OK, for no particular reason, I'm going to pay homage to my top 5 Sci-Fi movies of all time. In reverse order:
Honorable Mention: Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan
This film was without a doubt the best of the Star Trek movies. After the disaster that was the first Star Trek movie, this film saved the Trek movie franchise. The only down side of the movie was Shatner's horrible rug.
#6: Blade Runner
So, the list is actually the top six - sue me ....
Sci-Fi was the background to an exercise in this thinking man's movie. Lots of action, an intriguing plot line, stunning cinematography and score. I saw different things in this movie each of the 4 or 5 first times I saw it. The only downside, for me, were the endless re-releases with slightly different edits.
#5: The Day The Earth Stood Still
Klaatu scared the piss out of America in a social statement of a movie. This was an artistic expression of the fear that gripped the nation during the expansion of the Cold War, with the spectre of nuclear war hanging over everyone's head. State of the art special effects (for 1951) - even if the saucer was made out of paper mache'. Long live Gort! The only drawback to this movie was the absolutely horrible Keanu Reeves remake.
#4: Alien
More of a outer space horror film than a true Sci-Fi exercise, this 1979 movie scared the crap out of viewers. I made the mistake of reading the book prior to seeing the movie, so my wife said she knew when something was going to happen because I tensed up. That was one scary-ass critter! Downside - the Aliens followup was good, but the final two in the series really went down hill.
#3: The War of the Worlds
The original 1953 release of this movie was an outstanding achievement in Sci-Fi, and special effects. I don't remember the first time I saw this, but I remember being terrified when the critter grabbed her shoulder. Besides, it has cool footage of the XB-49 Flying Wing. I still enjoy watching this movie. The Tom Cruise remake wasn't too bad, but just not the caliber of the original.
#2: Star Wars
This movie was a game changer in the movie industry. I remember the first time I saw it, just after it came out in 1977, at the Campus theater in Denton. My buddy and I went to see it on a Friday evening. The THX intro wow'd us - never heard anything like it before. When the first ship flew past over the planet curve, it was wow - this is great. When the Star Destroyer came over and filled the screen, it was 'holy sh*t'. It looks kind of corny now, but my goodness, when it came out ....
#1: Forbidden Planet
And the winner is ... This 1956 classic still stuns me when I see it on a large screen. Big name stars doing Sci-Fi was unheard of. The heroine's wardrobe pushed the boundaries. The special effects were mind-boggling. The plot was a thrill to experience. I remember seeing this on a b&w TV set with my mom in the mid-60s, and when the Id came through the force field, it was very scary. I had nightmares for quite a while. I am glad they have not redone this movie - there is no way it can be improved on.
Well, sorry if I wasted too many electrons on this, but I do think these are cool movies.
Honorable Mention: Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan
This film was without a doubt the best of the Star Trek movies. After the disaster that was the first Star Trek movie, this film saved the Trek movie franchise. The only down side of the movie was Shatner's horrible rug.
#6: Blade Runner
So, the list is actually the top six - sue me ....
Sci-Fi was the background to an exercise in this thinking man's movie. Lots of action, an intriguing plot line, stunning cinematography and score. I saw different things in this movie each of the 4 or 5 first times I saw it. The only downside, for me, were the endless re-releases with slightly different edits.
#5: The Day The Earth Stood Still
Klaatu scared the piss out of America in a social statement of a movie. This was an artistic expression of the fear that gripped the nation during the expansion of the Cold War, with the spectre of nuclear war hanging over everyone's head. State of the art special effects (for 1951) - even if the saucer was made out of paper mache'. Long live Gort! The only drawback to this movie was the absolutely horrible Keanu Reeves remake.
#4: Alien
More of a outer space horror film than a true Sci-Fi exercise, this 1979 movie scared the crap out of viewers. I made the mistake of reading the book prior to seeing the movie, so my wife said she knew when something was going to happen because I tensed up. That was one scary-ass critter! Downside - the Aliens followup was good, but the final two in the series really went down hill.
#3: The War of the Worlds
The original 1953 release of this movie was an outstanding achievement in Sci-Fi, and special effects. I don't remember the first time I saw this, but I remember being terrified when the critter grabbed her shoulder. Besides, it has cool footage of the XB-49 Flying Wing. I still enjoy watching this movie. The Tom Cruise remake wasn't too bad, but just not the caliber of the original.
#2: Star Wars
This movie was a game changer in the movie industry. I remember the first time I saw it, just after it came out in 1977, at the Campus theater in Denton. My buddy and I went to see it on a Friday evening. The THX intro wow'd us - never heard anything like it before. When the first ship flew past over the planet curve, it was wow - this is great. When the Star Destroyer came over and filled the screen, it was 'holy sh*t'. It looks kind of corny now, but my goodness, when it came out ....
#1: Forbidden Planet
And the winner is ... This 1956 classic still stuns me when I see it on a large screen. Big name stars doing Sci-Fi was unheard of. The heroine's wardrobe pushed the boundaries. The special effects were mind-boggling. The plot was a thrill to experience. I remember seeing this on a b&w TV set with my mom in the mid-60s, and when the Id came through the force field, it was very scary. I had nightmares for quite a while. I am glad they have not redone this movie - there is no way it can be improved on.
Well, sorry if I wasted too many electrons on this, but I do think these are cool movies.
4 comments:
Not the biggest sci-fi fan, but I love Star Wars. I just like the story and the way the movies were done, so you had to have enough brains to connect up the pieces and "back story", I like that.
War of the Worlds, when I finally saw it, was creepy as all get out. I bet back in the day if you went to the theater and saw that you didn't sleep for a week! (The whole Tom Cruise one was awful.)
I'll have to search for your winner. Haven't seen that one at all. Doesn't look bad. Thanks for the list. :)
I guess this falls under RANDOM musings...lol
Random, yes, but incredibly important ... if I just concentrated on Obama, I'd go nuts - there is simply too much to write. Got to have a little fun now and then ...
Forbidden Planet has been kept carefully by its owners over the years. I believe it was just very recently released in high res in a commemorative DVD set. If you have a chance to catch it on TV (the classic movie channels play it now and then), try to see it in HD - it is stunning (especially when you realize it was done in 1956).
I just went and looked and NetFlix says you can put Forbidden Planet on your list. So I hope I'll get to see it.
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