Ars Technica:
While the Ars staff has some bitter disagreements on which movies are better than others, it’s undeniable that some science fiction movies are mandatory viewing for the modern geek. To that end, rather than try to pull together another tired “top ten sci-fi movies” listicle, we’ve instead polled the Ars staff to try to come up with a definitive “science fiction bucket list”—that is, a list of sci-fi movies that you should absolutely see at least once before you die. They aren’t necessarily the “best” movies by any specific set of criteria, but every film on this list is outstanding in some particular way. Some were groundbreaking in their stories or subject matter, some were controversial, and some contained a character or plot twist that went on to become an archetype, referenced in and reused by countless other films. Some films on the list, like Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, are pure cinematic poetry; others, like Pacific Rim, are pure popcorn fun. And, as a bonus, we even included a bonus list of a few absolutely terrible stinkers at the very bottom.
Hard to argue with this list. But I know some of you will anyway.
Ex Machina.
I saw a lot of that list in my DVD collection.
Hard to take a list like this seriously when “Highlander 2” is not in it.
12 Monkeys, The Fifth Element, Minority Report Terminator, Cocoon, Deja Vu (not really sci fi but does have time travel)…
Some good choices, but just as flawed as every other IMDB list (ahem, http://www.imdb.com/rg/s/1/list/ls032095793/ )
Easy to rip on Zardoz because of Sean Connery’s outfit, but those smart enough to listen to the dialogue will find a film which is well written enough to maintain relevance in the 21st century.
BTW – 28 Days Later is not science fiction.
It’s a good list, and it’s a good thing that it’s something fans can argue about. About half of the dozen or so films on it that I haven’t seen are ones I’m still looking forward to.
Star Wars != science fiction.
Sci-fi extrapolates current culture into the future and shows us what might happen if we mess with (or don’t mess with) things as they currently are.
Star Wars (episode IV, anyway) looks deep into the past and exploits classical myths and time-worn hero’s journey / young-man’s-initiation tropes.
Robots in space == science fiction in my world.
maybe that’s why they wrote about their definition of scifi at the beginning of the article.
I completely agree about zardoz. I watched it years ago expecting to hate it, but it was surprisingly great.
Only 4 films on this list I hadn’t seen, have my little list ready to rectify that… I don’t think there’s any that don’t belong, but as others have pointed out, many more could be added.
Seen all in the must-see list except:
Computer Chess
CSA: Confederate yadda
Ghosts with Shit Jobs
Pacific Rim
Stalker
Have seen 4 in the must-not-see list too.
News flash: Star Wars is not Biblical.
Some Gen-Y seem to think so.
But, to quote Vader: “Nooooooooooo!!!!!!”
I never claimed it was. But “science fiction” is as much a marketing catch-all as much as it is an entertainment genre.
So, if it had been the same exact film, but had started instead with, “A long time in the future, in a galaxy far, far away…” it would have been sci-fi?
I dunno, I didn’t see Predator. It may not have been a great movie, but it sure was riveting.
Good point.
I’d say no. But I’m not in marketing.