 and 2
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
The Beyond
Zombi 2
Alien
Aliens
Blade Runner
The Stepfather
Dont Go In The House
Halloween

(to be continued)

Yeah, I like your choices. Coughmatrixstarwarscough.

Seconds is another great sci-fi. And Ghost in the Shell, Metropolis, Dark City, Videodrome, Scanners. Rosemary's Baby is an amazing horror film. And the original WOTW. Still great.

[The Vicar]

The original The Haunting still works after all this time - shows what a superb cast & first rate director can do with a classic story by an inspired writer ( Shirley Jackson).

If you'd really like to get disturbed, dig up a copy of Ken Russell's The Devils. When it was first released, back in the dimly lit 1970s, it was the source of a great deal of hair pulling & jumping about. Guaranteed to clear your inlaws out of the house before you can say "Bob's your uncle".

John Carpenter's The Thing still freaking rocks, although some of the "rubber head" special effects don't stand up very well.

The Hidden , which only recently resurfaced on DVD, is a fun & diverting ride. Classic, maybe not. But for a film not all that many have seen, its amusing for watching Kyle MacLaughlin ( ? Twin Peaks guy) play his FIRST unsettling FBI agent. Also has a savory turn by Babylon Five's Claudia Christian. You've seen worse.

C*H*U*D, Tremors & Return of the Living Dead.; All in good fun, not to be taken seriously, and available cheap on DVD.

Fallen; with Denzel Washington...damned good.

On the Beach ; based on the grim novel by Neville Shute. Absolutely no goddamn happy ending. As a kid, I was stunned.

2010; also seems to get no love, when compared to its weighty older brother. Unfair. Excellant cast & damned fine story where HAL gets his props.

Bladerunner & Alien: Okay, Gladiator gets bitch slapped around here like a rotten pinata, but Ridely Scott has guaranteed his place in Valhalla with these two. Copied endlessly & without shame....or success.

Iron Giant by Oscar winner Brad Bird. That he did not win the animation Oscar for this instead of The Incredibles is ... incredible. "I go. You stay. No following." "Superman...." Bawled like a child. And wanted to mercilessly shag the animated Jennifer Anniston. I need professional help.

[doglips]

I have been listening to some old Science Fiction radio shows recently and in the process got all nostalgic and watched some classic Sci-Fi films.

So I'm putting this thread up for a discussion on our favourites, after which the inevitable poll will appear..........

Here's mine......

The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Abyss
Contact
Fahrenheit 451
Starship Troopers
Pi
Silent Running
Soylent Green
eXistenZ
War of The Worlds (1953)
This Island Earth
Aliens
Mars Attacks!
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Fantastic Voyage
Twelve Monkeys
2010
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
eXistenZ




( Found this thread on a search, but it went the horror route......)

[John-Locke]

The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Abyss
Contact
Fahrenheit 451
Starship Troopers
Pi
Silent Running
Soylent Green
eXistenZ
War of The Worlds (1953)
This Island Earth
Aliens
Mars Attacks!
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Fantastic Voyage
Twelve Monkeys
2010
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
eXistenZ

Don't forget about eXistenZ

One of my favourites as a kid was always The Incredible Shrinking Man, just a kickass story.

Alien
Dune
The Thing
Back to the Future
The Fly (both versions)
War of the worlds

too many to list really

[TonyWilson]

2001
ESB
The Matrix
Invasion of the Body Snatcher (70's version)
Pi
Back To The Future Trilogy
Silent Running
This Island Earth
Videodrome

[AtomicHyperbole]

COOL!

Well...

Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Predator
Serenity
Akira
Ghost In The Shell: Innocence
Jurassic Park
Appleseed (CG)
Battlestar Galactica (pilot)
Pitch Black
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Tron
The Last Starfighter
eXistenZ (agreed, underrated)
The Matrix
War Of The Worlds (been a fan of HG Well's novel since 8, if noly for the Tripod)
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Abre Los Ojos
Starship Troopers
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Thing

I'm sure there's tons more, but I'm waiting for people to jog my memory!

[AtomicHyperbole]

I'm waiting for "most pretentious" post with keen interest...

[Proinsias]

I.....haven't...seen things you wouldn't believe on this list yet....
Bladerunner all the way.

