Greatest sci-fi movies of the decades- but only one per... by chrisisall

Why limit our lists to the 50's?
Y'all should know that there landmark and *good* SF movies prior to 1950 such Fritz Lang's Metropolis from 1927.
Y'all know without this there would have been no Bladerunner, Matrix or Dark City.
And to think, C-3PO may never have existed.
And in 1933 there was King Kong, the ultimate classic, but does that count as SF?

Just a thought.

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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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 4:10 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
A few other competitors that I think are promising would be Frequency, A.I., Minority Report, Final Fantasy, I,Robot, Terminator 3, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and The Island.
Sorry Finn. An excellent post that offers the usual in-depth insight, but this list of movies pales beside Serenity. The only one that even comes close (and pretty close it is) is A.I..(although, I haven't seen The Island yet....)

Jurassic Park, interesting choice.

Chrisisall, aka Mr. DNA

Don’t be sorry. I don’t necessarily disagree with you. I’m just a little cautious about assigning a favorite so soon. I like to analyze the intel first, as it were. However, if I had to pick one film that was closest to Serenity, it probably wouldn’t be A.I.. That’s just me.

TIENSHAODUH:
The problem with going back before 1950 is that there really isn’t much to choose from, and only the most anal-retentive of sci-fi fans even remember back that far. Even though there are a few landmark movies prior to the 50s, science fiction really began in the 1950s, that’s why it is referred to as the “Golden Age of Science Fiction.”

I don't think anyone is limiting anything to the 50s though. If you would like to detail movies before the 50s I’m sure there would be a lot of interest, because, as I said, its not popular knowledge, even though I think most people would be surprised how many movies they actually know about.

Before the 1930s there really weren’t a lot of movies at all, and certainly not a lot of science fiction. Metropolis has been mentioned, and I’m not terribly familiar with it. I’ve never watched it. It was a foreign film of a futuristic dystopic society with a heavy gothic mood. There’s of course A Trip to the Moon, which is considered the first science fiction movie ever made, and “science” should be very loosely interpreted in this case. Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea is an adaptation of a Jules Vern story.

All of these movies have their historical value and, in one way or another, have made considerable impact on the genre, but my choice for best movie prior to the 1930s is The Lost World (1925), which was an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whom you may know form the Sherlock Holmes stories. This was the first movie that used stop motion special effects. I’ve heard many give King Kong that distinction, but it was not. The Lost World created the dinosaur sci-fi genre, which led to King Kong, etc, etc, Jurassic Park (even several tv shows.) So it had tremendous effect on the genre and not that difficult to watch either.

In the 1930s, science fiction started to pick up and actually many of the movies during the 1930s have actually become very popular and remain in popular vernacular to this day. This was the depression era and people wanted escapism. So you’ve got Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide, Frankenstein, King Kong, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein and Flash Gordon. If you aren’t familiar with all of these, you’ve been living in the hills somewhere. I would have to agree with most people, that King Kong was the best movie from that decade.

The 1940s was a dry period of science fiction. Most people where concentrating on winning the war, and I can’t think of any sci-fi movie that really stands out. Imagine that kind of resilience today? It really makes you wonder if we’ve misplaced some of our priorities, but I digress.

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Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 5:25 AM

Thanks for the insight Finn.

TS

=================================================
"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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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 5:36 AM

THESOMNAMBULIST

There was the Rocketman serials during the 40's

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/r/rocketmn.htm

http://dialbforblog.com/archives/122/

I used to love watching this show when they aired it during the school summer holidays.

The
Somnambulist

www.cirqus.com

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 5:51 AM

ORPHEUS

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned THX-1138 or Star Trek IV yet. Call me crazy, but I thought Voyage Home was worlds better than Wrath of Khan.
_____________________

"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 6:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Orpheus:
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned THX-1138 or Star Trek IV yet. Call me crazy, but I thought Voyage Home was worlds better than Wrath of Khan.
_____________________

"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

To be quite honest I thought that THX-1138 was not that great a film. It was interesting and all but its not a film i would want to see over and over again.
Also Star Trek IV was perhaps the worst of the TOS Trek movies, it was boring and about whales. WTF?!!
What was the point of the whale probe. I did not like that film, it was more of a parody than anything else.

