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The Wired Top Twenty Sci-Fi Movies
blamanj writes "The June issue of Wired includes a list of the top 20 Sci-Fi movies, based on ranking a combination of Adrenaline, Vision, and Precision. Somehow, they came up with (yawn) Gattaca as the #2 SF movie of all time!?! Their rating system was based on one by Josh Calder, who also uses a three-point (Futurism, Entertainment, Plausibility) system, and has the same movie at #2, BTW. Clearly, I think using such a scale gives odd results, but what if it were weighted differently, e.g., Vision is worth 2x Adrenaline, would it be a better list? And, more importantly, what are the real top 20 films? And wouldn't that list have to include Forbidden Planet?"
Hells yeah, it would have to include Forbidden Planet. Id, Krell Metal, Leslie Nielson as a starship captain, ROBBIE!
And GaTtaCA? I rarely use it myself, sir. It promotes rust.
-- Minds are like parachutes... they work best when open.
Hey! The latest issue of Weird is here!
(I didn't agree with the rankings either.)
--RJ
This should definatly be number one. I think everyone can agree the we humans will be the slaves of the apes and orangitangs in the years to come.
Gattaca was a very good movie, with excellent music by Michael Nyman. It was originally just interesting scenery around which they formed a movie - what could not be #2 about that?
Saying your OS is the best because more people use it is like saying MacDonalds make the best food
I support Gattica as number 2... The rating system also works for me... I think its a fair way to do things.
FP
Logan's Run. No questions about it.
If I was asked what are the top 20 sci-fi movies, I wouldn't care about visio, accuracy or anything like that. First, I'd decide if the movie was sci-fi. If it is, then I think how good it is. It doesn't matter how sci-fi the movie is. Ok, Space Odyssey is a classic. It's got computers and spaceships and everything. But, it's boring as hell. I'll never watch it again! Now why would I list this movie on any top 20 movie list, if I don't like it? In the end, it's a matter of taste. That top20-list included some movies I've never seen, or even heard of, so I really don't think those could be good movies. Propably I'd fall asleep or something watching..
Cheers
, Ian
Any list of sci-fi that does not include either Forbidden Planet or Fantastic Voyage in the top 20 cannot be correct. Likewise, as much as I do love Bladerunner, it cannot possibly be rated as the number one sci-fi movie of all time by any sane person. Altered States has to be in there somewhere too. Finally, the fact that Barbarella even appears anywhere on the list only serves to remove any shred of credibility for the author...
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
Yes, i disagree. I think "Precision" is not that important. (Read: Bugs in matrix does not make it a bad movie. It's rated #3 though.)
BTW, Sci-fi does not mean a "Vision" of future. Take Star Wars. It says "a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away".
http://www.duneworld.org/movie/.
and agreed Terminator was the reason Terminator II came out but i thought Terminator II was cooler. Any trekkie fans out here?
Atari2.6k
The Reagan presidency. Most complete evocation of a fantasy world/dystopia ever made. Great special effects, even if there was no scientific basis to any of it.
does adrenaline mean adrenaline I'm incurring from watching the movie, or adrenaline (fast pased action) show on screen?
So genetic reconstruction of dinosaurs ranks above blurred virtual reality and a revolt against videogames in plausibility? I think there are some serious omissions in this list :(
critics hate sci fi in the first place, but the most panned was frickin gattaca on that list
a viable scale should put Science fFirst, fFiction second. just as the genre name implies. (sorry, star wars fFans) however, also important are vision, and precedent.
fFor example, fForbidden planet earns more points than any star trek movie, simply because it is more ground-breaking. essentially, they are similar concepts. so the one which is older gets higher points.
of course, age isnt necesarilly a winner. AI should get a high score based on it's clarity of concept.
see, there's a lot more categories fFor scoring than these people are allowing. so of course it will come out weird with uncommon movies with high ranks. they arent taking into account the Cool fFactor, and the directoring skill and all those things that make a movie into a Good Movie.
Excellent! At last someone recognises that Terminator is superior to Terminator 2. I have to wonder, though, how could anyone rate Jurassic Park higher than Star Wars?
What a shame the write-ups are so cursory. A few sentences more and maybe a few images wouldn't have hurt.
It would be interesting to see the top20 when setting both Vision and Presition to 4, and Adrenaline to 2...
IMDB have a much better weighted ranking system based on user votes. Their top Sci-Fi movies are:
1 Star Wars (1977) 8.7/10 (77559 votes)
2 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 8.7/10 (31705 votes)
3 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 8.6/10 (58919 votes)
4 Matrix, The (1999) 8.3/10 (69300 votes)
5 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 8.3/10 (36486 votes)
6 Metropolis (1927) 8.2/10 (5187 votes)
7 Donnie Darko (2001) 8.2/10 (3590 votes)
8 Alien (1979) 8.2/10 (32155 votes)
9 Clockwork Orange, A (1971) 8.2/10 (32662 votes)
10 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) 8.2/10 (11199 votes)
11 Blade Runner (1982) 8.1/10 (42768 votes)
12 Spider-Man (2002) 8.1/10 (10504 votes)
13 Aliens (1986) 8.1/10 (35399 votes)
14 Iron Giant, The (1999) 8.0/10 (6877 votes)
15 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) 8.0/10 (44823 votes)
16 Abre los ojos (1997) 7.9/10 (2873 votes)
17 Brazil (1985) 7.9/10 (17398 votes)
18 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 7.9/10 (39419 votes)
19 Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951) 7.9/10 (5131 votes)
20 Back to the Future (1985) 7.8/10 (34951 votes)
Funny to see how people get worked up over these all-time, definitive, be-all-and-end-all, ultimate top 20 charts, because it doesn't happen to have their personal favorities on it.
This is not the chart you're looking for... He can go about his business... Move along.
Oh... this is not my list either, although many of my personal favorites are on it. Brah-ziiiiiil!
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Yes, as a few others have said, this list leaves out some obvious classics in favor of some obvious blockbusters. eXistenZ is definitely a great movie, and Jurassic Park was a waste of time. Shiney and pretty, yes - good movie, no.
But, come on, Gattaca being a "yawn" ?? Gattaca is an excellent film, and it is science fiction. It's one of the most "real" science fiction films I've ever seen. The acting is superb, and the ending is terribly emotional. No, it doesn't have lasers and battles and monsters and millions of dollars of special effects, but as a sci-fi film I've always thought everyone should go see it. People who complain that sci-fi is just for geeky teens who never really grow up would do themselves a favor by seeing that film. It's quite brilliantly done.
this dude is on crack. We are getting more stuff from Star Trek then anything. IBM is working on teleporters, personal communicators are here, phasers are developed and getting better all the time... uhhh, the medical advances are parallel with star trek. Gee. What a moron. Fuck wired.
Does it piss anyone else off how few good sci-fi movies there are?
Ok, ok, tired, old came out not long after The Matrix, which took the sting out of the plotline; but anything with guns made out of amphibian bones that fire human teeth is worth watching...
The Cube - borderline sci-fi, who's gonna survive etc.
And. That's two.
Still, good movies.
Meanwhile, there's a couple on the list that I'll try and see soon, and I'm hoping there'll be a few more good recs on here?
---- I've fallen, and I can't get up.
I'd say the Entertainment factor list is the one that makes the most sense. At least to me...
Gattaca and Bladerunner are two of my favourites so I guess I like the rankings but I'm also from NZ so Gattaca being a NZ director possibly bends my loyalties.
Whilst on the subject of NZ Sci Fi, has any one here seen 'Quiet Earth' a NZ sci fi movie. Basic premis is that everyone on earth dies in a moment except for the the people who did die of natural causes at that moment who are now living.
Shows 2 or 3 people walking round wondering what the f**k happened and in some cases slowly descending into insanity trying to comprehend it.
Another NZ sci fi had people digging through the earth from another time I think (offhand) its name was vigil.
Something for sci fi/fantasy fans to look for given that NZ is currently quite popular for this sort of stuff after LotR et al.
Must stop as its making me homesick (live is Aussie now)
PS: Logans run was great that city of domes, death at 30 thing scared the shit out of me when I was a kid (both the movie and the cheesy TV series)
Im 31 next week so guess I'm ok.
