Your top 10 favorite sci fi films before Star Wars

[benbess]

Please list your favorite science fiction movies from *before* 1977.

My list:
1. Sleeper (tie with)
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. The Time Machine (1960)
3. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
5. The War of the Worlds (1953)
6. Planet of the Apes (1968)
7. Logan's Run (1976)
8. Forbidden Planet (1956)
9. When Worlds Collide (1951)
10. Phase IV (1974)

[MechaGodzilla]

I'm one of those people that don't consider Star Wars sci-fi, but I'll still contribute to the thread.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. Solaris (1972)
3. Planet of the Apes (1968)
4. Godzilla (1954)
5. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
6. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
7. The Time Machine (1960)
8. The War of the Worlds (1953)
9. Them! (1954)
10. Forbidden Planet (1956)

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

I'm one of those people that don't consider Star Wars sci-fi, but I'll still contribute to the thread.

Not only is it not sci-fi, but it's basically just "The Hidden Fortress."

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Not only is it not sci-fi, but it's basically just "The Hidden Fortress."

Star Wars is a mixture of fantasy and science fiction, which means it is also science fiction. There are more than enough science fiction elements for it to apply. Genre hybrids are inclusive rather than exclusive.

Star Wars cribs from several films, not just The Hidden Fortress. Other main influences are The Searchers, The Dam Busters and most of all the Flash Gordon serial.

2001
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Andromeda Strain
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Silent Running
The 10th Victim
Village of the Damned
Quatermass and the Pit
An Invention for Destruction (aka The Fabulous World of Jules Verne)
This Island Earth

[octagon]

Oh, I forgot about Silent Running. I'm not sure I can bump anything but it's definitely close.

[JavaJulien]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

Star Wars is a mixture of fantasy and science fiction, which means it is also science fiction. There are more than enough science fiction elements for it to apply. Genre hybrids are inclusive rather than exclusive.

Yep, saying Star Wars isn't Sci-Fi because of the Fantasy elements is like saying Alien isn't because it's also a Horror movie.

[hasslein]

Planet of the Apes
Silent Running
2001
THX 1138
A Boy & his Dog
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
King Kong
Barbarella
Forbidden Planet

[TheBlayman]

2001
20000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Andromeda Strain
The Day the Earth Stood Still
First Men in the Moon
Forbidden Planet
Marooned
Planet of Vampires
Quatermass and the Pit
The Time Machine
The War of the Worlds

[Packerfan75]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

I'm one of those people that don't consider Star Wars sci-fi, but I'll still contribute to the thread.

I'm not trying to argue or debate you, I'm just really confused by this statement. Star Wars has space, spaceships, lasers, futuristic technology and weapons, powers, aliens, etc. There are movies that have less of those than Star Wars does but are still considered sci-fi.
How is Star Wars not sci-fi?

[Astro Zombie]

01. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
02. Planet of the Apes (1968)
03. Death Race 2000 (1975)
04. The War of the Worlds (1953)
05. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
06. King Kong (1933)
07. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
08. Logan's Run (1976)
09. The Invisible Man (1933)
10. Forbidden Planet (1956)

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Packerfan75

I'm not trying to argue or debate you, I'm just really confused by this statement. Star Wars has space, spaceships, lasers, futuristic technology and weapons, powers, etc. There are movies that have less of those than Star Wars does but are still considered sci-fi.
How is Star Wars not sci-fi?

Some people like to distinguish between stories that use science and technology as a backdrop (Star Wars is a shoot 'em up that just happens to be set in space) or a simple plot device (being bitten by an irradiated spider can give you super-powers) and those 'real' science fiction stories that explore science and technology and their ethical implications and the impacts they can have on society and so forth and so on.

I'm happy to say I'm not one of those people. 'Real' sci-fi can be freaking fantastic but so can a lot of the other stuff.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Many people don't seem to realise that a film can belong to more than one genre.

[JavaJulien]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

Many people don't seem to realise that a film can belong to more than one genre.

Boom.

Like I said, Alien is as much of a Horror movie as it is a Sci-Fi one but you rarely see anyone question it's Sci-Fi credentials.

[duggie walker]

2001: A Space Odyssey
Planet of the Apes
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Incredible Shrinking Man (sadly forgotten it would seem)
Village of the Damned
A Clockwork Orange
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Sleeper
Solaris
The Man Who Fell to Earth

And let's not forget Silent Running...

[benbess]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

2001: A Space Odyssey
Planet of the Apes
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Incredible Shrinking Man (sadly forgotten it would seem)
Village of the Damned
A Clockwork Orange
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Sleeper
Solaris
The Man Who Fell to Earth

And let's not forget Silent Running...

I forgot about Sleeper! That's probably number 1 for me. Thanks.

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by Packerfan75

I'm not trying to argue or debate you, I'm just really confused by this statement. Star Wars has space, spaceships, lasers, futuristic technology and weapons, powers, aliens, etc. There are movies that have less of those than Star Wars does but are still considered sci-fi.
How is Star Wars not sci-fi?

Basically what octagon says below:

Originally Posted by octagon

Some people like to distinguish between stories that use science and technology as a backdrop (Star Wars is a shoot 'em up that just happens to be set in space) or a simple plot device (being bitten by an irradiated spider can give you super-powers) and those 'real' science fiction stories that explore science and technology and their ethical implications and the impacts they can have on society and so forth and so on.

I'm happy to say I'm not one of those people. 'Real' sci-fi can be freaking fantastic but so can a lot of the other stuff.

Just generally there isn't much about Star Wars that really feels "sci-fi" to me, while the fantasy element is pretty strong. I've always seen it as fantasy in a futuristic kind of setting. This doesn't mean I look down on SW in any way, I love it, I just categorize it differently from many others.

Of course none of this is an exact science, it's pretty subjective. Most works of fiction that are considered to be one genre have elements of a couple other genres I reckon, and sometimes I'm not sure myself when something is or isn't sci-fi. Get too imaginative and out there with your sci-fi, and eventually it becomes more fantasy than it is any kind of theoretically possible (but improbable) science.

Some people here have suggested Star Wars should be considered fantasy with some sci-fi elements, and sure, why not? I'm not really that anal about genre labeling, in the end it isn't important, what matters is how enjoyable the story is.

[JavaJulien]

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Planet of the Apes
3. Metropolis
4. THX 1138
5. A Clockwork Orange
6. The Day the Earth Stood Still
7. War of the Worlds
8. The Time Machine
9. Trip to the Moon
10. Omega Man

[dommie]

1. The Thing From Another World (1951) - surprised this was not listed yet.
2. Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
4. Them (1954)
5. Planet of the Apes (1968)
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
7. When Worlds Collide (1951)
8. War of the Worlds (1953)
9. The Time Machine (1960)
10. This Island Earth (1955)

Honorable Mention (Just cause I wanted to note these):
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
Invaders From Mars (1953)
Fantastci Voyage (1966)

[Pondosinatra]

Logan's Run
Planet of the Apes
2001
Silent Running
THX-1138

That is all.

[octagon]

Forbidden Planet
The Last Man on Earth
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The War of the Worlds
2001
Frankenstein
Metropolis
The Andromeda Strain
Village of the Damned
World on a Wire

(if you want to boot World on a Wire because it's a mini-series then, I dunno...The Blob or Invasion of the Body Snatchers)