Showing posts with label Back to the Future. Show all posts

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Sci-Fi Movies: Top 25

image from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies

18 lists (resources listed at bottom of page) were aggregated to create this list of the top 25 sci-fi films of all time. Movies and sequels have been listed together if each movie earned enough points indvidually to rank in the top 50.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. Blade Runner (1982)
3. Alien (1979) / Aliens (1986)
4. Star Wars:

Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

5. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
7. Metropolis (1927)
8. Back to the Future (1985)
9. Jurassic Park (1993)
10. The Terminator (1984) / The Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

11. The Matrix (1999)
12. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
13. Brazil (1985)
14. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
15. Forbidden Planet (1956)

16. Solaris (Solyaris) (1971)
17. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
18. The Fly (1986)
19. Planet of the Apes (1968)
20. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

21. Robocop (1987)
22. Wall-E (2008)
23. The Thing (1982)
24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
25. Avatar (2009)

Resources:

Dave’s Movie Database: Genre Lists
ABC News/People Magazine (3/22/2011). “Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time” (includes top 5 sci-fi movies)
American Film Institute (2016). “Top 10 Sci-Fi”
CinemaBlend.com (2017). “30 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
Clarke, Arthur C. (1984). “Arthur C. Clarke’s list of the best science fiction films of all time” (top 12 list)
GamesRadar.com (6/23/2019). “The 25 best sci-fi movies in this – or any other – galaxy”
The Guardian (2004). “Scientists Top 10 sci-fi films”
Guinness Book of Film (1999). “The Top 100 Films by Genre Type” (includes top 5 sci-fi films)
HiConsumption.com (6/1/2014). “The 50 Greatest Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movies of All Time”
IGN.com (Sept. 2010). “Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
MentalFloss.com (6/19/2017). “The 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
Norman, Barry (1993). “100 Greatest Films of All Time” (includes top 10 sci-fi films)
Online Film Critics Society (2002). “The Greatest Sci-Fi Films of All Time” (top 100 list)
RottenTomatoes.com “100 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
Slant Magazine (8/9/2019). “The 100 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time”
Syfy.com “The Top 10 Science Fiction Films of All Time”
Thrillist.com (1/4/2018). “The 50 Greatest Sci-Fi Films of All Time”
Time Out (2014). “The 100 Best Sci-Fi Movies”

Originally posted 8/30/2019; last updated 5/25/2023.

Monday, July 20, 2015

BBC: Top 100 Movies

BBC:

Top 100 Movies

These are the top 100 movies according to the British BBC News, as determined by aggregating five different lists. See the details and links at the bottom of the page.

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. Pulp Fiction (1994)
3. Casablanca (1942)
4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. Citizen Kane (1941)
6. Back to the Future (1985)
7. Forrest Gump (1994)
8. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
9. Taxi Driver (1976)
10. The Searchers (1956)

11. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
12. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
13. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
14. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
15. Goodfellas (1990)
16. Some Like It Hot (1959)
17. Psycho (1960)
18. Schindler’s List (1993)
19. Jaws (1975)
20. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

21. Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
22. Gone with the Wind (1939)
23. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
24. The Godfather Part II (1974)
25. Die Hard (1988)
26. Apocalypse Now (1979)
27. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
29. Raging Bull (1980)
30. Vertigo (1958)

31. The Graduate (1967)
32. Brief Encounter (1946)
33. West Side Story (1961)
34. Blade Runner (1982)
35. Titanic (1997)
36. Braveheart (1995)
37. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
38. Toy Story (1995)
39. The Great Escape (1963)
40. Aliens (1986)

41. Ben-Hur (1959)
42. The Sound of Music (1965)
43. Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
44. Alien (1979)
45. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
46. Trainspotting (1996)
47. The Third Man (1949)
48. Jurassic Park (1993)
49. The Usual Suspects (1995)
50. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

51. Ghost (1990)
52. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
53. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
54. The Shining (1980)
55. The Dark Knight (2008)
56. The Terminator (1984)
57. North by Northwest (1959)
58. Se7en (Seven) (1995)
59. Annie Hall (1977)
60. L.A. Confidential (1997)

61. Do the Right Thing (1969)
62. The Italian Job (1969)
63. Scream (1996)
64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
65. Dances with Wolves (1990)
66. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
67. Cinema Paradiso (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso) (1988)
68. Highlander (1986)
69. Thelma & Louise (1991)
70. 12 Monkeys (1995)

71. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
72. The Deer Hunter (1978)
73. The English Patient (1996)
74. The Fifth Element (1997)
75. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
76. The Lion King (1994)
77. The Exorcist (1973)
78. Brazil (1985)
79. The Blues Brothers (1980)
80. Blue Velvet (1986)

81. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
82. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
83. My Fair Lady (1964)
84. Stagecoach (1939)
85. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
86. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
87. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
88. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
89. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
90. Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

91. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
92. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
93. Inception (2010)
94. The Full Monty (1997)
95. Fight Club (1999)
96. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
97. Chinatown (1974)
98. The Big Lebowski (1998)
99. Grease (1978)
100. Nashville (1975)

Resources:

Dave’s Movie Database: Movie Lists
BBC (7/20/2015). “The 100 Greatest American Films”
BBC Radio (2011). “Favourite Movies”
BBC (2009?). “Top 100 Movie List”
BBC (12/8/1999). “The Film 99 top 100” (chosen by Film 99 viewers)
BBC (7/11/1999). “Star Wars hailed best film” (determined by fans)

Originally posted 5/26/2025.

Sunday, December 31, 1989

Top Movies of the 1980s

This page offers lists of the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by two different metrics. The first list is based on box office and the second is based on critics’ picks.

Box Office:

Top 25 of the 1980s

These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by adjusted worldwide box office gross. The first number indicates dollars made in millions. See sources for box office figures here.

1) 3095.40: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
2) 2274.00: Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3) 1723.70: Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
4) 1639.60: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
5) 1400.40: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

6) 1258.10: Back to the Future (1985)
7) 1213.60: Batman (1989)
8) 1164.90: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
9) 1120.60: Top Gun (1986)
10) 1102.80: Back to the Future II (1989)

11) 1078.70: Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
12) 1075.70: Rocky III (1982)
13) 1051.90: Superman II (1980)
14) 1028.70: Rain Man (1988)
15) 994.50: Rocky IV (1985)

16) 994.30: Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
17) 956.10: Fatal Attraction (1987)
18) 942.90: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
19) 780.20: Ghostbusters (1984)
20) 617.94: Look Who’s Talking (1989)

21) 576.08: Crocodile Dundee (1986)
22) 526.84: Out of Africa (1985)
23) 520.58: Tootsie (1982)
24) 505.83: Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
25) 505.56: Crocodile Dundee II (1988)

Critics’ Picks:

Top 25 of the 1980s

These are the top 25 movies of the decade as determined by a combination of the movies’ ratings points and awards points.

1) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
2) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
3) Amadeus (1984)
4) Raging Bull (1980)
5) Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

6) Do the Right Thing (1989)
7) Back to the Future (1985)
8) Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
9) Platoon (1986)
10) Terms of Endearment (1983)

11) Rain Man (1988)
12) Ordinary People (1980)
13) The Right Stuff (1983)
14) blade runner ()
15) Gandhi (1982)

16) The Princess Bride (1987)
17) Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
18) The Last Emperor (1987)
19) When Harry Met Sally (1989)
20) This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

21) The Shining (1980)
22) Tootsie (1982)
23) Dead Poets Society (1989)
24) Brazil (1985)
25) Blue Velvet (1986)

Resources:

Dave’s Movie Database: Eras
Dave’s Movie Database: Movies of the Year
Dave’s Movie Database: Box Office
Dave’s Movie Database: Awards Page
Dave’s Movie Database: Ratings Page

Originally posted 3/8/2025.

Wednesday, July 3, 1985

Back to the Future opened

Back to the Future

Released: July 3, 1985

Studio: Universal

Genre: sci-fi

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 210.60 Worldwide: 170.50

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 581.21 Worldwide: 960.40

Directing: Robert Zemeckis

Screenwriting: Bob Gale, Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover

Review:

Director Robert Zemeckis “shows not only a fine comic touch but also some of the lighthearted humanism of a Frank Capra. The movie, in fact, resembles Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life more than other, conventional time-travel movies. It’s about a character who begins with one view of his life and reality, and is allowed, through magical intervention, to discover another.” ^RE

Back to the Future “manages to be timeless despite being so rooted in, well, time.” ^EM’18 It “blends equal parts hilarity, nostalgia, …screwball comedy, and white-knuckle suspense in a complex storyline wound tighter than a yo-yo in a centrifuge.” ^DF It is “part science-fiction caper, part generational culture-clash movie, [and] part weirdo family drama.” ^EM’18 The latter owes itself to complications that ensue when the movie’s star, Marty McFly (Fox), has to fend off the advances of his own mother when he travels back in time.

As Marty, Fox gives a “physical and comedically deft performance.” ^DF He is aided by “crazy scientist Doc Brown,” ^AFI07 played hilariously by Christopher Lloyd “in an Einstein-esque fright wig.” ^DF Marty accidentally travels back in time from 1985 to 1955 in Doc Brown’s time machine which he made out of a DeLorean. Marty has to set things right after accidentally mangling the moment when his parents fell in love.