Sci-Fi's Hidden Gems & Essential Viewing (37 titles)

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Alien

While Alien was the 1st movie in the Alien franchise, I watched this after first experiencing Aliens. Perhaps this is the reason I favour Aliens. I was young when I watched both films. Aliens was a little tamer in terms of terror , if only for comic relief provided by the colonial marines. Both films are very long but that didn't deter the young me. Both films feature approximately 1 hour of tension building before the real action is unleashed. As a kid I can recall a tremendous nervousness during this build up with frequent trips to the bathroom! These films were all I could talk about and I absolutely loved it despite the fact that I had nightmares for weeks afterwards. Aside from the fashion, very little about the film seems to have dated, The visuals and audio effects still stand strong some 33 years later. The sets are beautiful and the models used look far better than CG. They even surpass most modern films, especially where computed generated effects are heavily relied upon. The choice to limit the view of the alien through clever camera work and the use of light makes Aliens even more terrifying.

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• Alien on DVD (1979)
  Starring: Sigourney Weaver,  John Hurt,  Tom Skerritt
  Director: Ridley Scott
  Certificate:
  When Kane (John Hurt) and the crew of the spaceship 'Nostromo' investigate a transmission from a deserted planet, he is attacked by an unknown organism which attaches itself to his face. The crew cut the creature off, but not before it has made Kane the host of a monstrous alien killer, one which ..read more »
  
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Aliens

Put simply, if myself or my brother could only own 1 movie Aliens would be the movie we would both choose. We have seem it more times than I care to remember. When there is nothing on and you've got the lads round, this is your fallback movie. Aliens is as gripping as the first movie in the franchise, Alien. It does however have an certain light-heartedness element and humour is used throughout. You really get to know and feel attached to most of the cast. The marines spout off many memorable lines which makes this possibly the most memorised/quoted movies I certainly know. The best way to describe Aliens to a woman is by liking it to Dirty Dancing or Greece. It has limitless appeal! I simply cannot believe that there are men in this day and age that only know of the Alien franchise through AVP. This is very sad and for this reason I am including Aliens in this collection. It is a science fiction/horror masterpiece.

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• Aliens on DVD (1986)
  Starring: Lan,  Sigourney Weaver,  Carrie Henn
  Director: James Cameron
  Certificate:
  James Cameron's sequel to the highly successful 'Alien'. Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor of the alien attack on the 'Nostromo', awakes after 57 years in suspended animation when she is picked up by a salvage ship. She is put to work by the Company, but is horrified to discover ..read more »
  
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Logan's Run

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• Logan's Run on DVD (1976)
  Starring: Peter Ustinov,  Michael York,  Richard Jordan
  Director: Michael Anderson
  Certificate:
  Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
  Sometime in the future, the inhabitants of a city are forced to undergo 'renewal' when they reach the age of 30. A member of the security forces (Michael York) becomes intrigued about the fate of a young woman (Jenny Agutter) and decides to aid her bid to escape from the city...
  
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A Boy and his Dog

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• A Boy and his Dog to Watch Now (1975)
  Starring: Don Johnson,  Susanne Benton,  Jason Robards
  Director: L.Q. Jones
  Certificate:
  Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
  Run time: 90 minutes
  This cult black comedy sees Vic, a survivor of an atomic holocaust, wanders across the bleak landscape in search of cans of food. He and his telepathic dog eventually discover an underground society of survivors who have reproduced pre-apocalypse America but with frighteningly totalitarian politics.
  
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Enemy Mine

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• Enemy Mine on DVD (1985)
  Starring: Louis Gossett Jr.,  Brion James,  Richard Marcus
  Director: Wolfgang Petersen
  Certificate:
  An Earthman (Dennis Quaid) and his alien enemy (Lou Gossett Jnr) both find themselves stranded on the hostile planet Fyrine IV. The two enemies quickly find that they must join forces to survive and in doing so discover that the other is not the evil monster they were brought up to believe.
  
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Fahrenheit 451

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• Fahrenheit 451 on DVD (1966)
  Starring: Anton Diffring,  Cyril Cusack,  Alex Scott
  Director: Francois Truffaut
  Certificate:
  In the future, an oppressive government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers known as firemen to perform the necessary book burnings. This is the premise of Ray Bradbury's acclaimed science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which became the ..read more »
  
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The Omega Man

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• The Omega Man on DVD (1971)
  Starring: Rosalind Cash,  Anthony Zerbe,  Charlton Heston
  Director: Boris Sagal
  Certificate:
  Watch now: Unavailable
  This second film adaptation of Richard Matheson's science-fiction novel I Am Legend (the first version being The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price) unfolds in a post-apocalyptic 1976. Charlton Heston is Robert Neville, the sole recipient of a serum that enabled him to survive an onslaught of ..read more »
  
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Soylent Green

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• Soylent Green on DVD (1973)
  Starring: Edward G. Robinson,  Joseph Cotten,  Leigh Taylor-Young
  Director: Richard Fleischer
  Certificate:
  Richard Fleischer directed this nightmarish science fiction vision of an over-populated world, based on the novel by Harry Harrison. In 2022, New York City is a town bursting at the seams with a 40-million-plus population. Food is in short supply, and most of the population's food source comes from ..read more »
  
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Communion

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• Communion (1989)
  Starring: Andreas Katsulas,  Lindsay Crouse,  Christopher Walken
  Director: Philippe Mora
  Certificate:
  Watch now: Unavailable
  Whitler Strieber provides the screenplay for this film, based on the book of his own abduction experiences. Novelist Strieber (Christopher Walken) is abducted by aliens while holidaying in a country cabin with his family and friends. Afterwards he can remember nothing of the encounter, but as the ..read more »
  
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  Currently unavailable

Serenity

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• Serenity on DVD (2005)
  Starring: Ron Glass,  David Krumhol,  Alan Tudyk
  Director: Joss Whedon
  Certificate:
  Epic sci-fi adventure from writer-director Joss Whedon, based on his short-lived television series 'Firefly'. 500 years in the future, after a galactic civil war has united all the space colonies under the repressive Alliance, former rebel soldier Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) captains the ..read more »
  
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