Sunday, June 02, 2013

Reader Results: The Top Ten Science Fiction Films of All Time


Well, it’s all over except for the crying.  

The votes are counted, and I can now present to you -- drum roll, please -- the readership’s top ten science fiction films of all time.

Before you tab down to the results, I just want to note that, mea culpa, I could have been far more organized at the beginning of this exercise.  

The lists were not in any kind of universal order, so therefore they can’t be weighted (with a number one slot equaling 5 points, a number two rank equaling 3 points, etc.)

In other words, some lists went in chronological order, some lists went in favorite order, and some were completely random. 

So, that said -- for counting purposes -- a vote is a vote is a vote.

When I do my next Reader Top Ten later this month (on Top Ten Sci Fi Shows? On Horror Movies? On Favorite TV character? ) I’ll make certain to specify top to bottom lists, for example, so the results can be weighted.

More important than any of that boiler-plate, however, I want to say how excited and gratified I feel  about the remarkable turnout for this series. I was inundated with lists all through the week, and great lists at that.

My sincerest thanks to -- and admiration for -- everyone who contributed this week.  I always I knew the readership here was brilliant and knowledgeable, but I learned a thing or two (or ten…) this week about SF movies that I really need to see. 

Now, without further ado,

Top Ten Science Fiction Films of All Time As Selected by the Readers

10. Tie:  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

9. Gattaca (1997)

8. Metropolis (1926)

7. Tie:  The Matrix (1999)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

6. Alien (1979)

5. Forbidden Planet (1956)

4. Star Wars (1977)

3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2.   Blade Runner (1982)

and in first place...

         1. Planet of the Apes (1968)


Breaking down the data a bit:

2001: A Space Odyssey appeared in first place on the most lists, six times.  Blade Runner came in first on three lists.  The Day The Earth Stood Still, and Planet of the Apes each came in first place on two lists. 

Metropolis actually beat both of those latter titles by placing first on 3 lists.  Now again, this can’t be indicative of too much, in all likelihood, because some lists were chronological which means that Metropolis would place as first because it was (usually) the earliest film produced in terms of list-worthy films.

In eleventh place was Close Encounters of the Third Kind ((1977), and in twelfth-place was a six way tie between Solaris (1972), Brazil (1985), Soylent Green (1973), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Westworld (1972), and Starship Troopers (1997).

So, what do you think?   Where did we miss the boat?  Where did we get it right? 

Sound off in the comments section below, and please come back in June, when we’ll do another round of Reader Top Ten.

11 comments:

  1. I had no idea that "Planet of the Apes" was so highly regarded until I saw it popping up in the lists all week long. Great to be reminded of some films I haven't seen in a while and to have some new titles to put on the to-watch list. A fun week!

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  2. Anonymous3:33 PM

    A pretty good list, it wouldn't be my list but some of the best films of all time are in that list. Would have liked to have seen Alien be a bit higher up however.

    The biggest honourable mention for me would be...Prometheus, love or hate it, it is one of the most thought provoking and misunderstood films in recent memory and the best sci-fi since Jurassic Park.

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  3. Interesting to see what people's top SF pics are. Cool.

    I saw Planet of the Apes on the big screen last summer for the first time in years. It is an outstanding example of the form, for sure, even though I'm hardly compelled to rank it in among a greater list of films -- I am able to list favourite films but a factor such as 'barometric pressure' can influence my choices as a 'batch', never mind trying to put the titles I come up with in some sort of order.

    That's just me. Again, good to see what others picked as their personal faves.

    I've been meaning to do a blog posting on my re-screening of Apes. I'll make an effort to do so: www.barrysmight.blogspot.ca

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  4. Well I can always send my list again in top to bottom format. :P

    I had a hard time narrowing it down to only ten. There were a number of movies that could have easily made the list.

    All in all a great list of movies!

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  5. Anonymous7:52 PM

    The list is good. Planet Of The Apes(1968) at number one is brilliant. Just made the top ten, at ten, so happy to see two awesome sequels both Empire Strikes Back(1980) &Star Trek:WOK(1982).

    SGB

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  6. So with that all said and done, I figured I’d propose an alternate list of sci-fi (oriented) films that went unmentioned, perhaps because they’re either underrated or generally associated with other genres:

    Predator
    Paprika
    Dune
    Déjà Vu
    Memories
    Lifeforce
    War of the Worlds (2005)
    The Incredible Shrinking Man
    Brainstorm
    Coma
    The Terminal Man
    The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
    Lensman
    Ghost of Mars

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  7. "Blade Runner" in second kind of surprises me. Don't think it is wrong, just didn't expect it that high up on the list, certainly not above, "2001". Always fun to find out what other people like. "Solaris" (1972) can be a bit of chore to get through but if infinitely better than the George Clooney disaster.

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  8. I vote for "Worthy Movies that did not make our cuts" list. Because Lord knows, turns out there were so many classics that we had to leave out. Ultimately I felt really bad about some of the ones I failed to include.

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  9. I was a bit surprised by two things. First, all the love for "Planet of the Apes". It might be because my first viewing was in the 80s during a run of all the apes movies when they came out on VHS. So for me it was just part of a larger story. The one that really stuck me from that viewing was "Escape from the Planet of the Apes", which was so dark that it freaked me out. Well that and seeing Khan running around with a talking ape.

    I didn't revisit "Planet of the Apes" until I heard "The Hunt" from Jerry Goldsmith's excellent soundtrack. This was only a few years ago. I wanted to see how that track worked in the film, and watched it. I thought it held up really well, had some great sequences, and enjoyed it. But I didn't find it a game changer, like so many folks here did. I'm wondering if seeing it so far removed from the original release had something to do with that. On a side note, Goldsmith's score was a game changer - incredibly innovative and amazingly alien yet fit the film perfectly.

    The other thing that surprised me was the lack of one of the most popular recent sci-fi films of the last decade - "Avatar". I thought I'd see it popping up on more lists. Maybe most folks feel like I do about the film - a solid entertaining adventure, but nothing that broke any new ground or even made you think too much afterward. :)

    Looking forward to the next list.

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  10. Cannon - Great to see "Paprika" on someone's list. I love Kon's work, and that one is a real favorite. I had hoped "Inception" would have been half as creative as that flick.

    Kind of surprised about "Lensman". If you're talking about the 1980s anime film, well the version I saw (granted it a many years ago and probably a horrible dub) was really a pastiche of other 80's flicks. It was a lot of fun, and my group of geeks watched a lot, but I'm not sure I'd go so far as saying it was top ten material.

    Whoo Hoo! Someone else enjoys David Lynch's "Dune". I love that flick. I need to pick up the Blu-ray!

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  11. I think the reason why you didn't see AVATAR ranked so highly (or at all) is that compared to other classics of the genre (BLADE RUNNER, 2001), it just doesn't stand up. Like you said, it was solid entertainment, but only groundbreaking in terms of technical merits. I think the real question will be, will AVATAR stand the test of time? Probably not.

    I also surprised to see PLANET OF THE APES ranked so highly over all. From the way the lists were going I was so sure 2001 or BLADE RUNNER would nab top spot. Very interesting.

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