Rog.
Ed: Fuck! Readership is down, we're becoming irrelevent!!!
Guru: Write another list of top SciFi - wind em up and watch em go!
Ed: But thats so old hat!
Guru: NOT if we have a seemingly scientific rating system!
Ed: I think I've just come!
Of course I think that Forbidden Planet was to be in, yet I also think that Metropolis is absolutely outstanding from most points of view (Moroder's re-edition is more suitable for our times).
In general, "classics" seem to be forgotten from this list, apart from "The Day Earth...", and there seem to be a strong bias toward recent titles.
Apart from that I'm obviously convinced that no schema could ever list a proper parade for what is inherently a matter of taste and opinions...
I stopped reading after I saw The Matrix listed.
"Here's a cool idea... oh wait *fight* *fight* *action* *action*"
Anything with many written words visible on screen should be disqualified and burnt. All that does is confuse prople.
I vote for Ferenheit 451
Warmest regards,
Guy Montag
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
That's only logical though considering the fact that recent films are much easier to remember.
Coding Blog
Having said that, Robocop deserved to be higher on the list, and I wouldn't have included Jurassic Park at all in terms of the criteria given.
Of course, the criteria are bullshit. Futurism? that excludes every time travel movie ever made (probably). The same could be said for plausiblility. That means Terminator made it in by Entertainment values alone.
Anyway, all kidding aside - I realise I'm the only person on Earth who thinks that Spaced Invaders (aka Martians!!!) is a truly great movie - I would've included a few other movies...
Ghost in the Shell
A far more visionary peek at the future, IMO, than anything listed (except, perhaps, Gattaca). For the sake of brevity, I'll list this as the only anime, even though I could fill the list with better films than these
The Abyss
Not just included cos it's Cameron's last good movie. There may have been better First Contact movies, but I can't think of any offhand.
Star Trek: Generations
Only kidding.
From the article:
But what makes a truly great sci-fi flick isn't just popcorn appeal; it's how well a world is conceived, developed, and realized. Wired's team of serious science fiction fans - led by Josh Calder, who rates films in depth at Futuristmovies.com - determined our rankings by three calibrating factors: a film's power to enthrall and excite (Adrenaline), how well it presents a scenario for the future (Vision), and whether the science behind the fiction holds up (Precision).
The reason why I think they have it nailed can be seen in the superb replay value of most of those films - and the endless debates that they still provoke. It's not that there aren't others which are more exciting, more vision or more precision, but that the combination of the three in the ones chosen is something special.
--- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
First of all let me just say that I support Gattaga being in the #2 slot.
I think that Plausibility above everything else should matter in a SciFi movie. It helps to suspend our disbelief, and truly get inmersed in the movie. For example, it is much easier to see myself, or my future children, living in a world like Gattaga rather than a world like Star Wars or Trek.
Of course, there are many other factors involved in that, and I would say that Vision/Futurism should be a very close second, with Adrenaline being the last. That does not mean that it is not important, just that I like movies that leave me thinking after I watch them.
Accuracy does not mean that bugs in the movie make it bad. It defines the movie as SCIENCE fiction, instead of just fiction/fantasy. That is the beauty of SciFi, the possibility that one day all the things and ideas presented in the movie will come to pass.
1. Solaris
2. Metropolis
3. Until The End of Time
4. Demon Seed
5. The Lawnmower Man
6. Slaughterhouse 5
7. Fahrenheit 451
8. 1984
9. Final Fantasy
10. They Live
how many of the top 20 has everyone seen?
im missing 6.. thats a lot i think..
the system for rating seems sound,
exept for the limited number of ppl
involed...
anyone though of 'porting' this across
to a mega list?
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Flesh Gordon! One of my favorites. Gotta love the rocket ship.
Arf!
Who in their right mind would rank Barbarella on a Top 20 list of anything? It wouldn't even rank well on a soft pr0n list. For that matter, Sleeper doesn't belong on the list either, and much as I may have enjoyed Tron in the day, it's not a great movie.
On the other hand, IMHO, the other movies on the list are great movies, and would make reasonable candidates for a Top-20 list, even if you or I wouldn't agree with their ordering. Just keep in mind that Top-X lists are just tools that you can choose to use or ignore them as necessary.
We call it art because we have names for the things we understand.
As for Gattaca not being in the top 20, please break out of your "if it doesn't have laser and explosions, it isn't SciFi" male mindset. Gattaca tells the story of our near (if not present) future. A world dominated by questions of identity and possibility. And biological world. As such it is much closer to the Gaea-inspired reality that is our world than the sterile outlook of Star Wars (is every planet in the universe a desert?) or the techno-masturbation fantasy of The Matrix.
Angela Taylor, PhD
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Feminist, scientist, scholar, woman
1. Blade Runner
2. Gattaca
3. The Matrix
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
5. Brazil
6. A Clockwork Orange
7. Alien
8. The Boys From Brazil
9. Jurassic Park
10. Star Wars
11. The Road Warrior
12. Tron
13. The Terminator
14. Sleeper
15. Soylent Green
16. RoboCop
17. Planet Of The Apes
18. The Day The Earth Stood Still
19. Akira
20. Barbarella
Copyright © 1993-2002 The Condé Nast Publications Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1994-2002 Wired Digital, Inc. All rights reserved.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Where is Dune in the list?
Ron Gage - Westland, MI
The presense of Kyle McLachLan is enough to knock 3 rating stars automatically off of any project.
Let's just say that the kids were negatively impressed. Their criteria were things like "where's the battles? and the aliens? and why do the humans run around in a flying saucer?"
My wife thought the uniforms were dopey, and then abandoned the project. I looked at how everybody just stood around. The three ship leaders (that is, those chasing the girl) are about the only ones with anything to do. Everybody else literally stood around, sometimes pointing their tommy guns.
The movie made sure that only one leader was left for the girl to glom onto. She of whom never heard of kissing, or the idea of male companionship. She warmed up in just a couple of hours. You know, real life is just like that...;^).
There is a grand sweep in the plot (million-year-old civilization, etc.), and the plot was supposedly based on Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'. But when things are done this movie is all chat and no action. Yes, it has decent special effects. But you must have a decent story first, no matter if it is a western, detective or SF. Example: the guys land on planet and try to determine fate of the colony ship 'Bellorophon'. The first thing they do once contacting the sole survivor(s) is to hit upon the girl. Real in-character behavior for naval officers with life&death responsibilities.
Forbidden Planet may have been up-there with its genre, but judging it as a *good* movie is being kind to it. Rating: **.
Beloved of spacemen the world over (and over the world)
...if plausibility was a major factor in it's ranking. Think about it, wouldn't employers love to use DNA testing to see if you would be a good employee? Employers can interview people in person to see what they are like but the result is just an opinion saying if the person would work well at the company. DNA testing gives you cold hard numbers though. These numbers may not represent your actual abilities but that won't stop employers from using them. Why? Employers like numbers and statistics. When employers are dealing with a 1000 employees, statistical averages is the only way employers can understand what everyone is doing, they can't look at every individual employee. Employers can say "99% of our employees have the XYZ genome sequence which means they are great workers." as oppose to "Our hiring staff only hires the best people, even though they all have different opinions about what is the best and would rather hire someone because they are fans of the same sports teams instead of actually knowing how to program...".
Remember, you're not a person when you walk into a corporation, you're a "human resource".
Outdoor digital photography, mostly in New Engl
...based on ranking a combination of Adrenaline, Vision, and Precision
...but not Writing, Acting, Direction. Don't bother flaming this folks, the premise is flawed and misleading. The article (actually a sidebar) should have been titled "Top Twenty Sci-Fi films, quality aside"
The biggest problem with a list of the "best movies of all time", in whatever category is that things change. The quality/realism of effects has obviously changed over time, but also taste (people like different sorts of movies now than they did twenty years ago), plausability (things that seemed highly probable twenty years ago look very dated now), and what's allowed to be shown (the censors have gotten more lenient over time), so that at the end of the day the best movies of all time - especially in the Sci-fi category - are going to be a highly subjective, and likely to change over time as well as from person to person.