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
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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 7:29 AM

ORPHEUS

Quote:
Also Star Trek IV was perhaps the worst of the TOS Trek movies

I'll give you THX. I thought it was alright, but I know some people who think it's a complete work of genius. Just bringing it up.

Far as Star Trek IV goes, I've never been a Star Trek fan anyway, so the films I have seen have been objective viewings. Wrath of Khan was a good film and all, but story-wise, it didn't do anything for me. It was just one long space battle. And given how the effects have dated, it's turned into one long, dull space battle.

But Voyage Home actually tried to tell a story that wasn't about big space battles and aliens. I appreciated it for trying to be a parable on the environment. In tone, it's the closest to Firefly that any of the Star Trek films ever got.

But as far as absolute worst goes, Final Frontier was pretty awful.
__________________

"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 8:23 AM

CAIUS

Quote:
Originally posted by Orpheus:
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned THX-1138 or Star Trek IV yet. Call me crazy, but I thought Voyage Home was worlds better than Wrath of Khan.
_____________________

"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

Ok, you are crazy. ST IV had serious continuity issues.

-Caius

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 8:24 AM

ORPHEUS

Ok. Like I said, I'm not a Star Trek fan. So continuity really isn't my problem.

"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 8:29 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Orpheus:
Call me crazy, but I thought Voyage Home was worlds better than Wrath of Khan.
_

You're crazy.

Star Trek TMP, and ST VI were both better than Voyage Home.
IMnot-soHO.

Chrisisall, master of tne Vulcan Death-Grip

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 8:42 AM

REGINAROADIE

I think when it came to Final Frontier, I thought it had a great idea and premise to it, but because of numerous problems that stretched from pre to post production, Shatner never was able to attain what he set out to do.

As for the Start Trek films, My fave was always THE MOTION PICTURE and THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. MOTION PICTURE, because it was the first bit of classic STAR TREK I actually watched, and it served as a good primer for my introduction to the franchise. And while 2 onward were just Star Wars knock-offs (albeit very good ones), THE MOTION PICTURE had more in common with the likes of 2001. The same themes that were in 2001 was also in TMP, which made the movie much richer and grander. It's interesting to note that TMP was the only TREK film that had any creative input by Roddenberry himself. Afterwards, it was Harve Bennet who was the creative force behind the film. UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY was the one sequel that was the closest to being great sci-fi, since it was a political thriller that served as an allegory for the fall of Communist Russia and the end of the Cold War.

THE ISLAND I found to be an intersting contradiction. Michael Bay is one of those critically reviled filmmakers, and for good reason. The only good flick of his is THE ROCK, which I actually own. THE ISLAND I thought was his first real good movie since THE ROCK, and yet it tanked and I think seriously damaged his career. So while I'm glad that the talentless hack might be out of work, I kinda sucks that the movie that ruined him was his first good flick in a long time.

Oddly enough, one of his previous flicks, ARMAGEDDON, ties into my choice for one of the best sci-fi flick of the 90's, LAST NIGHT. For those of you who havn't heard of this film, LAST NIGHT is sort of a Canadian anithesis of ARMAGEDDON, directed by Don McKellar, a guy I actually met this year. It has him, Sarah Polley, a pre-SIDEWAYS/GREY'S ANATOMY Sandra Oh, Callum Keith Rennie and a cool cameo by David Cronenberg.

It takes place from 6PM to Midnight of the last day of human existence. At midnight, the world is going to end, and there's not a single thing anyone can do about it. And the movie follows these different people through Toronto as they live out the last few hours of their lives. Don plays Patrick, this loner who wants to spend his last night alone, but is kept being interrupted by different people. Like he has to go to this Xmas dinner put on by his family and he ends up helping this one woman, played by Oh, who's trying to get across town to her husband to fulfill a double suicide pact. Cronenberg is the president of a gas company who coldcalls all the people in the roster, telling them that "The gas will remain on until the very end." And Keith Rennie is a friend of Patrick's whose determined to fulfill as many sexual fantasies as possible.

If this sounds like something you wouldn't want to see, I insist you watch it, because it's funny in an acerbic kind of way, it's a highly unconventional take on the "end of the world" movie, and it's very touching.

This one idiot at DVDVerdict.com complains that the film has a defeatist POV, that people wouldn't give up that easily in the face of obliteration and that this movie is bull. Well, I think ARMAGEDDON is bull and that LAST NIGHT is infinitly better. I read this thing explaining why LAST NIGHT is better than ARMAGEDDON for one simple reason.

