The 15 Greatest Science Fiction Films

Submitted by ellaguru on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 09:22
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  • 1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • 2. Metropolis
  • 3. Star Wars
  • 4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (56)
  • 5. The Road Warrior
  • 6. Blade Runner
  • 7. The Terminator
  • 8. Brazil
  • 9. Stalker
  • 10. Back to the Future
  • 11. Zardoz
  • 12. Soylent Green
  • 13. The Bride of Frankenstein
  • 14. Frankenstein (31)
  • 15. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
bertie02/16/2001

A respectable list. I like that you included ZARDOZ, which has been generally underrated. And on the borderland between sf and fantasy, BRAZIL rules.

But where's ALIEN?

The only one of these I haven't seen is STALKER. Care to tell me a little about it and why you like it?

ellaguru02/22/2001

Alien goes on about 30 minutes too long. I like Aliens better, and it wasn't very close to getting on this list itself.

Stalker is a Russian film. Here is a good description I stole from IMDB.

Near a gray and unnamed city is The Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers. Over his wife's strenuous objections, a man rises in the dead of night: he's a stalker, one of a handful who have the mental gifts (and who risk imprisonment) to lead people into The Zone to The Room, a place where one's secret hopes come true. That night, he takes two people into The Zone: a popular writer who is burned out, cynical, and questioning his genius; and, a quiet scientist more concerned about his knapsack than the journey. In the deserted Zone, the approach to The Room must be indirect. As they draw near, the rules seem to change and the stalker faces a crisis.

It is very abstract. It is also much more thoughtful than the average science fiction film. The visual imagery is amazing. I highly recommend Stalker to anyone who likes pondering over his / her science fiction.

bertie02/23/2001

Well, we disagree on the importance of the Alien movies, but never mind.

Thanks for giving me that taste of STALKER. I'm wary of Russian sf movies after being disappointed by the much admired SOLARIS, but I'll give STALKER a chance if I find it.

Have you seen the French movie ALPHAVILLE? I found it mesmerising and, in some ways, prophetic.