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Classic UFO/space/alien/sci-fi movies please


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Gareth

Gareth

Nothin' to see here
So Im looking for advice on any classic films of the past 60yrs that people recommend. In the genre specified in the title. I really enjoy those older movies for the non-cynical approach & sometimes dated ideas.

* Close Encounters I own
* 2001 I own
* Day the Earth (orig.) I own
* Man who Fell to Earth I own

I own both new versions of Solaris (love this movie) & War of the Worlds... but what are the originals of both those 2 like? Worth checking out?

What else do people recommend as far as classic movies? (even not so classic, just recommendations would be, but theres a good chance I own or have seen most newer quality films in this genre).

Cheers guys.
 
Quatermass and the pit, Forbidden Planet and if you want something funny try Dark Star.

Mark
 
I recommend Howard Hawks' "The Thing from Another World" (1951) with the famous last words....."Keep watching the Skies". And hey, this is my first post :)

Adios
 
I need to get The Man From Earth and The Day The Earth Stood Still (the original one).

But I've got Close Encounters, not sure if that's a classic, but I'd say it is?
 
 
the original solaris was virtually incomprehensible from my pov. its all in russian with subtitles, and if ppl thought 2001 was a bit arty and out there ,solaris takes it to a new level. the remake is easier to follow, whilst retaining some of the strangeness of the original

an awful lot of ppl left the cinemas after watching 2001 not having an idea what the plot was, you really needed to have read the book to have "got" it .
apart from the visuals apes, spacemen, trippy jupiter sequence. a lot of people didnt get the actual plot that these elements assemble into.

solaris the original was even more incomprehensible, to the average audience
 
Thanks Tommy for including The Day The Earth Stood Still (the original, not the travesty): I think that's one of the finest Science Fiction films ever made. Apart from many other differences the short story it was based on (Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates) has a twist at the end that's missing from the film, but they both stand on their own virtues in my opinion.
It's also cool that in the 60's Michael Rennie appeared in a number of episodes of The Invaders as a much less sympathetic (in both senses of the word) alien than Klaatu.

Forbidden Planet was definitely based on The Tempest, and I think the Freudian aspects were more or less spelt out in the film itself. It's fun seeing the young Leslie Nielsen as a romantic lead and action hero. It's fair to say that both Lost in Space (for the Robot, its best character by far) and Star Trek (for the basic premise among other things) owe a lot to that film.

Despite a couple of filmings of The Thing I don't think anyone's ever matched the creeping horror and nail-biting "if we don't get it before the gulls arrive it's all over for everyone" tension of John W. Campbell's story (as Don A. Stuart) Who Goes There? on which it was based.

Great stuff.
 
Hey kevin I included Day The Earth original in the OP!

Anyway I found this site, and its pretty frakkin amazing:

ClassicSciFi.com - All Categories

It even has a clip of every movie listed with ratings and links to imdb and stuff. Some of the ratings might be a bit dubious but a quick look at imdb will confirm them.
 
Alien category:
2001 Space Odyssey
The War of the Worlds (1953)
Really love Alien I and II. The second one is a classic imo.
Close Encounters
Dark City - Dark and visually stunning. Very thought-provoking
The Arrival - Not a classic, but really enjoyed it.
The Abyss - Same
Predator I - Seen it a million times. Really enjoy the movie.

General Sci/Fi
Minority Report - My absolute favorite, visual masterpiece.
Blade Runner - Also a stunning classic. Amazing visuals for its time.
Terminator 1 and 2
Total Recall - Really cool movie. Enjoy it every time.
 
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