Science Fiction Movie Poll

The best science fiction films ever according to Red Dwarf fans.

18 May, 2001

The results are in! Hundreds of Red Dwarf fans from all over the world have emailed us their top ten SF movies of all time, and from over 400 nominated films we now present this, the top 50. And with characteristic Holly logic, there are actually 52 films on the list - the last places were tied with the same number of nominations.

Unsurprisingly, the runaway winner was George Lucas' original Star Wars (the first film being, of course, the fourth in the series. Someone get me an asprin) with 6.7% of the vote. And the runner-up snapping at his heels? Um, the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back.

The Matrix kept the original Star Wars trilogy from totally hogging the top spots - and with both sagas set to have a pair of sequels apiece over the next few years, it's going to be interesting to see if that affects the chart. Although The Phantom Menace only just made it into the top ten.

The Aliens sequel overtook its original instalment, taking fifth place directly above Alien itself. (The third film came in at 34, beaten by Alien: Resurrection at 23.) But Ridley Scott is the only director to equal Lucas' double success in the top ten with his classic Blade Runner at seven, followed by Kubrick's equally classic 2001. The top ten is rounded off by Luc Besson's The Fifth Element.

Further down the chart, several of the Star Trek movies get a look in, as does the only other TV adaptation, The X-Files: Fight the Future. Not to mention both Terminators - plus James Cameron's 'other' watery epic, The Abyss - and 90's blockbusters like Independence Day, Armageddon, X-Men, Event Horizon and Lost in Space. Predator also rears its ugly head - but could the off-mooted Alien Versus Predator film multiply the success of its originators?

SF comedy gets a fair crack of the whip, too - good news for the coming Red Dwarf movie! Men in Black, Spaceballs, Mars Attacks, Galaxy Quest and all three parts of Robert Zemekis' Back to the Future trilogy scored well. A more serious, scientific approach was heralded by Contact (also directed by Zemekis) and Close Encounters, one of three Spielberg movies to make the cut - the others being Jurassic Park and E.T.

More bizarre and outlandish SF visions came in the form of David Lynch's Dune and Terry Gilliam' s Twelve Monkeys and Alex Proyas' Dark City. But it's actually Dutch director Paul Verhoeven who proved the biggest surprise success with Starship Troopers, Robocop and Total Recall all making it into the 50. Plus there's that ending which surely gave Planet of the Apes its placing at 32.

Finally, there will always be room for some of the classics. The Time Machine, War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still (the only black and white film in the top 50) have all managed to stand the test of time.

SF movie fans can get more info on some of these top-rated films by dipping into the archive of celebrity interviews - 'Mr Flibble Talked To...' cinematographer Gil Taylor goes on the record about that very first Star Wars; Mac McDonald brings you tales from the sets of The Fifth Element and Aliens; and artist Sylvain Despretz recalls his design work on Alien: Resurrection.