Here is a list of some of the most influential and thought-provoking sci-fi movies of all times.
They will certainly rock your world and make you question your way of thinking and believing in what is possible. These sci-fi movies had a great impact on me the first time I watched them and, to be honest, I’ve re-watched them several times in a state of awe.
They will surely have the same effect on you too and influence you to develop a different perspective on the way you observe life and the very foundations of reality.
1. Alien (1979)
A space freighter ship “Nostromo” is coming back to Earth packed with 20 million metric tons of mineral ore. Its 7-member crew wakes from deep sleep to find a distress signal from a nearby planet and to respond to it.
We follow them as they land and investigate the surface of the planet only to find a derelict alien vessel carrying something that will endanger both their mission and themselves. Not only are their lives at stake but now the whole Earth is in danger from the unknown cargo they brought back with them onboard from the alien ship.
2. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Dystopian future portrayed in a most disturbing Kubrick directed manner.
We follow young gang members from one violent incident to another in a not too distant future set in Great Britain. We observe the gang leader Alex as he redeems his violent excesses by participating in an experimental police program that will change his very essence and decisions.
A sort of a satire, this movie points out to moral implication of authorities to interfere and change the lives of individuals in order to adapt them to general rules and reinstate them into society as functional citizens – against their will.
3. Solaris (1972)
A thought-provoking masterpiece from the director Andrei Tarkovsky will pull you in and leave you in a state of wonder long after the movie finishes. We follow a psychologist who is sent to investigate a space station crew gone mad.
The station is orbiting a planet that is showing strange activity that is affecting the crew in the most disturbing way. As he tries to find out the cause of insanity he gradually starts to question the circumstances and disturbing occurrences that affect both the crew and him as the time goes on.
4. Inception (2010)
An amazing sci-fi thriller about a thief who is breaking into the most hidden places – people’s dreams.
Our main character makes a living by stealing valuable secrets from the depths of his victims’ subconsciousness during sleep. His skills made him a high profile player in the world of corporate espionage yet also made him an international fugitive who lost all that is dear to him.
He is offered a way out, a redemption, by completing this last job that would erase all the wrongs from the past. The knack is that he and his team have to place something in their victim’s mind instead of stealing.
5. The Road Warrior (1981)
In a post-apocalyptic world where the only precious commodity is gasoline, there is no state of society as we know it.
In the desert lands of Australia, the only law that is on power is the law of the strongest. We join a lone drifter Max who joins a small outpost rich with precious fuel but besieged and outnumbered by bandits.
They offer Max full tanks of fuel for a way out of the barricade. A desperate man with nothing to lose will risk to sacrifice himself in order to save many from a certain death from the bloodthirsty car gang lurking outside of the outpost walls.
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One that should have been on the list is THX1138
#10 Avatar.
The Forbin Project — the machines win, give us utopia, and we hate it
Lucy -with scarlet johansson.
(all we have to do is to use even 40% and without the hallucinogens…)
The Thirteenth Floor uses multiple levels of artificial realities.
Twelve Monkeys (the film)… Oblivion…
Your list is very good and includes some the very best I agree.
To add to it, I would point out that no best of list can be complete without acknowledging the classics. We all know why? Its because the sci fi classics were the trail blazers of the genre.
These classics listed here were so successful that they have been reproduced successfully afterwards for younger audiences of today.
1. The day The Earth Stood Still – 1951
2. Invasion of The Body Snatchers – 1956
3. War of The Worlds -195..
4. The Time Machine – 196..
I agree that your list is very good. I would also add these. A couple of these have dual genre’s.
The Abyss
Children of Men
Dark City
Donnie Darko
Journey to the Center of the Earth – 1959
Logan’s Run
The Thing – 1982
They Live
Soylent Green – 1973. Last movie for Edward G. Robinson, also starring Charlton Heston and Leigh Taylor-Young.
You really have to see this one if you like dystopian films – or even if you do not. Combination of police procedural science fiction and action films, this one addresses a slew of topics we are dealing with(or ignoring) today: overpopulation, pollution(hello, China!), resource depletion, ecological disaster, greenhouse effect, and mass poverty. Based off of an award winning 1966 novel “Make Room! Make Room!” by Harry Harrison.
The world has too many people on it, and they have little to eat except for a basic ‘hardtack’-type cracker called ‘Soylent Green’, which is supposedly made from algae collected from the Earth’s dying seas.
WELL worth the time to watch. Might even encourage the viewers to consider the possible future that we may be leaving our descendants because of our ‘throw-a-way’ consumer culture.
The 1969 The Illustrated Man..