Oooh ... I couldn't let that comment slip by without a separate topic!

So we have dubbmann's choice of "The Thing" as best. Any other takers?

I would personally rate 'Alien' over 'The Thing', but I'm still not sure it would make my number one spot. Got to have a think about that one...

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Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)

Alien was good, Aliens was better...

But there can only be one best of all time - c'mon!

Best Sci-Fi Movie Ever!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Thanks for that link Elf - I hadn't seen that opening sequence for years, but it hasn't aged a bit


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Yeah that's a goodie. Artistic merit etc.

I nominate Forbidden Planet, the original Planet of the Apes, Silent Running and/or Primer. But not The Matrix. Overblown playground philosophy (oooh, maybe it's all a dream and we're really in a world of robots. DDIIINNNNNEERRRRTTIIIMMMMEEE) coupled with posey costumes, eggy acting and a boatload of flashy CGI. Win! Or not.

At least it's not as bad as Transformers 2.

I'd forgotten about 'Forbidden Planet' - very good even if the music is a bit 'wibble and blip' early RCA synth noisy..

One of my favourites (which was recently on the box) was the original B+W version of "The Day the Earth Stood Still". Excellent stuff - and there was absolutely no need to remake it.

(Alien is still better than Aliens - different styles,etc and Aliens would have to be the Special Edition)

But then, I have a soft spot for the original "Thing From Another World" which was the godfather of most modern sci-fi horrors)

Still trying to decide on a fave ..

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Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)

Quote nathanscribe:

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I nominate Forbidden Planet, the original Planet of the Apes, Silent Running and/or Primer.

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Some good choices and nice to see Primer mentioned, a film which I think in many years to come will be regarded with the same level of confusion by it's viewers as is now...

My suggestions for best Sci-Fi are '2001: A Space Odyssey' Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' and Tarkovsky's 'Solaris'

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http://soundcloud.com/earwighoney

I think you got it in three caveman:

My suggestions for best Sci-Fi are '2001: A Space Odyssey' Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' and Tarkovsky's 'Solaris'

...though I did enjoy The Elf's suggestion. I think I enjoyed it even more at age 15 sneaking in to see it in some old fleapit cinema in Ealing instead of going to school that day!.

Quote Dave B:

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I'd forgotten about 'Forbidden Planet' - very good even if the music is a bit 'wibble and blip' early RCA synth noisy..

One of my favourites (which was recently on the box) was the original B+W version of "The Day the Earth Stood Still". Excellent stuff - and there was absolutely no need to remake it.

(Alien is still better than Aliens - different styles,etc and Aliens would have to be the Special Edition)

But then, I have a soft spot for the original "Thing From Another World" which was the godfather of most modern sci-fi horrors)

Still trying to decide on a fave ..

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I seem to recall Forbidden planet won an Oscar for the soundtrack .
The Thing from Another Planet was the original version of The Thing , which itself was based on the short story "Who Goes There" (I think!) .

Have always loved sci-fi (even to the point I hate "they" are trying to rename the genre sifi due to the global decrease in IQ I presume) I'll have to think of my favourite ...

I'll have to mention Logan Run though , great film , with 70's styling , the panache of M York and J Agutter (not this over muscled male and silicone baps before skill of the ladies of today) ...
..and also so I post this (original?) blueprint if you fancy a DIY project :

http://www.racprops.com/issue4/logansrun_dspistol/images/LoganBlueprints.j pg

Hmmm
1) Silent Running - environmental credit
2) Forbidden Planet - breaking totally new ground
3) 2001 - epic sound and video sequences

P.S.
Barbarella is soft porn, not Sci-Fi

P.P.S.
That's not a complaint

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It wasn't me!
(Well, actually, it probably was)

I can't do best ofs of a wide field - but did you notice that Ridley Scott has agreed to direct a new Blade Runner film?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14586762

Am I the only Sci-Fi fan in the entire world who found Blade Runner a total yawn-fest?

From a guy who counts the Schwartzy 'Conan the Barbarian' as one of his favourite films I suppose that makes it a recommendation!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Blade Runner was the sort of film that you had to get into. I can quite understand it being a flop on release and then underground success. In my case, I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and then re-watched it. That helped. The other alternative is to watch it a couple of times. But once it clicks you realise that it's a damned fine film.

Good to see Silent Running popping up a couple of times. A bit dated and a bit hippy but I still blub at the end...

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Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)

THEY'RE ALL GREAT!!!

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My head hurts!

Quote Neil C:

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I can't do best ofs of a wide field - but did you notice that Ridley Scott has agreed to direct a new Blade Runner film?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14586762

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His prequel to Alien , Prometheus" is out next year too .

Another oldy , maybe not the best , is Dark Star .
A strange , funny film , with a definite "cr@p happens during long dull work" sort of theme .

Oh nearly forgot the Woody Allen film , Sleeper .
Some funny stuff in that "He's got the nose" !

Edited by Yago (20/02/12 12:13 AM)

Quote The Elf:

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Am I the only Sci-Fi fan in the entire world who found Blade Runner a total yawn-fest?

From a guy who counts the Schwartzy 'Conan the Barbarian' as one of his favourite films I suppose that makes it a recommendation!

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Elf, you and I are going to have to break out the popcorn sometime. Aliens followed by Predator followed by Conan?

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hourglass | random thoughts | doubledotdash!? collective

Aliens, without a shadow of a doubt. And especially the Aliens director's-cut DVD, which reinstates a lot of good stuff that got cut. The DVD is also well worth getting for the making-of documentary, back when "visual effects" meant "fit out an aircraft-hangar-sized studio complex" or "build a bunch of ten-foot-high fully-articulated monsters, each containing several weightlifters to operate it".

