Since the subject of science fiction movies has come up, I thought I'd offer
my picks. But first, a word about my taxonomy of science fiction generally.
I divide science fiction into three broad categories, with most works
bridging multiple categories. These are:
<> "Science" science fiction. Here the science is often "the point" of the
story or movie. My standards for getting the science and technology right
are highest with this category, and I can be more forgiving of lapses in
plot, dialogue or characterization if this criteria is met.
<> "Social" science fiction. Here the main interest is with question of
society's adaptation to new science or technology or simply the working out
of social issues into the future or in some alternative setting. I can be
more flexible on a creator's use of questionable scientific or technological
projections in the latter case.
<> "Action/Adventure" science fiction. In this category a good story is
the point and I can be fairly forgiving of "bad" science and technology in
proportion to how good the story or how interesting the characters are.
Now, since the subject of ranking "best SF movies" is on the plate, here's my
picks by category:
Science SF: Without a doubt "2001: A Space Odyssey" is the numero uno
all-time greatest. In fact, a good argument can be made that it may be the
ONLY truly decent "Science SF" movie ever made.
Social SF: There are actually a good number of good "Social SF" movies. I'd
probably vote for "Blade Runner" as best in this class on over-all style
points, but many other good ones come to mind, from "Metropolis" through
"Zardoz" and "Clockwork Orange" to the recent spate of "VR" movies such as
"The Thirteenth Floor", "The Truman Show", and "Being John Malkovitch"
Action/Adventure SF: I vote for a two-way tie between "Alien/Aliens" and
"T1/T2", with "The Matrix" as an honorable mention. This category is choked
with truly terrible movies, however, and separating the wheat from the chaff
is a big job - but somebody's gotta do it :-)
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
ICQ # 61112550
"We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know
enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another
question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species."
-- Desmond Morris
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