(Spudley Strikes Again!)
Not trying to be an asshole or something, but recent films are better - because they have better eye candy. That's the truth :)
To me, the worst part of Logan's Run are any of the birdseye views of the city under the dome (remember the atari-symbol shaped buildings). Due to how the water looks, everything looks like it is no more than 2 feet tall.
Obviously, the absence of Forbidden Planet destines the Wired list for the dustbin of history.
An ominous sense of Kafkaesque suspense actually can evoke more adrenaline than ten speeder chases. Vision and sociopolitical relevence should be weighted much more heavily than "adrenaline", anyways. The movie version of Orwell's "1984 " is a case in point, on the strength of the story and its continuing social relevence, it deserves a place on the list. Also, on my list, the 1973 cult classic Zardoz blows Robocop away.
The problem with these lists is that they don't compare like with like. How can one compare a sci-fi action film (eg The Matrix) with a sci-fi comedy (Sleeper)? Just my 2 euros worth.
--
This sig is inoffensive.
When I saw the Boys from Brazil, I thought it was the biggest joke of a film ever. Bad, bad acting, stupid implausible plot, heavy-handed German-bashing. What the...?!
Feh.
We should have remembered that from the ad nauseum Millenium Lists (and if not, then punctuated with "Seinfeld" as TV Best Show by RupertMurdock.Com, er, TV Guide.
I also consider lists to be Flamebait Inherent and Spam Inherent, since the natural tendancy is to "correct" the list by offering items omitted.
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey 2. Brazil 3. Blade Runner 4. Forbidden Planet 5. Akira 6. A Clockwork Orange 7. Star Wars 8. The Road Warrior 9. Sleeper 10. The Day The Earth Stood Still 11. Planet Of The Apes 12. The Terminator 13. The Matrix 14. Soylent Green 15. Close Encounters 16. Aliens 17. The Empire Strikes Back 18. Zardoz 19. Roller Ball 20. Things to Come
The Moore-Murphy Law: The number of things that will go wrong will double every 2 years.
Where are:
Ice Pirates
Spaceballs
Mars Attacks
The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai
Weird Science
? Any and all of these would make my top 20.
Matrix beats Clockwork Orange and 2001??
NO, I'm not taking THAT
That was classic intercourse!
Of course these lists are only done as a piece of trollery, which is fine, but what annoys me is when they claim some psudo-scientific system behind it all - such as this ratings "system". Adrenaline, fine, that's excitement, but the other two? "Vision" - how well it presents a scenario for the future, and "Precision", whether the science behind the fiction holds up. Well, most of the movies on this list fail those two.
I mean, take The Matrix: great film (IMHO). But vision - yeah, I can just see a near-future where man and machines fight a war, the machines win and enslave us all as power generators while building a convincing virtual world. Oh yeah, and the science holds up on that as well. Pfffft.
Yeah, Alien as a precise and visionary view of the future: we are going to be chased around space ships by huge monsters. That works on so many levels (Homer Simpson). Terminator - yes, I can see the day (soon perhaps) when metal killing machines are sent back through time. In fact it's probably happening now, and the cyborgs are all working at Wired writing crappy ersatz movie ratings. Based on these ratings, Soylent Green shouldn't be on this list at all because none of the things it predicted for right now have come true: it's Malthusian "vision" made in the 70s turned out to be way off beam for the 21st century - unless you count playing Asteroids.
On the other hand, under vision and precision, Robocop should probably come tops.
Don't get me wrong, I like all the movies on the list, but all this "precision" and "vision" crap is mere justification for someone's sci-fi movie tastes.
I agree largely with Wired's list, with the exception of Brazil and The Boys From Brazil, neither of which I have seen. (The two don't appear related.)
:)
Call Gattaca a snoozer if you must, but I would place it in the top 10 SciFi films that I have seen; definitely top three on the scale they used for futurism and plausibility.
I caught Gattaca on HBO by accident (before they jacked up the price to $13.95 a month... I don't like HBO *that* much). By the end of that month I had seen it 4 times. From the cameo of Ernest Borgnine as head janitor to the all-telling final scene; it was so completely and totally plausible that it scared me. (I won't spoil the ending if you haven't seen it, but the good doctor gives us hope that the human spirit will not be overcome by science and "genetic discrimination.")
Rent it! Or if you are a cheap bastard, er, sorry, "poor college student with 10 megabit bandwidth and several hundred gigs of storage," download it. Some put the poo-poo on the film because it does not have enough action (AKA fight scenes and explosions), but the suspense does honor to the memory of Hitchcock. And it is a good story, despite the cardboard cut-out performance of Uma Thurman in the female lead.
Ethan Hawke is excellent, and Jude Law is good as a spoiled genetic-elite with a spinal injury. I liked Jude better as "Gigolo Joe" in AI, though.
SlashSigTheorem: Humorous, Political, Critical, Constructive- If you have a
Please go to Amazon.com and look up
"Hitler's Willing Executioners : Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust".
Then go read "The Arms of Krupp". They even ran a death camp specifically for infants.
I looked at the list and while I don't think Blade should be #1 much less even on the list I can say some good things about it.
I don't care what list someone comes out with but as long as it has Brazil on it has got my vote for being at least somewhat well researched. Brazil is 1984 meets Fear and Loathing. The later of which is also by Terry Gilliam. Brazil should be watched many times to fully "get it" and it should not be watched for at least 2 hours after the acid has worn off.
I also saw that #20 was Barbarella. A must see movie. Jane Fonda in the prime of her life in some of the sexiest costumes around. I only own two movies and Barbarella is one of them. I have no VCR to play it on and I have no TV, but I can bring this to a party and pop it in after Army of Darkness and people will sit glued to their chairs.
Ascii artist &
The makeup job was incredible. Remember Rick Baker's work on the Bork character's beard? And look at how much the title star John Davidson was transformed using something that looked like a wrinkly Ed Sullivan mask.
I'm still not sure if Nancy was played by a real actress, or was some sort of stop-motion skeleton thing like in "Jason and the Argonauts".
I stopped reading when I realized the list didn't include The Fly, quite possibly the most interesting Sci-Fi flick ever made (the end got a little lame, but what geek could resist the wondrous telepod invention Seth Brendel had been working on).
I was also surprised to see Alien listed, while its far superior sequel Aliens did not (although they did admit that Aliens was better "in many ways".
Gattaca is one of the best SF movies ever made. Acting was fantastic, artistic value is great, it is simply fantastic movie in every aspect.
I was PLEASANTLY surprised to see "Blade Runner" at #1 place. It is exactly where it belongs, and this list looks much more credible than most of the "top lists" I've ever seen.
Akira? Thankfully, there are no cartoons on the list. Make a separate list for sci fi cartoons, so Akira can join the company of Superfriends, Titanae, Space Ghost, Herculoids, and He-Man. "By the power of Gray Skull!"
Forgot to mention that Gattaca had probably the best music ever heard in an SF movie.
No DarkStar... bummer!
SCi-Fi is way too complicated a genre now to class all the movies in one list.
The majority of people like Star Trek and Star Wars, Geeks and tech-heads will be inclined to prefer the more obscure titles that have a little thought behind the special effects.
I know how complicated individual tastes are, I used to be Media Officer and Secretary of a University Sci-Fi society. I almost killed it on opening night when we showed the anime:Wicked City (all the chemists walked out in disgust, they just wanted to watch Next Gen: every night).
Fantasy on the other hand is simpler because it never really got into the cinema (anyone remember 'Krull', or 'Willow') only recently with LOTR and the Harry Potter film has it got good press.
Why don't we categorise a little more in Sci-fi (I'd draw up a few categories, only I'm way too busy today at work today).
From my Autobiography - "Lifestyles of the Sad and Desperate"...
It was your typical "all talk and no action" british film. Had I known it was a british sci-fi, I'd would have never gone to see it.
Sure, the *idea* was fine, could even have been done well with some more thought to it, but it was about as exciting to watch as paint drying.
