Best Sci-Fi / Fantasy Films

I thought it was time for a discussion of this genre. What are your favourite science fiction or futuristic films ? I'll widen it to include fantasy films too, Arabian nights, swords and elfs, fairy tales whatever you like.

Anyway here are a few of my favourites in chronological order :

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
King Kong (1933)
Lost Horizon (1937)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Pinocchio (1940)
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Them ! (1954) (giant ants !)
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Star Wars trilogy (1977 - 1983)
E.T. (1982)
Back to the Future (1985)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001 - 2003)

Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Star Wars trilogy (1977 - 1983)
E.T. (1982)
Back to the Future (1985)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001 - 2003)

I like these but haven't heard of many of the other ones.

ET bored the snot out of me. Did I miss something?

The character was racist with big blue eyes. How many people on the Earth (Asians, Africans as well as Europeans) saw that interpretation that somethng with big blue eyes was going to be innocent and caring?

How likely is it an alien is going to come from outer space and have Elton John-Crystal Gayle Blue Eyes?

The movie was banned in some country in Europe because the adults were shown as morons. Did no one else notice that? That was the first thing I noticed about this movie.

And what was the supernatural aspect? Flying bikes?

Margaret Hamilton did FIRST over 40 years ago in the Wizard of Oz in the twister, remember?

I never did understand how this movie became the ultimate sci fi alien film ahead of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

You actually had subject matter in CEotTK. The first thing I said as I watched it was why did Dreyfuss stare at the pillow and the mashed potatoes and I was told to wait and see.

There was nothing like that in ET. Is that why people like it so much? It doesn't require them to think?

But everything in CEotTK, from everyone seeing the first four spaceships (as opposed to Gilligan being the only one to see the ghosts or the Russian spy) to Melinda Dillon's loss of her kid, the abandoned ships and planes in the desert, the five-note musical tune, Teri Garr (how I loved her), and upon seeing it recently, I didn't realize that the family was watching Pinocchio at the beginning then we hear it at the end.

OK. I love E.T. It's in my TOP 5 favourite movies of all time, and has been since I was 8 years old. Not only do I love the movie, I also collect memorabilia from the movie. Anything - books, mugs, toys, whatever. I love it, you hate it, that's fine. I just wanted to go over a few points...

How does E.T. having blue eyes make the movie racist?! So if he had brown eyes, that's OK because non-whites tend to have brown eyes? I doubt anyone analyzed his appearance that deeply. What next? Snow White banned? You say "How likely is it an alien is going to come from outer space and have Elton John-Crystal Gayle Blue Eyes?" Well, how likely is any of the movie supposed to be? It's a sci-fi fantasy film for kids, not a true-to-life documentary.

Adults were "shown as morons" because the story is shown through the eyes of children, who were disappointed and let down by the adults around them.

You say: "And what was the supernatural aspect? Flying bikes? Margaret Hamilton did FIRST over 40 years ago in the Wizard of Oz in the twister, remember?"
So what? Even if they did copy the idea, what does it matter? Ideas from movies are taken all the time, remade into something new. Perhaps it was meant as a kind of tribute to the earlier children's classic, The Wizard Of Oz. Or maybe they didn't think of TWOZ at all.

You say: "Is that why people like it so much? It doesn't require them to think?"
People like it because it's a warm, heartfelt, family film. It's made for kids but people of all ages can enjoy it. And, yes, it does make people think, especially if you're a little kid learning about how to deal with hardships in life, such as divorce or the loss of a loved one. E.T. was made for children and so deals with children's issues. Close Encounters was not.

Sci-fi Films:
1. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
2. Aliens (1986)
3. Star Wars (1977)
4. Return of the Jedi (1983)
5. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
6. The Abyss(1989)
7. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
8. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) (Is that sci-fi or horror? )
10. Alien (1979)

Fantasy Films:
1. Ladyhawke (1985)
2. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2001)
4. The Mummy (1999)
5. Pleasantville (1998)
6. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
7. Labyrinth (1986)
8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2000)
9. Peter Pan (1922?)
10. The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

What on Earth does Snow White being banned have to do with my conclusion that turtle boy ET having blue eyes was discriminatory to any child who doesnt have blue eyes and sees that movie?

