John Scalzi sez, "You may recall that last August you guys linked to my request for people to offer up suggestions for the most significant science fiction films, for a book I was writing on the subject. Well, now the book (The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies) is out, and that book includes The Canon: The 50 most notable science fiction films in the history of cinema. Each of the selections represents some important aspect of the Science Fiction film experience, and the films in the Canon range from the obvious (Star Wars) to the somewhat obscure (The Damned), and in time from 1902 (La Voyage Dans la Lune) to 2004 (The Incredibles). The entire Canon list is up on my site.
"A number of the films in The Canon came out of suggestions from Boing Boing readers and others (The Damned being a fine example of that), so I thought they might be interested in seeing their efforts paid off. Note that I don't expect everyone to agree with all my Canonical choices (I would be disappointed if they did), but this list is a good jumping off point for further discussion and debate and exhibition of sf film knowledge. Let the sniping begin!"
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension!; Akira; Alien; Aliens; Alphaville; Back to the Future; Blade Runner; Brazil; Bride of Frankenstein; Brother From Another Planet; A Clockwork Orange; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Contact; The Damned; Destination Moon; The Day The Earth Stood Still; Delicatessen; Escape From New York; ET: The Extraterrestrial; Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers (serial); The Fly (1985 version); Forbidden Planet; Ghost in the Shell; Gojira/Godzilla; The Incredibles; Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version); Jurassic Park; Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior; The Matrix; Metropolis; On the Beach; Planet of the Apes (1968 version); Robocop; Sleeper; Solaris (1972 version); Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope; Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back; The Stepford Wives; Superman; Terminator 2: Judgement Day; The Thing From Another World; Things to Come; Tron; 12 Monkeys; 28 Days Later; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; 2001: A Space Odyssey; La Voyage Dans la Lune; War of the Worlds (1953 version)
(Thanks, John!)
