Are you possibly thinking of “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man” starring Don Johnson and Mickey Rourke?
Could you possibly be thinking of “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man” starring Don Johnson and Mickey Rourke?
Also, I didn’t see “Ghostbusters” mentioned. That’s a must see.
[li]Nosferatu[/li]
[li]Things To Come[/li]
[li]The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari*[/li]
- [sup]NOT REALLY SCI-FI BUT A GROUNDBREAKING FILM[/sup]
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by xizor *
**
No, no, no. This movie contains no stars that I can remember. If it did, I could try to look up film credits of the principal actors. It was set pretty far in the future, and the environment was so horrible that the folks on the journey couldn’t risk going topside, so they had to travel cross country through underground parking garages. (Obviously, the entire country had become one huge metropolis.)
Honestly, though it had been billed as a “cult classic,” this movie is entirely devoid of any redeeming social value. The only reason it sticks out in mind is the “leeches” quote. It’s the type which folks watch just to see how horrible a movie can be, like “Plan 9 from Outer Space.”
Oooh … that’s another for the list. That opening scene is so hokey. I just love the line, “In the future, everyone will live in the future.” Cracks me up every time I think that was meant to be serious.
Any of the Planet of the Apes movies!!!
(duh) how could we have forgotten?
In the extremely rare event that anyone stumbles across this thread in the future, I found myself asking the exact same question today. However, I did find the answer. The movie was Circuitry Man
I wonder if the OP knows that his movie is coming out this weekend…
That was actually the first one that came to mind…
Sphere
Ender’s Game
Species
Mimic
Lifeforce
Weird Science
Black Hole
Johnny Mnemonic
The Cell
Men in Black
Planet of the Apes
The Day the Earth Stood Still
I, Robot
Pitch Black
Chronicles of Riddick
Space Balls
Ultraviolet
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Total Recall
The World’s End
Aeon Flux
I realize that some of these are stretching the scifi definition, but if you squint just right…
ETA: I mean the original when there’s more than one release.
I was really surprised when I saw “Ender’s Game”. It remainded remarkably faithful to the book and the changes that I noticed seemed reasonable to me for the change in medium for the story.
I, Robot was a good movie, but disappointing at how “un-I, Robot the book” it was.
You’ve seen Lifeforce? Man, everytime I mention that movie to someone they look at me like I have a third arm growing out of my forehead.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Mr. Sutherland, I think is a must see.
the pod people maybe ain’t zombies but still…
can I throw in “Red Dwarf” even though its a tv series and not a movie?
“Galaxy Quest”, funniest move I’ve ever seen in any genre, with a story line just as serious and plausible as most other sci-fi pictures.
Since there seems to be some interest in this zombie I’ll move it to CS.
I was born the year Robinson Crusoe on Mars was released, and thanks to this thread, decided to watch it yesterday for the first time. It’s been remastered and released on DVD and Blu-ray. Great little movie! I’ll probably rewatch it from time to time.
Ah, yes, Lifeforce, starring Mathilda May’s breasts, and a bunch of British actors. (Oh, yeah, and one gratuitous American. Whose character was the lead role in the novel. Whose character is supposedly the lead role in the movie. And he yet manages to make Raymond Burr’s contributions to Godzilla look vitally important.)
I’m kidding. I enjoyed the movie. But it’s very easy to make fun of.
Ghost in the Shell (1995), highly influential Japanese manga; even nowadays worth a look.
*Gattaca *(1997), the central message is seriously flawed, but it’s a thoughtful movie about the impact on human relations that gentech might have.
*Matrix *(1999); so influential that any film buff should watch it once.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004), not SF per se but since it includes a piece of tech not available (precise erasure of memory to forget anything burdensome), I’ll jump at the chance to recommend one of my favourite movies.
*Inception *(2010), the top is a Red Herring.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014); great time travel movie, the end is far more ambiguous than it looks.
Ex Machina (2015); psychological chamber drama about a programmer who is invited by his genius boss to test an AI situated in a female body. It’s about identity, gender roles, the extent of human rights and the uncertainty of and from freedom.
The Martian (2015); you just can’t miss the chance to see Matt Damon be saved once again at incredible expense. Also, science - yeah!
A few recent ones:
*Sunshine
Moon
Under the Skin*
Primer
The question in the OP is vague. Yeah, I know it was asked over 15 years ago, but it’s still not clear what the OP was asking. Is it asking what the most influential science fiction movies are or what the best science fiction movies are? Certainly some of the suggestions in this thread are hopelessly far from being influential. They may or may not be great films, but few people saw them and still remember them, so they didn’t influence anyone. For instance, in post #3, the “movie” Earth: Star Voyager is mentioned. This was not a movie but an episode (shown on January 17 and 24 of 1988) of The Wonderful World of Color (i.e., the weekly Disney program on American TV). It was intended to be a spin-off, but it didn’t get good ratings, so it wasn’t spun off. I have never seen it, so I have no idea if it’s good. The few reviews say that it’s O.K. Not only is there no mainstream fans for this, but I don’t know of any significant cult for it. Yes, I know a lot about cult science fiction movies, and this isn’t one:
Forbidden Planet
2001: A Space Odyssey
Star Wars
The Thing
Aliens
Blade Runner
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Gattaca
The Matrix
Galaxy Quest
Interstellar
The Martian
*2046 *(2004); pure Kar-Wai Wong, though calling it Sci Fi is, well …
The Fountain (2006); flawed? Yes. But wonderfully weird. If you don’t like Aronofsky’s style, avoid this movie.
*
Children of Men* (2006); brilliant dystopia.
Looper (2012); entertaining and clever time travel story.
The Time Machine. I prefer the 1960 version with Rod Taylor to the remake.
I suppose George Pal’s War of the Worlds should go on the list too, though I would have much preferred to see a period version set in Victorian Britain than the “updated” version a la Orson Welles.
Them.
Invaders from Mars, which capitalized on the Red Chinese scare of the 1950s.
Mars Attacks. Hilarious!
If we’re going to include TV series, The Prisoner and The Time Tunnel. Both require complete suspension of disbelief.
I may be a minority of one, but I much preferred Star Trek: TMP to The Search for Spock. Don’t bother killing off a chracter if you’re just going to resurrect him in the next installment.