For me, the answer has to be 2001: A Space Odyssey.
My dad took me to see it when I was twelve and living at home. He hated it. I loved it, and had never seen anything like it before. It must be the first really well made Science Fiction film. It turned me on to Arthur C. Clarke's writing, and from there science fiction writing in general. It also made me a follower of Stanley Kubrick. It was a perfect match, really. Whether you go back from there, with movies like Dr. Strangelove and Spartacus, or forward through A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut, there is not a bad Kubrick movie, and 2001 was no exception. He probably did more to inspire science fiction film-makers, as he was the first to treat the matter seriously, so much so, it is easy to forget this was a science fiction movie.
I could name lots of others, like Alien, or Dark Star. or Silent Running, or Star Wars, or Blade Runner, all of which were key developments in the genre. But, without Kubrick's 2001, I'm not sure how seriously anybody would have taken these efforts to thrill and entertain, whether (apart from the early film-school ones) they would have had the backing to make films that achieved the success they did.
Over the following decade, I must have watched this movie at the cinema a dozen times, as even after general release it was re-run, and shown at all-nighters. I know of no other film where people would spend time discussing the meaning of the ending. And never being able to come to any conclusion. In hindsight, the end is a bit of a cheesy fudge really - but at the time, it seemed deeply significant. The subsequent films proved it not to be, and were disappointing.
I have no memorabilia, although I do have a copy of the original paperback stored in a garage in London. What I do have are some memories of a film that as indelibly marked an era as did the film "Easy Rider", or the Beatle's "Abbey Road", or the Who's "Who's Next". After Kubrick's 2001, nothing was ever quite the same, and it opened my eyes to things I never dreamed possible, and changed my life in many ways.
The best sci-fi movie I've ever watched is one that I watched in 2042. I can't recall it's name but it was awesome! I think what made it so special was that I was watching a movie about time-travel in the future. You had to be there. It was awesome!
Has to be Starwars back in 1977 I think. This was not only the first sci-fi movie I went to but was probably the first ever movie I went to, which was shown at the Civic Theatre in Auckland. It was an amazing experience with queues out the door and up the street, and at around 11 years of age, the Civic Theatre was a place of fantasy, what with its smoking lions with glowing eyes, and the star dome ceiling. Those opening credits rolling back into the distance of space, then suddenly a space ship flying onto the screen chased by an imperial cruiser was just awesome. I had to have the motion picture sound track and today still have the LP, and also a complete set of stickers that I think were issued with Popsicle iceblocks at the time.
Depth, this isn't just a tale set against a backdrop this is a world, now this claim is made of many movies in the genre but Blade runner has set the standard for immersion that others have since merely hoped to emulate.
A world so detailed that it repeatedly rewards the observant, not the thin façades of a Lucas offering. This world is evolved from the DNA up over time, not squirted out of some futuristic play doh oven. The re-watch factor is huge, every one will deliver another little facet or nuance you missed earlier, either in the seemingly insignificant or in some subtlety of the dialogue.
It's a film that has improved with age to develop a religious following, Amen. And this was a flop at initial release, that transition only happens in the case of greatness. The memes from this film have grown their own memes. I pity the inverted turtle that can't see it.
I could go on for hours really, but Ill give you the clincher...Phillip K Dick.
You only need the first four pdfs for the car and diorama, although the last two Japanese ones give some construction instruction.
My other picks for a few worthwhile sci-fi movies . THX1138, Alien, T2 Judgement day, Forbidden Planet, Invasion of the body snatchers, The Matrix, The Andromeda Strain, A Clockwork Orange,The Mist
Alien. One of the most well balanced atmosphere/content/sci-fi films out there in my mind. Blew me away when I saw it as a kid and again when I re-watched it relatively recently.
Has to be Planet of the Apes the original movie as that's the first SCIFI movie I ever remember going to see when I was a kid
it was first made in 1968 and stared Charlton Heston
But unfortunately I did not get to see it until 1976 when it came to Tolaga Bay and was played in the old Reynolds Hall and cost me all of $0.25c to get in and was the beginning of my love of SCIFI movies
A close second would have to be Logan's Run Saw the Movie and was rivited by the TV show too
I first watched it when I was 10. That one scene where Kevin is broken down into a bit stream just stuck in my mind forever. I forgot the name of the movie over the years, but that scene just stuck. Finally, just over a decade later, I happened upon a discussion about this exact scene on the interwebs, got the movie name from it, saw Tron again and it was the best time I have had watching a sci-fi movie, ever.
And then they remade it, and that was cool too, because I was at SIGGRAPH for a behind the scenes look at the gfx tech that went into making it. Of course, I saw the remake too, but the original will always be just that much better.
Additionally, Spaceballs, and Hardware Wars (the Wookie Monster gets me every time...)
The ones I've considered worth purchasing on DVD for future re-viewings include: Blade Runner Alien ET Star Wars 4,5,6 Pitch Black The Fifth Element (I also own, in book form, The Fifth Elephant) Flash Gordon (Flash, Aaaaaahh!) Predator The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Probably others, I'm not including comic book type ones like X-Men
How has anyone not mentioned the original kiwi Sci Fi splatterfest - Bad Taste! I watched that soooo many times as a teenager! "The head-shot's the only true stopper, Barry!", "Aren't I lucky, I got a chunky bit!"
I was introduced to science fiction via Robert Heinlein's books as a 10 year old! Followed closely by Arthur C Clarke and Asimov.
My early Sci-Fi movies:?
The original Planet of the Apes
Fantastic Voyage
2001: A space odyssey
Star Wars - i was 20, living away from home - saw it 3 times in one week borrowing friend's children to authenticise my passion
Back to the Future
Stargate - I remember telling someone that finally they'd figured out where the pyramids came from
I like quirky stories and anything that will stretch my belief and that is just plain fun to watch:
Serenity?
Wing Commander
The Fifth Element - just rewatched this one as well as Surrogates
Matrix
Star Trek (2009)
Alas all movie memorabilia belongs to my kids ...
HA I'd completely forgotten about The Fantastic Voyage where they shrink humans in a sub and inject them into a human body where they need to fix a brain and avoid the white corpuscles like the plague
Although it departed from the books in a manner that drives fans to apoplexy, Dune (the 1984 version) with Kyle Maclachlan as Paul Atreides has always been my Fave. I was a kid when this came out and thought the worm riding and wierding modules were awesome.
Watching it many times again since, I now recognise Patrick Stewart, Dean Stockwell, Max Von Sydow, Yurgen Prochnow, Virgina Madsen, Sean Young and of course Sting as Feyd Rautha.
The entire Dune series of books is my favourite series of books ever. Space Opera at it's best. This has probably swayed my choice.
Others to round out my top 5 are 2001, Bladerunner, T2 and The Empire Strikes Back.
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