Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Time Out magazine has carried out a  poll of 150 sci-fi filmmakers, sci-fi authors, Nobel Prize-winning scientists, experts and film critics to rank their top 10 favourite sci-fi films of all time to determine a definitive top 100 – and not one of the Top 10 was made in the 21st Century.

Contributors included A Games of Thrones author George RR Martin, world famous novelist Stephen King, fertility expert Sir Robert Winston, The Sky at Night presenter Maggie Aderin Pocock, and leading directors including Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright, Roland Emmerich and Alfonso Cuaron.

The Top 10 are:

1.     2001: A Space Odyssey

2.     Blade Runner

3.     Alien

4.     Close Encounters of the Third Kind

5.     Aliens

6.     Star Wars

7.     Brazil

8.     Metropolis

9.     The Terminator

10.   The Empire Strikes Back

“Sci-fi continues to be one of the most visually creative, intellectually-challenging and boundary-pushing genres in film”, Dave Calhoun, Global Film Editor of Time Out notes. “By asking such a varied range of experts from the fields of science, literature and cinema to take part, we have been able to compile an incredibly diverse list that includes lesser-known gems alongside cult classics and recent hits such as Gravity and Her. Time Out’s definitive list shows great sci-fi needs visionary storytelling at its heart, with generation-defining classics making more appearances than effects-laden, box-office pleasers.”

Duncan Jones’ 2009 movie Moon was the highest rated 21st century film, rated 14th. The highest rated official Star Trek film was Nicholas Meyer’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (44th) although Galaxy Quest was ranked ten places higher. Originals mostly scored higher than remakes – the highest of the latter was the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers at 38th, 12 places behind its original – although John Carpenter’s The Thing (at 12th) was 55 places ahead of the original 1951 piece.

To see the full feature, visit www.timeout.com/sci-fi  or click here just to view the list of the Top 100