Honourable mention to Event Horizon, which is the only film to *really* have spooked the hell out of me. But that's really a horror film - the sci-fi aspect is just the scenery.

Honourable mention to Forbidden Planet. The visual FX still hold up pretty well, even today.

Honourable mention to Terminator. Unfortunately the digital FX on Terminator look fake these days - the scene with the metal terminator charging for the door is completely unconvincing now.

And final honourable mention to Dune. Shame it was so badly hamstrung by budget cuts, and shame they added the rubbish "weirding modules" for no particular reason. But up to Paul Atreides reaching the Fremen, it was nearly perfect.

Quote grab:

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Honourable mention to Event Horizon, which is the only film to *really* have spooked the hell out of me. But that's really a horror film - the sci-fi aspect is just the scenery.

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Same with pretty much all the Alien films except the last one, really - not what I'd call "science" fiction in any kind of purist way. I suppose genuine science fiction would be something that deals with the nature of science and its purposes and consequences - rather than just running away from space monsters.

Didn't like Event Horizon, thought it derivative - but the first two Alien films are great fun. After that - well....

Gotta be Galaxy Quest Surely?

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

The Day the Earth stood still (original) and Planet of the Apes, both great...2001, fantastic, I like modern B movies also , Starship troopers and Eight legged freaks spring to mind. Dave

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My head hurts!

Quote turbodave:

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The Day the Earth stood still (original)

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+1. Light years(!) ahead of the remake.

Quote Hugh Robjohns:

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Gotta be Galaxy Quest Surely?

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I thought that was a nice little spoof actually - enjoyed it more than expected.

Better than Hell Comes to Frogtown, which I have now seen twice, for some reason...

Quote Yago:

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Have always loved sci-fi (even to the point I hate "they" are trying to rename the genre sifi due to the global decrease in IQ I presume)

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Hmmm. I still resent the genre being renamed sci-fi instead of SF!

The two SF films that had most impact on me (to the extent that I saw both more than once when they were first out on general release) were 2001 and A Clockwork Orange. I saw 2001 the first time in Cinemascope on this vast nearly semi-circular screen with three projectors. They must have had massive speakers because the opening notes of Also sprach Zarathustra rattled the bones. Hugely impressive.

Still, who needs films. I recently completed my collection of facsimile editions of Dan Dare from the Eagle. Those were the days, when men were men and aliens were men too, only with green or red skin, and the British Upper Lip was still worn thoroughly Stiff.



CC

Yeah, Alien is definitely horror in space. For me though, Aliens shades it to sci-fi, bcos there's much more of how the society operates. Admittedly it's a fairly standard "megacorp" future, but still. (And yeah, there were only two Alien films. Like there were only three Star Wars films. Anything else is the product of your nightmares and marketing cash-ins...)

And for me, sci-fi is all about a warning or a thought experiment into possible outcomes - "if you do this, then that might happen". And "this" could vary through scientific breakthroughs, encounters with alien life, or just different ways of running a society. The important part is how society forms itself around these scenarios.

Of course the running-down-corridors-shooting-things kind of sci-fi involves these events as they first take place. But the more sophisticated sci-fi comes from how society stabilises with these things in place, and this all comes from the setting which is there but is so omnipresent to the narrative as to be almost invisible (even if it occasionally needs describing so we know what's happening). The burbclaves in Snow Crash, replicators in Star Trek, phone as prosthesis in Halting State, enforced pacificism (or else!) in Day the Earth Stood Still, long-term alien settlement on Earth in Alien Nation and District 9, and so on. So Aliens makes it as sci-fi on the grounds that the Marines aren't there to save the civilians or kill the aliens, they're there to capture and return them for experimentation and use as living weapons.

Not a film but I am of the belief the most definite Sci-Fi is 'The Twilight Zone'; the original series that is...

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http://soundcloud.com/earwighoney

Quote grab:

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Yeah, Alien is definitely horror in space. For me though, Aliens shades it to sci-fi, bcos there's much more of how the society operates. Admittedly it's a fairly standard "megacorp" future, but still. (And yeah, there were only two Alien films. Like there were only three Star Wars films. Anything else is the product of your nightmares and marketing cash-ins...)

And for me, sci-fi is all about a warning or a thought experiment into possible outcomes - "if you do this, then that might happen". And "this" could vary through scientific breakthroughs, encounters with alien life, or just different ways of running a society. The important part is how society forms itself around these scenarios.

Of course the running-down-corridors-shooting-things kind of sci-fi involves these events as they first take place. But the more sophisticated sci-fi comes from how society stabilises with these things in place, and this all comes from the setting which is there but is so omnipresent to the narrative as to be almost invisible (even if it occasionally needs describing so we know what's happening). The burbclaves in Snow Crash, replicators in Star Trek, phone as prosthesis in Halting State, enforced pacificism (or else!) in Day the Earth Stood Still, long-term alien settlement on Earth in Alien Nation and District 9, and so on. So Aliens makes it as sci-fi on the grounds that the Marines aren't there to save the civilians or kill the aliens, they're there to capture and return them for experimentation and use as living weapons.

