Posted on 08/27/2004 8:37:15 AM PDT by dennisw
London -- A British newspaper survey of scientists has chosen Blade Runner as the world's best science-fiction film.
The 1982 movie was the favourite when 60 scientists were questioned by The Guardian, including evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, the newspaper said Wednesday.
In the film, a retired cop played by Harrison Ford hunts down renegade human replicates in a dark futuristic vision of Los Angeles.
Stephen Minger, a stem-cell biologist at King's College, London, said the movie was the best he had ever seen.
"It was so far ahead of its time and the whole premise of the story -- what is it to be human and who are we, where we come from. It's the age-old questions," he said.
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey came second, followed by the first two films of George Lucas's Star Wars trilogy: Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.
The others chosen, in descending order, were Alien, Solaris (1972 version), Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Day the Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds, The Matrix and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Asked to pick their favourite authors, the scientists chose: Isaac Asimov (I, Robot), John Wyndham (Day of the Triffids) and Fred Hoyle (The Black Cloud.) AP
Well...there you go.
Thank you. Another glaring omission from those supposedly "great" films. Not to mention "Silent Running".
I really like Gattaca.
Aw shucks, they voted out Zardoz - Sean Connery and giant flying stone heads - how can you go wrong? I love Zardoz. Great era of filmmaking, and an absolutely DAFT film. Boorman's commentary on the DVD is very interesting.
I really like Gattaca.
I meant to mention this, along with Contact, as two really good SF films that shocked me by coming out within a year of each other.
I must say that "Starship Troopers" kicks maximum ass in the giant bug flick genre. Crap, and a rape of a great book.
In fact, given his body of work, I would vote for Ridley Scott as top Sci-Fi director of all time and will automatically buy a ticket to any film he puts out. George Pal. Or Kubrick.
I'm with you on that one AP. I've worn out at least three copies reading them.
Has no one yet mentioned Fritz Lang's classic Metropolis? I'd agree, but only the recently restored version. The butchered copies that we've all seen for years are just a mess.
Gattaca was a good movie. I also liked "Dark City" which came out at about the same time.
You got it!
Wouldn't it be great to do a remake, but with Leslie Nielson doing his "Naked Gun" shtick?
Great movie. Better than Blade Runner by far IMHO.
Along with yours and the Andromeda Strain, I also have two thumbs up for 2001, Johnny Mnemonic, The Matrix, Stange Days, Panic in the Year Zero, the Alien Saga, Outland, and The Forbidden Planet. (Just to name a few off the top of my head I like) :-)
Remember, where ever you go, there you are.
And a hearty second for "Dark Star":
And a third for Brazil:
And a fourth for Twelve Monkeys:
And a fifth for the absurd "The Fifth Element":
Or mebbe even LORD OF THE G-STRINGS.
mst3k bump
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