100 Greatest sci fi films of ALL TIME according to drystyx
What makes a great film? Obviously, most people are fascinated the most by "credible characters in incredible circumstances". That especially holds true for great sci fi. It defines great sci fi. Here are what I humbly call the 100 greates sci fi films ever. I've seen most sci fi films. Sorry, but I haven't seen Avatar. Some are borderline. I put the LOTR trilogy under "fantasy" insteaad of sci fi, for example, so the hobbit movies just make another list.
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- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsJames WhitmoreEdmund GwennJoan WeldonThe earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.This has to be #1. The two romantic leads are not the two leads here. We follow basically six characters in this mystery, and it's best to view this without knowing the plot, as it begins as a mystery in the desert.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsGene BarryAnn RobinsonLes TremayneA small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.The most iconoclastic hero you'll ever see. Not only does he lose a fist fight, but our male romantic lead is nearsighted. A miracle that this got past the true censors on the baord of directors. Great action, thrilling spectacles, characters you will care about. This is amazing!
- DirectorKurt MaetzigStarsYôko TaniOldrich LukesIgnacy MachowskiWhen an alien artifact discovered on Earth is found to have come from Venus, an international team of astronauts embarks to investigate its origins.Talk about your hidden classics, if you forget this is Venus, then this still is relevant today. The characters are fascinating in this space travel story, and it tells of the chaotic way horror can envelop people in the void of space. The most dramatic and moving space film ever.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsPeter WellerNancy AllenDan O'HerlihyIn a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.Great blend of action, wit, humor, and originality in a story of a corporation making a robot policeman. The "in your face" directing is fantastic.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsJohn AgarMara CordayLeo G. CarrollA spider escapes from an isolated Arizona desert laboratory experimenting in gigantism and grows to tremendous size as it wreaks havoc on the local inhabitants.Immortalized by the Rocky Horror Picture Show itself, this sci fi crosses over into Horror with some of the greatest horror scenes ever as a giant tarantula attacks nameless characters. Moving humanity. This is horror to the max, and a great story.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.This story of killer aliens can make the list on one word alone: Hudson.
- DirectorMichael CarrerasLeslie NormanStarsEric PorterHildegard KnefSuzanna LeighThe captain, crew, and passengers of an old freighter-all of them with dark secrets to keep-find themselves adrift in a mysterious land full of monsters, conquistadors, and killer seaweed.Great characters in this story of a ship stranded in the Saragosa Sea, beset by seaweed monsters and barbarians. The balloon Girl made this a cult classic. Lots of iconoclastic scenes that slipped by the censors.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsChristopher LeePatrick AllenPeter CushingWhile mainland Britain shivers in deepest winter, the northern island of Fara bakes in the nineties.Isolated group of people attacked by monsters. It begins as a mystery. Cushing and Lee are the "thinkers" here, but the story revolves around others. Lots of twists from what you usually expect to happen to film characters.
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsGene HackmanChristopher ReeveMargot KidderSuperman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.Unlike sequels of other genres, we often see good sci fi sequels. Maybe because people already know the story. Here, Kal-El battles super evil and Earth evil. Lots of humor, lots of little things that add up to a great film.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsSam NeillWilliam H. MacyTéa LeoniA decidedly odd couple with ulterior motives convince Dr. Grant to go to Isla Sorna for a holiday, but their unexpected landing startles the island's new inhabitants.The best of the dinosaur trilogy, probably because it works just as well as a drama, with the best overall characters. Unlike the others, there are no "throw away" characters here. All have faults, and all have some degree of dignity in their fight for survival. Add all the great action, and you've got a complete package here.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsMichael RenniePatricia NealHugh MarloweAn alien lands in Washington, D.C. and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.Gentler forms of aliens than we often see, come to Eath, but they have a message. It's the "matter of fact" way of every day life, and how our alien mingles that makes this fascinating.
