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iansales · 13th June 2007, 02:58 PM

Looks like this topic's not been covered for a while - and since I posted on this very subject on another forum - I thought it might be worthwhile rejuvenating it. That's science fiction films, by the way. No fantasy. Otherwise Lord of the Rings would appear in everyone's top ten :-)

So, favourite ten science fiction films. Here's my list, in no particular order...

Dune, dir. David Lynch
It made a bit of a mess of the book, but the production design still definitively evokes the Duniverse for me. Tthe various versions knocking about give pointers to what Lynch was trying to achieve, and how good it could have been. Mind you, I still think it's a crying shame Jodorowsky never got to make his version...

Brazil, dir. Terry Gilliam
Orwell's 1984 might have been written as a cautionary tale, but it should have been a black comedy. But never mind, Gilliam did it for us anyway.

Until the End of the World, dir. Wim wenders
Probably the best presentation of a near-future world ever committed to celluloid - even if the film does feel a little like two stories badly welded together.

Alien, dir. Ridley Scott
The first and best of the franchise. It still gives me a fright when the alien attacks Dallas in the air-duct. Not to mention the time my cat, on my lap at the time, decided to cough up a furball at the exact moment the chestburster starts eating its way out of John Hurt...

Delicatessen, dir. Jeunet & Caro
Yet more proof that dystopias should be black comedies. It's the only way to make them both palatable and entertaining.

Solaris, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
The fact that I will happily rewatch a 3-hour Russian-language film says just about all that needs to be said of this film.

Star Trek: the Motion Picture, dir. Robert wise
The most outright science-fictional films of the franchise (possibly because a sf author, Alan Dean Foster, provided the plot), and not an extended television episode as almost all the others seem to be.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, dir. Kerry Conran
Not only did the Conrans superbly evoke the look of pulp sf in their production design, but they even faithfully paid homage to the story-telling techniques of that period. Which is probably why it bombed at the box-office.

The Thing, dir. John Carpenter
It's gruesome and gory, and it's the best thing Carpenter has ever done.

Starship Troopers, dir. Paul Verhoeven
Doogie Howser in a Gestapo greatcoat! What more do you need to know? And the film continues to entertain me - when I see the reactions to it of many Heinlein fans...

13th June 2007, 02:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
iansales Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: South Yorkshire Posts: 1,774	Top Ten SF Films Looks like this topic's not been covered for a while - and since I posted on this very subject on another forum - I thought it might be worthwhile rejuvenating it. That's science fiction films, by the way. No fantasy. Otherwise Lord of the Rings would appear in everyone's top ten :-) So, favourite ten science fiction films. Here's my list, in no particular order... Dune, dir. David Lynch It made a bit of a mess of the book, but the production design still definitively evokes the Duniverse for me. Tthe various versions knocking about give pointers to what Lynch was trying to achieve, and how good it could have been. Mind you, I still think it's a crying shame Jodorowsky never got to make his version... Brazil, dir. Terry Gilliam Orwell's 1984 might have been written as a cautionary tale, but it should have been a black comedy. But never mind, Gilliam did it for us anyway. Until the End of the World, dir. Wim wenders Probably the best presentation of a near-future world ever committed to celluloid - even if the film does feel a little like two stories badly welded together. Alien, dir. Ridley Scott The first and best of the franchise. It still gives me a fright when the alien attacks Dallas in the air-duct. Not to mention the time my cat, on my lap at the time, decided to cough up a furball at the exact moment the chestburster starts eating its way out of John Hurt... Delicatessen, dir. Jeunet & Caro Yet more proof that dystopias should be black comedies. It's the only way to make them both palatable and entertaining. Solaris, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky The fact that I will happily rewatch a 3-hour Russian-language film says just about all that needs to be said of this film. Star Trek: the Motion Picture, dir. Robert wise The most outright science-fictional films of the franchise (possibly because a sf author, Alan Dean Foster, provided the plot), and not an extended television episode as almost all the others seem to be. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, dir. Kerry Conran Not only did the Conrans superbly evoke the look of pulp sf in their production design, but they even faithfully paid homage to the story-telling techniques of that period. Which is probably why it bombed at the box-office. The Thing, dir. John Carpenter It's gruesome and gory, and it's the best thing Carpenter has ever done. Starship Troopers, dir. Paul Verhoeven Doogie Howser in a Gestapo greatcoat! What more do you need to know? And the film continues to entertain me - when I see the reactions to it of many Heinlein fans...