Best space related films.

[SpookyBR]

Greetings,

this is my first post at SEDS, this topica called my attention.

I was thinking some days ago on the relation between cinema and space and astronomy. I was wondering which is the best astronomy related film, the one that ensembles fidelity to the laws of physics and also brings up philosophical debates with poetic insights and enterteinment. Of course those restrictions doesn't define the quality of a film. Star Wars is a great film but it perverts totally the laws of physics. That's the good thing in art, to know that the infidelity is good and necessary. But if I want to find, for curiosity purposes, the ones that follows the restrictions, the chosen would be the following. I didn't put any Star Trek films, as I find them all hors concours.

I made myself a top 10 list:

10) Trapped in Space - Arthur Alan Seidelman
09) Event Horizon - Paul W. S. Anderson
08) Total Recall - Paul Verhoeven
07) Aliens - James Cameron
06) Alien - Ridley Scott
05) The Day the Earth Stood Still - Robert Wise
04) Contact - Robert Zemeckis
03) The Right Stuff - Philip KaufmanThe Right Stuff - Philip Kaufman
02) Planet of the Apes - Franklin J. Schaffner
01) 2001 - A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick

See ya,
spookybr

[SEDShead]

Excellent topic!

I hadn't even heard of your #10, and unfortunately Netflix doesn't have it :(

I agree with many of your others, although some of your selections are interesting. There's not a whole lot "space" about Aliens, yet there's got to be at least one Star Trek movie that would make the list (Wrath of Khan?); and I'm by no means a Star Trek fan.

While 2001 is a great cinematic movie and "accurate" in many regards, I find it way too slow for my modern lack of attention span.

I'm drawing a blank for ones to add to the list, but I'm sure the other folks here will remind us.

[SpookyBR]

Greetings.

I thought about 'Wrath of Khan' as the top Star Trek films, and it would be the one in my list if I hadn't excluded them.

But those who post their thoughts and lists don't need to exclude Star Trek flicks, as I did. I took the ST films out because I find them all too good, and it would be unfair to the others, as I was trying to think of films that deal with space.

It's very hard to separate films dealing with space and astronomy in a accurate and nice way, as SEDShead told, there's not much space in Aliens, I agree. It's a claustrophobic film indeed, that takes place in space, and maybe that contraposition counts as an interesting poetic effect.

Waiting for more lists and discussions.

See ya,
spookybr:D

[smiley]

FWIW, here are the top-rated Sci-Fi films (http://us.imdb.com/Charts/Votes/sci-fi) as chosen by users on IMDB. Not all are space-related of course. The "bottom 10" sound pretty funny too (candidates for MST3K). "Plan 9 From Outer Space" should be there.

I'd add Apollo 13 to your list.

[K6-III]

Originally posted by smiley
I'd add Apollo 13 to your list.

Amen.

...and perhaps HBO's series: From the Earth to the Moon.

[SpookyBR]

Greetings.

The IMDB list is great, thanks smiley, for posting it.

As you see, I tried to be accurate in separating sci-fi and space related films. ´Metropolis´ or ´12 Monkeys´ are not space related, as well as ´The Right Stuff´ and ´Apollo 13´ are not sci-fi, but historical flicks, and that adds an interesting point to our discussion: the time where we have this strange relation between what was once sci-fi starting in 1902 with ´le voyage das la lune´ and what is a film based in true facts, with less than 100 years of the invention of cinema. But perhaps it´s another subject, or a vain digression. :) Was cinema itself a sci-fi literature theme once?

See ya,
spookybr:D

[coldblue]

FWIW, here are the top-rated Sci-Fi films (http://us.imdb.com/Charts/Votes/sci-fi) as chosen by users on IMDB. Not all are space-related of course. The "bottom 10" sound pretty funny too (candidates for MST3K). "Plan 9 From Outer Space" should be there.

I'd add Apollo 13 to your list.

I saw the list and was wondering how on earth (or any other planet for that matter) the spiderman is a sci-fi movie. :confused: I also think that Stargate is an okay space movie as far as space movies go, but I wouldnt add it to the top ten list...

[SpookyBR]

I saw the list and was wondering how on earth (or any other planet for that matter) the spiderman is a sci-fi movie. :confused: I also think that Stargate is an okay space movie as far as space movies go, but I wouldnt add it to the top ten list...

Yep, I wouldn´t add it to the top 10 either, as I posted before in my TOP 10. But if we talk about space related, not sci-fi specifically, we have a subtle difference. A few months ago I saw ´Pitch Black´, and I found it a great space and astronomy related film. What do you think?

See ya,
spookybr. :)

[raptor]

I'd have to agree that the "Alien" series and "Contact" were brilliant as space-related films go, but I also enjoyed "Deep Impact" as it was probably the best 'impact' film so far and SFX were amazing.

[coldblue]

I'd have to agree that the "Alien" series and "Contact" were brilliant as space-related films go, but I also enjoyed "Deep Impact" as it was probably the best 'impact' film so far and SFX were amazing.

I remember watching the movie Sphere. It was a really good movie but i don't know if it counts as sci-fi. I also like Armageddon (sp?), it's one of my favorites.

[raptor]

I'm not sure if it would count as a "film" but "Stargate SG1" is a series inspired by the film "Stargate". It is basicly about a team of soldiers who travel to other worlds via a wormhole but I would say that some of these 'films' were very realistic and I was wondering if others would agree.

[coldblue]

I'm not sure if it would count as a "film" but "Stargate SG1" is a series inspired by the film "Stargate". It is basicly about a team of soldiers who travel to other worlds via a wormhole but I would say that some of these 'films' were very realistic and I was wondering if others would agree.

I am actually a big Stargate Sg1 fan, and I love the way the tie in history with science fiction, it's a very good show... even if other planets sometimes look like canada. :rolleyes:

[Q99213]

Did I miss something, or has October Sky not been mentioned?

[K6-III]

Did I miss something, or has October Sky not been mentioned?

You're right! How the hell could we miss something that obvious?

[Q99213]

You're right! How the hell could we miss something that obvious?

Too many fumes on launch day???

[raptor]

You're right! How the hell could we miss something that obvious?

I agree. October Sky was awesome!

[SpookyBR]

Great discussion and well remembered... that´s why I like this Forum, everytime someone comes up with another great film to add to our list.

October Sky is fantastic... I guess that if there could be a good festival of space exploration revival with films that somehow treated the subject, a good trio would be ´The Right Stuff´, ´October Sky´and ´Space Cowboys´... though this last is more fiction than the others, it shows old astronauts and the depiction of a dream that was in the earlier decades shadowed by the end of Cold War and the loss of interest in Outer Space Exploration... it is a great portrait and a nice story of astronauts and space programs nowadays, even with all the heroism and some irregularities that it has... Clint Eastwood manages to achieve a poetic view not only in those particular things the film shows, but on Man facing time... such as ´what is important now?´, ´what can I do?´, ´what can I do with this time I have, given nature´s limits?´. Those are a few of the nice insights we are shown, bringing up good reflection for our lives and times.

See ya,
spookybr. :)