Talk about jumping to conclusions.

That is about one of the broadest leaps I have ever read in a disagreeing post I have every typed. Until the words "Snow White must be banned" appears in a post of mine, I'd appreciate you not making such a comparison with an opinion about a completely unrelated film that I have stated.

You want to like ET, fine by me. I'm glad for you. I am smiling from ear to ear at your childhood adoration of ET.

It's the greatest warm, family film full of dazzling magic that enchants children and adults who used to be children. Is that a tear forming in the corner of my eye at the sheer brilliance of ET?

All I'll say and then the final statement where ET is concerned is all yours, is your response has done nothing to change my mind about the film.

I wasn't trying to change your mind about liking the film. That was made clear by my opening statement, saying that if you hate it, that's fine.

But I still don't understand how E.T. having blue eyes is discriminatory against anyone who doesn't have blue eyes! That's just so funny. There are all kinds of people. Blue eyed people, red-haired people, black-haired people, the list goes on. You can't have all those different types in one character to avoid upsetting anyone! What if E.T. had brown eyes? Would you then think that was "discriminating" against people with blue eyes?

Kids have to learn that there are all different types of people. They're not going to throw a fit if they see the alien has different coloured eyes than they do.

It's political-correctness gone mad. The alien has blue eyes! How racist! That's just ridiculous.

Apparently so...

Although I don't think E.T. is the great film some believe it to be, it is, for me, quite a charmer, about a young lad who still believes in Santa Claus, except Santa arrives as a pug-ugly cute alien. There's really nothing further to read into it, IMO. Spielberg was just telling a story about innocence and believing in someone(something)at face value, the way children can and that, as adults, we have extreme difficulty doing(often a good and even essential aspect of experience, but one that also denies us a chance at a renewed sense of wonder).

I would also venture to say it's as close to the greatness of Disney as any non-Disney movie ever came. It has some of that 'magic' that, at the time, the Disney studio sorely lacked(and later, to some degree, recaptured).

Not that E.T. was the topic of this thread, but what the hey....

ED

I tend to stay out of this forum since I spend so much time elsewhere discussing SFF films and TV shows.

But I opened this thread for the first time today and was really surprised to see not one mention of THE MATRIX.

I LOVED that film. And I loved the sequels as well. The first one was the best...but if you are willing to work at figuring out the symbolism behind the second two films, they are great too. I had alot of fun discussing all of the symbolism and allegory of the second two films in particular with all of my scifi geek friends.


Other SFF films I quite enjoy, but which have not been mentioned yet, are:

The Indiana Jones films
Pirates of the Caribbean (both of them)
The Sixth Sense
Dark City - one of my favorite SFF films
12 Monkeys
Gattaca
The Abyss
Independence Day
X-Men

Gah!!! I can't believe that I forgot Independence Day!!

For some reason...maybe it's just me, I always see THE LOST HORIZON as a very realistic film. I mean, isn't it like that in Tibet? Or it should be. Oh well...yes, it's a fantasy, but I don't want it to be! Just wanted to explain why I wouldn't include that one here.

Ok, so....lists again, eh? Just to be, yanno, kinda different, I'm only gonna list pre-1970 faves Oh and I think you raise an excellent point, Melly---such a fine line in some films between sci-fi and horror, and as I made the list, I started to think...hmmmm..is that horror or sci-fi? Oh well, here goes anyway!

METROPOLIS
KING KONG (1933)
TARZAN, THE APE MAN (1932)
FLASH GORDON (serial-1936)
THE INVISIBLE RAY (1936)
THIS ISLAND EARTH
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
GODZILLA (1956)
THEM!
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN
IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE
RED PLANET MARS
THE 27TH DAY
THE MAN FROM PLANET X
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS
FORBIDDEN PLANET
INVADERS FROM MARS (1953)

I'm sure I've missed quite a few I love...but there you go.

Mark

Science fiction:
Mission To Mars (2000) -definately one of my favorite movies ever.
Every Star Wars movie except The Phantom Menace


As far as fantasy goes :

Never Ending Story