The 101 Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movies of All Time: 1. Interstellar (1 Viewer)

[dickey moe]

This a you thing or we thing again?

This one's a me thing right now since I dont have time to collate and organize multiple entries. That was way more laborious than I thought it would be. But I would not be averse to doing a combined ranking at some point.

Ahhh rats!

 

[Scoresman]

Hoping to see a movie with a couple ferrets

Kindergarten Cop might have Arnold in the lead role, but it's hard to justify it as sci-fi.

 

[Rustoleum]

Well. Seeing how I've seen and enjoyed the first 5 listed, this will obviously be a thread I participate in. Krull!!!! I was in grade school when we made Krull throwing stars to play with. Ha ha

Yes! and unbending paperclips and pushing them through the tips to make them lethal!!

The glaive was awesome, even if it was a total misnomer. Hopefully the demerits from naming a thrown weapon after a pole arm are the chief reason Krull didn’t make the cut, so to speak.

 

[FarFromHome]

Hoping to see a movie with a couple ferrets

Kindergarten Cop might have Arnold in the lead role, but it's hard to justify it as sci-fi.

I was thinking Beastmaster with the ferrets. Classic 80s movie. It will be on this countdown.

 

[Scoresman]

Hoping to see a movie with a couple ferrets

Kindergarten Cop might have Arnold in the lead role, but it's hard to justify it as sci-fi.

I was thinking Beastmaster with the ferrets. Classic 80s movie. It will be on this countdown.

I had the exact same haircut (and color) as Marc Singer in this movie! I'll let you decide if that means its on the list or not.

 

[FarFromHome]

Hoping to see a movie with a couple ferrets

Kindergarten Cop might have Arnold in the lead role, but it's hard to justify it as sci-fi.

I was thinking Beastmaster with the ferrets. Classic 80s movie. It will be on this countdown.

I had the exact same haircut (and color) as Marc Singer in this movie! I'll let you decide if that means its on the list or not.

Hell ya you did. I can one up you because i went to school shirtless with a brown loin cloth carrying two stuff animals that I controlled. Ha ha

 

[Psychopav]

It will be interesting to see your top sci Fi and your top fantasy, and which you put at the top of your list.

One question: Bakshi Lord of the Rings: out because of animation, or does the rotoscoping push it into eligible status?

 

[Psychopav]

Hoping to see a movie with a couple ferrets

Kindergarten Cop might have Arnold in the lead role, but it's hard to justify it as sci-fi.

I was thinking Beastmaster with the ferrets. Classic 80s movie. It will be on this countdown.

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

youtu.be

I never even saw Beastmaster. I just wanted you guys to think I was cool.

 

[TripItUp]

IN...and here are my top 10 for your consideration(not in order)

1. Dune 2
2. Edge of Tomorrow
3. Empire Strikes Back
4. Aliens
5. Dune 1
6. T2
7. Back to the Future
8. The Matrix
9. Predator
10. Contact

Undervalued: Prometheus
Overrated: There is no such thing as an overrated Sci Fi film

 

[Dan Lambskin]

IN...and here are my top 10 for your consideration(not in order)

1. Dune 2
2. Edge of Tomorrow
3. Empire Strikes Back
4. Aliens
5. Dune 1
6. T2
7. Back to the Future
8. The Matrix
9. Predator
10. Contact

Undervalued: Prometheus
Overrated: There is no such thing as an overrated Sci Fi film

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

youtu.be

 

[shuke]

104. Vanilla Sky
2001 - 2h 16 - R
Director: Cameron Crowe
Metascore: 45

A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.

I think I'm in the minority here but I loved this movie.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

104. Vanilla Sky
2001 - 2h 16 - R
Director: Cameron Crowe
Metascore: 45

A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.

I think I'm in the minority here but I loved this movie.

all i remember is “I’ll see you in another life when we are both cats”

 

[Scoresman]

It will be interesting to see your top sci Fi and your top fantasy, and which you put at the top of your list.

One question: Bakshi Lord of the Rings: out because of animation, or does the rotoscoping push it into eligible status?

I have animated films in this. I’m not including the Disney animated films due to there being so many, they are practically their own genre. They would be too dominant in the countdown.

