Your Top 50 sci-fi films

It's one of my favorite movies but it's not sci-fi. It's definitely about as black as is possible as comedy goes. "...if you don't get the President on the phone, you're gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola Company....fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived communist plot we've ever had to face... Mandrake, they put fluoride in ice cream, children's ice cream...

 

It is considered a (black comedy) sci-fi film by many, including:
Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Sci-Fi Movies, TCM (Turner), etc.
Dr Strangelove: dystopic, post holocaust sub-genre.

In any case, it is a great film.

 

In the ba-future, all TV sets will be triangular!

 

Nice list, generally. I'll have to come up with my 50. Where is Interstellar? Europa Report? Struggling to accept that Robocop could bump these! (Not Sci-Fi, but don't miss Verhoeven's Elle)

 

I like both films but I have a special fondness for Robocop. Interstellar just missed the list this time as did Europa Report but both are on my top 100. mh top 50 is like my top 50 favorite albums of all time, there's wiggle room as its a dynamic list that change from time to time. Damn, I forgot Donnie Darko as well.

 

Man. Now they are going to have to reformat and remaster all of those classic films.

I always thought that TIE was a bit cheesy and not quite as good as Forbidden Planet or most of the other classic 50's science fiction films. Plus, I have a sneaking suspicion (this is the good news part) the receding hairline of the aliens inspired the creation of Rogaine!

 

Why is it verboten to consider newer Marvel Studios films like Thor or GotG to be sci fi?

 

It sounds like a big, fat commie plot to me....

 

Wow, that's so weird. I was tinkering with the outline of a list just a bit ago and DD crossed my radar! I even just picked up the new Arrow blu, which comes with a book, poster, and the director's cut on a separate blu. The theatrical screens pretty nice on my set-up.

I'll also mention, while I'm at it, that I wouldn't mind seeing more modern era independent sci fi in our lists. I generally don't find that older sci-fi holds up so well compared to other genres. I mean, early sci-fi films are important, so a few make sense, but only the hardcore fans are going to sit through many.

 

Those are superhero films. Even Star Wars, of the space opera sub-genre, is excluded.

HARD SCI FI

I don't think the top 50 lists in this thread are being held to the highest "hard" sub-genre standard, but clearly space opera and superhero films have no place.

 

Southland Tales as well.

 

So....having watched Timecrimes now I have to add it to the list. Films I forgot about inadvertently:

Zardoz
Donnie Darko
Timecrimes (didn't forget but finally saw it. New to the list)
Back to the Future (I know how could I forget it?)
Interstellar (when I revise it again)
Europa Report (ditto. I considered both but dropped them for a couple of films from the 50' and 70's respectively).
Them!
They Live

By the way, for a modest budget film Kronos is quite good and well made. It has the look and feel of a major studio film from the time.

 

I don't think it's forbidden per se I just consider them comic book movies because of their origin. Someone could certainly add it to their list of science fiction but I would just list them on their own list because they from a different source. I don't consider them lesser or greater just different enough because of the conventions of storytelling they developed to make unique and their own beast.

It's just my point of view having grown up with most of the characters now on screen. They certainly use elements of the genre out there but they also use elements for other genres as well at times.

That said, I'm looking as science fiction material either material written for the screen as science fiction, adapted from short stories or books that were originally science fiction. It's admittedly a limited view but it's just my view.

 

The OP was smart to limit the list, at least loosely, the "hard sci-fi". There are a bunch of worthy films in this somewhat narrow sub-genre which would be pushed out by DC versus Marvel and Star Wars prequel fights, etc.

 

I might've added The Time Machine (1960), can I go back and add it? Although it's debatabley fantasy to many, definitely is from an sf purist's point of view. I wonder if the Zardoz people remembered this scene in The Time Machine?

 

I know her, that's Zardoz's mom!

 

Her name is Zodraz!

 

Then what's her old man's name?

 

This Island Earth is one of the rare 1950s sci-fi films that I think would've been fine if it had been 30 minutes longer. It actually feels too short to me, like a chunk of the script got left out. Terrific film.

 

Totally agree, it seems like they skipped a section of the story, but I still love it.

 

Sorry not for me. I think it hasn't aged very well. It's possible that some of it never made it to the screen as Jack Arnold stepped in and directed a fair portion of the film and some of the film might not have made it in for,precisely that reason. They might not have had the budget to go back and reshoot portions.

 

Sean....

 

Lately I'm concerned Dr. Strangelove is a Speculative Documentary.

 

Yet, you didn't feel that way from 2008-2016? Odd.

Stick to the topic.

 

I wish they would make more sci fi pics.
Still lots of good stories out there, from Galaxy and Analog.....
I dont' think they have even scratched the surface...