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i'd argue Alien is sci-fi - there's a depiction of a society no less detailed than that in Aliens. for instance, you've got the ongoing conversation about the nature of the job the crew of the Nostromo are getting paid for, and how they are paid - this is a stable and fully imagined future, even if it's not discussed much, mainly due to the ravenous beastie roaming the (surprisingly large) air vents. no, it's not sophisticated, but then it's a haunted house in space - no-one expects much sophistication! Event Horizon plays much the same game and is an under-appreciated classic of the sci-fi horror subgenre. Aliens is of course sci-fi action - probably the ur-example of such a film. but they are all SF of varying quality.

the greatest sci-fi places a mirror on society - the fictional elements are used to highlight issues being faced today. in the 50s, nukes; the 60s a fear of commies sneaking in without anyone noticing; in the 70s guerrilla warfare against hostile others; the 80s, the fear that everything and anything could blow up at a second's notice*; in the 90s the dehumanisation of the self. the best SF i've seen in the 00s seem to be linked by a theme of unintended consequences - a failure to think through things to their end conclusion, or more often, the false assumption that we have already planned for all eventualities and we will be ok no matter what.

*: quite literally if you're watching an Arnie flick.

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hourglass | random thoughts | doubledotdash!? collective

Best scifi of the 00s for me are two things written by RTD for telly - 'Turn Left' for Dr Who and the whole of Torchwood:Children of Earth. The former is quite upsetting (we are one meal away from the british army rounding up foreigners and sending them to 'work camps') and the latter shows just how little backbone we have these days (there was a time when we fight tooth and nail on principle - let alone if someone came for children). Neither were big bangs or explosions or flashy effects - both were very story and character driven.

Which brings me to an unexpected recent entry to my list - Children of Men. Had no expectations or allusions watching it and was genuinely impressed.

Talking of classic scifi, still waiting for a decent version of Day of the Triffids...

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Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)

I very much like si-fi movies that have flying cars. Chitty chitty bang bang, Back to the future, Blade Runner and Star Wars all have flying cars. I love em all, but none of these would be my no.1.
I like time travel stuff too. The original Time Machine and Terminator 2 are really good. The great thing about Back to the Future 3 is that it has both time travel and a flying car. Top marks you might think! But no.
Even though there are no flying cars or time machines, my all time fav has to be Alien. The dark forboding atmosphere created by Sir Ridley Scott is so skillful and utterly brilliant, it is art. An outstanding cast, scrip, art direction, story, music and Sigourney Weaver getting into a spacesuit. Bar flying cars, what more could i want?

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17ft here! Too deep for non divers.

God yes, I'd completely forgotten about Children of Men. Definitely a great film, and definitely sci-fi under my own rules.

Agreed, Triffids has been woefully adapted every time. There was a fairly recent take on it with a reasonable budget, but they managed to cock it up anyway. The BBC reboot of Survivors was actually fairly well done - shame they cancelled that in exchange for the brain-numbingly awful Outcasts. All film/TV versions of War of the Worlds have sucked too.

Day the Earth Stood still. Great film, fantastic score.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

So what did you all think of THX1138 ?

From what I remember , the bleakness , Jesus booths and the hologram the lead chara meets , not too bad a film at all .

Quote Yago:

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So what did you all think of THX1138 ?

From what I remember , the bleakness , Jesus booths and the hologram the lead chara meets , not too bad a film at all .

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Fantastic and proof that George Lucas can actually do decent sci fi.

Come on guys there's some pretty obvious stuff missing here!!!!

Reg

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Google less; read more!

Strange, considering all the hype, that there is no mention yet of Avatar. I've only seen it once. Apart from the 3d i was left a bit cold. I'll have to watch that one again to be sure.

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17ft here! Too deep for non divers.

Hmmm...

Just to get the conversation going:

Altered States
The Andromeda Strain
The Fantastic Voyage
The Omega Man (Far better than I Am Legend) & Soylent Green (Charlton Heston did good sci fi when he wasn't waiving rifles over his head)
Rollerball
As the Forbidden Planet has already be mentioned what about Fantastic Planet
A Clockwork Orange
Dark Star
The Fifth Element
The Crazies (The original - not the rehash)

Reg

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Google less; read more!

Quote RegressiveRock:

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The Omega Man (Far better than I Am Legend)

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Previously filmed as "The Last Man on Earth", I think, some time in the 60s... I have the book but haven't read it yet.

You mention Andromeda Strain - one of the better superbug-threatens-mankind films I thought - an early Michael Crichton. He put out some mixed stuff... Timeline is not among his best, I fear, despite having Anna Friel to look at.

OK, wilfully obscure now - How about La Jetée..?

Quote Hamund:

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I very much like si-fi movies that have flying cars.... Back to the future...

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Can't believe it took so long for it to be mentioned!

Back to the Future might not be the 'best' film mentioned here but it is definitely one of the 'greatest' Sci-Fi films. A film which can be rewatched to a lot of pleasure at almost any time and is always a lot of fun.

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http://soundcloud.com/earwighoney

And for a creepy low budget , but brilliant short movie....Phase 4. The filming of the ants is skillful and disturbing. Dave

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My head hurts!

Quote nathanscribe:

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Quote RegressiveRock:

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The Omega Man (Far better than I Am Legend)

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Previously filmed as "The Last Man on Earth", I think, some time in the 60s... I have the book but haven't read it yet.

You mention Andromeda Strain - one of the better superbug-threatens-mankind films I thought - an early Michael Crichton. He put out some mixed stuff... Timeline is not among his best, I fear, despite having Anna Friel to look at.

OK, wilfully obscure now - How about La Jetée..?

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I have not seen it, but I think I may take a look now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_jetée

Reg

PS... I see your La Jetee and raise you Pi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_(film)

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Google less; read more!

Quote turbodave:

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And for a creepy low budget , but brilliant short movie....Phase 4. The filming of the ants is skillful and disturbing. Dave

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I love that movie.

