Keeping my lists on a Sci-Fi feel for now I went in search of a definitive top ten list of the best Sci-Fi films, predictable this sort of list falls into 3 categories the expert panel, the viewers vote and of course the personal opinion. Never one to shy away from a task I'll try to represent all three here - though I'm slightly shocked that none of the available web ones are that recent!!!
First of one from the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/) who selected a Panel of leading scientists who all gave their views on what makes a good Sci-Fi film and put forward their own favourites.
1. Blade Runner (1982) Dir: Ridley ScottWhether you prefer the original theatrical version (with a bored-sounding narration and without the famed unicorn scenes) or the director's cut of a few years later (sans narration and unicorn duly re-inserted), Blade Runner was the runaway favourite in our poll.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Dir: Stanley KubrickA very close second, this mystifying story came out of a collaboration between Kubrick and science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke. It achieved enormous fame for its then revolutionary special effects.
3. Star Wars (1977)/Empire Strikes Back (1980)The first two films of the original Star Wars trilogy make it onto the list probably for reasons of nostalgia rather than science.
4. Alien (1979) Dir: Ridley ScottRemembered for the iconic scene of an infant creature bursting bloodily through John Hurt's chest, but Alien was about much more. An interstellar mining vessel takes onboard a lifeform with concentrated acid for blood and two sets of jaws, which then messily dispatches the crew.
5. Solaris (1972) Dir: Andrei TarkovskyRemade by Steven Soderbergh in 2002, but the original still holds a fascination for fans of the novel by Stanislaw Lem. A psychologist travels to a base on a remote planet to replace a mysteriously deceased scientist. There he encounters the secretive survivors - and his dead wife. Reality is supplanted by the increasingly attractive alternative of the planet's alien intelligence.
6. Terminator (1984)/T2: Judgment day (1991) Dir: James CameronRobots from 2029 send a relentless cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back to 1980s Los Angeles to assassinate the mother of a future human rebel. One of a few films to deal with problems of time travel, such as the grandfather paradox: if you travel back in time and kill your grandfather, you wouldn't exist so wouldn't be able to travel back in time to...
7. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Dir: Robert WiseSet amid the cold war paranoia of postwar America, a flying saucer lands in Washington DC and a humanoid alien, Klaatu emerges, accompanied by his robot, Gort.
8. War of the Worlds (1953) Dir: Byron HaskinFamously adapted for radio by Orson Welles, HG Wells' tale of a Martian invasion of Earth became another cold war movie.
9. The Matrix (1999) Dir: Andy & Larry WachowskiCod philosophy, fetish clothing and incredibly cool special effects combined in 1999 for a fresh take on man-made artificial intelligence enslaving the planet.
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Dir: Steven Spielberg"We are not alone", declared the poster and this tale of Richard Dreyfus' escalating obsession with alien visitors against a backdrop of a secretive, omniscient government agency has provided the core of science fiction ever since.
The full list and high brow comments can be read here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/news/page/0,12983,1290764,00.html
Now comparatively a list of voters favourites taken from http://www.sfx.co.uk/ an online Sci-fi site - so its viewers really should know what they are talking about
Their top ten
1. Serenity
2. Star Wars
3. Blade Runner
4. Planet of the Apes
5. The Matrix
6. Alien
7. Forbidden Planet
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey
9. The Terminator
10. Back to the Future
This poll was early last year so Serenity's popularity could be down to Serenity's and of course Fireflies resurgence as a geek fodder with the early curtailment of the series, but you can read their reactions here: http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=lord_of_the_fireflies
Now of course personal opinion with the only opinion I trust on these matters
Mine
1. Blade Runner - this film is awesome whatever version you see and deserved its high positions in both the above polls.
2. Star Wars saga - yeah okay sullied slightly by the recent prequels and shunned by the so called intellectual crowd but still a great story containing every element of story telling you could want with effects far beyond anything seen before.
3. Serenity - Yea I'm all over this geek train, give Han Solo a break from the sulky Jedi and the bagel headed princess and he would be Capt. Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds.
4. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - You don't need effects when you tell a story this good, funny thing is I watched it again the other day and the story still works some 50 odd years later, bloody hope the remake doesn't mess with it too much.
5. Alien - Should be standard watching for want to be directors a great lesson in how to build suspence and when to and when not to play by the conventional rules.
6. Barbarella - Because I'm male and have a pulse basically
7. Event Horizon - Just good Sci-Fi horror
8. The Thing - Scared the shit out of me as a child and still gets the pulse racing now
9. Donnie Darko - A great story one of a very few time travel movies that work
10. Back to the future - I hate time travel films but these work because they do show how actions effect the outcome through time which is more than most and good for basically a teen comedy
Wow possible my longest post yet but i can see why deedub is so interested in lists.
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