The 5. 0 Best Sci- Fi And Fantasy Movies Of All Time. We fly our geek flag high and proud around here, so when The Man told us to write an article on the 5. Then we were pissed. Man, this stuff is hard. In making this list, we decided to avoid super hero flicks, lean away from most monster movies, and allow as many sequels as necessary from deserving franchises. Star Trek Legacy Pc Requirements. We also realized both genres offer a ton of viable candidates, so that meant more than a few great movies were left on the cutting room floor—our apologies in advance.
So hop in your space cruiser, set your blaster to stun, and check out our list of the 5. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Year: 1. 97. 7Director: George Lucas.
Purchase: Amazon DVDPerhaps you’ve heard of this one? If not, let us fill you in. It’s about a guy named Luk—oh, come on it’s freaking Star Wars. Is there a more textbook definition of sci- fi than George Lucas’ legendary franchise starter? Probably not. The special effects and dialogue may not have fully stood the test of time, but the cultural footprint left by this universally loved space opera is arguably the largest by any movie of any genre. The Wizard of Oz. Year: 1. 93. 9Director: Victor Fleming.
Purchase: Amazon DVD . The stunning sets. The timeless songs.
Blade Runner is one of those point & click adventure games that somewhat manages to fully capture the spirit of a cult movie without copying the original plot.
Pitch perfect Judy Garland and the stellar cast. It’s clear by now that no matter how much times passes or advances are made on the CGI front, nothing will ever dull the magic of learning there’s no place like home. Minority Report. Year: 2. Director: Steven Spielberg. Purchase: Amazon DVD . Dick was a sci- fi genius, and Steven Spielberg tapped into Dick’s short story for the supremely suspenseful Minority Report.
Tom Cruise is chief of the Pre. Crime police force in the year 2. Besides being a top- notch thrill ride, the film also leaves you with a host of moral questions to ponder once it’s done. We like that. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Year: 2. 00. 1Director: Peter Jackson.
Purchase: Amazon DVD . Tolkien’s Middle- Earth masterworks. The scope and sense of immersion he established right off the bat with Fellowship of the Ring was ambitious and amazing. Even with the valid criticisms about the film’s runtime and laundry list of character names and places one gets bombarded with, this is still a standout achievement in fantasy filmmaking. E. T.: The Extraterrestrial.
Year: 1. 98. 2Director: Steven Spielberg. Purchase: Amazon DVD .
Steven Spielberg tells the story of a boy befriending an alien with superior skill, weaving suspense, comedy, thrills, and tears into a powerful 1. Young Henry Thomas is excellent as Elliott, as is the rest of the cast, and the stirring theme by John Williams. Alien. Year: 1. 97. Director: Ridley Scott. Purchase: Amazon DVD . But in 1. 97. 9, Ridley Scott took that title and with it, sci- fi horror to new levels with this tale of a commercial spaceship getting a smidgen more than they bargained for while exploring a distress call. The pacing and suspense is Grade- A, Sigourney Weaver is strong (and gets even stronger in Aliens), and the chest- popping scene is still shown in most major medical schools—or should be.
Planet of the Apes. Year: 1. 96. 8Director: Franklin J. Schaffner. Purchase: Amazon DVD . The great Rod Serling having his hands on the screenplay surely helped, and the last scene of the film still stands tall as one of Hollywood’s greatest gotcha. Inception. Year: 2. Director: Christopher Nolan. Purchase: Amazon DVD .
There’s so much drama, you could call it a dramatic film. There’s so much action, you could call it an action flick. But when the story involves a professional thief diving into the subconscious minds of his targets to get the goods, you know you’re in the world of science fiction as well. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Year: 1. 97. 1Director: Mel Stuart.
Purchase: Amazon DVD . Gene Wilder is freaking sensational, and we’re still waiting for the Oompa- Loompas’ spinoff. Back to the Future. Year: 1. 98. 5Director: Robert Zemeckis.
Purchase: Amazon DVD . Fox as Marty Mc. Fly is a joy to watch as he goes back in time to fix the present, and Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown is equally awesome. Even if the film’s take on what kind of tech we’d have in 2. Godzilla. Year: 1. Director: Ishiro Honda. Purchase: Amazon DVDLike many sci- fi classics, Godzilla not only delivers a spectacle to look at, but also a poignant message to discuss after. Less than a decade after Japan was hit by atomic bombs in World War II, the themes of nuclear radiation and mass destruction were delved into via this iconic monster movie.
Even if its spawn of sequels and offshoots only further entrenched its B- movie status, there’s no denying the impact of this creature on film and pop culture history. A Space Odyssey. Year: 1. Director: Stanley Kubrick.