Reg

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Google less; read more!

Quote mick.n:

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Quote turbodave:

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The Day the Earth stood still (original)

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+1. Light years(!) ahead of the remake.

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Hear hear!

I've watched the original starring Michael Rennie dozens of times, but the more recent one I could only stomach on one occasion


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

May I also remind other forum users about the film version of 'Quatermass and the Pit (1967)' starring Andrew Keir as the Professor?




Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Quote Martin Walker:

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May I also remind other forum users about the film version of 'Quatermass and the Pit (1967)' starring Andrew Keir as the Professor?




Martin

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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3434833733223827719

I am assuming this is legal as it's on Google Video.

A total classic.

Reg

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Google less; read more!

Quote RegressiveRock:

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Rollerball

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Yes!!! Love that (original 70s) film to bits.

"Jonathan... Jonathan... Jonathan...". Brilliant!

I liked the second Mad Max film, which represented the zenith of the series for me. Waterworld was a nice idea, but fell short.

I also very much enjoyed each and every Star Trek film.

I never really got on with Star Wars, but for the first film.

To be honest I've always been more of a fantasy fan than SF, but most attempts at making films of my favourite fantasy books has been sketchy at best. Lord of the Rings represents the best of them, but I like all of the Conan films (including Red Sonja), Willow, Hawk the Slayer, The Sword and the Sorcerer...

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote The Elf:

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Quote RegressiveRock:

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Rollerball

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Yes!!! Love that (original 70s) film to bits.

"Jonathan... Jonathan... Jonathan...". Brilliant!

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I certainly wasn't talking about the multiply razzie nominated and worst supporting actress razzie award winning, 2002 version.

Reg

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Google less; read more!

Quote Martin Walker:

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May I also remind other forum users about the film version of 'Quatermass and the Pit (1967)' starring Andrew Keir as the Professor?

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I just about remember the original television version, which is depressing - the script made a good Penguin book.

The discussion seems to be more about "What sci-fi (spit) films can I remember that are worth watching, rather than "best sci-fi movie of all-time", and I think that's led to a more fruitful discussion. In that spirit, for sheer let's-blow-everything-up bravado Independence Day has a lot going for it, setting aside the Americans Save The World Again subtext for a moment.

CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

I've been reminded of another great film/performance.......Jeff Bridges in Starman. He is one of the few actors capable of pulling off "otherworldliness", and the simplicity of message combined with road movie narrative is close to perfection. Dave

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My head hurts!

Rollerball is a classic. Not really Science Fiction I guess, just dystopian futurism.

Andromeda Strain is a great film; I have read that the current DVDs aren't up to scratch though, so I'm waiting for a better version to come out.

Westworld is a favourite of mine. I've seen it too often to buy it for the moment, but Yul Bryner is brilliant as the emotionless robot. The sequel is awful though.

THX 1138 is a great film. But again it is more dystopian future than Sci-Fi. Not too sure about the tinkerings on the Special Edition, but it doesn't take much away from the quality of the original.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Mad Max was fun, but more of a post-apocalyptic fantasy really. (A good rule of thumb is that if you can replace guns with arrows and spaceships/cars with horses, then it's probably either a Western or a fantasy underneath the costumes.)

Back to the Future was also fun, but much more of a teen comedy than anything else - although the second installment where Biff uses time travel to make himself a fortune is closer to the real thing. A much better timey-wimey film is Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel, which is a great little low-budget British film.

Personally I couldn't stand The Omega Man. And I particularly hated the Will Smith version for making it that he's a legend for saving the world. The whole point of the book's title is that he's a bogeyman legend to the new society (people who caught a variant of the virus that gave them some vampire characteristics but still left them sane) because he went round killing them while they slept. All you need to do is film the book, guys - but noooo.....

Oh, I forgot. Minority Report. Possibly the only example ever of taking a book title, throwing away most of the book's plot, and writing a new plot which actually works properly.

Quote RegressiveRock:

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PS... I see your La Jetee and raise you Pi

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In obscurity stakes, I reckon LJ wins... Pi is a good film though, I saw that at the little cinema in Nottingham where SOS covered that headphone gig recently... nice place, you used to be able to get a ticket for a meal and a film for less than a tenner. Good stuff.

Have you seen Cube? 90s low-budget job, several people trapped in - er - a cube. Seems there were a couple of sequels, but I haven't seen those. The original is decent though.

Nipping back to LJ, I saw that on DVD, coupled with a semi-documentary called Sans Soleil by the same director - if you can find it, it's well worth watching. It veers on pretentious, but is fascinating.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans_Soleil

Quote RegressiveRock:

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OK, wilfully obscure now - How about La Jetée..?

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La Jetee is one of my all time favourite films, but it's not a feature length. It's a short.

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http://soundcloud.com/earwighoney

Quote nathanscribe:

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Have you seen Cube? 90s low-budget job, several people trapped in - er - a cube.

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I'd forgetten about that one! A great idea and nicely made.

I like the Resident Evil films too - the games are abolutely brilliant and the films not far behind. It's a pity that the genius of 'Silent Hill' didn't make such a successful leap from game to movie.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

The Resident Evil games are far better than the films. The zombie thing has been done to death though and I am pretty tired of that genre. Same for vampires. New monsters please!

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Also, I recently picked up a couple of films I remember seeing back in the 90s: Hardware and Dust Devil (both directed by Richard Stanley). Worth a watch I think.

Eden Log is interesting too - very little dialogue, and though it's a bit episodic it works well.