- DirectorAndrew AdamsonStarsTilda SwintonGeorgie HenleyWilliam MoseleyWhile playing, Lucy and her siblings find a wardrobe that lands them in a mystical place called Narnia. Here they realize that it was fated and they must now unite with Aslan to defeat an evil queen.I finally decided to classify this as science fiction. It is allegory, too, but science fiction first. Entering another world through a closet-well, that makes it sci fi. It's the ability to show how the smallest fault can be made into somethng large, as a young boy struggles through humiliation before his siblings. Can he be redeemed
- DirectorDavid BradleyStarsKen ClarkMichi KobiTom ConwayAn international team embarks on an expedition to the moon in an uncommonly spacious rocketship. There they encounter a faceless alien intelligence who conclude that the human race is too immature and dangerous and must be destroyed.Begins as a narrative, and goes straight into action. Great idea: a voyage into space which combines many nations in a unified effort. The sidebar stories make this great, particularly the one of the drawing of straws at the end. An obvious inspiration for "Armageddon".
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsRoddy PiperKeith DavidMeg FosterThey influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.A film waiting till 1988 to finally happen. This alien conspiracy film is Carpenter's finest achievement. Hard hitting and iconic, a cult classic from day one.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsEric PortmanSheila SimDennis PriceThree modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.Great to see a great actor like Eric Portman portray a benevolent character. This film is tough to classify. Like "Brazil", it has many angles. Interpret it as you will. I saw it as a sci fi film on the order of "Between Two Worlds", even made in the same year.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsChristopher ReeveMargot KidderGene HackmanAn alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.Fortunately, this film stayed close to the golden age comic book Superman, with the same likable characters, the same story line of Kal-El attaining super powers on this planet.
- DirectorTerry O. MorseStarsBruce KelloggOtto WaldisJim BannonScientists use a gigantic drilling machine for an expedition to the center of the earth.Scientists have a super drilling vehicle to take them deep into the Earth's crust. It isn't feasible, but the story is the characters. One of the best action dramas ever in which characters change convincingly.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsPeter CushingEdward JuddCarole GrayAn isolated remote island community is threatened by an attack by tentacled silicates which liquefy and digest bone and tissue.Isolated group of people against man made killer monsters. What's special here is the way it begins with the status quo. Cushing and MacGinnis lead the way. Don't want to spoil it too much. Just enjoy the ride.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsCasper Van DienDenise RichardsDina MeyerHumans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.I'm not big on special effects, but when you have what is possibly the best modern director in films, you get clever wit and action mixed together for a romp like this. Giant insects menace mankind, and we have a return to the old basic sci fi format of the comraderie of likable people. Think "All Quiet on the Western Front" meets sci fi.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJonathan PryceKim GreistRobert De NiroA bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.This remake of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" would probably not be sci fi if not for what happens to Tuttle. Fascinating fantasy, with great visuals.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Full of iconic images, most notably the image of young Luke stranded on the farm, looking to the sky at dusk. Fantastic space adventure is full of iconic scenes, if these are the droids you are looking for.
- StarsGary SiniseMolly RingwaldJamey SheridanAfter a deadly plague kills most of the world's population, the remaining survivors split into two groups - one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a malevolent being - to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.At first, it seemed silly, bur once you stop laughing about the scene where the guy screams about the "dark man", it really gels into a multi dimensional story about a possible time of Revelation. Lots of grat characters sell this.
- DirectorEdward L. CahnStarsMarshall ThompsonShirley PattersonKim SpaldingThe first manned expedition to Mars is invaded by an unknown life form, which stows away on the rescue ship.Those of us who saw this on TV, we knew how Alien would turn out. This came first, so it has bragging rights about a space ship crew fighting an indestuctble monster on board the vessel.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsBruce WillisHaley Joel OsmentToni ColletteMalcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.Mystery or sci fi? I say sci fi. Saying more is, of course, a spoiler.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGregory PeckLaurence OlivierJames MasonA Nazi hunter in Paraguay discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.What would happen if a maniac like Dr Mengele cloned Hitler? That's the subject here. That's the sci fi angle. The rest is a cross between horror and drama, with many remarkable scenes that will stay with you.