 

[Scoresman]

IN...and here are my top 10 for your consideration(not in order)

1. Dune 2
2. Edge of Tomorrow
3. Empire Strikes Back
4. Aliens
5. Dune 1
6. T2
7. Back to the Future
8. The Matrix
9. Predator
10. Contact

Undervalued: Prometheus
Overrated: There is no such thing as an overrated Sci Fi film

Good top ten.

I can say that Prometheus did not make the cut. I love the plot concept, and really wanted to like this, but there were just so many problems with this movie. One of them being the incredibly stupid choices made by the characters. Things like taking your helmet off on an alien world and seeing an alien cobra and immediately wanting to go and pet it. I couldn’t move past some of these.

The early script for this movie that was scrapped, called Alien: Engineers is a much better script. It acts as a more direct prequel to Alien.

 

[Chaz McNulty]

IN...and here are my top 10 for your consideration(not in order)

1. Dune 2
2. Edge of Tomorrow
3. Empire Strikes Back
4. Aliens
5. Dune 1
6. T2
7. Back to the Future
8. The Matrix
9. Predator
10. Contact

Undervalued: Prometheus
Overrated: There is no such thing as an overrated Sci Fi film

I guess your more of a SciFi fan than a fantasy fan?

 

[Scoresman]

IN...and here are my top 10 for your consideration(not in order)

1. Dune 2
2. Edge of Tomorrow
3. Empire Strikes Back
4. Aliens
5. Dune 1
6. T2
7. Back to the Future
8. The Matrix
9. Predator
10. Contact

Undervalued: Prometheus
Overrated: There is no such thing as an overrated Sci Fi film

I guess your more of a SciFi fan than a fantasy fan?

Not in front of my laptop but I think I only have one or two fantasy movies in my top ten too.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Not in front of my laptop but I think I only have one or two fantasy movies in my top ten too.

We may not be friends after this lol

Of course some of that may come down to whether you consider Star Wars movies sci fi or fantasy. I lean HEAVILY towards fantasy for Star Wars.

 

[Chaz McNulty]

My top 10 (not in order)

Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
Return of the King
The Princess Bride
Return of the Jedi
Matrix
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Chronicles of Riddick
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Interstellar

 

[Todem]

Looking forward to the lively discussion.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Not in front of my laptop but I think I only have one or two fantasy movies in my top ten too.

We may not be friends after this lol

Of course some of that may come down to whether you consider Star Wars movies sci fi or fantasy. I lean HEAVILY towards fantasy for Star Wars.

That will be an interesting discussion for this exercise. When I think fantasy, I think more wizards and spells and crap.

 

[Hastur]

As long as Hawk the Slayer makes the list, everything else is cream cheese.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Not in front of my laptop but I think I only have one or two fantasy movies in my top ten too.

We may not be friends after this lol

Of course some of that may come down to whether you consider Star Wars movies sci fi or fantasy. I lean HEAVILY towards fantasy for Star Wars.

That will be an interesting discussion for this exercise. When I think fantasy, I think more wizards and spells and crap.

The Jedi are wizards (Obi Wan is even called that by Uncle Ben in A New Hope)

Using the force is similar to using a spell

Star Wars also has clearly defined Hero and Villains with Hero's going on a quest, which is a fantasy trope

Lucas himself has always considered the space opera a fantasy.

There is very little "science" in Star Wars, as compared to say something like Star Trek which is heavily influenced by science.

A lot of people think a space based show is always sci fi but things like Star Wars and Firefly (which is really a western in space) can take on different genres when science is not at the forefront.

 

[NewlyRetired]

And I will have words with anyone trying to tell me Midi Chlorians are science based

 

[KarmaPolice]

Not in front of my laptop but I think I only have one or two fantasy movies in my top ten too.

We may not be friends after this lol

Of course some of that may come down to whether you consider Star Wars movies sci fi or fantasy. I lean HEAVILY towards fantasy for Star Wars.

That will be an interesting discussion for this exercise. When I think fantasy, I think more wizards and spells and crap.

The Jedi are wizards (Obi Wan is even called that by Uncle Ben in A New Hope)

Using the force is similar to using a spell

Star Wars also has clearly defined Hero and Villains with Hero's going on a quest, which is a fantasy trope

Lucas himself has always considered the space opera a fantasy.

There is very little "science" in Star Wars, as compared to say something like Star Trek which is heavily influenced by science.