I generally like the stuff by Jeunet & Caro, but Dante 01 was weak and underdeveloped I thought. Should have been much better. It's too predictable and burdened with unnecessary overuse of religious imagery, which cripples it rather clumsily.

Much better is Moon. That was really nicely done.

Quote Richie Royale:

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The Resident Evil games are far better than the films. The zombie thing has been done to death though and I am pretty tired of that genre. Same for vampires. New monsters please!

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Watched Twilight last night. Was pleasantly surprised.

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I'm All Ears.

Cube 2 and Cube 0 are worth a watch, but you kind of know the score already. Cube2 has flashier sfx and Cube0 reveals a little more about the people running the show. The original is still a good film and a very simple premise. Get a good story and characters and you don't need squillions on complex CGI.

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Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)

I feel I can't really add much to this list as most of my favourites have already been mentioned, but how about two 'modern classics' that I think have been just superb... District 9 and Moon.

Also... can't believe no-one mentioned TRHPS!

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SOS Web Editor, Support & Social Media
Friend SOS on Facebook | Follow SOS on Twitter

Quote Jennifer Jones:

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Also... can't believe no-one mentioned TRHPS!

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"Rocky" and "horror" being the key words there...

Quote Martin Walker:

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May I also remind other forum users about the film version of 'Quatermass and the Pit (1967)' starring Andrew Keir as the Professor?




Martin

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yes! I remember watching these when i was knee high.....limited special effects compared to today but they scared the hell out of me!

Been looking all over the web for somewhere to buy the whole Quatermass series (dont think there was many of them made?) but no luck so far.

EDIT, what about "The outer limits", the old black & white series. Class.

Edited by mick.n (21/02/12 02:11 PM)

The more recent "Outer Limits" in the 90s were pretty good too. Although really they were more horror/thriller territory.

suprised no one has mentioned start trek, i know its for fans really but i thought the newest one was pretty decent.

Agree that alien would be in my top five but such a wide genre a top one would be hard, matrix? hmmm

i enjoyed a film called equillibrium (spelling),total recall (remake in the offering)and 5th element

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Reason, ableton Fast track pro maudio keystation pro, fantom x8 srx dance and pianos oh and an old yamaha HX1 organ ;-) oh ex roland staff member

Quote grab:

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The more recent "Outer Limits" in the 90s were pretty good too. Although really they were more horror/thriller territory.

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'Journey into the Unknown' was my favourite of that short-story genre. The opening credits with that lone whistle in the deserted fairground was super-eerie! Well... it was at the time!

Journey Into the Unknown

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

There's a major reasons why discussion of good sci-fi films doesn't mention Star Trek. The word "good" is the clue...

Equilibrium was fairly standard Big-Brother-ness. Mainly it was notable for its "gun-kata" martial arts and swordplay, which were rather well done. Massive conceptual holes in the idea of a "sense offender" though, when people are still living in families - surely this should all have gone artificial insemination, babies brought up in creches, and people either living on their own or in dormitories?

Fifth Element was almost Frankie-Howard-in-space, it was so camp. Lots of fun visuals to distract from the essential lack of ideas.

Total Recall was fairly well done. Just about anyone other than Arnie would have been an improvement, but never mind.

The Andromeda Strain and Bladerunner get my vote. And The Fly (1986)

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http://soundcloud.com/anthony-wall/sets/audio-reel
http://songsforvoiceandpiano.com/

Quote mick.n:

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Quote Martin Walker:

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May I also remind other forum users about the film version of 'Quatermass and the Pit (1967)' starring Andrew Keir as the Professor?




Martin

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yes! I remember watching these when i was knee high.....limited special effects compared to today but they scared the hell out of me!

Been looking all over the web for somewhere to buy the whole Quatermass series (dont think there was many of them made?) but no luck so far.

EDIT, what about "The outer limits", the old black & white series. Class.

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Hah! I remember the BBC TV series - Late 50s early 60s - scared the living daylights out of me

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It wasn't me!
(Well, actually, it probably was)

Quatermass was on well past my bedtime. I remember everyone in school would be talking about it the next day. My Ma was a tyrant.

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17ft here! Too deep for non divers.

Quote grab:

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There's a major reasons why discussion of good sci-fi films doesn't mention Star Trek. The word "good" is the clue...

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Burn the heretic!

OK, not as good as the TV series, I'll admit...

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Wasn't Equilibrium just a loose remake of Fahrenheit 451 ?

Quote The Elf:

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Quote grab:

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There's a major reasons why discussion of good sci-fi films doesn't mention Star Trek. The word "good" is the clue...

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Burn the heretic!

OK, not as good as the TV series, I'll admit...

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Only the original counts !
So hammy the cast were on the verge of laughter .
Always makes me laugh when I see Kirk doing his hoppy judo dance .
Oh , another good bit , check out the Corbomite maneuver , the character(?) Balok is a ringer for Sarah Jessica Parker !

Strange how later TNG etc took itself soo seriously , bloody awful , like a long propaganda series for USA "Embracing all the cultures as the oil .. sorry ... dilithium is liberated from belligerent , uncivilised , different cultures .

But the sadly maligned and misunderstood 'Enterprise' was close to being as good as the original. I loved the fact that the technology was developing in 'Enterprise' and couldn't be relied upon to solve all problems.

And Voyager was actually quite good until it became 'Coronation Street in Space' - at which point I lost interest.

I'll add 'Frequency' as another 'SF-ish' film I enjoyed. Clever idea too.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

I'm glad my mention of Quatermass has stirred so many memories - a case of the plot triumphing over the low budget special effects


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Dark city is pretty good and underrated ..