Then -

Alien
Aliens
Star Wars
Empire Strikes Back
The day the earth stood still
Invaders from Mars - absolute classic shit you up as a kid
Ghost in the Shell
Innocence
The Thing
They Live
The Matrix
2001

[Tubbs Tattsyrup]

Alien
Aliens
Star Wars
Empire Strikes Back
The Fifth Element
12 Monkeys
The Fly (1986)
The Abyss
Terminator 2
A Clockwork Orange
Robocop
ST2: WOK
ST:FC
Serenity
Brazil
Dark City
Blade Runner
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
Escape From New York
The Thing (1982)
Jurassic Park
Back to the Future
Galaxy Quest
A Boy And His Dog

[doglips]

Stuff which will make Zoners laugh at me:
The Fifth Element
Armageddon

I would never laugh at you sir!

[ThisIsTheGirl]

OK, some might disagree that all of these are sci-fi, but here's mine:

Cyborg stuff:
The Terminator
Bladerunner
Westworld
Robocop
Metropolis

Spaceship stuff:
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Is it sci-fi? Is it fantasy? We could have a whole thread about that one, but I'm putting it up, nonetheless)
Starship Troopers
The Last Starfighter
Flight of the Navigator (right up to the point where the spacecraft starts talking "hip")
Dune
Transformers: The Movie

"Is the world real" stuff:
The Matrix
eXistenZ
Tron

Monster stuff:
Aliens
Predator 2
Critters
Deep Rising

Funny stuff:
Gremlins
Back to the Future 1-3
Galaxy Quest
Ghostbusters
Mystery Men

Stuff which will make Zoners laugh at me:
The Fifth Element
Armageddon

[unikrunk]

BladeRunner - all time favorite film. I love that Scott did not consider it sci-fi; rather, he said it was a period piece set in the future.

Other than that, it’s the usual stuff I suppose:

Star Wars OT
2001
Solaris

Those would be my favorites, of course, my ‘like a hell of a lot list’ is much longer

[AtomicHyperbole]

Unirkunk is pretenetious! HAHAHAHAHA!

...

OK, I'm done.

Actually, as pretension goes, that's really not.

Er... "Stalker" anyone? What was that one with the ants? Andromeda Strain was good too!

[Peven]

i have always been a fan of the genre, and its rare i have seen a science fiction movie i don't enjoy on some level, even the "bad" ones, so the lists being put up are all good with me.

a couple i haven't seen listed yet that i think are good...

Soylent Green
Planet of the Apes (the orignals)

and TitG, nothing to be embarrassed about dude, "Fifth Element" and "Armegeddon" are two of my favorite popcorn sci-fi movies of all time.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

Ah, fuck - can't believe I forgot The Andromeda Strain. I once sampled that mutha in a DnB tune....

...now that's pretentious!

[Logan5]

No love for Primer?

One Point O is a rare little gem.
Casshern has got to be on the list.
eXistenZ
The Fly
The Thing
J Carpenter's Prince of Darkness
Cube
Dune
Soylent Green
Andromeda Strain
The Last Starfighter
Barbarella
Solaris
Planet of the Apes (originals)
Shivers (sort of sci-fi)
It's all about love (also sort of sci-fi)
Code 46
Imortel Ad Vitam
Alien 1,2,3,4
Predator
Event Horizon
Quatermass and the Pit


edit: LOGAN'S RUN goddamit!

[unikrunk]

Unirkunk is pretenetious! HAHAHAHAHA!

...

OK, I'm done.

Actually, as pretension goes, that's really not.

Er... "Stalker" anyone? What was that one with the ants? Andromeda Strain was good too!

Andromeda Strain was great, so many good things going on. I love how pissed the lady that looks like Ernest Borgnine gets when she is told she can't smoke in the base.

[unikrunk]

No love for Primer?

Well, I made the mistake of watching Primer while 'primed' myself.

I have no idea what happened, and watched it twice in a row.

I will watch it again, this time 'un-primed'

[sleepflower]

Waaaaay too many to name em all.

Blade runner and Brazil for me.

Does eternal sunshine count?

[Seppuku]

I still really like Earth Vs the Flying Saucers. It's got some great early Harryhausen work, and it pretty much built the mould for movies like War of the Worlds and Independence Day (some would say, why the fuck would you build that mould, but I like them both).

Dark City's pretty cool...although I think it kinda falls on its arse by the time Mr. Punky Power goes all Zeus on us, but I can forgive that for such a solid film.

Metropolis still deserves some kudos. There's something otherworldly about that film, and the style of silent film just adds to that feeling. Still, I would have loved to be around at the time it was released so I could see the full version, but then again that would mean I'd be ninety years old now...it's a good film, but I don't think it's worthy of suddenly losing your bowel control over.

