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For one, where do you start? To understand where sci-fi films came from, you need to head back to the dawn of the cinema age. Then along came War of the Worlds , a gripping tale of alien invasion adapted from H. In , Dr. Strangelove did more than most films before or since to ossify the fear of a nuclear holocaust. Then, in , perhaps the most influential sci-fi film of them all: A Space Odyssey. Say no more. This is our ever evolving selection of the sci-fi movies everyone should watch, starting with something a little obscure but hugely influential.

You may also enjoy our guides to best sci-fi books of all time and the best space movies. This short film, composed only of black and white photos and background narration, inspired 12 Monkeys , another sci-fi classic that's also in our list. In the aftermath of World War III, scientists invent time travel in the hope that they can send a person back to change the present. A man, imprisoned underground in post-apocalyptic Paris, has vague memories of a woman on a pier, and witnessing a murder as a child.

The scientists choose him, and his memories turn out to be key to his time travel. Buy on Amazon. Alex, played by Malcolm McDowell, is a teenage delinquent with a fetish for classical music and violence. The Andromeda Strain was one of the first commercial films to use advanced computerised effects, and scientists have since described the level of detail as remarkably accurate. Andrei Tarkovsky, the writer and director, set out to bring emotional feeling and depth to the genre of sci-fi, something which has served as an inspiration for current sci-fi hits like Arrival and Gravity.

A remake, starring George Clooney, was less well received. Westworld the film is far less cerebral and far more weird than the recent Anthony Hopkins-driven TV series. Fear the steely-eyed robot Yul Brynner! Maintained by a computer, this is the optimal way to maintain the resources for everyone involved, until glitches in the system reveals that there might be another way for people to stay alive past the optimal age.

A brilliant, committed scientist develops Proteus IV an intelligent supercomputer , which soon becomes the source of marital problems.

Horror and sci-fi are inexplicably intertwined in this late 70s thriller, although it had mixed reviews upon its release. This is more than naive wonder and whimsy at the prospect of visitors from another planet — as seen in the slow pacing, the spectre of "sunburn", Roy Neary's relationship with his family and the mystery of Claude Lacombe's program. The effects are stunning for a film released in and the musical notes used to communicate with the UFOs are a stroke of genius from John Williams.

The film follows three men — a writer, a scientist and a guide — into The Zone, a treacherous wasteland that confuses and confounds all who enter it. At almost three hours long, and very much in Russian, Stalker isn't so much entertaining as transfixing thanks to those long, long Tarkovsky shots. Directed by sci-fi pioneer Ridley Scott, Alien follows the crew of a commercial space ship, who encounter Alien, a deadly creature that leaves a trail of death and destruction in its wake.

Based on noted scientist John C. An unlikely entry, this science horror film is about a group of people who want to take over the world — renegade scanners, who are people with telekinetic and telepathic abilities.

Set in Los Angeles, , Rick Deckard is one of the titular blade runners — someone who tracks down replicants, which are unnatural, bioengineered beings, and kills them. He is sent on a mission to find four who are on Earth illegally, and to administer a test — the Voigt-Kampff test — which is supposed to distinguish replicants from humans.

John Carpenter. Kurt Russell. The Thing is one of those sci-fi horror classics that was panned by critics when it was first released but gets better and better with repeat viewings.

The tension ramps up and up as the scientists, quarantined in a remote research station, descend into paranoia trying to take down the ancient, shape-shifting and delightfully gross alien they've disturbed. The basic plot is recognisable - an alien, E.

Where E. Tron did in the 80s what The Matrix did in the 90s. At a time when special effects were often more miss than hit, it put on a dazzling display of technical wizardry.

In the simplest terms, Tron is an action adventure film starring Jeff Bridges as a computer programmer trapped inside a funky world of software. More than that, Tron is a film about what it means to be human — albeit one heavily disguised by a stylish, computeristic wonderscape. This film was a landmark moment in computer animation, but also ossified ideas and themes that still fascinate sci-fi fans and auters to this day.

A cyborg assassin is sent from the year to the year to kill a woman whose son could be the saviour in a post apocalyptic future. Its relentless, violent pace evened out what could be a cheesy script, and it went on to become a vital piece of pop culture. Directed by Terry Gilliam, Brazil is a grandly realised masterpiece of absurdist, dystopian sci-fi.

But soon he becomes infatuated with a political activist and turns into her unwitting accomplice, erratically rebelling against the state — but not for long.

Watching the increasingly disordered world unravel around him alongside his mental state is a true pleasure. As are the fantastical, and oftentimes terrifying, dream sequences that slice through what passes for the day to day reality. An unforgettable watch. Or at least a very Michael J. Fox portrayal of it. Back to the Future Part II , released in , took the somewhat less successful leap to a fanciful The final installment in the trilogy, released in , added a Western spin on a tried-and-tested formula.

The premise of Robocop seems laughable — a police officer is murdered by a gang, and then brought back to life by a mega corporation to patrol the streets as a kind of half cyborg, half police officer, called Robocop.

Akira is credited for popularising anime in the West and this feature film, which is a condensed version of a long-running manga comic, remains one of the most ambitious animated features ever made. It's set in a dystopian Neo-Tokyo, several decades after a massive event destroyed the old city, where gangs, terrorists and religious fanatics vie for control of a corrupt and decaying society.

When Tetsuo, a member of a biker gang, comes into contact with an escaped child from a government lab, he begins to develop incredible psychic powers which he abuses and struggles to control. If you like your sci-fi with B-movie horror undertones, don't skip over John Carpenter's campy late 80s cult classic They Live.

Finding its way into the brains of director Darren Aronofsky, pop punk band Green Day and street artist Shepard Fairey, it follows two down and out construction workers — pro wrestler Roddy Piper and a young Keith David — who find and start wearing sunglasses that show the truth about aliens in human suits and secret propaganda in ads, signs and media on every corner of the city.

Ackroyd and Jane Curtin play the Coneheads, an alien race with big cones for heads. On a recon mission, the pair are stranded on earth, and must raise their daughter and dodge ICE, while waiting for their rescue ship from the planet Remulak. Based on a manga of the same name, Ghost in the Shell is a direct influence on numerous modern sci-fi films, most notably The Matrix.

Set in , it depicts a future where cybernetic technology is widespread and most people have cyberbrain augmentation, which allows them to connect directly to the internet. Top entries this week. Latest Editorial And News. Recent Videos 4. Add a Video. Add an image. Urban Dictionary, Wikipedia. View More Editors. Add a Comment. View More Comments. The latest from KYM. Photo Not Our Problem. Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next.

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