Scalzi's Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies

Matt Arnold

October 19, 2005

Take "The Canon" out of John Scalzi's Rough Guide to sci-fi movies (or as he describes it, "the 50 science fiction films you have to see before you die") and bold the movies you've seen. Snarky commentary is also part of the meme, and I have put in italics movies that I've seen parts of but have never watched all the way through. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Akira (One of my favorite anime films, but don't see it if you're the queasy type.) Alien Aliens Alphaville Back to the Future Blade Runner (Good science fiction) Brazil Bride of Frankenstein Brother From Another Planet A Clockwork Orange Close Encounters of the Third Kind Contact (Good science fiction) The Damned Destination Moon The Day The Earth Stood Still Delicatessen Escape From New York ET: The Extraterrestrial Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers (serial) The Fly (1985 version) Forbidden Planet Ghost in the Shell (Good science fiction) Gojira/Godzilla The Incredibles Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version) Jurassic Park Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior The Matrix Metropolis (I've only seen the Anime remake... assuming it was a remake.) On the Beach Planet of the Apes (1968 version) Robocop Sleeper Solaris (1972 version) (I've only seen the new version.) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back The Stepford Wives Superman Terminator 2: Judgement Day The Thing From Another World Things to Come Tron 12 Monkeys (Good movie) 28 Days Later 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 2001: A Space Odyssey (Good science fiction) La Voyage Dans la Lune War of the Worlds (1953 version) There are two kinds of science fiction films. The most common is thoughtless and implausible fantasy, succeeding only on eye-candy, special effects, and merchandising for kiddies. The second kind is intelligent and literary. I particularly enjoyed AI: Artificial Intelligence, for instance. Andrew Niccol is the screenwriter and director of three of the finest of these: GATTACA, The Truman Show, and SIM0NE. SIM0NE was the weakest of the three but I don't see a better film in nine-tenths of the above list. Consider also Charlie Kaufman, who wrote Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is a quality work of thoughtful and challenging science fiction if ever one has been filmed. Ponder the fact that there is not even one film by Andrew Niccol or Charlie Kaufman on this list. Ponder it I say. Make of that what you will. If you remove the three best films from the above list (Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Masamune Shirow's Ghost In the Shell, and Carl Sagan's Contact), and weigh the entire remainder against the combined masterpieces of Niccol and Kaufman, Niccol and Kaufman are worth more. Notice in this discussion I have named entirely writers (or writer/directors). The directors, such as Stanley Kubrick, deserve credit as well for bringing these visions faithfully to life. See my science fiction and futurics web page, Suspension of Belief.

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