A lot of people think a space based show is always sci fi but things like Star Wars and Firefly (which is really a western in space) can take on different genres when science is not at the forefront.

And I will have words with anyone trying to tell me Midi Chlorians are science based

Very fair, and those were the thoughts I was having after posting that. I still disagree that there is very little science involved, as we are still dealing with space, droids, faster than light travel. It very much populates the world and is part of the franchise. To me something like Star Wars would be in the realm of discussion we were having around movies like Silence of the Lambs/Se7en in the horror thread. It very much has elements of both, so I guess my questioning to you was more about your use of HEAVILY in the quote above, which I took to mean that you have 0 hesitation coding it fantasy over sci-fi and I thought that was interesting. I could be off base, but I thought that was a difference between "hard" sci-fi and "soft" sci-fi. It blends fantasy elements into the other stuff so it is not like Trek or a show like The Expanse. But Star Wars is still a lot different than LOTR or Wheel of Time, IMO.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Very fair, and those were the thoughts I was having after posting that. I still disagree that there is very little science involved, as we are still dealing with space, droids, faster than light travel. It very much populates the world and is part of the franchise. To me something like Star Wars would be in the realm of discussion we were having around movies like Silence of the Lambs/Se7en in the horror thread. It very much has elements of both, so I guess my questioning to you was more about your use of HEAVILY in the quote above, which I took to mean that you have 0 hesitation coding it fantasy over sci-fi and I thought that was interesting. I could be off base, but I thought that was a difference between "hard" sci-fi and "soft" sci-fi. It blends fantasy elements into the other stuff so it is not like Trek or a show like The Expanse. But Star Wars is still a lot different than LOTR or Wheel of Time, IMO.

All good points. I saw this quote below online, it summarizes my thoughts about Star Wars and technology pretty well. I could get in bed with the idea of calling it soft sci though

=====================

The presence of science devices doesn’t make it science fiction. That’s a matter of themes. Science fiction are stories that explore the effect of science and technology on society (iRobot, Frankenstein, Iron Man). Science fiction asks, “What would happen if we had X technology?”

While Star Wars has technology beyond ours, the stories are not concerned with the origins of or the effects of said technology.

Thematically, Star Wars is fantasy all the way. There are other influences brought into it and some of the newer content branches into those influences more directly, but it’s still fantasy at its core.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Very fair, and those were the thoughts I was having after posting that. I still disagree that there is very little science involved, as we are still dealing with space, droids, faster than light travel. It very much populates the world and is part of the franchise. To me something like Star Wars would be in the realm of discussion we were having around movies like Silence of the Lambs/Se7en in the horror thread. It very much has elements of both, so I guess my questioning to you was more about your use of HEAVILY in the quote above, which I took to mean that you have 0 hesitation coding it fantasy over sci-fi and I thought that was interesting. I could be off base, but I thought that was a difference between "hard" sci-fi and "soft" sci-fi. It blends fantasy elements into the other stuff so it is not like Trek or a show like The Expanse. But Star Wars is still a lot different than LOTR or Wheel of Time, IMO.

All good points. I saw this quote below online, it summarizes my thoughts about Star Wars and technology pretty well. I could get in bed with the idea of calling it soft sci though

=====================

The presence of science devices doesn’t make it science fiction. That’s a matter of themes. Science fiction are stories that explore the effect of science and technology on society (iRobot, Frankenstein, Iron Man). Science fiction asks, “What would happen if we had X technology?”

While Star Wars has technology beyond ours, the stories are not concerned with the origins of or the effects of said technology.

Thematically, Star Wars is fantasy all the way. There are other influences brought into it and some of the newer content branches into those influences more directly, but it’s still fantasy at its core.

Great post, thanks. I will think about that even more. Would you put Dune in this same bucket?

 

[pecorino]

Counts by decade

1930s 1
1950s 3
1960s 2
1970s 9
1980s 27
1990s 19
2000s 22
2010s 13
2020s 4

I would just start this but there's one more movie I need to watch that I'm pretty sure will make this list somewhere.

None from the 1920s?

I know what you're talking about here. I'm not ranking these based solely on how influential, or groundbreaking a movie may have been, otherwise this would be a top 10 movie. I'm ranking more on how enjoyable is it to watch nowadays or how much lasting appeal it has. It's honestly hard for me to sit through this film or any silent film for that matter.

