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SciFi classics anyone?

StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
in Zocalo v2.0
Since there isn't much on these days in the way of great movies or tv shows, I was thinking about catching up on classic scifi movies. By classic flicks I don't mean the mainstream blockbusters, but more the b-movie category. Usually those that get remakes that totally bomb at the box office. :D

Do you guys have any favorite titles to share (preferably in English, nothing against Godzilla flicks, but my Japanese really sucks)?
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Comments

  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    I liked Titan AE, and I heard Iron Giant was really good.
  • WORFWORF The Burninator
    Serenity
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    Thanx, but I meant older movies, I've seen most of the contemporary mainstream stuff. :)

    Titan AE wasn't too bad, but it didn't get the success it deserved.

    Currently revisiting [I]Invasion of the Body Snatchers[/I] (1956 & 1978).
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    Pretty recent, but The Fountain is a favourite of mine
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    So much for having seen most of the recent stuff. I probably haven't, but I'll look into the Fountain. :D
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I think its very good. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weiz. Not a lot of action in it, but it really got me thinking, so I'll be interested to see what you think of it. It has a very good score too
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    Dark Star was always a good campy one,

    Battle Beyond the Stars, Roger Corman at his bes.. uhh worst

    Silent Running, a brilliant (imho) film that makes you want to celebrate Arbor Day.

    The Last Starfighter, Enemy Mine, Ice Pirates, and if you are in a fantasy mood, Dragonslayer.
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Plan 9 from Outer Space!

    More recent, but you might not have seen it, is Primer.
  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    The Day of the Triffids is pretty cool. Star Wars is also pretty cool.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I heard the latest remake of Day of the Triffids was aweful
  • WORFWORF The Burninator
    It was!

    Managed to survive 40 minutes before turning it off.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    Ah yes, that would be where I heard it :p
  • PSI-KILLERPSI-KILLER Needs help
    [url]http://www.filmsandtv.com/genre.php?gs=1970Sci-Fi&pg=2[/url]

    cool database, I remembr one in the 70's with underwater pryamids, UFOS and hot girls in tight outfits but i can't remember the title of it now.
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    [QUOTE=Messiah;186472]Star Wars is also pretty cool.[/QUOTE]

    Never heard of it. Wasn't that Uwe Boll's first attempt at film making? :D

    [QUOTE=PSI-KILLER;186477][url]http://www.filmsandtv.com/genre.php?gs=1970Sci-Fi&pg=2[/url]

    cool database, I remembr one in the 70's with underwater pryamids, UFOS and hot girls in tight outfits but i can't remember the title of it now.[/QUOTE]

    That's more like it... might be worth doing some research on this just to figure out the title. ;)

    I'll check out some of those mentioned. I've seen some of them before, but they might be worth revisiting.

    [I]The Black Hole[/I] is one I haven't seen in a long time. Can't remember if it's any good, but then it's a Disney production.
  • WORFWORF The Burninator
    There was a movie I saw a long time ago, I can't remember the title unfortunately.

    It was basically this fantasy movie with knights from two castles fighting. Then during their war, aliens attack, so they stop their war and take on the invaders instead.

    It's not Krull. This was a comedy.
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    I love Krull, lol
  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    While is not very old, [url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462465/]Outlander[/url] is actually prey cool.

    SD: I havent seen the remake, fortunately.

    Stingray: The Black Hole is pretty bad from what I remember..
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I saw Outlander in the shops the other day actually, and I admit that while I didnt buy it at the time, I am intrigued enough to consider getting it in the future.

    As for The Black Hole, the best thing about it was the score, which was very atmospheric as I recall
  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    My dads apple keyboard sucks. The t-button especially..
  • FreejackFreejack Jake the Not-so-Wise
    While it may be more mainstream than you are talking about any re-viewing of classic sci-fi requires you to watch [i]2001[/i] again. Its available on Blu-Ray (which I received for Christmas; unfortunate, given the fact I do not own a Blu-ray player).

    And just for grits and shins, watch [i]2010[/i] afterward, if just to see Roy Schneider and the Leonov doing its aero-braking maneuver.

    For classic dystopian future sci-fi there is
    [i]Logan's Run, the Running Man[/i] or [i]THX1138[/i]

    When Messiah mentioned [i]Outlander[/i], I thought he was talking about the '81 Sean Connery movie [URL="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082869/"]Outland[/URL], which was another of the kinda-ok sci-fi that came out after the success of Star Wars.