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
Ed Wood brilliantly combines the horror of zombies and the threat of alien invasion in the brilliant precursor to "The X-Files"
The Moore-Murphy Law: The number of things that will go wrong will double every 2 years.
"Project Censored" is a joke. If the stories really were censored, then "Project Censored" would not print them, let alone the other sources that print the stories all over the place before the "Project" finds them.
The fact is, the stories are not censored, but are so silly that no one cares about them.
As for this particular story, file it under the magical "Hemp Will Save the World" category. It's a dubious hoax. I wonder if you believe in Reich's orgone radiation theoroes, Velikovsky astronomy, or that Windows is the best possible operating system.
5)the andramida strain
4)Starwars: A New Hope
3)Starwars: Return of the Jedi
2)The Matrix
1)2001: A Space Odyssey
I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
Metropolis, almost all sci-fi since this flick has drawn from it in more ways than one. This film really is a legend.
Metropolis: http://www.uow.edu.au/~morgan/Metroa.html
I started taking this film apart scene by scene and was amazed and how much is going on in there.
As for the Tired list, who cares about what order they're in? Just make it a 'club' of sorts, the top 20 in no particular order.
My prefs:
Scratch off: Clockwork Orange, Boys From Brazil (more a political pic than sci-fi), RoboCop (hardly original at the time), Barbarella (a drug fantasy more than sci-fi).
Add on: Forbidden Planet, Metropolis, Altered States, and some choice among the original Frankenstein movies (perhaps Son of Frankenstein).
I'd have a personalized plate on my car, but "toxic bachelor" won't fit into 7 letters.
One small point, Star Wars is Not Sci-Fi,
niether are some of the others but I have this particular argument quite a lot. If any one can
point out any scientific basis for Star Wars then
may you be knighted at the earliest possible convienience.
P.S. I think Star Wars should be near the top of any all time greate movie list. So I'm not just some weird anti-lucasian nutter.
Seriously though, they left out some great movies like:
n s run
aelita - queen of mars (1924)
thx-1138
solaris
metropolis
dune
loga
but maybe the old stuff isn't interesting enough for the public at large... but some more recent films like ghost in the shell and cube are good too. oh well.
The list is completly biased toward American (Hollywood) movies. For example, Andrei Tarkovsky's masterpeaces: Stalker and Solaris are completely missing.
"There is a terrorist behind every bush"
Not everybodies cup of tea, but I reckon Mars Attacks is a classic.
Is it just me, or does anyone else fail to see the difference between Wired's rating system and Josh Calder's, on which it's "based". Might "copped" be a better word?
Wired: Adrenaline, Vision, and Precision
Calder: Futurism, Entertainment, Plausibility
Just struck me as a bunch of synonymous words, shuffled around a little bit.
Not if you're looking for action and explosions, no. But 2001 is clearly a brilliant SF movie, and it's got no action at all. If action is what you want, then choose the best action movie of all time -- but for pure SF, Gattaca is definitely up there.
:-)
And the fact that Ethan Hawke and Jude Law are total hotties is neither here nor there, obviously
You're joking, but it's still worth pointing out that eye candy is relative to the times in which it first appears. There was a time when Nostromo's "Mother" was cool, too :)
"Only the small secrets need to be protected. The big ones are kept secret by public incredulity." - Marshall McLuhan
That top20-list included some movies I've never seen, or even heard of, so I really don't think those could be good movies.
So, you're the reason all that top-40 shit is popular!
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Given today's headlines, Brazil seems to be the truest version of the future. From terrorism to coporate abuse of the population to environmental damage , Terry Gilliam has hit the nail on the head. Even the smaller details like abuse of the phone system , rouge technicians bucking the establishment , and lousy technical support ring true.
(Leans back in chair and softly hums Brazil theme song.)
SD
âoeWho knew something as harmless as willful ignorance could end up having real consequences?â
The latest film has another desert planet: Count Dooku's planet with the gladiator arena. Name is something like Geonosis.
Thanks for the tip. You've saved me countless hours of valuable time. And to think I thought the Kama Sutra woulld contain sex scenes.
;).
Don't believe this guy. There are many classics with excellent sex scenes
I appreciate that they made Gattaca, Blade Runner and Brazil rate highly for the simple reason these movies do some justice to one of the real strongpoints of science fiction - The ability to use an abstracted situation to point out conflicting situations of the present. Whether they do it well or not is another question but they do ask to you to think.
This is not a put down of technical effects films such as the Matrix, which also has that element of abstraction (where are we going with our preoccupation with things digital?) or terminator or the star wars series. There is a need for pure entertainment as well and everybody loves a simple action filled story full of effects and fairy tales. But disliking films because they ask you to think says more about you than it does about the movie.
Some films that didn't make it
A film that was never popular but also had a good mix of action and the think factor (if higly simplified) was Enemy Mine.
And my own favourite fantasy film with brilliant acting and huge laughs was Time Bandits, also by Terry Gillam who made Brazil.
I thought this debate was ended long ago...
Star Wars is NOT SCIENCE FICTION. Star Wars is SCIENCE FANTASY. As are half the movies on this list. What's that sound? Oops, there goes Wired's credibility.
Besides, for all these responses... how can no one list "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" among the 20 best Sci-Fi films ever? Only one person mentions "They Live!".
Gattaca belongs on the list because it's an actual example of Science Fiction. Now until they start making "Rendevous with Rama", Gattaca, along with 2001, 2010, and AI are probably the best examples of pure sci-fi cinema in existance.
Ah, the corporate media blacklist myth. Last refuge of non-thinkers.
Know what censorship means? If someone decides not to say something, that is free speech. not censorship.
The government not only suppressed this research, but later went to all the universities throughout the country and requested that all records on this research be destroyed
This is the same government that has a secret base on Mars, killed Elvis because he knew about the Illimunati who shot JFK, and has helped suppress the 400 mile per gallon carburetor.
Me thinks you have too much personal experience with the drug you are advocating the abuse of.
What?
It's not hard, based on the fools' grading system, it would be:
1. Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home
2. Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan
3. Star Trek III - Search for Spock
4. Star Trek VI - Undiscovered Country
5. Star Trek V - The Final Frontier
6. Star Trek The Motion Picture
7. Star Trek VIII - First Contact
8. Star Trek IX - Insurrection
9. Star Trek VII - Generations
10. The Matrix
And that's...
The Final Word
Omega Man
12 Monkeys
Ghost In The Shell
Metropolis
The Lathe of Heaven
The Fly
Things To Come
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Rollerball
If any confusion arises, the original is the one I'm talking about (The Fly, Body Snatchers, Rollerball).
Insanity is the last line of defence for the master diplomat. But you have to lay the groundwork early.
Yes, I could be completely off base, but I'm going to guess that the inventor of the rating system and the people seeding the values being plugged into the rating system are between the ages of 25 and 35 ( if that old ).
:))) is it's influence on succeeding works.
Of course, we will never get a concensus on what is the best science fiction film ever made. Reading through the comments you can't even get an agreement on what constitutes science fiction. But one thing that really should be considered when jugding any work of art ( yes, science fiction is literature which is art ( another can of flame bait waiting to be opened.
I'm not going to make a list, but suffice it to say that the list Wired published is trash IMHO. Their method was highly skewed toward flash, which while cool, does not mean good. Battlefield Earth had all kinds of flash, but it was a lousy movie.
That said, I'm waiting for someone to do a good adaptation of Heinlein's "Have Space Suit Will Travel". Come on George. Please?!
--
-- Some people say they can tell the time by looking at the Sun, but I have trouble seeing the numbers.
'The Quiet Earth' is a little know, but awsome sci-fi gem from New Zealand. Also liked Silent Running.
DARK CITY
You missed the oppressive socialist government that ruled over all in Brazil, and concentrated on some of the lesser aspects.
More for you:
Andromeda strain
Max Max
Dune
Event Horizon
Alien
Just a few thoughts.
I'll be lazy and do the easy part... in no particular order...
Star Wars
Forbidden Planet
The Matrix
Alien
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Tron
Blade Runner
Terminator II (more powerful than the first)
2001: A Space Odyssey (I found 2010 more entertaining, but 2001 had the certain "something")
Event Horizon (most people detest this movie, I don't think those people quite get it though)
Predator
Scanners (how could anyone miss this one?)