Fair enough. I still love putting on that one or some other of the great silents, but to each their own.

Thats why i asked about foreign made or non english language.
Paying homage to the early silent ones (from Europe) would have been nice considering how impactful they are.
The main one had an 80s soundtrack added to make it “palatable” for a modern audience, which is how i got introduced.

But looking forward to the list anyway.
Pretty sure we may have a nice list of leftovers.

Hope to see La Jetee get some love. One of my favorite obscure but influential early sci fi pieces.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Very fair, and those were the thoughts I was having after posting that. I still disagree that there is very little science involved, as we are still dealing with space, droids, faster than light travel. It very much populates the world and is part of the franchise. To me something like Star Wars would be in the realm of discussion we were having around movies like Silence of the Lambs/Se7en in the horror thread. It very much has elements of both, so I guess my questioning to you was more about your use of HEAVILY in the quote above, which I took to mean that you have 0 hesitation coding it fantasy over sci-fi and I thought that was interesting. I could be off base, but I thought that was a difference between "hard" sci-fi and "soft" sci-fi. It blends fantasy elements into the other stuff so it is not like Trek or a show like The Expanse. But Star Wars is still a lot different than LOTR or Wheel of Time, IMO.

All good points. I saw this quote below online, it summarizes my thoughts about Star Wars and technology pretty well. I could get in bed with the idea of calling it soft sci though

=====================

The presence of science devices doesn’t make it science fiction. That’s a matter of themes. Science fiction are stories that explore the effect of science and technology on society (iRobot, Frankenstein, Iron Man). Science fiction asks, “What would happen if we had X technology?”

While Star Wars has technology beyond ours, the stories are not concerned with the origins of or the effects of said technology.

Thematically, Star Wars is fantasy all the way. There are other influences brought into it and some of the newer content branches into those influences more directly, but it’s still fantasy at its core.

Great post, thanks. I will think about that even more. Would you put Dune in this same bucket?

That is a great question. I have never read the books so only having seen the movies/tv may taint my opinion incorrectly.

From what I have watched, I think there are elements of both Sci Fi and Fantasy in Dune, blended quite nicely together.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Counts by decade

1930s 1
1950s 3
1960s 2
1970s 9
1980s 27
1990s 19
2000s 22
2010s 13
2020s 4

I would just start this but there's one more movie I need to watch that I'm pretty sure will make this list somewhere.

thanks! This is fun trying to guess what they will be

Could you give a similar break down for languages? I am expecting one Spanish movie for sure but was interested to see if any Japanese made the cut (anime and/or live action).

 

[Scoresman]

Counts by decade

1930s 1
1950s 3
1960s 2
1970s 9
1980s 27
1990s 19
2000s 22
2010s 13
2020s 4

I would just start this but there's one more movie I need to watch that I'm pretty sure will make this list somewhere.

thanks! This is fun trying to guess what they will be

Could you give a similar break down for languages? I am expecting one Spanish movie for sure but was interested to see if any Japanese made the cut (anime and/or live action).

I don’t have languages in the data scrape I pulled unfortunately. And some of them would totally give the movie away. I know I have some Asian, European at the very least.

 

[Scoresman]

And I have definitely embraced that fantasy is not just swords and sorcery dungeon and dragons stuff. There’s a few that will either open your minds or you will argue with me about.

 

[Scoresman]

I will be watching the last remaining movie tonight. I would have last night, but there was a piece of fiction I needed to watch called the Mike Tyson/Jake Paul fight. That probably falls into some realm of fantasy make believe but it was horrible and will not be ranked.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Very fair, and those were the thoughts I was having after posting that. I still disagree that there is very little science involved, as we are still dealing with space, droids, faster than light travel. It very much populates the world and is part of the franchise. To me something like Star Wars would be in the realm of discussion we were having around movies like Silence of the Lambs/Se7en in the horror thread. It very much has elements of both, so I guess my questioning to you was more about your use of HEAVILY in the quote above, which I took to mean that you have 0 hesitation coding it fantasy over sci-fi and I thought that was interesting. I could be off base, but I thought that was a difference between "hard" sci-fi and "soft" sci-fi. It blends fantasy elements into the other stuff so it is not like Trek or a show like The Expanse. But Star Wars is still a lot different than LOTR or Wheel of Time, IMO.

