Best sci-fi movie that was NOT a franchise

I quite like Sphere

 

Just watched this for the first time the other night. Enjoyed it a lot.

 

Aren't the overwhelming majority not franchises?

Best? Timecrimes, Moebius, Kin-dza-dza! (warning: here be subtitles...);

For those who can't read and watch: Safety Not Guaranteed, Europa Report, Magellan, Primer,

 

Sunshine
Summer Wars
Paprika
Planet of the Vampires

 

Akira
Possessor
The Invisible Man
Her
Beyond the Black Rainbow
THX-1138
Upgrade
The Incredible Melting Man
Time After Time
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Fantastic Planet
The Road
A Clockwork Orange
Quest for Fire
Logan's Run
Sleeper
Punishment Park
Charly
Barbarella
Fantastic Voyage
The Clan of the Cave Bear

 

That means no to 2001: A Space Odyssey folks. Kubrick is like The Beatles of the music forum, he has to be fit in to every thread. And also, I would say to the thread starter that I would personally not include films that got a remake, so no to Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Thing (plus it got a prequel.)

WINNER: Dark City

Runner ups:

Metropolis (was the anime a remake?)
It Came from Outer Space
Them!
The Monster that Challenged the World
The Incredible Shrinking Man (unless Lily Tomlin's ...Woman movie counts)
Planet of the Vampires (unless Alien or Ghosts of Mars counts as remakes.)
Journey to the Far Side of the Sun
Dark Star
Capricorn One
ET - yeah, but it was still a good movie
Brazil
Dreamscape - could be remade wonderfully.
One Night Stand (1984) - not even on dvd/bluray.
The Quiet Earth
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
They Live (obey)
The Stuff
Miracle Mile
I Come in Peace (good call)
Demolition Man
Deep Rising (although it was supposed to set up a sequel with King Kong!!!!)
The Iron Giant
The Host (2006)

For comedies I totally agree with Galaxy Quest and Idiocracy.

 

Under the Skin

 

My comprehension is that Osamu Tezuka did some Metropolis comics in the '50s and the German film was a lot of his inspiration, there are a number aspects that are very similar. No animation of it was made unlike for Astro Boy, the white lion Jungle Emperor and others. Then years after his death a feature was completed in his honor drawing on his old comics and designs. There was a mini DVD in the edition I got with a lot of this background info. I really liked the result myself! I also liked that first Final Fantasy: Spirits Within (part of a series though I guess) computer animated feature and seeing them around the same time they seemed to complement one another well (double bill?).

 

Dark City
13th Floor
The Arrival (the one with Charlie Sheen)
They Live
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension
The Hidden
Primer
Sunshine

 

Now that's a brave choice.

Mind you, I love a good Shane re-telling, and Kurt Russell can do no wrong. But you and I are in a very small minority on this one.

 

Both The Arrival and The Hidden got a sequel. Otherwise, nice list.

 

Battle Beyond The Stars

 

Grumble, grumble, stupid straight-to-video sequels, grumble, grumble.

 

Yes, but 1) the sci-fi movies that come to mind immediately are usually franchises, and 2) SHF threads asking for 'the best x' invariably become 'name every x ever produced.'

 

I'm cool with it, I like the flick and never worry about anyone else liking it or not.

 

solaris
stalker
altered states
the truman show
gattaca
children of men
ex machina
arrival

 

It was a film of the second installment in a four-part series of novels by Arthur C. Clarke. Whether it came out 16 years or 36 years later, it's still a sequel; still part of the novel series and therefore not in scope for the OP's question.

Franchise.

 

I actually love the original Solaris and also love the remake; it tackles the same subject from a slightly different perspective. I think it’s pretty darn good.

Arrival is a terrific movie. I’d also go with Contact despite some flaws.

if you’re going to exclude a film that had a sequel you might as well exclude remakes as well because a sequel is, in many respects, a retelling of the same story or an extension of the journey of the first film. Most remakes could’ve seen that way as well.

 

As an aside, I never saw the TV movie remake (which was a pilot for a series) so wonder how bad it is.

 

I found Blade Runner 2049 to be a bit overlong but otherwise a superb movie myself.

 

Man In The Moon 1961

 

Animated film - Treasure Planet.