100 Great Sci-Fi Movies (105 titles)

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The Day The Earth Stood Still

Klaatu, an alien from a technologically superior alien race, comes with a message for mankind. However, he is greeted by the military and treated with strong mistrust and what seem to him to be simple reasonable demands are dismissed out of hand. The message of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" is specific to the cold war, but still holds up today. The way that the plot captures the issues of its day makes it particularly interesting with hindsight.

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• The Day The Earth Stood Still on DVD (1951)
  Starring: L,  Michael Rennie,  Patricia Neal
  Director: Robert Wise
  Certificate:
  All of Washington, D.C., is thrown into a panic when an extraterrestrial spacecraft lands near the White House. Out steps Klaatu (Michael Rennie, in a role intended for Claude Rains), a handsome and soft-spoken interplanetary traveler, whose bodyguard is Gort (Lock Martin), a huge robot who spews ..read more »
  
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It Came From Outer Space

Originally in 3D and there are a few points such as when rocks are falling towards the screen where this is somewhat obvious. The film is quite pulpy, but it has a really solid atmosphere and holds up very well.

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• It Came From Outer Space (1953)
  Starring: Charles Drake,  Richard Carlson,  Barbara Rush
  Director: Jack Arnold
  Certificate:
  It Came From Outer Space is one of a handful of science fiction films from the 1950s that plays as well today as it did on its original release, this despite the fact that its original 3-D elements seem to be lost. It was also the first science fiction effort of director Jack Arnold, and one of ..read more »
  
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Them

Perhaps rather better if you manage never to see the poster (so that'll be the one displayed right next to this comment yeah? - oh well). The filmmakers clearly intended for the audience to spend the first quarter of the film trying to guess what the central menace might be. Still, even with that knowledge it's remarkable how down to earth and sensible the central scientific figures are, making this a much more intelligent monster movie than most...

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• Them to Watch Now (1954)
  Starring: James Whitmore,  Edmund Gwenn,  Joan Weldon
  Director: Gordon Douglas
  Certificate:
  Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
  Run time: 88 minutes
  In this Cold War era film, nuclear tests in the desert result in the growth of gigantic mutant ants who menace cities in the south-west of the US. A team of investigators and the Army search for a way to control their spread. But will the ants prove too much for them?
  
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Capricorn One

A Hitchcock-esque film about a set of astronauts who are pulled out of their scheduled flight into space at the last minute and given a surprising proposition. It never ceases to amaze me how underrated this film is. For me, it is definitely a personal favourite and the drama is gripping and uncompromising.

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• Capricorn One (1976)
  Starring: O.J. Simpson,  Elliott Gould,  James Brolin
  Director: Peter Hyams
  Certificate:
  The capsule of the first manned flight to Mars burns up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere but all is not as it seems. A reporter discovers that NASA faked the whole flight and landing with the crew in the desert, for the benefit of television. Only the astronauts can tell the world the true story,..read more »
  
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Star Wars Trilogy

I couldn't seem to choose just the first one. For me, "Star Wars" is just one movie, but with the series now containing six films I guess I ought to give it the new rather over-long title of "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope". The story is about two droids with special information who change the life of a small-time farmer's boy called "Luke Skywalker". When he guides the droids to the mysterious "Obi-Wan Kenobi" he is brought into the midst of the rebellion against the Intergalactic Empire, as well as being introduced to a strange old religion which encourages adherents to draw power from "The Force". The sequel, "The Empire Strikes Back", is pretty cool too, but the open-ending makes it rather dissatisfying without also seeing "Return Of The Jedi" (where to be frank, I personally LIKE the Ewoks). Do not even bother with the prequels.

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• Star Wars Trilogy (4 discs) (1977)
  Starring: Harrison Ford,  David Prowse,  Kenny Baker
  Director: Irvin Kershner,  George Lucas,  Richard Marquand
  Certificate:
  The first three Star Wars films reworked as creator George Lucas had intended. Using state of the art technology, Lucas and his team cleaned up the prints, updated the special effects and added new footage. Originally released before 'Episode I' the films have been renamed to fit in with Lucas's ..read more »
  
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A Boy and his Dog

A darkly comic set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland about a boy who spends his time scavenging for food and trying to find women he can have sex with. He is accompanied by a telepathic dog who is intellectually superior to him.

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• A Boy and his Dog on DVD (1975)
  Starring: Susanne Benton,  Tim McIntire,  Jason Robards
  Director: L.Q. Jones
  Certificate:
  Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
  This cult sci-fi comedy, based on the novella by Harlan Ellison, was used as source material for the 1979 film 'Mad Max'. Set in a post-apolcalyptic future, the film tells the wry tale of Vic (Don Johnson), a good-for-nothing young man with a talking dog called Blood, through whom he communicates ..read more »
  
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Death Race 2000

In a dystopian future, the dissatisfaction of the masses is assuaged by the public spectacle of the "Death Race". The regular champion is a mysterious figure called "Frankenstein", but is he really what he seems?

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• Death Race 2000 on DVD (1975)
  Starring: David Carradine,  Sylvester Stallone,  Simone Griffeth
  Director: Paul Bartel
  Certificate:
  Watch now: Unavailable
  Roger Corman-produced exploitation/adventure movie which follows the rivalry between Frankenstein (David Carradine) and 'Machine Gun' Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone), two road racers fighting it out in a lethal futuristic motorsport known as the Transcontinental Death Race. Frankenstein is the ..read more »
  
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Westworld

A special theme park can make all your fantasies come to life with the help from some super-advanced robotics. What could go wrong? Written and directed by Michael Crichton. See "Jurassic Park" for the version with dinosaurs.

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• Westworld on DVD (1973)
  Starring: Yul Brynner,  James Brolin,  Richard Benjamin
  Director: Michael Crichton
  Certificate:
  Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
  A lawyer and businessman (Richard Benjamin and James Brolin) take a dream holiday to the newly opened technological paradise Westworld, a resort offering its visitors all the thrills, but none of the dangers, of the old Wild West, which is recreated by supposedly harmless robots. However, when one ..read more »
  
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Escape From The Planet Of The Apes

By my reckoning, the best of the original sequels. The politics of Planet Of The Apes is reversed when the top ape scientists plummet back in time and have to explain how they can talk. But can the human race handle the truth about their future? A fantastic blend of humour and drama makes this a very entertaining must-see film. Includes a prophecy that never seemed to come to pass properly in the original movies, but is shown brilliantly in the new ROTPOTA (i.e. the first word spoken by an ape).

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• Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971)
  Starring: Roddy McDowall,  Roddy Mcdowall,  Kim Hunter
  Director: Don Taylor
  Certificate:
  Three apes have survived the disaster on their planet and now land with a spaceship on 20th century earth.
  
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Planet of the Apes

In this classic science fiction film starring Charlton Heston, the crew of a spaceship find themselves on a planet where human beings are mute while talking apes rule the planet. Until you see it, it's hard to understand how this concept caught the imaginations of so many people. However, asides from Heston's performance being a little manic (though admittedly passionate and memorable too), the film hasn't dated too much overall.

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• Planet of the Apes on DVD (1968)
  Starring: James Whitmore,  James Daly,  Charlton Heston
  Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
  Certificate:
  Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
  A group of astronauts, led by George Taylor (Charlton Heston), crash land on a strange planet where mute humans are treated as slaves by intelligent apes. Taylor is hunted down and captured by horse-riding gorillas, and then taken for experimentation by sympathetic chimpanzee Dr Zira (Kim Hunter). ..read more »
  
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