All good points. I saw this quote below online, it summarizes my thoughts about Star Wars and technology pretty well. I could get in bed with the idea of calling it soft sci though

=====================

The presence of science devices doesn’t make it science fiction. That’s a matter of themes. Science fiction are stories that explore the effect of science and technology on society (iRobot, Frankenstein, Iron Man). Science fiction asks, “What would happen if we had X technology?”

While Star Wars has technology beyond ours, the stories are not concerned with the origins of or the effects of said technology.

Thematically, Star Wars is fantasy all the way. There are other influences brought into it and some of the newer content branches into those influences more directly, but it’s still fantasy at its core.

Great post, thanks. I will think about that even more. Would you put Dune in this same bucket?

That is a great question. I have never read the books so only having seen the movies/tv may taint my opinion incorrectly.

From what I have watched, I think there are elements of both Sci Fi and Fantasy in Dune, blended quite nicely together.

Very fair. I am hoping as we do all this will get me thinking more and decide on a more solid reasoning for my thoughts like the horror thread did. I walked in thinking neither Silence or Seven were horror and walked away deciding something different. Heading into this my mental buckets are something like this:

Hard scifi - The Expanse, Trek (heavy focus on the tech, the why of it, and more focus on it being scientifically accurate)
Soft scifi - Star Wars, Dune (typical sci-fi worlds, but like you said other mystical/fantasy is more in the plot)
Soft Fantasy - Harry Potter, Dresden Files (more real world settings, but with fantasy/wizard the main focus)
Hard Fantasy - LOTR, Wheel of Time (fictional worlds, people, languages with the fantasy elements front and center)

 

[NewlyRetired]

Very fair, and those were the thoughts I was having after posting that. I still disagree that there is very little science involved, as we are still dealing with space, droids, faster than light travel. It very much populates the world and is part of the franchise. To me something like Star Wars would be in the realm of discussion we were having around movies like Silence of the Lambs/Se7en in the horror thread. It very much has elements of both, so I guess my questioning to you was more about your use of HEAVILY in the quote above, which I took to mean that you have 0 hesitation coding it fantasy over sci-fi and I thought that was interesting. I could be off base, but I thought that was a difference between "hard" sci-fi and "soft" sci-fi. It blends fantasy elements into the other stuff so it is not like Trek or a show like The Expanse. But Star Wars is still a lot different than LOTR or Wheel of Time, IMO.

All good points. I saw this quote below online, it summarizes my thoughts about Star Wars and technology pretty well. I could get in bed with the idea of calling it soft sci though

=====================

The presence of science devices doesn’t make it science fiction. That’s a matter of themes. Science fiction are stories that explore the effect of science and technology on society (iRobot, Frankenstein, Iron Man). Science fiction asks, “What would happen if we had X technology?”

While Star Wars has technology beyond ours, the stories are not concerned with the origins of or the effects of said technology.

Thematically, Star Wars is fantasy all the way. There are other influences brought into it and some of the newer content branches into those influences more directly, but it’s still fantasy at its core.

Great post, thanks. I will think about that even more. Would you put Dune in this same bucket?

That is a great question. I have never read the books so only having seen the movies/tv may taint my opinion incorrectly.

From what I have watched, I think there are elements of both Sci Fi and Fantasy in Dune, blended quite nicely together.

Very fair. I am hoping as we do all this will get me thinking more and decide on a more solid reasoning for my thoughts like the horror thread did. I walked in thinking neither Silence or Seven were horror and walked away deciding something different. Heading into this my mental buckets are something like this:

Hard scifi - The Expanse, Trek (heavy focus on the tech, the why of it, and more focus on it being scientifically accurate)
Soft scifi - Star Wars, Dune (typical sci-fi worlds, but like you said other mystical/fantasy is more in the plot)
Soft Fantasy - Harry Potter, Dresden Files (more real world settings, but with fantasy/wizard the main focus)
Hard Fantasy - LOTR, Wheel of Time (fictional worlds, people, languages with the fantasy elements front and center)

I am not 100% sure but I think I have seen the term "High Fantasy" used for the definition you show for "Hard Fantasy"

 

[KarmaPolice]

Very fair, and those were the thoughts I was having after posting that. I still disagree that there is very little science involved, as we are still dealing with space, droids, faster than light travel. It very much populates the world and is part of the franchise. To me something like Star Wars would be in the realm of discussion we were having around movies like Silence of the Lambs/Se7en in the horror thread. It very much has elements of both, so I guess my questioning to you was more about your use of HEAVILY in the quote above, which I took to mean that you have 0 hesitation coding it fantasy over sci-fi and I thought that was interesting. I could be off base, but I thought that was a difference between "hard" sci-fi and "soft" sci-fi. It blends fantasy elements into the other stuff so it is not like Trek or a show like The Expanse. But Star Wars is still a lot different than LOTR or Wheel of Time, IMO.

