Great Sci-Fi of the 20th century (45 titles)
Its great Sci-Fi from the 20th century. Or in other words Sci-Fi movies made during the 20th century which are in the opinion of the creator of this collection i.e. me, in someway great. The clues in the name really. There are of course some glaring omissions, not to mention some real lame inclusions. But hey, am I Halliwell all of a sudden?
86.6% from 3 members
Star Wars Trilogy
What can I say that you don't already know? Nothing so I wont bother.
More central to an eighties childhood than He-man and Curly wurlys and ten times better than both (well five times better than Curly wurlys).
Unlike others before me I wont take this opportunity to bad mouth the new trilogy. Come on geeks! Yes they don't compare but their not that bad. I just watched the remake of the day they earth stood still! Give me attack of the clones every time.
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Star Wars Trilogy
(4 discs)
on DVD
(1977)
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Director: George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Richard Marquand
Certificate:
The complete original STAR WARS trilogy in one set, in their 1997 remastered Special Edition versions, with an extra disc containing a documentary and other amazing extras. STAR WARS - A NEW HOPE, George Lucas's stunning sci-fi masterpiece, is arguably one of the most inventive and entertaining ..read more »
80%
from 73,405 members
Silent Running
Haven't seen this in ages (its on my list), but my memories are of a beautifully crafted touching movie with an excellent lead from Bruce Dern (a underrated actor who has suffered greatly at the hands of his face). Eco theme means it must surely be due a inferior remake?
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Silent Running
on DVD
(1972)
Starring: Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Jesse Vint
Director: Douglas Trumbull
Certificate:
In a grim future, Earth is so overdeveloped plants can no longer survive. Giant greenhouses in orbit carry samples of Earth's dying forests. When the government decides they are too expensive to maintain, one committed crew member will stop at nothing to save them. Screenplay by Steven Bochco and ..read more »
66%
from 4,610 members
The Day The Earth Caught Fire
Classic British Sci-Fi, no special effects budget, lots of dialogue, apocalyptic theme, dour people in grim circumstances beyond their control, Leo McKern and a genuinely gripping, suspenseful and thought provoking script . Like I say classic.
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The Day The Earth Caught Fire
(1961)
Starring: Leo McKern, Janet Munro, Bernard Braden
Director: Val Guest
Certificate:
When the Americans test a nuclear weapon at the South Pole at the exact moment that the Soviets are testing their own weapon at the North, the earth's axis is jolted out of alignment, causing catastrophic changes in global weather patterns. Additionally, the earth has been dislodged from its orbit, ..read more »
Not available for rental
67%
from 1,678 member
Quatermass and the Pit
Creepy was invented for this story. The TV original was even better. I wet my pants as a youngster (I mean when I first watched this not in general). Once again give a British film maker a couple of dodgy sound effects and a wind machine and he'll give you more atmosphere than a Russ Abbot musical retrospective. Take that Johnny Hollywood!
Watch this or anything else with Quatermass in the title without the innate prejudice of a CGI junkie and I guarantee you'll be chilled to the bone by some good old fashioned Sci-Fi storytelling.
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Quatermass and the Pit
on DVD
(1967)
Starring: James Donald, Andrew Keir, Barbara Shelley
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Certificate:
An ancient Martian spaceship is unearthed in London, and proves to have powerful psychic effects on the people around.
69%
from 2,224 members
Forbidden Planet
How old is Leslie Nielsen exactly? This movies from 1956 for crying out loud! And he still looks about 45 in it.
Allegedly based on the tempest (in the same way the milky bar kid ads are based on the wild bunch) this magnificent piece of fifties Hollywood Sci-Fi broke away from the plethora of 'Beware of the Russians, I mean Martians' movies that littered the box offices at the time.
Leslie, Walter and the gang are of course all acted off the screen by Robbie Danger! Danger! The Robot.