Love Galaxy Quest & Land Of The Lost, both admittedly spoofs. But my fave has to be Zardoz, I really must watch that again sometime.

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"The tech gets better, the user error remains the same.." Roberts Plant

This is all passing me by I'm afraid. I live in a village in Devon and, to be honest, SF doesn't even come close to the everyday reality. Whether it's Cowboys in space or near future dystopia, it has to be better than this...

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Hmmm... yes... I spent last weekend in Sidmouth and I have to say my connection with reality seemed pretty tenuous the whole time.

CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Quote:

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This is all passing me by I'm afraid. I live in a village in Devon and, to be honest, SF doesn't even come close to the everyday reality. Whether it's Cowboys in space or near future dystopia, it has to be better than this...

Andy

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Ah yes, Devon.

Isn't that the place where you are only allowed to pay by credit card if you are over 80?

... and accompanied by both parents.

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It wasn't me!
(Well, actually, it probably was)

ah, some good stuff being mentioned now. johnny h is bang on, Dark City is brilliant stuff. Minority Report, Inception, and Avatar deserve mentions for being big budget Hollywood sci-fi - once commonplace, now becoming pretty rate. for all their shortcomings it's good to see them bringing SF back into the limelight.

Equilibrium and Cube are pretty standard high-concept fluff but well executed and tons of fun. Equilibrium in particular is elevated by a good performance from Christian "I'm Batman" Bale and brilliantly choreographed action scenes. for me these hark back to the heady days of sci-fi action like Total Recall and the Terminator franchise (which stopped at Judgement Day, don't let anyone try and tell you otherwise).

Moon is a great little film built around an intriguing idea; it's like a more successful version of Solaris, which plays with similar themes but is ultimately less satisfying (although i've heard the original is better than the George Clooney version i've seen). District 9 starts off in the same "indie SF" oeuvre but manages to move into full-on action by the end - but without losing its charm and pace. a great watch. Event Horizon creeped me out far more than it had any right to.

I've actually stopped watching Doctor Who and Torchwood. I was ok with the modern Who up to the end of the David Tennant run, but found myself grinding my teeth at the annoying Donna sidekick. from thereon in i haven't truly enjoyed a series of it and have now just stopped to reduce the amount of shouting at the TV in my house. Torchwood was ok in the first series, got a lot better in the second, but then became dull and trite for me after then. Children of Men was ok, nothing more - and Miracle Day was a two hour special dragged out into a ten hour ego-fest. whoever decided they should pivot the entire show around that irritating Gwen woman has a lot to answer for.

i never really watched Trek when i was younger, but i thoroughly enjoyed the latest movie. this probably explains a lot.

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hourglass | random thoughts | doubledotdash!? collective

Quote drargon:

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But my fave has to be Zardoz, I really must watch that again sometime.

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Ooooh, yes. Bonkers and brilliant.

The Terminator, and the first 2 Alien films.

Never bettered, no CGI, all done in camera and all the better for it.

HATE CGI, just looks rubbishly unrealistic however much they tell you it isn't...

I don't like CGI much either, but the first Ironman has some pretty seemless integration with the real suit.

Does Ironman count as Sci Fi? It has some science in it, actually a lot more than some of the other suggestions here. It is a very good film, for a comic book adaptation, which are usually pretty bad or hard to take seriously in live action.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Quote nathanscribe:

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Quote drargon:

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But my fave has to be Zardoz, I really must watch that again sometime.

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Ooooh, yes. Bonkers and brilliant.

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Indeed. Mr Connery and his helmet... erm... so to speak.

Reg

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Google less; read more!

...oh and can I admit that Space: 1999 is my guilty pleasure!

Reg

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Google less; read more!

Quote RegressiveRock:

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...oh and can I admit that Space: 1999 is my guilty pleasure!

Reg

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Babylon 5 for me!

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My head hurts!

Quote RegressiveRock:

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...oh and can I admit that Space: 1999 is my guilty pleasure!

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Ooooohhhhh!!!! That Space 1999 episode featuring Stacey Dorning!!!! Sigh...

NURSE! IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!!!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote The Elf:

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Quote RegressiveRock:

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...oh and can I admit that Space: 1999 is my guilty pleasure!

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Ooooohhhhh!!!! That Space 1999 episode featuring Stacey Dorning!!!! Sigh...

NURSE! IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!!!

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Are we talking 70s 7 of 9 ?

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My head hurts!

Hmmm, suprised no one has mentioned "Blakes 7" yet.

Blake's 7 was great !
A good mix of characters , now I think about it , they are the complete set of a raiding team from a dungeons and dragons game .
As Orac was made out of perspex , does "he" count as an optical computer ?


OneSecond , I liked Event Horizon too , I do think that Sean Pertwee brought as much , if not more to the film than anyone else , yet billed sooo far down the list .

Somebody call the nurse quickly :

Quote The Elf:

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Quote RegressiveRock:

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...oh and can I admit that Space: 1999 is my guilty pleasure!

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Ooooohhhhh!!!! That Space 1999 episode featuring Stacey Dorning!!!! Sigh...

NURSE! IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!!!

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Hehehe:

After an adjustment to my monthly DVD subscription service I have THX1138 waiting on my desk for a re-watch. (Also Real Steel!)

Hope the latter doe not let down the former.

Reg

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Google less; read more!

Yago, you are owed a packet of chocolate HobNobs any time you're passing the toadstool!

I think my spine just melted...



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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Yago, that's almost NSFW...

