There are no limits when it comes to hard sci-fi. The following movies are proof of the essence of the genre, which allows us to see the inexplicable.

We took a trip through decades of the genre and came up with a list of the most important and best hard science fiction movies of all time. They are the essence and the foundations of the book of sci-fi rules that’s still being written as we, the audience, become much more self-aware of our relationship with technology, the future, and whatever those two will bring.

  • mrnarwall@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 year ago

    Okay, your comment is at the top, so here is my take on the list:

    There is a lot of overlap on this list and other “best (whatever) scifi” that pop up every so often. Yes Blade Runner was iconic and influential, but I already knew that.

    • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) | Good start. great visuals. lacks some context in the ending that are half explained in interviews and such. Personally, I like the book’s take on it more.
    • Interstellar (2014) | A Nolan film. Also great visuals. This is one of the first movies I saw that somewhat accurately portrays what black holes are supposed to look like. It has a bunch of scenes where space or relativity or physics, etc, things are explained to experts that should already know what is being said. It works to get that info the viewer, but I found it a bit jarring
    • Gattaca (1997) | Anything produced by Danny DeVito (yes that one) gets my money. This is a big “What If” movie where the question is “In a world where most everyone can select the genetic makeup for their children, how does someone born naturally fit in and live?”.
    • Solaris (1972) | Never seen it, but I’ve heard good things. I tried to watch the remake with George Clooney, but I couldnt get in to it.
    • Ex Machina (2015) | Great movie on the idea of an actual concept call the “Turing test”. I will point out there are some trigger warnings
    • Coherence (2013) | never seen it. I added it to my list
    • Sunshine (2007) | I couldnt get in to this one. It may be because I just wasnt in the mood for some hard space scifi (They are trying to re-start the sun, how cool does that sounds?), or it could be because of the content. I’ve heard of a lot of people liking it, so check it out if it sounds interesting to you.
    • Primer (2004) | This is a great take on how suddenly having the ability to time travel might affect someone. There are some nested time line stuff that could be hard to follow, but overall great
    • Stalker (1979) | Haven’t seen. it sounds intriguing though
    • Gravity (2013) | This is science fiction in the sense that this story is fictional and takes place in space. Without being a nasa expert, everything seems to be within today’s level of technology. You could think of it as a disaster movie, but set in space. Overall fun, but in a different way than some of the other movies on this list
    • THX 1138 (1971) | I hated this movie. I find it derivative of Ayn Rand’s Anthem, or Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451. Those books, plus THX 1138 feature a protagonist who is a cog in their own dystopia who breaks free and goes on a massive escape, eventually finding that the world is not as destroyed as they were told to believe. I felt like it suffered from all the same criticisms that George Lucas was given during the original star wars trilogy, but without anyone to refine his idea into something more unique or appealing.
    • Ad Astra (2019) | Great visuals, boring story about a man who cant move on from his deadbeat dad
    • Contact (1997) | Carl Sagan’s story about humanity being contacted by an alien race and given further instructions. It does an interesting exploration of science vs faith when confronted by aliens
    • The Martian (2015) | Silly space action where a botanist figures out how survive on Mars and contact Nasa who have no idea that he is alive
    • Blade Runner (1982) | Humans have created manufactured clone robot people. they dont like being slaves by default and revolt. Now they are hunted to extinction. Harrison Ford is the type of officer assigned with tracking down some on Earth. Amazing visuals, weird narrative. There are like, 5 different cuts of this movie and I dont find any of them particularly good. I like the sequel more.
    • voluble@lemmy.world
      1·
      1 year ago

      Sounds like you’re interested in sci-fi movies with a deeper philosophical story to tell. For that reason, definitely watch Tarkovsky’s Solaris. From what I understand, it bears literally no resemblance to the ‘remake’.

      I know Stalker often gets put in the sci-fi category, but I’m not sure it will satisfy someone setting out with typical expectations of the genre. It’s a great film though, and the dream sequences are peerless in film history.

      Tarkovsky’s films very much run against the grain of Western cinema - they are often experimentally slow, to offer an extended exploration of a philosophical or aesthetic idea. They’re extremely strange and unique movies. I would say, essential viewing, when you have the time and mindset to be taken on a journey that at times will feel painful. Though, I think that’s Tarkovsky’s intent to some degree.