V (should miniseries be included as movies? I argue yes)
Fantastic Voyage
The Andromeda Strain
The Abyss
The Fly
Eraserhead
The Thing (remake, but either can be on the list in my view)
War Of The Worlds (an all-time classic, yet no one mentions it?!?)
If a pion (n-) collides with a proton in the woods & noone is there to hear it, does lamdba decay into the source pa
The Day the Earth Stood Still is greatest Sci Fi movie ever made.
And C'mon, Total Recall is the Bomb.
That would be great. Something along the lines of "I Heard Ramona Sing".
Of course, that is not what the solution is, it's programming the criminals to be incapable of crime. Maybe he watched AntiTrust instead.
And Tron was awful, awful, awful.
Seems like every time a new list of top n movies (as the AFI top 100 films) or television shows (as the TV Guide top comedies) or whatever shows up, there's invariably a hue and a cry from folks who don't appreciate the rankings, or the content, or a series of egregious omissions.
It's a whole lot easier to stomach these things if you take them as a signpost and not a destination. In fact, the debate here about what does and doesn't get included and why (the why is the particularly important part, IMO) pretty much validates the creation of the list, even if I don't agree with its contents or its order. Fortunately, there's even a means of redress:
"Disagree? Send your own picks to movielist@wiredmag.com."
The most unfortunate part of the article as presented is that it explains the three ranking criteria, but does not provide any evaluation as to how the movie satisfies them (for example, I imagine that it's nigh-universally agreed that The Matrix is an "adrenaline" movie, but probably much less so that it's a "precision" movie, owing to some spotty scientific principles).
(I also have my reservations about the breadth of knowledge of films that the panel has, but the article did say "fans" and not "experts")
I'll also echo the sentiments of some of the other Gattaca sympathizers that it's probably the most "science-y" science-fiction that I've seen in recent memory, but that's the age-old argument between the "hard" and "soft" views of whether the science or the fiction part of science fiction is what gets the emphasis.
Seriously... what list of top scifi movies is complete without Ghost in the Shell?
-------------------------
It is the monkied monkey that monkies with another monkey's monkey. Monkey.
I think it strange, that Dune is absent in this list, IMO it should rank among the top ten. It's definitely better than "Jurassic Park", but maybe i'm the only one who thinks, that a good story outranks special effects.
"By the way if anyone here is in advertising or marketing... kill yourself." -- Bill Hicks
Hmmm.... what about THX1138? Another early 70's disutopian movie. I liked the look and the feel of it. Computers and robots have basically taken over. I can;t quite recall the point of the whole thing... it was more an exercise in examining what could be, rather than being a traditional story. It's been a while since I have een it, though.
Oh, I heard the director of the film went on to make a few other movies that seem to be a bit more popular.
Barbarella is in the list, but Forbidden Planet is not? Blasphemy!
Somehow, they came up with (yawn) Gattaca as the #2 SF movie of all time!?!
I guess blamanj would have liked the movie more if they had made Battlestar Gattaca instead?
I missed it in my other post, but if there ever was a science fiction film that had a brilliant story (The Anthrax scare last year) excellent acting (Madeleine Stow plays the part of a woman who is intelligent , warm and not some male macho replica, and we all love to see Bruce Willis suffer), Gillamesque wierdness (the strange society under the earth) and a refreshing sad and sweet ending (the tragic hero dies but humanity is saved), this was it.
I actually wonder why this didn't make it onto the list? I think possibly because of the ending. I think it frightens audiences to see the hero die.
I saw an interview with Terry Gilliam and he said the title of the movie came from the feeling he got from the song used as the theme. It is from the 1930's and it is called 'Beaches of Brazil'.
Click here or here.
I know everybody starts out the same way with "I can't believe xxxxxx didn't make the list" but I can't believe War of the Worlds didn't make the list. Aliens attack, we are hopeless to defeat them, everybody gives up. Then we are saved by Bacteria. Great twist, great story. My synopsis does not do it justice.
Websters Defines Science Fiction as
A literary of Cinematic genre in which fantasy,typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background.
Rollerball should definitely have been on the list, especially if plausability is a major factor -- blood sports, corporate-run government? Other than the fact that killing is just slightly against the rules in football, how far away are we from *that* reality?
I also think that the original Mad Max was a much more plausable reality than the Road Warrior. A bunch of S&M types with pneumatic arrow guns that could get a supply of nitrous and not gas is far less plausable than a government that can't govern sinking into biker chaos.
I'd vote for the Omega Man, too, as well as They Live.
Okay, I'm sure I'm gonna get at least mildy flamed for this, as I can tell there are a _few_ Kubrick fans out there, but how is Clockwork Orange Sci-fi? I mean, yes, I HOPE that it's a made up society, and I love Kubrick as much as the next guy. If the list was "Top 20 Weird Shit" movies I grant you it would be entirely populated by Kubrick's movies, but for Sci-Fi.... Where's Dune? And I guess I can't complain about the lack of Philip K. Dick movies in general, since Blade Runner got the number one spot. And did I mention... Where is Dune? I'm not saying it should be number one, but if movies are getting in based on classic appeal and cult following even if they're boring as shit, Dune should totally be inclduded. One of the best "world conceptions" I've ever seen. And the new Sci-Fi Channel adaptation was actually quite good. As for other commentors.. I liked Gattaca, it was an interesting idea, good follow through. You don't have to hate it just cause Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman were in it. I mean, come on, Jude Law MUST be cool, he was in A.I. ;)
And the Matrix was great. Get over it. I didn't see a thing in their rating factors about "ability to alienate most of the population", so no, I don't think Clockwork Orange would beat it out. Just chill out and go listen to your Ludwig Van, okay?
------------ Yoda Rocks my world. Seriously.
I am glad this film is finally getting the credit it deserves, because it demonstrates what I always thought sci-fi was about: telling a story that could not be told within the confines of the normal. Gattaca is a film not about genetic engineering or genetic discrimination, it's a story about two brothers and about the relationship between Gerome and Vincent.
I know this is going to get me modded down, but what is the obsession with Stanley Kubrick? His movies are tripped out delusions of a nutcase that are coherent (if you're lucky) about half the time. I sat watching 2001 for the first 15 minutes, thinking this guy has got to be joking. I spent the last 15 minutes on fast forward, until some baby in a goddamn bubble floated towards the earth.
He's vastly overrated.
-- james
I thought at least the classic Star Trek V would make the list?
;)
I would have thought this would have atleast made the list. Even the top ten. The Vision is great, and the precision is also why up there (if you add a few years to the date). There is some decent speed to the movie (typical as opposed to high energy plasma cannons). It's also visually stunning..
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0101458
Eric
Be who you are...and be it in style!
One of the problems I have with judging SF in general, but SF cinema in particular is the extent to which the cinematic realisation is based on a preexisting work, in particular literature. Can one really judge the merits of the cinematic realisation of the future apart from the original author's vision? (and more based on than say, Blade Runner).
:-).
I think that by any standard, there will be an inherent bias against older SF cinema, particularly if the original (as in innovative) idea presented in the film has become passe (Planet of the Apes for example) or SF is merely the setting for an old story (The Forbidden Planet as The Tempest for example) or the vehicle for allegory (The Day the Earth Stood Still for example).
The prevalence of Dystopic future visions, suggest SF as vehicle for allegory and pure SF story telling is actually pretty rare.
Some glaring omissions (IMHO). 1984, 'nuff said. Have there really been no good implementations of a work by HG Wells? What of Verne? A cinematic execution of an illusory world, what about Dark City, if not as good then certainly better than The Matrix. What about Cube? Anyway the list of omissions is, as ever always extensive. But most of all, why isn't Star Wars number 1. Surely by any criteria (except maybe acting
"The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging."
good movie - about 2 hours too long.
Long, panning of wide scenes with no dialog/action fills time yet not entertaining.
Solaris is the best sci-fi film I have ever viewed.
This top twenty kiddie list is drivel.