All good points. I saw this quote below online, it summarizes my thoughts about Star Wars and technology pretty well. I could get in bed with the idea of calling it soft sci though

=====================

The presence of science devices doesn’t make it science fiction. That’s a matter of themes. Science fiction are stories that explore the effect of science and technology on society (iRobot, Frankenstein, Iron Man). Science fiction asks, “What would happen if we had X technology?”

While Star Wars has technology beyond ours, the stories are not concerned with the origins of or the effects of said technology.

Thematically, Star Wars is fantasy all the way. There are other influences brought into it and some of the newer content branches into those influences more directly, but it’s still fantasy at its core.

Great post, thanks. I will think about that even more. Would you put Dune in this same bucket?

That is a great question. I have never read the books so only having seen the movies/tv may taint my opinion incorrectly.

From what I have watched, I think there are elements of both Sci Fi and Fantasy in Dune, blended quite nicely together.

Very fair. I am hoping as we do all this will get me thinking more and decide on a more solid reasoning for my thoughts like the horror thread did. I walked in thinking neither Silence or Seven were horror and walked away deciding something different. Heading into this my mental buckets are something like this:

Hard scifi - The Expanse, Trek (heavy focus on the tech, the why of it, and more focus on it being scientifically accurate)
Soft scifi - Star Wars, Dune (typical sci-fi worlds, but like you said other mystical/fantasy is more in the plot)
Soft Fantasy - Harry Potter, Dresden Files (more real world settings, but with fantasy/wizard the main focus)
Hard Fantasy - LOTR, Wheel of Time (fictional worlds, people, languages with the fantasy elements front and center)

I am not 100% sure but I think I have seen the term "High Fantasy" used for the definition you show for "Hard Fantasy"

Makes sense. As in you have to be high to understand it?

 

[Scoresman]

Took a count by Genre

74 Sci Fi movies
20 Fantasy movies
6 movies that blur the line between the two

 

[Chaz McNulty]

I am not 100% sure but I think I have seen the term "High Fantasy" used for the definition you show for "Hard Fantasy"

Flesh Gordon?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Took a count by Genre

74 Sci Fi movies
20 Fantasy movies
6 movies that blur the line between the two

 

[Scoresman]

I am not 100% sure but I think I have seen the term "High Fantasy" used for the definition you show for "Hard Fantasy"

Flesh Gordon?

I thought it was the subgenre for any Game of Thrones episodes with Ros.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Very fair, and those were the thoughts I was having after posting that. I still disagree that there is very little science involved, as we are still dealing with space, droids, faster than light travel. It very much populates the world and is part of the franchise. To me something like Star Wars would be in the realm of discussion we were having around movies like Silence of the Lambs/Se7en in the horror thread. It very much has elements of both, so I guess my questioning to you was more about your use of HEAVILY in the quote above, which I took to mean that you have 0 hesitation coding it fantasy over sci-fi and I thought that was interesting. I could be off base, but I thought that was a difference between "hard" sci-fi and "soft" sci-fi. It blends fantasy elements into the other stuff so it is not like Trek or a show like The Expanse. But Star Wars is still a lot different than LOTR or Wheel of Time, IMO.

All good points. I saw this quote below online, it summarizes my thoughts about Star Wars and technology pretty well. I could get in bed with the idea of calling it soft sci though

=====================

The presence of science devices doesn’t make it science fiction. That’s a matter of themes. Science fiction are stories that explore the effect of science and technology on society (iRobot, Frankenstein, Iron Man). Science fiction asks, “What would happen if we had X technology?”

While Star Wars has technology beyond ours, the stories are not concerned with the origins of or the effects of said technology.

Thematically, Star Wars is fantasy all the way. There are other influences brought into it and some of the newer content branches into those influences more directly, but it’s still fantasy at its core.

