Greatest sci-fi movies of the decades- but only one per...
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Saturday, December 3, 2005 08:30
VIEWED: 17340
PAGE 5 of 8
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:
No need, pal. We're all friends here.
And who am I to judge? I still think Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever is a hugely entertaining movie, hows that for a 'minority report'?
Chrisisall, lookin' foward to MI3[
Mission Imp 3 eh....
ahhhh Thandie Newton..... I was so busy gazing at her I forgot what the hell was going on in MI2.....
www.cirqus.com
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Quote:
Originally posted by Storymark:Quote:
... just once, I'd like to see a story about a boy who wants to be a robot!!!
There was an episode of Star Trek TNG about a traumatized young boy who wanted to be an android, like Data, so that he wouldn't have to feel emotion.
"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
hmmm now that sounds more like it..... Interesting cheers Storymark.
Not being a big Star trek fan I watched only a few Next Gen.... Cool will look out for it :)
Cheers
The Somnambulist
www.cirqus.com
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70's: Star Wars
80's: Empire Strikes Back
90's: T2
2000's: The Island
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I'll have to do a little research to find out when movies were made to properly colate my list..
I agree with all who disliked Minority Report, mostly cause I cant stand Tom Cruise...
I'm a little surprised Dune hasnt made anyones list.. I loved all the books and the movie.
And what about "The sound of music"!! Nah.. i'm just messin with ya on that one :)
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The Dune miniseries was *amazing*, the film not so good. If we were to start making a list of the best SF series, that would rank very highly in my list.
Also BSG 2003, one word *wow*, Sci-Fi know how to make 'em.
TS
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"God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone." Number Six '33'
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"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan
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Does anybody know if the Island is worth watching?
TS
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"God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone." Number Six '33'
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"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan
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The following is a list of decade favorites of the Sci-Fi/hybrid film genre. I’ve read through everyone’s selection and they all appear to be excellent choices and offer a pretty fair representation of the science fiction genre. Following each entry is commentary detailing the reasons why I chose this film or my general impressions of the decade. As a long time Sci-Fi fan I can be tiresomely pedantic, so if you want to skip the commentary just follow the underlined entries.
1950s Forbidden Planet (1956, MGM).
Although many people might look to War of the Worlds or The Day the Earth Stood Still or the Body Snatchers, all great films with lasting appeal, none of them had the influences on later films that Forbidden Planet did. Much of the methodology and cinematography of later films, including Star Trek was pioneered by this film. It was one of the first to be shot in color, and it used large elaborate sound stages.
1960s 2001 (1968, MGM).
The 1960s poses a problem, because there are actually two science fiction films in the 60s that I would consider landmark, both of them from 1968. Planet of the Apes (1968, 20th Century Fox) is a strong contender for greatest sci-fi film of the 60s, but ultimately, 2001 is better because it offers a more creative and optimistic story.
1970s Star Wars (1977, 20th Century Fox).
Star Wars was not the beginning of the space opera, but definitely a refinement into an unexpected world wide box office hit, but the real clout of Star Wars was the depth of the story. Despite its rather one-dimensional plot, the mood and back story are so elaborate and intriguing that they draw the audience into the story as it unfolds; creating an alien universe that is as complex and believable as it is fantastic. There is a mystique about the Jedi, something ominous about the powerful empire that has emerged from the crumbling Republic, and yet a swashbuckling world of smugglers and bandits. Star Wars created science fiction intrigue by relying on the human mind to connect the dots in much the way that Hitchcock used dark screens and silent moments. This back story would lead to a whole set of widely anticipated films that would never live up to the grandeur of the first three, in spite of immensely superior cinematography, budget, and acting, largely due, some believe, to the absence of depth.
As surprising as it may seem, this was not an easy choice. Although Star Wars is one of the greatest sci-fi films and probably the greatest hybrid sci-fi, it has some strong competition in the 1970s. Logan’s Run, Close Encounters, Alien, and the cult classics Soylent Green and Clockwork Orange along several others are all steeped in praise by sci-fi fans and critics alike, and make the 70s extremely rich in classic Science fiction. As a second runner up, Close Encounters is easily the strongest contender though.
1980s E.T. (1982, Universal).
E.T. was a complete reversal on many alien stories. It depicted an extraterrestrial sentient life form that was neither humanoid nor malevolent or particularly intelligible. The theme of this film is often lost in its “feel good” story, but it says something about the smallness of the human condition. In most other alien encounter films, one side or the other often occupies the moral high ground, yet in E.T. we see an example of an advanced yet passive intelligent life-form so fragile that it is threatened by the simple intrusive nature of human interest. It is the simply story of the complexities involved in first contact. This is a theme that Spielberg also incorporated into Close Encounters.
The 1980s had many good science fiction films, more then the 70s I think, but while the number of films increased, the number of really great films did not, which actually makes the 80s seem somewhat dry. A few stand out though, The Empire Strikes Back is, of course, a classic that proved that not even the space opera is immune to sci fi noir which took off during the 80s, and follows E.T. very closely fo
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I think, after reading everyone's lists, that we are all pretty much in agreement that the best decades for consistent, quality sci-fi were the 70's and 80's. If you look at everyone's reasonings, those are the hardest decades for any of us to choose from.
Lets look at the lists:
70's -
Alien, Star Wars, ST:TMP, Logan's Run, Close Encounters, Clockwork Orange (didn't get my nod because the book was better, but what do you expect from a lit person???), Soylent Green, The Black Hole (kiddie flick-ish, but still excellent), etc., etc.
80's -
Aliens, SW:ESB, ST:TWoK, Blade Runner, Highlander, Terminator, E.T., WarGames, etc. etc.
Each of those movies is out there on someone's favorite list (thought not necessarily in this thread) with good reason. The 90's had a few bright spots, but I agree with Finn, it was more trash than quality for the decade as a whole, and much easier to pick a favorite from.
Lets hope Serenity is a good sign of what else is to come in the 00's.
Finn also mentioned Eternal Sunshine; I wasn't sure I considered it sci-fi (or Being John Malkovitch, another similar choice), but I did once hear Charlie Kaufmann called the greatest sci-fi person of this decade so far. I might have to rethink my 00's (but still not bending on Minority Report 
).
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He looked bigger when I couldn't see him.
Anyone wanting to continue a discussion off board is welcome to email me - check bio for details.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tienshaoduh:
Does anybody know if the Island is worth watching?
TS
=================================================
"God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone." Number Six '33'
=================================================
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan
=================================================
A couple of posts up, I listed it as my favorite of the this decade, so I liked it.
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Chris, always with the hard choices, and this one saying one to a customer. Ok, I'll play. This is one of my favorite games!
There have been some very good and unusual picks, and I like the idea of a runner-up list later when a certain amount of dust has settled.
50's Forbidden Planet
60's 2001
70's Star Wars: A New Hope
80's Blaaaderunner
90's 12 Monkeys
00's Serenity
and cuz it's just the way I am, straight on to the extremely silly (which is probably no surprise to anyone by now).
Favorite Arnie SF:
50's The Collected Home Movies
60's Conan the Barbarian, because I think this one was already in a movie timewarp
70's Hercules in NY
80's The Terminator
90's Total Recall
00's Govenor of CA
I'll be aaak with my runners up, but I want to add here that I really appreciated ECGordon's addition of earlier decades, particularly Metropolis, one of my all time favorites.
Shiny Trees! Yavanna made Shiny Trees!
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