So far this year I have watched Metropolis and Zardoz for the first time. What are some other must see SciFi movies?
Ooh, I have a list:
- Looker - directed by Michael “Jurassic Park” Chricton. The first ever film to create 3D shading with a computer that produced the first ever CGI human character was the model Cindy (Susan Dey).
- Westworld (1973) - also written by Michael Chricton
- Mac and Me - It’s a movie that’s SO UNBELIEVEABLY BAD IT MUST BE SEEN TO UNDERSTAND HOW BAD IT IS. After you watch it, you’ll understand why Paul Rudd tortured Conan O’Brien with this famous clip.
- The Last Starfighter - another cheeseball 80s knock off of Star Wars. Also pioneered the use of CGI
- Enemy Mine - Dennis Quaid bonds with an alien enemy and eventually helps him bear children. Directed by Wolfgang ‘Neverending Story’ Petersen. You have been warned.
- The Quiet Earth - A scientist awakens to find himself alone in the world. In a desperate attempt to search for others, he finds only two who have their own agenda.
- The Stuff - A delicious, mysterious goo that oozes from the earth is marketed as the newest dessert sensation, but the tasty treat rots more than teeth when zombie-like snackers who only want to consume more of the strange substance at any cost begin infesting the world. Co-stars Paul “Goodfellas” Sorvino
- Miracle Mile - What would you do if you accidentally found out that the world was ending in a little over an hour? Features Anthony “ER” Edwards
Forbidden Planet, Logan’s Run, Death Race 2000, The Day the Earth Stood Still, …
What’s your cutoff for “classic”? Are we talking about the classic film era, or anything older than 25 years?
Great picks. I’m not too concerned with the timing. Even more recent, soon to be classics, are fair game.
Well in that case:
- The Matrix
- Dark City
- Pi
- Confluence
- Predestination
- Primer
- Brazil
- Time Bandits
- Gremlins
- They Live!
- Escape from NY/LA
- Big Trouble in Little China
- The Fifth Element
- 12 Monkeys
- Six String Samurai
- Robocop
- Total Recall
- Terminator & Terminator 2
- Event Horizon
- Stargate
- Johnny Mnemonic
- Soldier
- The Truman Show
- Mars Attacks!
- Demolition Man
- Starship Troopers
- Tank Girl
- Cube
- Species
- Men in Black
- Iron Sky
- Robot Jox
… and many more!
The Truman Show is great but I’m not really sure I would put it in a list of sci fi classics.
The Truman Show is stealth sci-fi. It has literal world-building.
Yeah, now that I think about it, if you described Truman show to someone that has never seen it, they would have to think it was sci-fi. But it’s done so well and plays so close to the realm of possibility that I’ve never really considered it sci-fi…
Whatever it is, it’s brilliant.