If you are going to be all nostalgic about Sci Fi ladies, then Erin Gray should get a mention, not that Buck Rogers is particulary Sci Fi.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

If we are allowing Space 1999 - great series - then I'll say U.F.O as well. I think the Andersons had a magic touch, and a love of spaceships, aliens, explosions and the wierd.

Shame they never made the big screen, though they say they spent as much on the small screen, and you can see the first generation of model makers and optical effects developers cut there teeth on these series

Starship Troopers ranks highly with me. 2001 probably tops.

And Star Wars. All **cough** six.

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Quote Chaconne:

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Shame they never made the big screen

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Went and saw it back in 1966, I did. Had it's moments, though I do wish they'd kept Cliff Richard out of it.

CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Ha - yeah of course! I remember being excited by this as a youngster, but in the end it seamed that they just took even longer to get the Thunderbirds off the ground!

Sophisticated pneumatics - shot. Palm trees. Shot. Ignition. Afterburner. Long shot of getting up speed, another close up of deflection plate....

Still what more could you want as a young boy!?

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Quote Chaconne:

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2001 probably tops.

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''Open the pod bay doors Hal''

One of the great moments in Sci-fi cinema.

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17ft here! Too deep for non divers.

Quote Chaconne:

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If we are allowing Space 1999 - great series - then I'll say U.F.O as well.

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Absolutely -- brilliant series, and the first Space 1999 series was essentially a slightly remodelled second (or third,d epending on your point of view!) series of UFO.

And Gerry Anderson did make the big screen on a couple of occasions, and with live actors. Check out Journey to the Far Side of the Sun.

hugh


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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Hehe glad you like the pic

I can't remember how I found it , but there is a forum or something dedicated to Erin Grey , the nerds were fighting to the death over which colour suit was best !!!

The 1999 Eagles had several differing models each one suiting the proximity of camera shot .
The close up one was about three feet long and pretty much all made of brass . the weight of the model was such that it lead to the use of one of the hydraulic (pneumatic?) camera "mounts" to lift the eagle up out of the base in the take off shot (also gave a very smooth motion ) .

I saw one (3 foot eagle) pop up in the antiques roadshow once !

Best 1999 episode imho was the one where an alien (floating blob of light) , took over the body of one of the crew and eventually started to drain its power requirements direct from the bases' nuclear reactor .

Unfortunately , all this is from memory (nooo I am not a nerd , I am a number , erm)
I think these are the latest memories I have until after the age of about 28 !
from nerd to stage to old fart :P

After watching these far to many times, I noticed that some of the Eagle shots - from outside, with the pilots moving in the windows - are just very well painted mattes. They obviously have a hole in like those seaside photo boards - so the helmeted actors can be seen 'in' the cockpit. Before realising this I presumed they had plenty of full size Eagles.

Still thats what great sci-fi is about!

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Quote Chaconne:

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After watching these far to many times, I noticed that some of the Eagle shots - from outside, with the pilots moving in the windows - are just very well painted mattes. They obviously have a hole in like those seaside photo boards - so the helmeted actors can be seen 'in' the cockpit. Before realising this I presumed they had plenty of full size Eagles.

Still thats what great sci-fi is about!

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What do you mean well painted mattes! They're real!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLhdY6_juDk&feature=related

Reg

...and we talk grind on about analogue all the time!!!

This is analogue!

Reg

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Google less; read more!

Oh man - thats beautiful !

(There is a clip in the sidebar showing an obviously older Barbara Bain - I cant bare to click on it...)

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Quote Chaconne:

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Oh man - thats beautiful !

(There is a clip in the sidebar showing an obviously older Barbara Bain - I cant bare to click on it...)

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Yeah the FX stuff is really quite fun.

(It's a shame time moves on for all of us: at that time Barbara was a stunningly good-looking lady in a very non-classical way. I think a young boy called "Reg" was a little bit in lurve with her in a boyish-heroine-worship-crush kind of way).

More on the Special FX

Cast interviews - Warning it's the 70s so people are smoking

Reg

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Google less; read more!

so this morning the plot of a new Aliens movie popped fully formed into my head. i've written up a plot synopsis and it could be awesome. set after Aliens and before Alien 3 (but consistent with the events of that film), it's what we could have had instead of the big pile-o'-poo that is Resurrection.

anyone want to lend me $100m to make it? if we all chip in we should be able to cover it...

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hourglass | random thoughts | doubledotdash!? collective

Quote onesecondglance:

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so this morning the plot of a new Aliens movie popped fully formed into my head. i've written up a plot synopsis and it could be awesome. set after Aliens and before Alien 3 (but consistent with the events of that film), it's what we could have had instead of the big pile-o'-poo that is Resurrection.

anyone want to lend me $100m to make it? if we all chip in we should be able to cover it...

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I could put a pound coin in the post if that helps? ;-)

Reg

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Google less; read more!

well, we've got to start somewhere...

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hourglass | random thoughts | doubledotdash!? collective

Quote RegressiveRock:

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Quote onesecondglance:

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so this morning the plot of a new Aliens movie popped fully formed into my head. i've written up a plot synopsis and it could be awesome. set after Aliens and before Alien 3 (but consistent with the events of that film), it's what we could have had instead of the big pile-o'-poo that is Resurrection.

anyone want to lend me $100m to make it? if we all chip in we should be able to cover it...

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I could put a pound coin in the post if that helps? ;-)

Reg

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A quid is in the mail onesecond

wow

I've seen people on these forums argue (in a nice way) about everything from guitar strings to how to hold a soldering iron. This must be the first thread where everyone seems happy to agree.

