In the very small hours of the morning – so small that I failed to notice it -a new group Top 10 went up at The Film Experience: the eleven-including-a-tie best science-fiction films prior to 1977.
As always, lists are a fun and contentious thing to talk about, so head over there and do so. But for the curious, my abnormally on-consensus ballot went like this:
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – #1 on the TFE list
2. Solaris (1972) – on the TFE list
3. The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) – on the TFE list
4. Fantastic Planet (1973)
5. Metropolis (1927) – on the TFE list
6. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – on the TFE list
7. Forbidden Planet (1956) – on the TFE list
8. Godzilla (1954) – on the TFE list
9. Planet of the Apes (1968) – on the TFE list
10. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – on the TFE list
And the runners-up, chronologically:
When Worlds Collide (1951)
The War of the Worlds (1953)
Them! (1954)
La jetée (1962) – on the TFE list
Alphaville (1965)
This was as terrifying to whittle down as any list we’ve done: between this and its impending sister list, the sheer glut of worthy candidates and the constant terror that I’d forgotten something obvious and brilliant made it almost impossible for me to commit to a final list. Not to mention that “best science-fiction” is not a term that means any one particular thing 100% of the time. So please, tell me what I overlooked!