Great post, thanks. I will think about that even more. Would you put Dune in this same bucket?

That is a great question. I have never read the books so only having seen the movies/tv may taint my opinion incorrectly.

From what I have watched, I think there are elements of both Sci Fi and Fantasy in Dune, blended quite nicely together.

Very fair. I am hoping as we do all this will get me thinking more and decide on a more solid reasoning for my thoughts like the horror thread did. I walked in thinking neither Silence or Seven were horror and walked away deciding something different. Heading into this my mental buckets are something like this:

Hard scifi - The Expanse, Trek (heavy focus on the tech, the why of it, and more focus on it being scientifically accurate)
Soft scifi - Star Wars, Dune (typical sci-fi worlds, but like you said other mystical/fantasy is more in the plot)
Soft Fantasy - Harry Potter, Dresden Files (more real world settings, but with fantasy/wizard the main focus)
Hard Fantasy - LOTR, Wheel of Time (fictional worlds, people, languages with the fantasy elements front and center)

 

[Rustoleum]

As long as Hawk the Slayer makes the list, everything else is cream cheese.

This would make my best and worst fantasy film lists at the same time. I remember the “giant” in particiular.

 

[The Gator]

Flesh Gordon?

 

[UncleZen]

I'm just tuning in to see where "Young Frankenstein" shows up on the list. It's sciency.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

I'm just tuning in to see where "Young Frankenstein" shows up on the list. It's sciency.

Spaceballs too

 

[KarmaPolice]

I think it should be video store rules - you have to decide where the movie goes. If T2 was in horror, it shouldn't be ranked here. It's a bit redundant if Young Frankenstein is in the top 100 for horror, sci-fi, and comedy.

It would also open it up for more movies to be featured vs. having a 20-30 that show up in a different ones.

 

[Scoresman]

I think it should be video store rules - you have to decide where the movie goes. If T2 was in horror, it shouldn't be ranked here. It's a bit redundant if Young Frankenstein is in the top 100 for horror, sci-fi, and comedy.

It would also open it up for more movies to be featured vs. having a 20-30 that show up in a different ones.

I see your point but disagree. Some movies perfectly straddle the line between genres and its unfair if someone cant rank it just because it was in another countdown. I for sure have a couple that appeared in the horror countdown too, but it's not a ton. Definitely not 20-30. I mean, how can you tell someone who does a top 100 thriller ranking that they cant rank SotL because someone had it in the horror thread?

It's also nice to see how a movie ranks in one list vs another. Does a movie work better or worse as sci-fi vs. horror or thriller for example.

 

[zamboni]

I think it should be video store rules - you have to decide where the movie goes.

What if you put back a p0rn movie in the sci-fi section to shamefully get out of Blockbuster quickly? Asking for a friend.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

I think it should be video store rules - you have to decide where the movie goes.

What if you put back a p0rn movie in the sci-fi section to shamefully get out of the Blockbuster quickly? Asking for a friend.

Femalien

 

[KarmaPolice]

I think it should be video store rules - you have to decide where the movie goes. If T2 was in horror, it shouldn't be ranked here. It's a bit redundant if Young Frankenstein is in the top 100 for horror, sci-fi, and comedy.

It would also open it up for more movies to be featured vs. having a 20-30 that show up in a different ones.

I see your point but disagree. Some movies perfectly straddle the line between genres and its unfair if someone cant rank it just because it was in another countdown. I for sure have a couple that appeared in the horror countdown too, but it's not a ton. Definitely not 20-30. I mean, how can you tell someone who does a top 100 thriller ranking that they cant rank SotL because someone had it in the horror thread?

It's also nice to see how a movie ranks in one list vs another. Does a movie work better or worse as sci-fi vs. horror or thriller for example.

Not surprised.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Some movies perfectly straddle the line between genres and its unfair if someone cant rank it just because it was in another countdown. I for sure have a couple that appeared in the horror countdown too, but it's not a ton. Definitely not 20-30. I mean, how can you tell someone who does a top 100 thriller ranking that they cant rank SotL because someone had it in the horror thread?

It's also nice to see how a movie ranks in one list vs another. Does a movie work better or worse as sci-fi vs. horror or thriller for example.

Yeah, way too much gatekeeping going on here. Some must have been the same movie ushers that kept me from going between theaters at the multiplex.