I never realised everyone here was a sc-fi fan. Slightly worried as I am as well.......

How about a couple of new films I don't think have been mentioned (sorry if they have); Pandorum and Cargo. Maybe not as good as some of the classics mentioned here, but it's nice to have some new films to enjoy.

On a slightly different point, am I the only one who finds Waterstones way of lumping sc-fi and fantasy in one section annoying? I had to have a moan the other day when 70% of the sci-fi shelves are Terry Pratchet books (I don't dislike them, but they are hardly sc-fi!). They had not one Aldiss book! The attendant couldn't see my point, nor my problem with shelf after shelf of crime/murder books, never seen the attraction myself.

Sorry back to topic, my vote is split between Alien and The Thing. Although for me there has yet to be a "perfect" sci-fi film made. There are plenty of sci-fi books that would make great films, I never understand why we get so many poor stories from Hollywood.

and Star Wars is fantasy! (that took another 10% of those shelves). I know this is to be true because the X-fighters had no airlocks and the pilots had no space suits. That can't be a good design for a spaceship!

FWIW, the term for Star-Wars-like stuff is "space opera", Fletcher.

I always liked Brian Aldiss's term: widescreen baroque.

CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, that's "space opera"

Star Wars isn't even in space much, mainly on the surface of a planet - fantasy!

oh and I should add
just to make sure of the tongue in cheek sentiments here.

It's very late and I've not gone through all the posts .. so..

Dark Star. And Solaris.


And many more of course.

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PA stuff on FB

Has anyone mentioned Abres Los Ojos yet? Or the remake Vanilla Sky? I prefer the former.

How about Existenz?

There's also an Austalian low budget TV movie called Virtual Nightmare I really liked when I saw it years ago that deals with the same kind of manufactured reality theme, with a nod to Philip K Dick's Time Out Of Joint.

Stratt

apparently Ridley Scott is going to do a film of The Forever War. it's a great book, but i'm not sure how "filmic" it is?

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hourglass | random thoughts | doubledotdash!? collective

Well most have been mentioned but if we stay with films (yes I AM that old) Forbidden Planet vies with Day the Earth stood still (yes, remake was rubbish)

I don't think you can dismiss Star Wars since it kick started the genre again and airlocks? Never heard of force fields? Anyone mention Close Encounters? Independance day I enjoyed.

BUT! What really bugs me is all the teriffic SF stories that have never been done or done badly. Azimov has been done poorly in I Robot good tho' the film was. But so much of his stuff would make great films and need very lttle in the way of effects. The Foundation series for instance. Waystation and Catface by Clifford D Simac. Stranger in a Strange Land, Time enough for Love, Bob H.... and countless other super stories...

Did anyone mention Dune? No? Just as well perhaps.

Dave.

Going back to Space 1999 - what I didn't get is that the moon is travelling through space because of a nuclear explosion. It must be travelling at sub-light speed and as such everybody on the moon would be dead by the time they reached the nearest star that had alien life around it. And if for some reason the moon was travelling faster than light then how would the Eagles get off the moon, land on an Alien planet and catch the moon travelling at over light speed back up when they left?
I know you have to stretch disbelief a bit in a lot of sci-fi - but at least in most cases you can give a benefit of the doubt, but to have as the fundamental premise of a show something that is stupid and logically impossible however you look at it, just seems stupid.
I liked Space 1999 when I was a child, but this really annoyed me.

That's a 30 year old grievance of my chest.

Quote Neil C:

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Going back to Space 1999 - what I didn't get is that the moon is travelling through space because of a nuclear explosion. It must be travelling at sub-light speed and as such everybody on the moon would be dead by the time they reached the nearest star that had alien life around it. And if for some reason the moon was travelling faster than light then how would the Eagles get off the moon, land on an Alien planet and catch the moon travelling at over light speed back up when they left?
I know you have to stretch disbelief a bit in a lot of sci-fi - but at least in most cases you can give a benefit of the doubt, but to have as the fundamental premise of a show something that is stupid and logically impossible however you look at it, just seems stupid.
I liked Space 1999 when I was a child, but this really annoyed me.

That's a 30 year old grievance of my chest.

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It was travelling faster than the speed of light , the eagles were able to catch up to the moon because the crew knew Stacey was awaiting them .
Back then I think I would have caught up on a push bike :P

Edited by Yago (17/03/12 06:04 PM)

Quote Neil C:

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Going back to Space 1999 - what I didn't get is that the moon is travelling through space because of a nuclear explosion. It must be travelling at sub-light speed and as such everybody on the moon would be dead by the time they reached the nearest star that had alien life around it. And if for some reason the moon was travelling faster than light then how would the Eagles get off the moon, land on an Alien planet and catch the moon travelling at over light speed back up when they left?
I know you have to stretch disbelief a bit in a lot of sci-fi - but at least in most cases you can give a benefit of the doubt, but to have as the fundamental premise of a show something that is stupid and logically impossible however you look at it, just seems stupid.
I liked Space 1999 when I was a child, but this really annoyed me.

That's a 30 year old grievance of my chest.

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In interviews on the subject Anderson often expressed frustration that the fans fixated on this, thinking a little bit of suspension of disbelief was in order.

Perhaps he should have gone with Yago's explanation!

Reg

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Google less; read more!

How the hell did Thunderbird 2 get off the ground?

What kind of space cowboy has a gun that shoots light slower than a bullet?

Why did S.H.A.D.O only have three interceptors for use against a threat to the whole earth?

If Picard and Kirk meet, and yet a quantum space-time tear in the fabric of time causes....

.....

Ad infinitum!

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