Star Wars is Sci Fi. I've got that bit. But how can it present "a vision for the future" when the opening words of every movie in the series are "A Long Time Ago..."? How can there be "science behind the fiction" when we're feeling a great disturbance in the force?
And how did "Robocop"* and "Jurassic Park" both make the list when Dune (1984) and Dune (2001) are mysteriously absent? Meanwhile, let's kick "Akira" for "Serial Experiments: Lain" and then kick "The Terminator" for "Akira"...
This list was written by somebody who has seen 25 sci fi movies and is proud of the fact, rather like proud child at one of those 'kids reading programs' put on by libraries...
* -- Paul Verhoeven, Sci Fi illuminary? Ehw.
Contact was a believable, well-done science fiction movie.
You all must have seen it by now...
Star Wars is fantasy and NOT science fiction, so sad seeing wired making this mistake.
Not different talents! The genetics were for abilities / proclivities. Not "Hey we just turned on the astronaut gene!" but the MOVIE was "Hey, we just upped his physical ability genes, and these genes will help make him smarter"
FunOne
Why do people get upset at this list, or billboard's top 40 or any other stupid "list of top X".
Get a grip. I like what I like because I like it. You may not agree, great - rock on with your bad self. Doesn't bother me nor does it change my opinion.
You'd think Wired just proclaimed that you have to agree with them or something the way some of you react.
Haven't you learned by now that any list of "popular" anything is SUBJECTIVE and therefore doesn't mean jack?
Nothing to see here.. move along.
Watch what you want. Enjoy what you want.
I don't have a solution, but I certainly admire the problem.
and much as I may have enjoyed Tron in the day, it's not a great movie.
When was the last time you saw it? I recently picked up the 20th anniversary edition, and it still sucks me into the uber-cool world inside a mainframe. The ideas and concepts in that movie really got me excited about computers as a kid. I used to spend hours in the driveway chucking frisbees at my brother pretending that I was de-res-ing him with each stroke. The damn video game has got to be one of the best that came out of the early 80s arcade scene.
I don't seem to be the only one supporting Tron, as they're currently making a sequel.
-- passion
- passion
And they'd like us to take this list seriously, I suppose? Christ, what next? 'Survivor' and 'Temptation Island' #1 & 2 on their 'Greatest TV Shows Of All Time' list?
People are suckers.
Surprising! OUTSTANDING movie. It was, though, definitely a 'sleeper' hit, it had a relatively small (36m) budget, but did $120m+ in the US alone. Frankly, it's a little too highbrow to have been a 'big, big' hit, but it was very well done.
;-)
Great cast: Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke, Jude Law. Spectacular writing, great symbolism in the film. It's not a "Star Wars" type SF film, it's got a much more sublime vibe to it. It was pretty heavily advertised once it picked up pace at the box office, and its video sales went through the roof from what I understand--how'd you never hear of it? You must have been obsessed with Diablo or something that year.
Here are some movies in the list I think don't belong and why:
5. Brazil
Brazil uses some sci-fi imagery but doesn't really pose any "What If?" type of questions necessary for true sci-fi. It is mainly an exercise in psychology.
8. The Boys From Brazil
This movie uses the concept of cloning as a what if, but is mainly a suspense thriller. Where are the killer androids? (just kidding)
9. Jurassic Park
Action film, again uses cloning as a plot device. Totally forgettable.
10. Star Wars
Certainly not worthy of the top 20. A great bit of entertainment, but it doesn't advance sci-fi at all. Mainly an exercise of Lucas's ego.
11. The Road Warrior
Entertaining, to be sure, but is this really sci-fi or an action film?
12. Tron
This is sci-fi but the acting is weak, the story is weaker. If you are going to have this one on the list you might as well knock off 2001 and replace it with "The Black Hole". Otherwise an entertaining film.
16. RoboCop
Duh. If this is here why not Predator? This is simply an action film with sci-fi as a backdrop.
18. The Day The Earth Stood Still
18. Eighteen? Are they nuts? This belongs in the top 10. One of the only two movies from the entire 1950's to belong on the list at all.
20. Barbarella
This makes the list? Jeez, why not put Zardoz here or the pr0n version of "Blackula"? This movie sucks worse than "Flash Gordon" (70's version with Queen music).
Where is Highlander? Where is The Beach? Where is War of the Worlds? Where is "The Lathe of Heaven"???? Where is "The Man Who Fell to Earth"??? Barbarella makes it and these classics don't? Are they out of their collective minds? Bah! I am so glad I cancled my subscription years ago. I would have written a nasty letter to the editor and gotten all worked up had I paid for this insipid opinion!
Anyway, rant over. Back to work...
I think the list is really good (I disagree with a few, of course, but overall they hit the high points).
As to Gattaca: it was a brilliant movie, well written, directed, and acted, with a tight, logical plot and lots of symbolism. The style of the film reminded me of old (Heinlein/Asimov) sci-fi, particularly as the characters lift off for the moon wearing suits and sitting on benches. Symbolic, not literal. So I think Gattaca definitely deserves its spot.
I'd put Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1926) in the top 20 (near the top), maybe at the expense of Barbarella.
-m
And jumped off as fast as they could, all the while mumbling, "let the market decide."
This lame-o list shows that the Wired concept of "we" continues to encompass all sentient beings, except for people living on earth.
I have, and continue to boycott "Gattaca".
Like "Matrix" it rips off major works - but unlike "Matrix" it only rips off one major work - "Brave New World". Sure - a little "Brazil" is thrown in, for laughs - but seriously, does that film have any redeeming value?
And when the hell are we going to get a "Brave New World" on the big screen? Oh, yes, I forgot - Americans love blood and death and killings and mutilations and torture and invasions and bombings and warfare and violence - but a little sex! thats going to far for "Ma and Pa, I voted for Bush and support that brave man" Amerikans.
http://us.imdb.com/Plot?0069945
"Teach it phenomenology."
I thought Gattaca was fantastic, because it wasn't fantastic. It was plausable, a good warning, a compelling story, and relevant.
I believed in the complex characters and, unlike a few recent blockbusters I could mention, I cared what happened to them. That's a much better benchmark than box office receipts.
That and I'd never walked out of a scifi movie before thinking "they're robbed if they don't get the Oscar for artistic direction." Well, they didn't get the Oscar, but they did get a nomination, and that's close enough.
It's great to see this (non-yawn) movie get some much-deserved recognition.
Kevin Fox
I agree 100%, Brazil beats Blade Runner on that list for vision of the future in my opinion. You can also watch it more times. Perhaps its emphasis on satire obscured its more serious messages? It manages to be grim but funny, a mess of a future where we aren't intentionally heading towards but may end up. Less extreme than 1984 (its big brother?) it's still my top-rated 'thinking' SciFi film of all time. I think it's the heavy oppresive atmosphere of Blade Runner that got it the top spot.
:-)
No need to hum the theme tune though, it comes as a standard ring tone on the Sony Z5 mobile phone
And just because something is from Hollywood doesn't mean we have to be snobbish about it. Gattaca is a good film. Move Alien up a place and I would say that's a very good top 6.
Phillip.
Property for sale in Nice, France
Given the selection criteria, Adrenaline, Vision, and Precision I cannot see how Babylon 5 can be excluded and the list remain credible. The majority of the suggestions are popularist. If you're looking for great sci-fi with a strongly realistic edge, decent story line, I cannot recommend Babylon 5 enough.
Also recommended as an intelligent contribution to the sci-fi genre: The Quiet Earth
Jesus...if they thought that was a classic, why not just add Krull.
Seriously, I don't believe they didn't include one of Andrei Tarkovsky's films: Solaris and Stalker.
This wasn't just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it. - Dorothy Parker
There were some "cult classics" that have inspired a lot of movies mentioned...
What about
This Island Earth
Westworld/Futureworld
Logan's Run
Dark Star
Them!
The Thing (either original or remake)
Andromeda Syndrome
Man Who Fell To Earth
I agree that Dune and Forbidden Planet are contenders.
When as myself of the top twenty listed HOW MANY WOULD I WATCH AGAIN - that is really how many are in my library - there are only seven listed I watch regularily.