Purchase: Amazon DVD . When people say they hate it, we totally get it.
Much of it is boring and (depending on who you talk to) nonsensical. But it’d also be criminal to not have it on this list for three reasons: 1) Its profound impact on future sci- fi films and filmmakers, 2) its ground- breaking special effects, and 3) its handful of magical moments created by Stanley Kubrick. If only there were more HAL 9.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Year: 1. 98. 0Director: Irvin Kershner. Purchase: Amazon DVDIt’s the consensus choice for the best of the six Star Wars films to date, and yeah, it should be. The Empire Strikes Back was darker, more intense, and more emotional than Star Wars. It also yielded a heavy load of unforgettable characters and moments, from the introduction of Yoda and Boba Fett, to Darth Vader’s “I am your father” bombshell. Perhaps the greatest sequel of all time, and surely on the short list for the best sci- fi adventures. Blade Runner. Year: 1.
Director: Ridley Scott. Purchase: Amazon DVD . Loosely based the Philip K. Dick story, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, this is film noir set fantastically in the future. Its vision of the future is bleak, dark, dangerous, and believable, with a moral tale about humans and technology too.
We think it’s a smidgen overrated, but it certainly belongs on this list. Forbidden Planet. Year: 1. 95. 6Director: Fred M. Wilcox. Purchase: Amazon DVD ? Set aside 9. 8 minutes for Forbidden Planet, a landmark bit of sci- fi that leans heavily on Shakespeare’s The Tempest. It’s 5. 0s sci- fi at its stereotypical best, with terrific special effects (for the time period, of course), suspense, and a rich cheesy goodness you don’t mind getting all over you.
Casting bonus: Leslie Nielsen! The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Year: 2. 00. 2Director: Peter Jackson. Purchase: Amazon DVD . Andy Serkis and the CGI wizards who created Gollum really steal the show, creating one of the most memorable non- human characters in film history. The Matrix. Year: 1. Director: The Wachowski Brothers.
Purchase: Amazon DVD . The Wachowski Brothers built a crazy deep (and yeah, crazy confusing) world that gave sci- fi lovers everywhere a massive Wachowski in their pants. The mushy money- grab sequels however, won’t be making this list.
Metropolis. Year: 1. Director: Fritz Lang.
Purchase: Amazon DVD . German director Fritz Lang took audiences far into the future with amazing set design and ground- creating visual flair. And despite it being older than bubble gum, canned beer, and the ballpoint pen, the themes of the film – class warfare and love – are as fresh as ever. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Year: 1. 97. 7Director: Steven Spielberg.
Purchase: Amazon DVD . But one exception to that rule came hurtling into theaters in 1. Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Richard Dreyfuss is great as the dude whose run- in with a spaceship leaves him obsessed with learning more about what he experienced.
The soothing five notes played by the alien spaceship almost makes the anal probing worth it! Avatar. Year: 2. 00. Director: James Cameron.
Purchase: Amazon DVD . You can’t quibble with the fact that Avatar is an absolute visual spectacle, and perhaps the greatest use of 3. D ever seen. On those merits, it sits somewhere in the latter half out our top 5. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Year: 1. 98. 3Director: Richard Marquand.
Purchase: Amazon DVDReturn of the Jedi finished off the original Star Wars trilogy in grand style, with more space swashbuckling and alien encounters. The first half of the film, with Luke Skywalker’s mission to free Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt’s clutches, nicely carries over some of that edgy bite found in The Empire Strikes Back. The final battle between Luke, Darth Vader, and the Emperor helps to make up for all those unfortunate Ewok shenanigans.
Aliens. Year: 1. 98. Director: James Cameron. Purchase: Amazon DVD .
Regardless, Sigourney Weaver earns her stripes as one of the fiercest female action heroes of all time as she goes womano- a- womano vs. Great pacing, big thrills, and one of the best sci- fi films of the 8. The Day the Earth Stood Still. Year: 1. 95. 1Director: Robert Wise. Purchase: Amazon DVD . Expecting maturity from sci- fi back then was nearly unthinkable, but director Robert Wise nails it, despite being limited by the constraints of the time period. King Kong. Year: 1.
Director: Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack. Purchase: Amazon DVD . The 8th wonder of the world. One of the greatest achievements in cinema history, the original King Kong is a flat- out masterpiece, especially on the technical front when you consider the film was made during the infancy stage of the motion picture industry. It’s the story of man’s ill- fated attempt to make money off of a giant ape, but it’s also an inter- species love story, perfectly blending fantasy, action, and drama, and in one. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
Year: 2. 01. 1Director: David Yates. Purchase: Amazon DVD . Even if you don’t think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was the best of the eight films, it’s hard to dispute the notion that the series mostly got better as it went along.