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Forbidden Planet
on DVD
(1956)
Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen
Director: Fred McLeod Wilcox
Certificate:
A dutiful robot named Robby speaks 188 languages. An underground lair provides astonishing evidence of a populace a million years more advanced than Earthlings. There are many wonders on Altair-4, but none is greater or more deadly than the human mind. "Forbidden Planet" is the granddaddy of ..read more »
76%
from 2,050 members
Logan's Run
Not sure how a kill the over thirties policy ever got off the ground in the first place? Given the cast I think a kill the working classes policy must have already taken place.
Peter Ustinov steals the show in classic bumbling old man mode.
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Logan's Run
on DVD
(1976)
Starring: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan
Director: Michael Anderson
Certificate:
Winner of an Oscar for Best Special Effects. A dazzling preview of America in the 23rd Century, a perfect world of total pleasure, but living past 30 is a crime. Based on the novel by William F. Nolan.
69%
from 2,666 members
Alien
An interstellar leviathan creeps through the vastness of space, visits an alien world, discovers a cavernous incubation centre full of endless rows of soft boiled face huggers. How on earth (or not) does this movie manage to feel so claustrophobic and SMALL! A masterpiece in tension.
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Alien
on DVD
(1979)
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt
Director: Ridley Scott
Certificate:
Director Ridley Scott's breakthough film, an immensely successful blend of horror and science fiction, is a classic in both genres and spawned a host of sequels and imitators. Starring Sigourney Weaver as warrant officer Ellen Ripley, ALIEN focuses on the crew of the space cargo ship Nostromo, ..read more »
77%
from 49,269 members
Aliens
Where the first was small this is BIG! These films are chalk and cheese yet just as brilliant as each other. Eighties action at its best, what else from James Cameron (a soppy load of watery old plop possibly?).
Nice to see a big part for Paul Reiser of My Two Dads fame.
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Aliens
on DVD
(1986)
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn
Director: James Cameron
Certificate:
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor from the original ALIEN, is awakened after 57 years of drifting through space, her stories disbelieved by Company executives who tell her that the alien's planet is now inhabited and colonized. When contact is suddenly lost with the colonists, Ripley ..read more »
78%
from 40,226 members
The Thing
Alien rip off? Maybe, but for me (and don't all beat me about the face and head with a large stick at once) it's the better film. Why I hear you cry in anguish? Well having previously extolled the virtues of virtually effect free pieces like the day the earth caught fire I have to say it comes down to the sheer inventiveness of the gruesome shape shifting shenanigans Carpenter conjures up in this film. Couple this with the constant who's the enemy now tension, Carpenters trademark flashes of black humour and a only lightly hammy performance from Russell. An absolute winner.
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The Thing
on DVD
(1982)
Starring: Kurt Russell, T.K. Carter, Richard Dysart
Director: John Carpenter
Certificate:
Based on both the short story by John W. Campbell, Jr. and the 1951 film produced by Howard Hawks, THE THING is John Carpenter's stunning masterpiece of horror. A group of weary scientists enduring the winter in an isolated camp deep in Antarctica chance upon an alien spacecraft buried in the ice. ..read more »
72%
from 20,022 members
The Terminator
As an O'Connor I can tell you that in real life the terminator would never have found Sarah Connor as he would have spent all his time mistakenly looking for a Sarah Conn bloody E r, but enough of my personal hang ups. What was achieved on such a low budget was remarkable, it still looks goodish today. Arnie at his best without a doubt . No T2 on this list, I like it but for me not in the same class and as for 3 well ok. Yet to see the new one, am fully braced for disappointment.
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The Terminator
on DVD
(1985)
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield
Director: James Cameron
Certificate:
James Cameron's THE TERMINATOR is one of the tightest, tensest sci-fi films ever made and a landmark in the genre. In the year 2029, battles rage between the superintelligent machines that rule the world and the last vestiges of humanity. In late-20th-century Los Angeles, Sarah Connor (Linda ..read more »
75%
from 57,035 members
Average rating for this collection:
86.6% from 3 members
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