Years ago, I wrote a blog post with my favorite ten scifi films. I thought it would be fun to update and revise that list, but in doing so I have expanded it well beyond ten. These are listed in chronological order because my brain is not good at ranking the things is love — as I love them each for different reasons. (Warning: May contain spoilers.)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
I love films from the 1950s. There’s something about the futuristic optimism of the era clashing up against the apocalyptic fear of burgeoning Atomic Age that I’ve always enjoyed. Those two themes seem perfectly intertwined in this film. Alien tells earth to behave or else. The older the film gets the more seems like a plausible first contact scenario.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Paranoia and issues of identity and what it means to be ‘you’ wrapped up in sci-fi horror film with no special effects. Beyond loving the story, the filmmaker in me is always intrigued by the notion of how much can be accomplished on a small scale with the right story. I’m also intrigued by the idea of a cast of small-town characters becoming something literally alien in their otherness even in their sameness and the fear of becoming something you are not against your will.
Forbidden Planet (1956)
I am more obsessed by this film the more I watch it, which is around once a year at this point. It feels like the prototypical scifi space film — interstellar spaceship, crew of a multi-planet union, an ancient alien city, a brilliant scientist, an unseen monster, and a semi-sentient robot. What more can you ask for in a story?
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The first time I saw this film I was 15 and I didn’t get it at all. Much like Citizen Kane, each time I see it, I appreciate it more. The majesty and breadth of the tale manages to overcome my natural inclination to follow a single character and gives rise to a more universal perspective of the story.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1979)
A wholly different approach to first contact. A film that starts with a secretive and silent inner connection which becomes a spectacular group spectacle by the end. The mothership of all UFO films. It’s such a well-told story that it’s easy to forget Roy abandons his family at the end to follow the aliens.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Robert Wise (who also directed Day the Earth Stood Still and edited Citizen Kane) makes the list twice with his amalgam of Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey. It tells you a lot about my tastes that, as opposed to the general geek consensus, I think this is the best Star Trek film, unlike many who would choose Wrath of Khan. It’s also notable that Star Wars doesn’t make this list, but ST:TMP does. There is something about seeing characters I grew up watching investigating a mystery that tests their limits that I find completely absorbing.
Blade Runner (1982)
I think it is easy to view this film as an example of style over substance or a failed attempt to blend the scifi and noir genres, but I think those are superficial views that dissolve with repeated viewings. It is stylish, but it also looks deeply at what it means to be sentient and worthy of life and rights even if one is not fully human. And the only way this film could be more successfully noir is if it was in black and white — which is how I think I will watch it next time.
Aliens (1986)
Alien (1979) should be on this list as I think it’s brilliant, but putting the sequel on lets me think about the contrast between atmospheric horror in space and atmospheric action in space. The films live in the same world and are a continuation of Ripley’s story, but they are vastly different in tone and style and substance. That is the strength of Aliens. Rather than being a retread in look and feel of the original, the sequel leans into a more bombastic take on the story and the direction, which elevates the film in the process.
Contact (1997)
The notion of making contact with an alien species, first through a radio message, and then in person, is thrilling and the scientific plausibility of the story makes it all the more compelling. I’m also drawn to the subtle clash between religion/spirituality and science as portrayed in the relationship of Ellie and Palmer. I reread Sagan’s novel a few years ago and it is just as interesting as the film.
The Matrix (1999)
I sat in the front row of the theater the first time I saw this film and it felt like I was being jacked into some alternate reality. A great balance between action and intellect. Again, questions of identity, what it means to be “you” and the nature of reality explored against the backdrop of a messianic coming-into-one’s-own in a digital age story.
The Iron Giant (1999)
As a kid growing up watching old films from the 1950s on Saturday TV (we need a UHF station style streaming service) this film feels like it was plucked from my daydreams and fantasies. A kid with a giant alien robot as a friend and protector (who also needs protecting). I feel like my 11-year-old self every time I see it.
The Fountain (2006)
A series of quests in different times that turn back and inform each other — a love story about death and the quest for immortality — a film that makes me care and think and wonder and believe all at the same time. How could I not love that?
Interstellar (2014)
A hard scifi film with a big heart that poses questions about duty to humanity vs responsibilities to family and the very nature of reality and time. There is so much I love about this story, but one of the main things is that the first time I saw it, I had no idea what was coming next, and no notion of how intellectually and emotionally engaging it would become. Like the robots of the film, the story unfolds in unexpected ways.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
This is a great continuation of the main world story and Deckard’s story while introducing new concepts and meditations on what it means to be sentient if not human and which is more important. It’s an immersive experience that strikes all the right story and character notes for me, allowing me to see myself in multiple characters regardless of how different they are.
Dune Parts 1 & 2 (2021 & 2024)
I’m considering this as one film because it really is. I loved the novel as a teen and was bitterly disappointed by the David Lynch version so this largely faithful adaptation by Denis Villeneuve felt almost like a new story when I watched. It’s the same characters and scenes I loved from the novels but brought to life in a manner that in some ways felt more authentic than the source material. The thing I think works for both novel and film is the timelessness that comes from blending fantasy tropes in a scifi setting letting the best of both genres shine through.
Looking at the list, it occurs to me that my appreciation of these films tends to be a combination of stylistic and technical mastery by the directors coupled with how much I emotionally invest in the story and the characters. That seems like a generalization, but since this is a list of films from a specific genre, a class of film and storytelling that has had a great deal of influence on who I am, it is also somewhat revelatory, I should think, of my conscious and subconscious desires. What I suspect it really boils down to for me is that these are all stories I either wish I had come up with or which inspire me to tell other similarly engaging stories.
