So far this year I have watched Metropolis and Zardoz for the first time. What are some other must see SciFi movies?
Star Wars Ep 4
Star Trek 4
The Thing (1982)
Aliens
Terminator 2
I’ll add Alien and Terminator 1 to that list. Whether you consider the first or second better in either franchise, there’s no denying all four are excellent movies
Honestly, going back and rewatching them, all the Alien movies are pretty decent. 1 and 2 are the top tier though. The only thing I don’t forgive is the intro premise to 3 which I won’t list for spoiler reasons.
It’s a shame they never made any more Terminator movies after T2. T2 was so excellent. .and it was the last. Definitely. Take my word for it.
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
Ghostbusters!
Dark City, 2001 a space Odyssey, 2010 the year we make contact, enter the void
One of my favorites that seems to get overlooked a lot lately is Contact.
“The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”
One of my favorite movies.
Ooh, I have a list:
- Looker - directed by Michael “Jurassic Park” Chricton. The first ever film to create 3D shading with a computer that produced the first ever CGI human character was the model Cindy (Susan Dey).
- Westworld (1973) - also written by Michael Chricton
- Mac and Me - It’s a movie that’s SO UNBELIEVEABLY BAD IT MUST BE SEEN TO UNDERSTAND HOW BAD IT IS. After you watch it, you’ll understand why Paul Rudd tortured Conan O’Brien with this famous clip.
- The Last Starfighter - another cheeseball 80s knock off of Star Wars. Also pioneered the use of CGI
- Enemy Mine - Dennis Quaid bonds with an alien enemy and eventually helps him bear children. Directed by Wolfgang ‘Neverending Story’ Petersen. You have been warned.
- The Quiet Earth - A scientist awakens to find himself alone in the world. In a desperate attempt to search for others, he finds only two who have their own agenda.
- The Stuff - A delicious, mysterious goo that oozes from the earth is marketed as the newest dessert sensation, but the tasty treat rots more than teeth when zombie-like snackers who only want to consume more of the strange substance at any cost begin infesting the world. Co-stars Paul “Goodfellas” Sorvino
- Miracle Mile - What would you do if you accidentally found out that the world was ending in a little over an hour? Features Anthony “ER” Edwards
A lot of great ones out there but my personal favs probably are Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fifth Element, Event Horizon, Blade Runner in the “earnest” category, then Tokyo Gore Police, Johnny Mnemonic, Starship Troopers, Tetsuo, Total Recall, RoboCop in the campy/wild/fun category.
I guess most of the famous classics are going to be listed anyway, so to add something that most people probably haven’t seen, I suggest *batteries not included. It’s nothing grandiose (more like a family-friendly flick, I feel like it’s in the same category as Flubber or Short Circuit), but it’s really sweet, light-hearted and enjoyable.
You know what movie nobody has mentioned yet? E.T.
I noticed a lack of Anime. If I may:
Ghost in the Shell (the entire collection if you have the time)
Macross: Do You Remember Love?
Akira
Galaxy Express 999
Captain Harlock
Battle Angel Alita
Serial Experiments Lain (Series)
BubbleGum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (Series)
Red Baron (Series)
Saber Marionette (Any, but J is a series that hits maturity in the second half with aplomb)
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Series)
Cowboy Bebop (Series)
The Big O (Series)
Roujin Z
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Iria: Zeiram the Animation
Steamboy
PaprikaAnd more I can’t think of right now.
If you’re gonna do ghost in the shell, I’d also recommend Appleseed.
Akira was one of the first “adult” anime that I watched back in the day. Good stuff, ending is unfortunate. I would have loved if they just made all the books into a series of movies. The animation and soundtrack are amazing though. For Katsuhiro Otomo I’d also recommend Memories.
“The Quiet Earth” definitely worth watching.
If you can handle subtitles Tarkovsky’s 1972 version of Solaris is brilliant.
The modern version with George Clooney actually isn’t half bad either.
I like them both. I’ve read the book and they take different tracks but they’re both good.
“Yeah… 'bout that…”
And it’s free to watch on YouTube now. As are Tarkovsky’s other movies
Time Crimes (2007)
9 (2009)
Pandorum (2009)
I didn’t see it on anyone’s list so far but I would recommend The Andromeda Strain (the original).
Golden Age (70s & 80s): Blade Runner, 2001, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Alien, Wrath of Khan, Undiscovered Country, E.T., Brazil, Lynch’s Dune, Back to the Future, The Thing, They Live, Akira, Buckaroo Banzai, The Abyss
90s Renaissance: Total Recall, 12 Monkeys, Contact, Fifth Element, Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest, Truman Show, Dark City, The Matrix, Gattaca, π, Strange Days, T2, First Contact, Event Horizon, Jurassic Park
Some great picks. I always introduce people to Buckaroo Banzai if they haven’t seen it. Love that end theme. :)
I just rewatched several Dune movies. IDK if you’ve seen the latest release with Clement. It’s a decent watch, enough so that I’ll watch part 2 when it comes out. I love the sci-fi mini-series though… “Frank Herbert’s Dune” and “Children of Dune” they did.