    Hrm, others? Aways fun to go back and watch the original Transformer animated movie. SpaceBalls is worth revisiting too.

    Don't forget Buckaroo Banzai!

    Jake
  • FreejackFreejack Jake the Not-so-Wise
    Oh, and I forgot about some fantasy movies to go back and watch:

    The Dark Crystal
    Labyrinth
    The Neverending Story

    Jake
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    UGH, neverending story, what a gawd awful book to movie translation. Read the book, it's MUCH better.

    but Labyrinth and Dark Crystal area lways fun to re-watch!

    And we just re-watched 2001 and 2010 recently, love those movies.
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    I prefer 2010 to 2001. The dialogue and action sequences are a lot richer. 2001 is too deep for its own good, even though it does a great job at translating the vastness of space.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I used to hate watching the neverending story...gave me the creeps
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    [QUOTE=Biggles;186470]More recent, but you might not have seen it, is Primer.[/QUOTE]

    [URL="http://xkcd.com/657/"]Speaking of which...[/URL] Primer is one of the few movies which managed to have the group I was watching it with break out a whiteboard and start drawing character timelines. It's...complex. Perhaps needlessly so, but it was still fun to try.

    [QUOTE=Stingray;186531]I prefer 2010 to 2001. The dialogue and action sequences are a lot richer. 2001 is too deep for its own good, even though it does a great job at translating the vastness of space.[/QUOTE]

    Contrary to what some people will likely say, I agree. 2001 is a deep, subversively dark science fiction film, but it's genuinely difficult to take in under any traditional viewing. it's an open-ended Kubrick film with a conclusion left up to the audience. This isn't to say 2001 is anything even remotely bad (nothing of the sort, it's one of my favorite films of all time!), but that for some viewers the pacing is extremely sluggish and the plot developments often shrouded by other (already subtle) actions. I do much prefer 2010, largely because of its narrative style. The pacing is more natural, the crisis back at home feels more urgent. As a film sequence the two work together extremely well, though do so by playing their cards in a completely different way.

    The Black Hole is a soft-serious movie brought to cheese by some silly robots. The rough concept is fairly dark, but the plot doesn't feel as serious due to their presence. But the score is still awesome. And it's fun.

    I'm also going to push TRON out as a new-classic that commands serious attention. It's nothing truly remarkable, but it just happens to possess the correct mix of ingredients to make a satisfying science fiction movie.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I too prefer 2010, for many of the reasons you've stated Sanfam, but I also really enjoy Roy Scheider's performance. Actually I really enjoy most of his work, especially seaquest, but he is perfect for Heywood Floyd in 2010
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    [QUOTE=Biggles;186470]Plan 9 from Outer Space![/QUOTE]

    One word used to describe this movie was "dreadful." I'm not sure that's what I am looking for. :D

    [QUOTE]More recent, but you might not have seen it, is Primer.[/QUOTE]

    Sounds like a homework assignment to me. Correct me if I'm wrong but if a scifi movie becomes too scientific, doesn't it stop being a piece of fiction?
  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    Well, if youre gonna have to push TRON (which is awesome), Im gonna push Blade Runner. More awesome than that, it does not get. I have no idea how much it brought in at the movies, but from what I remember, it wasnt that much..
  • JackNJackN <font color=#99FF99>Lightwave Alien</font>
    Cheesy B SciFi... : Angry Red Planet and The Blob.

    Classic SciFi... : 5 Million Years to Earth, War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and When Worlds Collide. I guess you could say Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still also, but I never got into these like the others I listed.

    And actually, for some reason I like the recent remake of TDTESS better. Go figure...
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    [QUOTE=Sanfam;186536]Primer is one of the few movies which managed to have the group I was watching it with break out a whiteboard and start drawing character timelines. It's...complex. Perhaps needlessly so, but it was still fun to try.[/quote]

    [url]http://neuwanstein.fw.hu/primer_timeline.html[/url] (Spoilers!)

    [QUOTE=Stingray;186539]One word used to describe this movie was "dreadful." I'm not sure that's what I am looking for. :D[/quote]

    That's what makes it such a great movie. You can't get that bad without really trying.

    [quote]Sounds like a homework assignment to me. Correct me if I'm wrong but if a scifi movie becomes too scientific, doesn't it stop being a piece of fiction?[/QUOTE]

    Well, first of all, I think you are wrong: if the story is not true (and it's not based on a true story) then no matter how many facts are used, it's still fiction.

    And secondly, there's not much science in Primer.
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