Sci-Fi recommendations?

Hey y'all.

first post here. Im a pretty big fan of sci-fi films, but being only 17, i've had trouble finding good ones lately. Yes, i've pretty much seen all the blockbusters in the past 6 or 7 years, and i've seen some lower-key ones such as serenity and event horizon.

I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions for sci fi movies, preferably in the 90s or 80s? thanks.

1979's The Black Hole. The acting is a little wooden and the script leaves something to be desired, but it's ambitious, it looks fantastic and has a glorious score by John Barry. I think it was just added to TCM's roster of movies. Stars Anthony Perkins, Maximilian Shell, voice of Roddy McDowell and others.

The Day the Earth Stood Still. Original Ray Wise version, NOT the upcoming remake with Keanu Reeves. A great tale of paranoia from 1951. It's a message movie about understanding and communication. One of the best sci fi films ever made.

Alien. Technically, it could also be labeled a horror film, but it takes place in the future, in space and with advanced technology. Makes it sci fi to me. Anyway, worlds better than anything in the franchise which followed it because of the small cast, claustrophobic feel and the way tension mounts with each passing scene.

Contact. Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughy is what is a terribly underrated sci fi film. It's not splashy or full of special effects it's full of ideas. And it's Jodie Foster.

The Abyss. AI: Artificial Intelligence. Minority Report. The Fountain. Deep Impact. I could keep going and going.

Jason

Dark City has been a recent cult classic. Roger Ebert voted it the best film of 1998. Be sure to see Equilibrium if you haven't already. Another cult classic is 1985's The Quiet Earth from New Zealand. My favorite films are post-apocalyptic-last-person-on-earth flicks and The Quiet Earth certainly fits that bill, being more psychological than big budget. It was recently released on DVD here in the states. I couldn't help thinking about that movie and 28 Days Later when I saw the trailers for I am Legend. Also, a movie that surprised me in being much better than I thought it would be was 1971's The Andromeda Strain. A riveting film.

[Post edited by Steamwalker on Nov 8, 2007]

2001
Alien
Aliens
Star Wars (original trilogy)
Star Trek II
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Contact
Blade Runner
E.T.
A Clockwork Orange
The Matrix
The Terminator
Terminator 2
Independence Day
Starship Troopers
The Thing (1982)
Tron
12 Monkeys
The Abyss
The Fly (1986)
Total Recall
Among others

John

John,

You got so many on there I completely blanked on. I guess that's what I get for trying to get all artsy-ish and obscure.

Jason

Saturn 3

And Logan's Run, another Farrah Fawcett classic.

Tron
Stargate -the MOVIE, not TV!
Babylon 5 TV series
Bladerunner



AVOID the ice pirates 1 of only 2 movies that I walked out of+
AVOID an inconvenient truth (pure SF)

[Post edited by mra on Nov 8, 2007]

Just from 80s/90s:


Brazil
12 Monkeys
Escape from New York
They Live
Videodrome
The Last Battle (Besson)
The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai across the 8th Dimension
The Fly (Cronenberg)
Naked Lunch
Bad Taste (Peter Jackson)
Mars Attacks!
The Abyss
The Brother from Another Planet
Altered States

[Post edited by csjlong on Nov 9, 2007]

"AVOID an inconvenient truth (pure SF)" --MRA

Now, that's cute!

But even Mr. Bush has now conceded that global warming is a fact and that humans are causing it. He's just not willing to do anything about it.

Chris, good choices. I was trying to keep mine more in the traditional sci-fi line and not get too far into fantasy or horror. Otherwise, I'd say "The Bride of Frankenstein" is one of my favorites.

John