ARMAGEDDON is about the denial of death. The extinction of the human race is inevitable. It may not be this millennia or the next one, or the next. But it will happen eventually. And ARMAGEDDON is this massive unhealthy denial of death. By saying "All we have to do to insure the survival of the human race is to send up Willis, Affleck, Buscemi and a bunch of other guys," the Americans are fostering this denial of death and spreading the lie that we can go on forever. But LAST NIGHT, on the other hand, says that "We will one day all perish." And that by confronting your mortality and the things in your life that you're afraid of or regret or ashamed of and dealing with it before you expire, you become a better person and attain a rewarding sense of closure when the end of the world happens. To face the inevitable with dignity and grace, one is able to embrace it completely.

That is why I feel that LAST NIGHT is one of the best sci-fi flicks of the decade, and a shining example of Canadian cinema.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"YES!!!I'm a man posessed by many demons....Polite demons that would open the door for a lady carrying too many parcels...BUT DEMONS NONETHELESS!!!! Yes. I have walked along the path of evil many times, it's a twisting, curving path that..actually leads to a charming plot garden, BUT BEYOND THAT EVIL!!!"

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 8:51 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by reginaroadie:

As for the Start Trek films, My fave was always THE MOTION PICTURE and THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. THE MOTION PICTURE had more in common with the likes of 2001. UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY was the one sequel that was the closest to being great sci-fi, since it was a political thriller that served as an allegory for the fall of Communist Russia and the end of the Cold War.

We're on the same page, they're my two faves, and in that order, for those reasons.

I will check out both The Island, and Last Night.

Chrisisall, a carbon unit

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 1:28 PM

DAISYCUTTER

50's-QUATERMASS (Underated) http://members.aol.com/cinemabritain/quatermass.html. The 2nd or 3rd episodes where better
60'S-2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
70'S-ALIEN
80'S-BACK TO THE FUTURE
90'S-CONTACT
00's-SERENTIY (Better acting than the Garbage from Star Wars universe)

Anyone who mentions Shakespeare will get a .50 in their ass

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 1:51 PM

I liked Star Trek IV. I thought it was very well done. It is true that it was somewhat of a parody, but after many successful years of movie and TV runs, Star Trek earned it.

I like the Final Frontier also, but it had a lot of problems. Though, the biggest problem was not Shatner’s fault. Industrial Light and Magic which had done the special effects for Star Trek II, III, and IV was not available for Star Trek V, and as such the special effects were seriously lacking, which made the movie look almost amateurish.

Armageddon was somewhat of a parody also. I wouldn’t rate it as among the better sci fi movies, but there are worse. I preferred Deep Impact as a story of meteor catastrophism though. It was little more realistic and intelligent.

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Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 7:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
I liked Star Trek IV. I thought it was very well done. It is true that it was somewhat of a parody, but after many successful years of movie and TV runs, Star Trek earned it.

Okay, agreed. It was their 'comedic' movie, akin to A Piece Of The Action.

Have you seen the 'fixed up' version of The Motion Picture? I really think Robert Wise took a very good movie and turned it into one of the best sci-fi movies of all time with some tightening and minor FX additions. I'd put it up there with (albeit, not above) Blade Runner, Day The Earth Stood Still (Huh. Same director...), Forbidden Planet, and, of course, Serenity.

"What does God want with a starship?"
...sounds like he did a little too much LDS in the sixties.

Live long and prosper Chrisisall

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 7:35 AM

THESOMNAMBULIST

Hmmm talking of Robert Wise, Chris have you seen The Andromeda Strain a very cerebral and tightly wound film. Edgey stuff indeed. 70's I think?

Worth a look for purveyors of intelligent Sci-fi...

The
Somnambulist

www.cirqus.com

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 7:40 AM

Some might think it a slow-paced film, but it goes by in a flash for me, it's definitly GREAT sci-fi, and a detective story of sorts as well.

Chrisisall, seeing a red light flashing..uh-oh!
*sitting, staring at his computer screen*

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 10:08 AM

This may sound quite random, but still on the subject of SF. Does Doctor Who have a big following in the States? Just wondering.

