This list of great sci-fi films focuses on humanity’s hopes
and fears about what lies beyond our own world.
This theme has been a key feature of sci-fi movies for as long as they’ve
existed: The very first sci-fi movie, according to some film historians, is
Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon (1902). This list offers my five favorite space
exploration movies, interspersed with some honorable mentions. The title of the list comes from a common
idiom exhorting one to set and work toward the highest possible goals. The filmmakers who crafted these movies and
the characters who drive them do just that, sometimes at great cost, and cause
us to ponder about doing the same.
Honorable Mention: The Star Trek Films
Created by Gene Roddenberry
“Space: the final frontier . . .” I doubt there will ever be
a passage of text which captures the spirit of space exploration sci-fi better
than the Star Trek opening narration. At
their best, the Star Trek television
series are paradigmatic space-exploration stories. But a franchise cannot endure as long or as
well as Star Trek has without
focusing on more than one thing. The Trek movies, in particular, tend to be
much more concerned with futuristic swash-buckling and character-driven drama
than exploring the ramifications of an interstellar society. While quite a few Trek movies are both excellent as film and excellent as sci-fi,
they’re not quite great enough or sci-fi enough to make my top five. But because the franchise as a whole has set
the standard for cinematic space exploration, and because several of the movies
are eminently watchable,[1]
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge Star
Trek here.
5. Europa Report (2013)
Written by Philip Gelatt
Directed by Sebastián Cordero
This independent film, which plays in the style of a
documentary, follows the first manned space mission beyond our moon. The crew is an international ensemble played
by Daniel Wu, Sharlto Copley, Christian Camargo, Karolina Wydra, Michael
Nyqvist (who recently
passed), and Anamaria Marinca. Their
destination is Europa, a moon of Jupiter containing signs of life (a plot
device which is more science than
fiction). The realism of the film’s scientific
speculation and its documentary-like camerawork and editing complement one
another, escalating the sci-fi thrills.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America nominated Europa Report for their Bradbury Award.
4. Planet of
the Apes (1968)
Based on the novel La Planète des
Singes by Pierre Boulle
Screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
This classic begins with an astronaut (Charlton Heston) crashing
on an unknown planet. He soon discovers that
the world is inhabited by primitive humans who lack language, and by a more
advanced society of apes who use the humans as slaves. The story showcases the flare for dramatic
twists and social critique which screenwriter Rod Serling honed on The Twilight Zone. Planet
of the Apes inspired an ongoing series of
critically acclaimed sci-fi films. The
latest installment, War for
the Planet of the Apes, comes out this Friday and currently holds a 93%
rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
3. Gravity (2013)
Written by Alfonso Cuarón and Jonás Cuarón
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Where other films on this list excite our hopes and fears
about what we may find exploring distant worlds, Gravity stirs our dread about even stepping outside our home planet. The film, a survival story, stars Sandra
Bullock as an astronaut who navigates the perils of zero gravity after becoming
stranded in orbit. Alfonso Cuarón, who
cowrote Gravity with his son Jonás, won
an Oscar, Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, and Saturn Award for directing. The film also beat out Europa Report for the Bradbury Award.
2. Alien (1979)
Story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett
Screenplay by Dan O’Bannon
Directed by Ridley Scott
Before Europeans explored the rest of the world, they often
placed images of vicious sea
monsters on maps to signify that the surrounding waters were uncharted, and
potentially treacherous. Alien shows that while our explorers have
moved from the sea to the stars and our artists have moved from painting to
film, we continue to personify our primal fear of terra incognita
as a horrifying monster. The film
stars Sigourney Weaver as an officer aboard a commercial spacecraft which
encounters a terrifying alien creature. Alien won
the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, and the Saturn Awards for Best Director and
Science Fiction Film.
Honorable Mention: Prometheus (2012)
Written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lidelof
Directed by Ridley Scott
Prometheus is the
perfect sequel: It improves upon the original by renewing the thrills, broadening
the story, and deepening the themes of the first film without narrative redundancy. Prometheus
also reaps the benefits from thirty-three years of advancements in special
effects since Alien. It tells the story of an archaeologist (Noomi
Rapace) who joins an interstellar expedition to explore a world which, she
discovered, may be the origin of extraterrestrials who visited Earth in ancient
times. While I say that Prometheus is an “improvement” upon Alien, I am loathe to call it a “better”
film for the same reason that I would not call a fruit “better” than the blossom
that preceded it: They are separately enjoyable stages in the development of
one unified creation. (That observation,
incidentally, could also apply to chestbursters
and facehuggers). Because Alien offers purer deep space horror, however,
I have allotted it the number two spot on this list and inserted Prometheus as an honorable mention.
1. Interstellar (2014)
Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Interstellar is
the apotheosis of popular space exploration movies: A perfect blend of poignant
character drama, thrilling action, fascinatingly grounded scientific speculation,
and deep philosophical contemplation. In Interstellar,
a crop blight threatening human extinction compels a former test pilot (Matthew
McConaughey) to rejoin NASA on a mission to colonize distant planets. The film’s treatment of wormholes, black
holes, and relativity are especially fascinating. Interstellar
won
the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, and the Saturn Awards for Best Writing,
Editing, Special Effects, and Science Fiction Film.
Honorable Mention: 2001:
A Space Odyssey (1968)
Written by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke
Directed by Stanley Kurbrick
If this were a list of the most important space exploration movies,
rather than the best space exploration movies, then 2001 would undoubtedly take the top spot. The plot of 2001 spans (pre)human history, but most of the action takes place aboard
a spacecraft crewed by two astronauts (Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood) and the
ship’s artificially intelligent computer HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas
Rain). This groundbreaking film won
the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic
Presentation in the science fiction and fantasy genres. In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked 2001 as the fifteenth greatest American
film of all time. Most—if not all—of the
post-1968 films on all of my best sci-fi lists took inspiration directly from 2001 in some way or another. I did not include 2001 among my five favorite space exploration movies simply because
it’s hard to watch: Its dialogue is extremely sparse, and the dialogue it does
have is notoriously banal. The film’s
climax, moreover, is so bizarre as to be nearly inscrutable. So if you’re looking for an enjoyable movie
about space exploration, then I’d stick with the other films on this list. But if you’re looking for a sci-fi
film to serve as a truly artistic experience or to otherwise enrich your cultural literacy,
then skip straight to 2001.
This list of films helps to illustrate the range of humanity’s
hopes and fears about what we could find out there while exploring strange, new
worlds. But the intensity of those emotions
pales when compared to our hopes and fears about the strange, new beings out
there who could find us. That theme will
be the subject of my next list: “Take me to your leader.”
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