Sleeper
Flash Gordon
Wolfen (kind of sci-fi)
The Prisoner
Samurai Jack
12 Monkeys
Brazil
ETC ETC you've all listed most of the greats already.

[You Know My Name]

2001: A Space Odyssey
Star Wars: A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Revenge of the Sith
Brazil
Minority Report
Blade Runner
AI
ET
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Star Trek II
Star Trek IV
Solaris (1972)
A Clockwork Orange
Aliens
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Back to the Future

[TonyWilson]

Independence Day PWNS the Spielberg WOTW by a country mile.

[HollywoodBabylon]

One of my favourites as a kid was always The Incredible Shrinking Man, just a kickass story.

Me also. For what is essentially a 50's sci-fi pulp movie, it's quite a deep film really. The ending when he makes that heartfelt and philosophical speech about his existence and it's place in the universal scheme of things is pretty moving stuff. Plus, like you say, it's a cracking storyline with some great set pieces (especially the scene in the cellar/basement).

[Fried Gold]

Greatest thread ever.

Mad Max 2
Tremors
Wings of the Honneamise
Planet of the Apes
Terminator & T2
Invasion of the Bodysnatches
Blade Runner
Alien
A Matter of Life & Death
Forbidden Planet
Star Trek 2
The Thing

Planet of the Apes could quite possibly be my favourite film of all time.

[Al Shut]

Most of my favorites have already been metioned but I want to add Dark Star to the list. Ridiculously funny, but it foreever destroyed my abillity to watch 2001 with a straight face.

[Shane]

I vote for

The Fly

[Logan5]

Noticed that some of you put animes on your lists but no one mentioned the great anime show SDF: Macross. MAAAKUROSS!

[Adam Balm]

2001
Akira
GITS 1&2
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth
Apollo 13 (It's got science and fiction in it, so there.)
The original War of the Worlds
The original Solaris
Fantastic Voyage
Pi
AI
Contact
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Star Treks 1-6
Starship Troopers
Total Recall
Jurassic Park
Chronicles of Riddick
Explorers (Yes. Fuck you all.)
Real Genius
Manhattan Project
Ghostbusters
Earth 2 pilot
Children of Dune

Mockumentaries that are also some of the greatest science fiction films ever made:

Walking with Dinosaurs
The Future is Wild
Voyage to the Planets (Space Odyssey in the UK)
Alien Planet
Extraterrestrial

[John-Locke]

One of my favourites as a kid was always The Incredible Shrinking Man, just a kickass story.

Me also. For what is essentially a 50's sci-fi pulp movie, it's quite a deep film really. The ending when he makes that heartfelt and philosophical speech about his existence and it's place in the universal scheme of things is pretty moving stuff. Plus, like you say, it's a cracking storyline with some great set pieces (especially the scene in the cellar/basement).

Ssshhh

Keep it down, someone will want to remake it if we make too much noise about it.

[TonyWilson]

One of my favourites as a kid was always The Incredible Shrinking Man, just a kickass story.

Me also. For what is essentially a 50's sci-fi pulp movie, it's quite a deep film really. The ending when he makes that heartfelt and philosophical speech about his existence and it's place in the universal scheme of things is pretty moving stuff. Plus, like you say, it's a cracking storyline with some great set pieces (especially the scene in the cellar/basement).

Ssshhh

Keep it down, someone will want to remake it if we make too much noise about it.

Didn't Schumacher already do it as his debut?

[John-Locke]

One of my favourites as a kid was always The Incredible Shrinking Man, just a kickass story.

Me also. For what is essentially a 50's sci-fi pulp movie, it's quite a deep film really. The ending when he makes that heartfelt and philosophical speech about his existence and it's place in the universal scheme of things is pretty moving stuff. Plus, like you say, it's a cracking storyline with some great set pieces (especially the scene in the cellar/basement).

Ssshhh

Keep it down, someone will want to remake it if we make too much noise about it.

Didn't Schumacher already do it as his debut?

That was The Incredible Shrinking Woman and it was a lame ass comedy with Lilly Tomlin, either way you have proved my point, any remake isn't going to be a scratch on the original.