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
=================================================
"Another dimension, new galaxy. Intergalactic, planetary." Beastie Boys

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 10:20 AM

HAIDON

70's- Star Wars Ep IV: A New Hope
80's- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
90's- The Fifth Element
00's- Serenity

There are some serious Dr. Who fans about in the states, but it's not a widespread, nor highly visible community. I personally can't sit through a single episode. Red Dwarf, on the other hand, I could watch all day long.

---------------------------------------------

All beware the gosling juggler!

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 5:50 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Have you seen the 'fixed up' version of The Motion Picture? I really think Robert Wise took a very good movie and turned it into one of the best sci-fi movies of all time with some tightening and minor FX additions. I'd put it up there with (albeit, not above) Blade Runner, Day The Earth Stood Still (Huh. Same director...), Forbidden Planet, and, of course, Serenity.

I haven’t seen it; I didn’t really know there was anything to be fixed up.

Quote:
Originally posted by TheSomnambulist:
Hmmm talking of Robert Wise, Chris have you seen The Andromeda Strain a very cerebral and tightly wound film. Edgey stuff indeed. 70's I think?

Worth a look for purveyors of intelligent Sci-fi...

Classic Science fiction from the 70s and a movie based on a Michael Crichton book. Some day people will look back at Crichton and speak of him with the same stature of Asimov and Clarke. He is one of the genius’ of science fiction.

Quote:
Originally posted by Tienshaoduh:
This may sound quite random, but still on the subject of SF. Does Doctor Who have a big following in the States? Just wondering.

No. You’d be hard-pressed to find it on TV anywhere. I think during the 70s it may have developed a little bit of popularity, but it was probably short lived. I remember it being on TV, either before or after the Land of the Lost, but I never watched it, and I didn’t know anyone who did.

-------------
Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 5:58 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
I haven’t seen it; I didn’t really know there was anything to be fixed up.[Re; Star Trek the Motion Picture]
Some day people will look back at Crichton and speak of him with the same stature of Asimov and Clarke. He is one of the genius’ of science fiction.

I agree with you about Crichton. Did you see Westworld (I figger ya must have...)? Quite an achievement for a first film.

And dude, you must see Wise's fine tuning of STTMP! Don't rent it- BUY it! It's really better now. Wise was a genius. A lot of little tiny adjustments go a long way.

Chrisisall, attainer of Kohlenar
(but still can't spell it)

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 6:09 PM

CAIUS

Quote:
Originally posted by Tienshaoduh:
This may sound quite random, but still on the subject of SF. Does Doctor Who have a big following in the States? Just wondering.

TS

Dr Who has a small but loyal following. It has always run on PBS, in rather lousy time slots. PBS is a government and private donation funded network that interupts shows periodically to beg for money. When I lived in norther California the Sacramento area Dr Who fan club always did the pledge breaks on the local PBS channel.

We have not seen any of the new episodes broadcast yet.

-Caius

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 6:18 PM

REGINAROADIE

Which DR. WHO's are we talking about?

I've only seen one episode of the Tom Baker DR. WHO's (Pyramids of Mars) and saw that despite it being low budget and cheesy as hell, it did have a few things in it that gave it its distinction.

But the brand new DR. WHO with Chris Eccleson in it I think is the best new sci-fi show since FIREFLY. Great sense of humor, really fast pace and wit, and has some true pathos and scariness to it.

At first, I didn't think the Daleks were a really scary alien being. But after seeing them in the new series, I'm inclined to think they're the most kick ass evil alien species in sci-fi. I actually get in heated debates with my ex over whether or not a Predator can kick a Dalek's ass.

I can't wait for the Xmas special on Boxing day on CBC (score one for the Canucks. You Yanks have to wait for the show to be on dvd before you can watch some new WHO without having to download it while we got it first run the same time as the Brits), and for the new season to start up.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"YES!!!I'm a man posessed by many demons....Polite demons that would open the door for a lady carrying too many parcels...BUT DEMONS NONETHELESS!!!! Yes. I have walked along the path of evil many times, it's a twisting, curving path that..actually leads to a charming plot garden, BUT BEYOND THAT EVIL!!!"

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 7:17 PM

CHRONICTHEHEDGEHOG

50s - Can't think of one right now
60s - 2001: A Space Oddysey
70s - Star Wars
80s - Aliens
90s - Terminator 2
00s - Tough to choose between Serenity and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

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Friday, December 2, 2005 5:02 PM