In what must certainly be the best example of the stupidity of the masses, I present to you SFX’s top ten science fiction movies ever. Yes; ever; as voted on by 3000 readers of the magazine:
1. Serenity (2005)
2. Star Wars (1977)
3. Blade Runner (1982)
4. Planet of the Apes (1968)
5. The Matrix (1999)
6. Alien (1979)
7. Forbidden Planet (1956)
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
9. The Terminator (1984)
10. Back to the Future (1985)
Puh-lease. Serenity is great, I love it long time, but there is no way it belongs higher up than 9 or 10. Sorry Joss, I loves ya, I do; but in this company even a tenth place isn’t a bad trophy. You should be hella happy that your grass-roots fanbase is as active as it is!
And Planet of the Apes? Again, great movie, I rewatched it last year and enjoyed it thoroughly, but does it really beat out 2001? The Terminator? Alien?… Hell no!
In fact, let me just post a revised ‘now stupidity of the masses’-free list:
1. Star Wars (1977)
2. Blade Runner (1982)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
4. The Matrix (1999)
5. Alien (1979)
6. The Terminator (1984)
7. Forbidden Planet (1956)
8. Back to the Future (1985)
9. Planet of the Apes (1968)
10. Serenity (2005)
Ah, now that’s better. Sure, Star Wars gets a pass because of my own sentimentality, and movies are listed not in accordance with their immediate ‘Hah! Pass the pumpcorn’-value, but on their lasting value.
I was inclined to take out Serenity and replace it with The Day the Earth Stood Still, but decided against it. After all then what about Aliens?
PS: Why do these things reach the Digg frontpage?… Why do I still read Digg?
I totally agree with the Serenity/Firefly comments — an active set of fans and the community. I think your Top 10 (based on rearranging the original list) is absolutely spot on. Except the fact I haven’t seen Forbidden Planet nor the original Planet of the Apes, although, of the top of my head I don’t know what I’d replace them with.
So if people thinks different than you, their opinion is stupid…Well, I think that’s kind of pretentious…
I’d, personally, move Matrix to 10 and put Metropolis at 4. I’d also change Terminator to Terminator 2. I’m tempted to place BTTF higher but I think that’s just nostalgia on my part :)
Yes durdas, that’s just it. You hit the nail on the head.
Chris, I can see why you might want to change T1 for T2, but I do think T1 is the more lean, tighter of the two.
Trovster, you should definitely put your brain in retro-mode and check out both Forbidden Planet and Planet of the Apes.
Take out sentimental value and I think Blade Runner would come first!
As a Firefly fan (read: super-fan), I didn’t like Serenity, it didn’t close a lot of the stories (I was especially curious about Shepard Box) and just wasn’t an ending what Firefly deserved.
Michael, I’m sorry, I really am sorry… but I just don’t get the whole appeal of Star Wars. I’ve seen all the rest of your list, (except 2001: A Space Odyssey, just never got round to it), and loved them. But I just don’t like Star Wars, its a predictable pantomime… like the muppets… except without the humor.
[quote comment=“109080”]
Chris, I can see why you might want to change T1 for T2, but I do think T1 is the more lean, tighter of the two.[/quote]
I totally agree with you on the lean and tighter thing but I there’s something about T2 that makes me grin like a coked up Bonobo Monkey when I watch T2. I just don’t get that with T1. If I could I’d treat them as one film with T1 as the prologue.
Whilst I’m at things I can’t achieve I’d also remove T3 from the planet. I’d also do a Alien prequel which explained how that ship got onto the planet. Including a visit to the Alien home planet. Man that would rock. Well, if they did it properly it would. Keep Mr Anderson away from the project and it should go well. I just can’t forgive him for AvP. So much promise. So much damn promise.
Also, what happened with your Podcast sir? I enjoyed your talks about movie soundtracks. Soundtracks are a major bulk of my CD/Vinyl/Mp3 collection.
Forgive me if I missed a post somewhere.
I would’ve added Dark City (1998) somewhere on that list.
And Predator (1987).I can’t put my likes in order,but Back
to the Future would have to go.I absolutely think it’s a
classic,and while it deals with science fiction,time travel,
it’s not a feast of science fiction,if that makes sense.
See Dark City is just one of those movies I don’t ‘get’. It’s not a bad movie by any stretch, but why people rave about it so, I just don’t understand. And not that I want to start a war, but people who think it’s better than Matrix (to which it is often compared), are just plainly off their knocker :)
And Predator… Now, I loves me some Predator. But for all the testosterone and clicking sounds, Back to the Future is still a better movie than Predator.
Chris, for the love of celluloid, no Alien prequel! The derelict is what it is because it’s unknown and ‘alien’. I hearts Alien movies, but that is a franchise that needs to be left alone. Three movies were enough.
The podcast… Well, I’ve been asked that quite a lot recently, and so I’m pondering a few more episodes.
[quote comment=“109448”]Chris, for the love of celluloid, no Alien prequel! The derelict is what it is because it’s unknown and ‘alien’. I hearts Alien movies, but that is a franchise that needs to be left alone. Three movies were enough.
The podcast… Well, I’ve been asked that quite a lot recently, and so I’m pondering a few more episodes.[/quote]
I don’t know man. I don’t want any more sequels and number 4 I could happily forget but there’s something about a prequel that intrigues me. You’re right though, it should be left alone now as they’d only bugger it up further and have the Aliens as some time travelling version of humans from the very far future or something stupid like that. So far in the future they don’t realise what they evolved from. I’ve just made myself sick with that thought.
I’m sorry.