[colonel_lugz]

The Trilogy
Alien 1,2,3
Blade Runner
Akira
Terminator 1,2
The Thing
The Fly (Cronenberg)
Total Recal
Most Star Trek Films
The Matrix
Fantastic Voyage
Inner Space
The Last Starfighter
Back to the Future
12 Monkeys
Robocop 1,2
Cube
Starship Troopers
Flight of the Navigator
Armaggedon
Fifth Element
The Abyss
Jurrasic Park
Tron
Close Encounters

Sorry I couldn't think of any that haven't been posted, but great minds...yadder yadder yadder

[AtomicHyperbole]

Sod shrinking women!




...and something I found accidently...

[HollywoodBabylon]

A blast from the (very) distant past but a tip of the hat to Georges Melies' mini silent classic 'A Trip To The Moon' - maybe the first sci-fi movie and 12 minutes of pure delight.

[Seppuku]

No love for Primer?

I loved that when I saw it last year; it's one of those rare films that you're forced to stir on even after you leave the cinema. And after a detailed evaluation I've finally reached this conclusion: it's about a Time Machine, right? Maybe I'd have done better if I'd gone to see it with Adam Balm. Still, anyone who liked Pi should check it out.

[Seppuku]

What's that one with the ants? It's killing me!

THEM, wicked cold war flick. And you've gotta admit, they were scary as fuck.

[Seppuku]

What's that one with the ants? It's killing me!

THEM, wicked cold war flick. And you've gotta admit, they were scary as fuck.

No, it was about scientists in the desert and ends with one guy out on his own. THEM was fantastic, though!

Ah, I've seen that one too- set in a laboratory or something and he ends up opening the door and going outside. Muddy memory, it must have been at least a decade since I saw that one.

[Lord Voldemoo]

off the top of my head and in no particular order:

Star Wars: Eps III-VI
Blade Runner
Alien
Aliens
ID4 (it's cheese, but great eye candy)
Terminator
T2
A Clockwork Orange
Dune
Back To The Future (just the first one)
ET
Close Encounters
Jurassic Park
King Kong (original and PJ's version)
Spaceballs
2001
Tron
Farenheit 451
The Thing
Serenity
The Matrix
Wrath of Khan
Ghostbusters
Starship Troopers
Planet of the Apes (original)
Andromeda Strain

Jesus, long enough list? It's hard to narrow this down...

[AtomicHyperbole]

What's that one with the ants? It's killing me!

[Logan5]

What's that one with the ants? It's killing me!

THEM!

[AtomicHyperbole]

What's that one with the ants? It's killing me!

THEM, wicked cold war flick. And you've gotta admit, they were scary as fuck.

No, it was about scientists in the desert and ends with one guy out on his own. THEM was fantastic, though!

[colonel_lugz]

FOUND IT!

Crazy flick.

HAHAHAHAHAHA MST3K did a great rip on that film!

[AtomicHyperbole]

FOUND IT!

Crazy flick.

[Logan5]

What's that one with the ants? It's killing me!

THEM, wicked cold war flick. And you've gotta admit, they were scary as fuck.

No, it was about scientists in the desert and ends with one guy out on his own. THEM was fantastic, though!

Empire of the Ants?

[Logan5]

FOUND IT!

Crazy flick.

Never seen it.
Actually good or just fun good?


Anyone seen this?

Oh, I order you all to go and find a copy of The Green Slime.

[MisterCynic]

Independence Day PWNS the Spielberg WOTW by a country mile.

are you serious? in what way, exactly?

2001 is like art house science fiction, i think its the best science fiction film ever made. plus a lot of what you guys are listing i dont consider real science fiction films. a film with huge action beats thats set in a pseudo-scifi universe... i dont know, i put that in the action category.

[The Vicar]

There are just too many fine examples, most all of them already nominated.

Bladerunner
Alien
2010
The Fifth Element ( right on, TiTG)
Altered States
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Thing ( Carpenter)
Terminator ( first)
Andromeda Strain
Dark City
Deep Impact

[unikrunk]

@TonyWilson -

My sarcasm meter is broken. Is this your true opinion, or are you sane?

/that's called framing an answer...learned it from Matlock.

[The Vicar]

@TonyWilson -

My sarcasm meter is broken. Is this your true opinion, or are you sane?

/that's called framing an answer...learned it from Matlock.

Awww...that's a trick question.
( damn that Matlock was a sneaky olde shit )

[Keepcoolbutcare]

I'm waiting for "most pretentious" post with keen interest...

La Jette

Alphaville

Fantastic Planet

when you want pretentious, always go FRENCH!

Seconds

THX 1138

Mad Max

The Wings of Honneamise

Scanners

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

Delicatessen / The City of Lost Children

Donnie Darko