# Best SF Film you have seen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2018, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514 "2018-08-13T14:00:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ohiomstr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/82dd89/32.png) [@ohiomstr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ohiomstr2)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/1 "2018-08-13T14:00:05Z")
Just looking at a thread about Star Trek actors in other shows. It got me thinking about SF movies, hench this thread What are, in your opinion, the best science fiction films so far? My list FORBIDDEN PLANET THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) 2001: A SPACE ODDESSY INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) THE TIME MACHINE (1961) Each of these movies have so many features that make them great it would take a very long post to explain them. Briefly, I like these films for their originality, special effects pioneering and how much other, later films owe to them So what’s your opinion and why? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/2 "2018-08-13T15:11:14Z")
In no particular order (chronological, I suppose): _Forbidden Planet_: To my knowledge, the only Shakespearean adaptation that’s ever been able to improve on the Immortal Bard. _2001_: Not only the best adaptation of any of the Grandmasters’ works, but the special effects blew away everything that had come before, and the story penetrated the popular consciousness in a way nothing previous had. _Star Wars_: We can debate whether fantasy on spaceships counts as science fiction. But there’s no debating that it was great. _Alien_ and _Aliens_: A great horror movie, followed up by a great action movie, both of which also happen to be great SF. _12 Monkeys_: Possibly the best time-travel story to ever see the Big Screen. _The Martian_: A sterling example of the much-neglected near-future realistic space travel subgenre. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/3 "2018-08-13T15:20:24Z")
I’ll go with CE3K, because nostalgia, and because of the layers and layers of detail and worldbuilding. Also, Blade Runner, ET, and Dark City. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/4 "2018-08-13T15:20:46Z")
I was four years old when my parents took me to see\* Forbidden Planet\*. You never forget your first. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/5 "2018-08-13T15:25:23Z")
_Metropolis_ is one of my all-time favorite films. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/6 "2018-08-13T15:41:52Z")
I’ll concur with “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. It fit its time perfectly but holds up even today. There’s a reason it’s been remade three times, but as Dobie Gray said: “The original is still the greatest.”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/7 "2018-08-13T15:45:29Z")
_Primer_ is hands-down the best SF film I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![ohiomstr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/82dd89/32.png) [@ohiomstr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ohiomstr2)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/8 "2018-08-13T16:36:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In no particular order (chronological, I suppose): > > _Forbidden Planet_: To my knowledge, the only Shakespearean adaptation that’s ever been able to improve on the Immortal Bard. > > _2001_: Not only the best adaptation of any of the Grandmasters’ works, but the special effects blew away everything that had come before, and the story penetrated the popular consciousness in a way nothing previous had. > > _Star Wars_: We can debate whether fantasy on spaceships counts as science fiction. But there’s no debating that it was great. > > _Alien_ and _Aliens_: A great horror movie, followed up by a great action movie, both of which also happen to be great SF. > > I was going to include Alien, except it was a rip-off of an earlier film (can’t remember the name off hand but it had a monster hatching from an egg, gradually killing off the crew and having the monster sucked out the airlock by the female! astronaut) > > _12 Monkeys_: Possibly the best time-travel story to ever see the Big Screen. > > I actually forgot about 12 Monkeys > > _The Martian_: A sterling example of the much-neglected near-future realistic space travel subgenre. Another innovative one. Vanishingly rate to see SF that uses, you know, actual science. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/9 "2018-08-13T17:16:39Z")
[Moderating] **ohiomstr2** , you might be unaware of our rule against altering the text in quote boxes. If you’re going to comment on multiple points in a quote, you can close the quote box before your comment and re-open it before continuing the quote, or you can put all of your comments at the end, after the box, or you can use some other kind of formatting instead of the quote box. Since you clearly didn’t intend it maliciously, I won’t discipline you for it, but be more careful in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/10 "2018-08-13T17:24:33Z")
_Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ (1956) A great early science fiction movie that holds up well. _Logan’s Run_ (1976) A personal favorite. I saw it when I was a teenager and it made a huge impression. And not just because of Jenny Agutter’s nude scenes. _12 Monkeys_ (1995) Gilliam is one of my favorite filmmakers and this is one of his best, even if he didn’t write it. _Galaxy Quest_ (1999) A really funny and spot-on comedy but it also has a solid story underneath the humor. _The Martian_ (2015) A great adventure story that relied on hard science. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/11 "2018-08-13T17:32:23Z")