Truth is, I never understood why people need to make these lists. Is it an art form, or a “who makes the best film” contest? To me, deciding whether “Alien” is better or worse than “Back to the Future”, is like deciding whether ice Cream is better or worse than steak. It has to do with mood and place and time and age and personality and environment – things that change for each and every one of us over time. I really don’t see what we get out of such lists, except for some arguing maybe :)
ALL FILMS MUST BE MEASURED EMPIRICALLY!
@Doron Meir
Ice Cream is better than steak.
I might be wrong,the reason why people compare Matrix and Dark City,i’m pretty sure they used the same movie set,on some scenes…
Wikipedia entry…
“The set for the scene in which Murdoch jumps between rooftops is the same set used in The Matrix for a similar scene with Trinity.”
It is a different movie and i don’t find many that like it like i do,it’s
more of a Twilight Zone-ish kind of science fiction,in which i grew up
on the re-runs.The ones from the 50’s and 60’s.
The reviews for 2001 when it first came were terrible. Critics tore it to pieces but after some time and once people understood what the movie was really after and how it changed sci fiction (space IS dull and boring and slow and quiet), it’s a classic and I believe belongs on that top 10 list.
Serenity has the fault of not being old enough. It’s not even 2 years old. To rate anything that new as the best of in its category might be a problem. See my point about 2001. I’m not even sure if Matrix is old enough to be on this list (although I’m glad to see it for personal reasons).
I have to admit I am glad to see Serenity at the top spot (again for personal reasons). I think it was the perfect scifi movie. Did it change the genre? Not that I’m aware so maybe it doesn’t deserve #1. I’m happy to see it there because of the lack of attention this movie got and any attention is good for it.
But give it some time. Let’s look at this list again in 10 years. It is a coup to have a 1.5 year old movie at #1, no matter what that movie is.
I did see Dark City. Critics loved it. Ebert had an orgasm watching it and thought it deserved best picture. I didn’t get it. But maybe it’s one of those things when everyone was telling me how great it was and they set the expectation too high. There another similiar flick called 13th Floor which I preferred over Dark City. But to each his/her own.
Thanks for adding some sanity to the SFX list, Michael. As much as I love Serenity, I’d have pulled the trigger and replaced it with Day The Earth Stood Still (though I understand why you didn’t).
Also, I’d really like to see Gattaca get some recognition. I love its understated take on the genre, putting people rather than technology front and center. Sadly, I think the fact that its not quite as in-your-face sci-fi as some of the others means folks tend not to think of it first-off.
Gattaca, definitely a worthy contender. I put that and Contact side-by-side on the serious science fiction shelf. More of that, please.
No love for Dune? Sure Lynch’s movie was campy (I thought the Sci-Fi channel adaptation was better) but it sound make the cut. I like Firefly too but Dune > Serenity.
Dune?!… Come on dude; have you seen it lately? I have a lot of love for Lynch, but I think he would agree with me that Dune is a movie best left alone.
Serenity is a silly film! The other picks are good except Terminator 2 is better then T1; Aliens is better than Alien; and Back to the Future 2 is better than Back to the Future
Any votes for Brazil? I guess not.
Hmm… You are all wrong! :p
at least concerning the top 4, which undeniably are:
1. Star Wars: A New Hope
2. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
3. Alien
4. Aliens
The rest: haven’t decided yet!
[quote comment=“110273”]Dune?!… Come on dude; have you seen it lately? I have a lot of love for Lynch, but I think he would agree with me that Dune is a movie best left alone.[/quote]
My brother and I had the misfortune of seeing it about a year ago. I wanted to take a bath afterwards…
Opening another can of worms…
Is Star Wars really a Sci-Fi movie? I see it as a fantasy epic set in distant times. It really has more in common with Highlander/Lord of the Rings than with the Terminator.
How about Deep Impact (and please don’t say that Armaggedon was better), or the low key Outland (with Sean Connery)? No, I don’t really think so either…
…I think the sad thing is how few worthy films there are to consider, when there are so many good books in the genre.
The ‘official’ labelling of Star Wars is Science Fantasy, which strictly speaking is a subgenre of Fantasy. But, if I worked at Blockbuster and needed to place it in a section, it would obviously go into Science Fiction, where most people would look for it.
As for Deep Impact… How to begin… Well, first of all Armageddon Now, for all its flag-waving patriotism and sentimental over-the-top action sequences and stupidity plot points, it was a much better movie. That doesn’t necessarily make it a good movie, though I will gladly admit it is sitting snugly on my DVD shelf right this very moment.
Deep Impact… I don’t even know where to begin. I thought it was bad when it came out, then I caught a rerun a year or two ago, and I was blown away by just how absolutely horrible that movie is. And Téa Leoni… Don’t even get me started.
Outland; well, as a matter of fact, that is also on my DVD shelf, and I rewatched it not so long ago (here’s the trailer). It’s not bad, but nor does it really manage to be good. And the pacing… Ohhhh, it’s slooow.
I love Outland but I’ve fallen asleep watching it more times than watching (I just sprayed some Michael Heileman Anti-Blasphemy Protection solution on myself) Blade Runner (none of them are boring but they do drag on).
Anyone watched Zardoz (Connery) recently? I did and it was great! Hadn’t seen it in years prior to buying a DVD copy recently. My brother on the other hand was almost going out of his mind watching it for some reason =)
Alien resurrection = suck. For all you serenity/firefly lovers Joss Whedon wrote the script for that movie. I bet you feel dirty all over now.
my favourite is back to the future trılogy
no Robot Monster??? he he he he