There are also newer Underappreciated movies better than some on the list (Jurasik Park?) - for example
Dark City (amazing visuals comparable to Blade Runner)
Thirteenth Floor (unfortunately released the same time as Matrix)
And as for Barbarella... Flesh Gorden gets more play on Bravo!
Mm
/\/\icro/\/\uncher
I mean, take The Matrix: great film (IMHO). But vision - yeah, I can just see a near-future where man and machines fight a war, the machines win and enslave us all as power generators while building a convincing virtual world. Oh yeah, and the science holds up on that as well. Pfffft.
Your mind is one of those having trouble letting go. Of course all those things would seem unlikely to you - since you're living in the matrix. This is a key point in the movie - you can't argue about how believable it is, because you don't know whether you live in 2200 inside the matrix or in 2002 in the real world.
He dies but was the world really saved? I seem to remember (I haven't seen this movie in a couple of years) that the man with the virus still gets way, (he dies in front of his younger self...spooky) which is to say he can time travel but cannot alter time.
No sig for you!!
Actually, other than some trivial details, the movie version of Logan's Run followed the book reasonably well UNTIL we meet Box, and after that went off in some almost-unrecogniseable direction.
The TV show wasn't based on Logan's Run, but rather on one of the sequels (can't recall offhand if it was Logan's World or Logan's Search, been near 20 years since I read 'em), and the TV show was VERY close, in theme and environment if not in story detail, to what happened in the book as Logan roamed around the wastelands after leaving the city.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
I can't believe that Barbarella made the list but The Thirteenth Floor didn't ...
m.mmm..myyy
Thanks for the suggestion; I'll look for it.
Of course you realize that all lists like this are bent towards movies that get wide play/are popular... or else we'd have ZardoZ up there somewhere.
"The gun is GOOD!" Heheh. What a dumb movie. =)
Get off my launchpad!
Too many genetic engineering type of movies in that list for my taste. Does somebody have an agenda or what?
What about some good alien type movies like ET or Close Encounters.
What your kidding right? That doesn't work. I mean, realize that Matrix is a GREAT movie, yet only came out about 3 or 4 years ago. Sorry you have to include them, but realize that some movies will be rated higher because they are new. IMHO, anything this year should be dropped and move in stuff from the bottom. That would add the next movies...
21 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 7.8/10 (2467 votes)
22 Terminator, The (1984) 7.8/10 (29576 votes)
23 Twelve Monkeys (1995) 7.8/10 (33520 votes)
24 Fail-Safe (1964) 7.8/10 (1732 votes)
25 Lost Horizon (1937) 7.8/10 (983 votes)
26 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 7.7/10 (14451 votes)
27 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 7.7/10 (22851 votes)
28 Planet of the Apes (1968) 7.7/10 (9553 votes)
29 Cité des enfants perdus, La (1995) 7.7/10 (5882 votes)
30 Truman Show, The (1998) 7.7/10 (35475 votes)
You figure out what to drop and what to slid into those end slots before 20.
RonB
It is human nature to take shortcuts in thinking.
Gattaca is on a list of 3 movies for me...movies I've fallen asleep watching. The other 2 are Cabin Boy and the live action version of Wicked City.
Gattaca was boring, and moreover, thoroughly predictable, and not as plausible as the reviewer thinks. Think of how hard it is for you to EAT without leaving crumbs. No understand that there is absolutely NO WAY you'd be able to keep every stray hair, every fingerprint, every fleck of dried skin in check.
All those ways he "fooled" the tests were hokey. A simple X-Ray on the guy would his "discreet" heightening, and they'd notice the sleight of hand after oh, say the first week, especially considering how suspicious looking Ethan Hawke always managed to make himself.
Hell, we can't even fully get rid of dandruff.
And you knew how the stupid movie was going to end after you find out about him & his brother swimming, and then you discover that his brother's working the case...movie's over right there. I think that's at about the point I dozed off. Woke up to see him getting on the shuttle. Yay. The fact that apartments in the movie are located on my brother's college campus couldn't make the movie any more interesting.
It's great that it wasn't a movie chock full of explosions and all. But it also was devoid of any drama or excitement.
And everyone knew "Gattaca" was a reference to DNA nucleotides. But you could make a movie called "Gat-A-Tat-Tatta" about genetically engineered super soldiers and it would have the same reference.
Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
Why is the Matrix in a Top Twenty Sci-Fi Movies List? IMO... it's a documentary!
[alk]
Aliens has got to be the finest sci-fi action film ever produced. Going by Wired's own rating system, "Vision" and "Precision" have to be at least equal in this film to Alien, which made #7. Which leaves "Adrenaline"... in this category, it easily blows away everything else up there, except possibly The Matrix. So how did it not make the list?
Great direction, story, writing, effects, and acting (Sigourney Weaver was even nominated for Best Actress, which is unheard of in a sci-fi film). And yet it doesn't even make the list; instead we get crowd pleasing soulless baloney like Jurassic Park, and nostalgic camp crap like Tron and Robocop. (Not to knock Tron's rightful place in sci-fi history, but Top 20??)
On a related note.. Terminator 2 is vastly superior to Terminator. Perhaps the folks at Wired have deemed sequels to be ineligible?
"Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
Damn, beat me to it.
Much, MUCH better. Including more interesting dialog...
Colossus (text on display screen): "HOW MANY NIGHTS A WEEK DO YOU REQUIRE SEX?"
Forbin: "Every night."
Colossus: "NOT WANT. REQUIRE."
Forbin: "Four times."
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
so where's Battlefield Earth?
come on, that was a fucking blast. hilarious. not top 20, I'll admit.
sulli
RTFJ.
No discussion of old scifi would be complete without a riff on the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Remember the opening song (a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there were lips) - everyone sing along:
Michael Rennie was ill
The Day the Earth Stood Still,
but he told us where we stand.
And Flash Gordon was there
in silver underwear;
Claude Rains was The Invisible Man.
Then something went wrong,
for Fay Wray and King Kong
they got caught in a celluloid jam.
It Came From Outer Space
Then at a deadly pace
It Came From Outer Space.
And this is how the message ran...
(chorus)
Science fiction, double feature.
Doctor X will build a creature.
See androids fighting Brad and Janet.
Anne Francis stars in Forbidden Planet.
Wo oh oh oh oh oh
At the late night, double feature, picture show.
I knew Leo G. Carroll
was over a barrel
when Tarantula took to the hills.
And I really got hot
when I saw Janette Scott
fight a Triffid that spits poison and kills.
Dana Andrews said prunes
gave him the runes,
and passing them used lots of skills.
But When Worlds Collide,
said George Pal to his bride,
"I'm gonna give you some terrible thrills".
Like a...
(chorus)
Science fiction, double feature.
Doctor X will build a creature.
See androids fighting Brad and Janet.
Anne Francis stars in Forbidden Planet.
Wo oh oh oh oh oh
At the late night, double feature, picture show.
I wanna go.
Oh oh oh oh
To the late night, double feature, picture show.
By R.K.O.
Wo oh oh oh
To the late night, double feature, picture show.
In the back row.
Oh oh oh oh
To the late night, double feature, picture show.
There's a nice annotated version of this at:
http://www.rockymusic.org/sfdf/
sulli
RTFJ.
Well. My top five are:
1. Star Wars
2. Total Recall (Dick rocks!)
3. Alien
4. Blade Runner
5. Terminator
Where are "Battlefield Earth" and "Plan 9 from outer space" ?
Barbarella and Gort deserve higher credit, and Contact definately deservers to be in the top 20, as well as The Forbidden Planet. On the otherhand, Robocop is too pulp and comic extract to be honestly considered on such a list.
"Yeah...it was the numbers that were irrational, not the murderous cult of vegetarians...." -- Hippasus of Metapontum
What about Buckaroo Bonzai? Clearly, none of the top 20 movies came close to this gripping tale of a neurosurgeon/particle physicist/kung fu master/rock star and his rocking scientist posse in their adventures into the 8th Dimension! I mean, come on, what other movie would suggest that putting a "oscillator overthruster" and a jet engine into a beat-up Ford pickup, driving straight into a mountain at Mach 1 plus could throw you recklessly into a parallel dimension (and save you at least an hour of driving AROUND the mountain!)? Some people just don't appreciate a TRUE vision of the future...
