September 19, 2019 – These sci-fi movies were pivotal in their originality, level of production, and influence on what came after them…
“Open the pod bay doors please, HAL.”
Even after so many years, the look of the movie is still pretty good. The film is ultimately a story about evolution – from primative man hurling bones to whatever comes at the end of the movie. It was a bold movie for its time and still is today. While I don’t believe its premise, I applaud its creativity and attention to visual detail. And like everything Kubrick does, this movie is more than a bit creepy.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
IMDb: 8.3
Where: iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu
“Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.”
Like Star Trek (1996), the Star Wars franchise is still going. It all started with this entry in 1977, which has been renamed Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
Director: George Lucas
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
IMDb: 8.6
Where: iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu
(You might want to step back a little.)
This is the ultimate sci-fi horror movie that spawned a thousand knock-offs, and was Scott’s first big hit. The movie delivered on its tagline: “In space no one can hear you scream.” The alien coming out from the stomach belongs in both the sci-fi and horror movie halls of fame.
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
IMDb: 8.4
Where: iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu
“It’s too bad she won’t live. But then again, who does?”
Ridley Scott’s next movie after Alien was not popular at the time of its release. But Blade Runner is now considered by many to be “the #1 Sci-Fi Film of all time.” The genius of the movie for me was how much personality the replicants had: Pris, Zhora, Leon, Rachael, and especially Roy. For more of my thoughts on this movie, go here.
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
IMDb: 8.1
Where: Amazon On Demand, iTunes, Vudu
“Come with me if you want to live.”
In 1986, Cameron added more action and humor to the Alien franchise with its sequel, Aliens. He did the same thing here with his own movie, The Terminator. The sequel has more humor and action, and looks less low-budget. It also has an incredibly memorable bad guy: the liquid-metal T-1000. But the real genius of the sequel was changing the bad guy from the first movie (Arnold’s T-800) into a protective hero. A classic.
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
IMDb: 8.5
Where: Amazon On Demand, iTunes, Vudu
“You take the blue pill…”
Deinitely the most influential sci-fi movie of the computer age. It didn’t really need a sequel, but got two anyway. I saw this movie three times in the first week it came out. It was fresh and different. It had new, innovative fight scenes, and put “bullet time” cinematography in play. From the moment Trinity floated in the air, then ran sideways on the wall, I was hooked.
Directors: The Wachowskis
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
IMDb: 8.7
Where: Hulu, Amazon On Demand, iTunes, Vudu
(Someone’s having a bad day.)
District 9 contains an interesting metaphor for social injustice. At the same time, the movie showed a marked improvement in computer graphics. The CGI of the aliens is flawless. Fans of the movie couldn’t wait to see what its young director would do next, but sadly nothing of note has happened.
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope
IMDb: 7.9
Where: Amazon Prime, Hulu, Amazon On Demand, iTunes, Vudu
And, for low-budget sci-fi movies, my top recommendation is the Spanish film Timecrimes (Amazon/Shudder).
Lost comes to mind as a game changer, but since it was ultimately about purgatory, it doesn’t seem to qualify as sci-fi. The same might be said for the game changer that is Twin Peaks, whose core seems more fantasy than sci-fi. The Battlestar Galactica reboot in 2004 was a sci-fi game changer. The SyFy channel keeps trying to find its next BSG, but hasn’t yet (though The Expanse was close). For anthology series, the old Twilight Zone deserves a nod, as does the more modern Black Mirror. I would also say that Stranger Things has been a game changer for sci-fi television in its own way. And of course Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) is probably the most seminally influential sci-fi TV show of all time.