Saturday, May 8, 2021

Episode 74: Planet 8's Top Ten Sci Fi Films of All Time!

 


Welcome all to Planet 8's third anniversary episode! Yes, we have been doing this insanity for three years now. We thought the best way to celebrate would be to tackle the biggest question we could think of: what are the ten best science fiction films of all time?

Through an arcane process which we describe in the episode, we devised a list of ten great science fiction films. Now these are not necessarily our favorite films, but the films which we think are the most influential, most impactful, unique, and had artistic and/or technical achievements which set them apart. 

It was surprising to us which films we agreed upon, and which ones only one of us selected. But there were just so many great films to choose from. It was very difficult to cut some films, or choose between certain films in a series. 

We also noted that all of our selections fell between the 1950s and 1980s. Maybe it has to do with giving a film time to build a legacy. Or it could be we're just old farts who prefer older films!

If you want to be surprised by what films we chose, then skip over the section below. Otherwise, proceed! 


Planet 8's Top Ten Science Fiction Films of All Time

10.  Robocop

9. Tie - Predator and Empire Strikes Back 

8. War of the Worlds (1953)

7. 2001: A Space Odyssey

6. Forbidden Planet

5. The Thing (1982)

4. Alien

3. Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

2. Planet of the Apes (1968)

1. Star Wars

 We're sure this list may inspire some debate -we know it did with us! While these are all fine films, you can make an argument for where they should be positioned in the list, or if other films should take their place in the top ten. For some more insight into our thought processes, here are our individual lists.

Bob's List

  1. Forbidden Planet
  2. War of the Worlds (1953)
  3. Alien
  4. Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
  5. Star Wars
  6. Planet of the Apes
  7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
  8. The Thing (1982)
  9. Blade Runner
  10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Karen's List
  1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  2. Star Wars
  3. Empire Strikes Back
  4. Planet of the Apes
  5. Alien
  6. The Thing (1982)
  7. The Matrix
  8. The Thing (1951)
  9. Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
  10. Quatermass and the Pit
Larry's list
  1. Star Wars
  2. Planet of the Apes
  3. Predator
  4. Robocop
  5. Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
  6. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
  7. The Thing (1982)
  8. Blade Runner
  9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
  10. Forbidden Planet
What about the films we left off? Hard choices had to be made. Of course, we love Logan's Run but had to admit it was not top ten material. And no Star Trek films on the list? Sadly, it's true. 


We would really like to hear from you about what you would put on your top ten - again, not your favorites, but what are the best? Send us your thoughts and we will follow up on them in a future episode.

We've covered a number of these films we're talking about. If you'd like to go back and listen to those episodes, check these out:


This makes us realize that there are many more films that we need to cover! No danger of running out of material here on Planet 8.



Seeing as it is our third anniversary, we want to send out a special thanks to all of you who have been following the show. We didn't know we were going to be doing this for three years, but they have just flown by! We're still having a blast, and most of that is due to you listening and contacting us. So we hope you'll stick with us and continue on along the journey!


You also have one week until Bay Area Film Event's Godzilla's Monster Bash at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco. On May 14-16 they will show ten classic Godzilla films, and there will be vendors and guests! It should be a great event, so if you're in the area, be sure to come out. You can get more info and tickets at  http://bayareafilmevents.com/godzillafest

This wraps up our episode. Let us know what you thought. Leave a comment on the site, or you can contact us at:
Remember: Klaatu Barada Nikto!


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3 comments:

  1. EBosMay 26, 2021 at 8:41 AM

    Had some stuff going on in the past few weeks that kept me from listening to a lot of my favorite podcasts, so now I'm going back and playing catch-up. Hence the comment here after the one for your Predator show.
    I always enjoy conversations around people's 'favorites' or 'best of' lists, so this was a really fun show. I have to say, though, that I'm surprised at the poor showing for Star Trek (and esp. the fact that none of them cracked Karen's top ten). Honestly, I have to say that I'd consider any Star Trek film more SF than any Star Wars film, which I consider space fantasy/space action.
    I won't bore you with my own top 10 list, and indeed, I just don't have the time or patience to carefully think it through (i.e. selecting and then ranking), but I'll say some of these were swirling around in my mind as I was listening to your show: Blade Runner (which would be no. 1), 2001 (probably at no. 2 or 3), Star Trek/Motion Picture (ditto), Total Recall (that's the Verhoeven and Arnie film I'd pick as more SF than either Robocop or Predator or Terminator, even though I like the latter two more as movies) and Contact (yep, the Jodie Foster film from the late 1990s).
    And speaking of post-1990 movies, I'm also a bit surprised that, say, Interstellar or Solaris didn't at least come up in the conversation. Another more recent one I thought was pretty good (even though it was directed by Michael Bay) is The Island - it has its flaws, but it's got a solid SF concept and Ewan McGregor in particular put in a good performance in the main role.
    -Edo Bosnar

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    Replies
    1. EBosMay 26, 2021 at 10:32 AM

      Oh, yeah - another one that came to mind for me - and again, surprised it didn't even merit a mention - is 1960's Time Machine, one of my favorite 'classic' SF films.
      -Edo Bosnar

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  2. Larry From Planet 8May 26, 2021 at 1:40 PM

    Thanks for commenting and listening Edo! You have a great line up of films. Not to make excuses but with a limited amount of time we could only discuss so many films before the episode ends. That being said, yes we should have mentioned The Time Machine, it’s is a classic!

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