**Edge of Tomorrow** (aka Live Die Repeat) is my favorite SF movie of the past 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/12 "2018-08-13T17:36:02Z")
_Gattaca_ is one of the best - horrifying but realistic portrayal of the consequences of modern technology. And seems to be becoming more relevant every day. _Moon_ is also very good, it really is a story about technology and its use, not just using future tech as a prop for a drama. If we ever encounter an alien life, it may be so alien that we don’t even recognize it as an alien life, let alone understand each other. On that theme, I think _Solaris_ (the 1972 Russian version) is the best. (Though I may be a bit biased, being a big fan of Stanislaw Lem.) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/13 "2018-08-13T17:40:01Z")
Some of mine may not count as sci-fi to some people, but it’s what I see them as. I watch and enjoy a lot of shows. (I’ll probably see some on other poster’s lists and go “Oh, yeah!” ) Also, all are based on my personal taste, no need to explain taste: 🙂 \*\*Forbidden Planet John Carpenter’s The Thing Blade Runner Star Wars Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan Aliens 12 Monkeys Planet of the Apes (1968) Predator Close Encounters of the Third Kind Back To the Future Jurassic Park Mad Max 2 - The Road Warrior The Terminator Arrival Edge of Tomorrow The Man Who Fell to Earth The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Frankenstein (1931) The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension The Andromeda Strain (1971) Sleeper A Clockwork Orange Ghostbusters \*\* ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/14 "2018-08-13T18:05:16Z")
I’m going to jump on the bandwagon with _2001_ and _Forbidden Planet_. I would also like to mention _It Came From Outer Space_, a film that neatly subverts the “alien monsters invading our planet” trope. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/15 "2018-08-13T18:19:21Z")
> [@](#): > > I was going to include Alien, except it was a rip-off of an earlier film (can’t remember the name off hand but it had a monster hatching from an egg, gradually killing off the crew and having the monster sucked out the airlock by the female! astronaut _It! The Terror from Beyond Space._ But interesting that if a movie lifts a lot of its plot and themes from Shakespeare, its a brilliant homage. If it lifts its plot and themes from a largely forgotten '50s sci-fi movie, it’s a rip-off. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/16 "2018-08-13T18:27:50Z")
Whether a movie is brilliant is independent of whether it’s a homage, and whom it’s a homage of. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/17 "2018-08-13T18:39:07Z")
Agree with most of what’s been posted, so I’ll throw out **Fantastic Planet**? Really trippy movie, weird animation and music. I love the landscapes and creatures. One of the most otherworldly films ever. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/18 "2018-08-13T18:50:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > _Star Wars_: We can debate whether fantasy on spaceships counts as science fiction. But there’s no debating that it was great. Well then, if there’s no debating… ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/19 "2018-08-13T19:32:02Z")
Among others not previously mentioned that come to mind: _Cosmic Journey_ (1936) Incredible Russian flick is a VFX extravaganza boasting fantastic miniatures and (some) mindboggling stop motion depicting a trip to the moon, baby! Clips - [Cosmic Journey/Voyage (1936) miniatures/stop-motion highlights - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqpKd70rZOs) _The Invisible Ray_ (1936) Karloff and Lugosi in the story of Radium X. “Janos! No!” _The Man from Planet X_ (1951) I think this was the first Hollywood film with an extraterrestrial, beating\* The Day the Earth Stood Still\* to release by several months. Low-budget and saddled with some silly (fake-)Scottish sheepherders, but the alien has a unique (paper mache) look and overall it’s a serious and far less pretentious film than the better known Robert Wise one. _Unknown World_ (1951) Scientists use the ultra-cool Cyclotram to find a new world in the center of the Earth. _The Magnetic Monster_ (1953) A different kind of monster movie with a spectacular climax lifted from the German film _Gold_ (1934). _This Island Earth_ (1955) Good story, fine execution, some awesome VFX. This movie reveals why you can’t get good interocitors anymore these days. _Earth vs. the Flying Saucers_ (1956) Classic sci-fi. “Look to your sun for a warning!" _Kronos_ (1957) Another unconventional monster movie. \*Twenty Million Miles to Earth \*(1957) Ymir comes to Earth from Venus and humans totally fuck with him. Illegal immigration-based parable. _The Mysterians_ (1957) Seminal Toho-produced sci-fi. _The Crawling Eye_ (1958) Aliens in the Swiss mountains make the mistake of messing with (“_only you can prevent…_”) Forrest Tucker and his legendary large package. Well-paced and suspenseful with a shot or two of stop motion giant tentacled eyeballs (yeahhhhh!) _The Atomic Submarine_ (1959) Alien design subsequently used on _The Simpsons_. _Creation of the Humanoids_ (1962) Ridiculously low-budget and cheesy-looking, yet incongruously blessed with unusually intelligent script delving into _Blade Runner_ territory. _Wild, Wild Planet_ (1966) Dr. Nurmi’s experiments prove controversial. _Five Million Years to Earth_ (1967) Alien corpse in the London subway ends up inconveniencing thousands. _Latitude Zero_ (1969) Possibly the most entertaining film ever made. _The Final Programme_ (1973) Possibly still ahead of its time. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514/20 "2018-08-13T19:48:53Z")
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Aliens Forbidden Planet Blade Runner Gattaca Edge of Tomorrow Serenity [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sf-film-you-have-seen/819514.md?page=2)