Greatest Science Fiction Films

50 Greatest Science Fiction
Films of All-Time



The 50 Greatest Science Fiction Films of All-Time

  • Science Fiction Films are often quasi-scientific, visionary, comic-strip like and imaginative - and usually visualized through fanciful, imaginative settings, expert film production design, advanced technology gadgets (i.e., robots and spaceships, futuristic weapons), scientific developments, or by fantastic special effects. They are sometimes an offshoot of the more mystical fantasy films (or superhero films), or they share some similarities with action/adventure films. Science fiction often expresses the potential of technology to destroy humankind and easily overlaps with horror films, particularly when technology or alien life forms become malevolent, as in the "Atomic Age" of sci-fi films in the 1950s. Science-Fiction sub-categories abound: apocalyptic or dystopic, space-opera, futuristic noirs, speculative, etc.

    Sci-fi films are complete with heroes, distant planets, impossible quests, aliens or androids (extra-terrestrials), mutants or giant and extraordinary monsters ('things or creatures from space'), improbable settings, fantastic places, dystopic (apocalyptic or post-holocaust) worlds, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology and gizmos, nightmarish and unreal worlds, pandemics, climate disasters or plagues, and unknown or inexplicable forces either created by mad scientists or by nuclear havoc. Many SF films feature interstellar or time travels and fantastic journeys, and are set either on Earth, into outer space, or (most often) into the future time. Quite a few examples of science-fiction cinema owe their origins to writers Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.


Introduction to Science Fiction

Sci-Fi & Creature Features of the Mid-20th Century (the 1950s)


Greatest Sci-Fi Films
50 Greatest Science Fiction Films of All-Time

Filmsite's Greatest Science Fiction Films
(chronological order, unranked)
The linked titles below refer to reviews (with screenshots) in the "Greatest Moments and Scenes" section of the site

Le Voyage Dans La Lune (1902, Fr.) (A Trip to the Moon)

Metropolis (1927, Germ.)

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

The Thing (From Another World) (1951)

It Came From Outer Space (1953)

The War of the Worlds (1953)

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

The Time Machine (1960)

La Jetée (1962, Fr.) (aka The Jetty, or The Pier)

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, UK)

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

A Clockwork Orange (1971, UK)

Silent Running (1972)

Soylent Green (1973)

The Stepford Wives (1975)

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976, UK)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Star Wars (1977) (aka Episode IV: A New Hope)

Alien (1979)

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Escape From New York (1981)

Blade Runner (1982)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

The Thing (1982)

Repo Man (1984)

Starman (1984)

Brazil (1985, UK)

Cocoon (1985)

RoboCop (1987)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Twelve Monkeys (1995) (aka 12 Monkeys)

Contact (1997)

Gattaca (1997)

Dark City (1998)

The Matrix (1999)

Minority Report (2002)

Children of Men (2006)

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

The Dark Knight (2008)

Avatar (2009)

District 9 (2009, US/NZ/Can./S.Afr.)

Moon (2009, UK)

Inception (2010)

Interstellar (2014)

Ex Machina (2015, UK)

Arrival (2016)


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