Unfortunatly, the Lucas version of Space Oz has led to a trilogy, a pre trilogy, and countless stupid childrens charactors like the ewoks singing to follow the yellow brick road.
Some good overlooked movies:
Andromeda Strain
Altered States
The Man who Fell to Earth
Lawnmower Man
Dark City
Strange Days
You'd think he'd just put on the glasses and avoid getting the crap beaten out of him... it's not like it's a big deal. I guess the wrestler just had to get his Big Fight Scene, even if it made no sense within the context of the movie.
Gattica was awesome... you obviously have no taste in movies. it deserves the #2 spot for its futuristic realism in addressing what is very likely going to be the main controversial issues in the next 50 years.... not to mention it being very entertaining as well.
I have, and continue to boycott "Gattaca".
That's obvious. If you'd ever seen it, you wouldn't have posted this message.
Gattaca may have a few themes in common with Brave New World, but it is hardly a rip-off of it.
The themes it shares are the same ones shared with other dystopian novels/movies/whatever. Is Brazil just a rip-off of 1984? Is THX-1138 nothing more than a rewrite of We?
Similarities exist between all these books/movies. Not because any of them specifically copy one another, but because they all are in the same genre, and draw upon the same basic ideas.
Perhaps you should try to actually watch the movie before you start telling people it's nothing more than a rip-off of another work.
--The Rizz
"There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesome returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact." --Mark Twain
Great underrated scifi movie
Interesting analogy. I agree that Star Wars has no business being on this list, but that's because I've always considered Star Wars more of a western than science fiction. Think Blazing Saddles moved to outer space and without all the farting. Which means that in Spaceballs, Mel Brooks spoofed his own movie :-)
What? They haven't been made yet?
Never mind. Forget I said anything.
Climbs back into time machine, resets for home time of 2010
While I may not necessarily agree with the rest of the list, I do agree with Bladerunner ranking at the top. Bladerunner is a movie that is artistic and visionary, conscious of both style and substance. It is a dark movie with a dark ending that is uncharacteristic for Hollywood (ignoring the happily-ever-after driving scene that was mercifully removed from the director's cut). It is neither a post-nuclear apocolypse like The Road Warrior nor is it the sterilized world of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's an urban setting that's winding down and decaying. It's the Sprawl from William Gibson's Neuromancer brought to the screen.
I have watched Bladerunner many times, and while part of me wishes for a sequel, another part of me knows that the story is complete and would only be tarnished by a sequel. And, knowing Hollywood, any sequel would be complete with marketing tie-ins so that McDonalds could include Bladerunner II action figures in each Happy Meal).
I don't want to appear to be a wiseguy, but I think the number of responses and above all their content answers a question I made in another post about movies to make you think. 12 Monkies does this by not giving one a clear ending. It doesn't really matter how or why the scientist got in the plane (my own idea is that from her point of view, 35 years in the future, all these people are already dead and in her past no one believed Cole/Willis or would have until people has already started dying, and by saying "insurance" she was making a pun as to why she was there). The thing is it leaves you with questions, both moral ones and ones related to the plot.
I mean, take The Matrix: great film (IMHO). But vision - yeah, I can just see a near-future where man and machines fight a war, the machines win and enslave us all as power generators while building a convincing virtual world. Oh yeah, and the science holds up on that as well. Pfffft.
I actually think the Matrix concept was borne of readings of the works of Carlos Castaneda, who describes us being enslaved to demonic beings he calls "flyers", who implant a foreign mindset into us to keep us distracted and feed of our awareness (like the computer in the Matrix provides a synthetic reality and uses us for batteries).
I've read all Castaneda's books and The Matrix scared the shit out of me, and no, not because I was tripping.
Yours Sincerely, Michael.
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned The Fifth Element. I still enjoy it immensely on my Sony WEGA hooked in with an excellent 5.1 surround system. The visuals are still excellent a few years later and no one has yet come close to the costumes.
Heh, yeah, that's true -- any criteria that CAN be interpreted subjectively WILL be interpreted subjectively. Are my fave films all deserving of being on the all-time best list? Maybe, maybe not. How about "best films" as voted by the public? More often than not, that's slanted by marketing, availability, and what they've seen this week.
Personally I think it's an impossible task, but sometimes useful in that it may point up some film you'd never heard of before and would enjoy seeing.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
Hey, I loved the movie, but it should get a 0 for futuristic. I mean, it did happen a long, long time ago.
12 Monkeys is a remake of it.
Got to love the military socity and how people seem to
have total equality.
-M
that is damn funny!
The reason Zardoz wasn't popular was that it wasn't very good, but then, neither was the book.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
I loved Gattaca, so I'd almost be tempted to put it at no. 1, although I loved Blade Runner as well. They should have picked Mad Max over Mad Max II (The Road Warrior), it was a far better film.
:)
For me, "Strange Days" is a large and glaring omission.
Matrix is way overrated, IMHO. And what happened to The Running Man?
Where's Peter Jackson's first movie in all these lists then?
and go home. your entire physical composition is informed by your genetics. if you think there's no genetic basis for your height, strenght, reflexes, sight, hearing, brain chemistry regulation etc you shouldn't be a molecular biologist.
And you are definitely one of them.
What about different criteria such as social relevance or impact on culture?
It could be argued that Clockwork Orange and the original Star Wars were two of the greatest Sci-Fi films based on that.
...and I REALLY got hot for Susan Sarandon in bra and petticoat!
I have the 25 year Anniversary DVD - Brilliant!
.
(David Bowman, EVA near HUGE Monolithic Win-PC in orbit around Jupiter) "My God - its full of Malware!"
I would like to humbly point out David Cronenberg's "eXistenZ" as an essential to any Sci-Fi "Best Of" list.
I second the nomination.
Honestly, I do not want to live in a world where "Starship Troopers" makes it into any "Best Of" list. The worst book of Robert Heinlein, apparently written for the Beverly Hills 90835 (or whatever) generation, dealing with the very basic issues (like honor, love, duties) on a teenage level. Yuck.
Forbin takes Colossus on a "tour" of his house. Forbin: "This is the bed. It's used for sleeping, and ... other things."
i do not agree with that list AT ALL, but oh well, that's the power of opinion.
As some of you have stated, this list was shaped by Wired's interest in my site, futuristmovies.com. The placement of movies in the Wired top 20 was influenced by the criteria I applied as a futurist.
Different criteria will of course yield different results. In my ranking by entertainment rating alone, Gattaca could be as low as 50th. Check my site. Even ranked as futurist movies -- not "greatest science fiction," many of your favorites score well. Out of 99 ranked, these include:
21. Logan's Run
22. Things to Come
26. Metropolis
30. Twelve Monkeys
34. Solaris
38. Forbidden Planet
I find Forbidden Planet remarkable for a 1950s movie, and it clearly established the template for many things to come in TV and film.
As for the presence of Barbarella, I would speculate that editors enjoy a little chain-yanking. As a futurist movie, I rank it 94th of 99.
Feel free to drop me a note at jcalder@erols.com.
Just wanted to tell you (if you wanted to know) taht your sig is a paraphrase of Machiavelli in "The Prince":
"From this arises the following question:whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them, it is far better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both"
I know its off topic but:
1. I'm too lazy to fire an e-mail.
2. Any discussion about the way politics is heading can be enriched (IMHO) by reading "The Prince" given its reat influence on modern politics.
So off topic I may be, but if you wnat to understand politic just a little bit better, go and read The Prince, it won't be a waste of time.
"The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers." Bill Gates,
I tottally lost respect for that movie when I noticed that the locker room is in the middle of the atrium of the building. Yeah, the main office building has kick-ass architecture and I'd love to visit it (or actually, I liked his house, too.). But, if you notice the locker room, there are people seen in the background (on higher floors) walking by. With no windows or anything in between.
The movie had a certain neat style, but I didn't get brought it because it was too much about that style and not about anything else. Glad you enjoyed it, though, just not my taste as a movie.
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets