ESFM's List of Best Science Fiction Movies

Here is our list of 100 best science fiction movies, which, in our humble opinion, are all in their own way exceptional, tempting, and definitely worth exploring.

They are loaded with imagination-tickling ideas, sweeping concepts, and are absolutely great fun to watch. Just don't forget to sleep and eat occasionally. :)

Choosing the best, we tried to stick to the definition of science fiction movies as much as possible and find plausibility and a little bit of science in every one of them.

You will find movies on this list which are fine examples of crossover between science fiction and other genres: horror, fantasy, action, comedy, and many more.

In our view, these movies push back the boundaries of the genre. What's more, we believe they deserve a place on any list of best science fiction movies in any universe.

We value your input and would like to know what you think of our list of the best science fiction movies. Don't hesitate to contact us in case you have any comments or suggestions, or just feel like shooting the breeze with kindred spirits. We look forward to hearing from you guys!

Printable, updated PDF version of our list of Best Science Fiction Movies is here! Click on the link to open and than "Save" or right-click it and then choose "Save As" to download it. Share it with your SF movie friends and have fun!

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We will update this page as long as your votes keep coming in, and the new (and old) films worthy of listing among the best science fiction movies keep cropping up. Which is to say, forever!

100. When Worlds Collide (directed by Rudolph Mate, 1951)

99. Altered States (directed by Ken Russell, 1980)

98. Scanners (directed by David Cronenberg, 1981)

97. Rollerball (directed by Norman Jewison, 1975)

96. Independence Day (directed by Roland Emmerich, 1996)

95. The Quatermass Xperiment (directed by Val Guest, 1955)

94. THX 1138 (directed by George Lucas, 1971)

93. Tron (directed by Steven Lisberger, 1982)

92. Silent Running (directed by Douglas Trumbull, 1972)

91. They Live (directed by John Carpenter, 1988)

90. Starship Troopers (directed by Paul Verhoeven, 1997)

89. Men in Black (directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, 1997)

88. Artificial Intelligence: AI (directed by Steven Spielberg, 2001)

87. Videodrome (directed by David Cronenberg, 1983)

86. Enemy Mine (directed by Wolfgang Petersen, 1985)

85. Stargate (directed by Roland Emmerich, 1994)

84. Galaxy Quest (directed by Dean Parisot, 1999)

83. Star Trek: Voyage Home (directed by Leonard Nimoy, 1986)

82. Quatermass and the Pit (directed by Roy Ward Baker, 1967)

81. Logan's Run (directed by Michael Anderson, 1976)

80. Sleeper (directed by Woody Allen, 1973)

79. The Last Man on Earth (directed by Ubaldo Ragona, 1964)

78. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (directed by Steven Spielberg, 1977)

77. The Quiet Earth (directed by Geoff Murphy, 1985)

76. The Man in the White Suite (directed by Alexander Mackendrick, 1951)

74. 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (directed by Richard Fleischer, 1954)

73. Nineteen Eighty-Four (directed by Michael Radford, 1984)

72. Escape from New York (directed by John Carpenter, 1981)

71. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (directed by Steven Spielberg, 1982)

70. Things to Come (directed by William Cameron Menzies, 1936)

69. The Damned (directed by Joseph Losey, 1963)

68. I, Robot (directed by Alex Proyas, 2004)

67. Superman (directed by Richard Donner, 1978)

66. Total Recall (directed by Paul Verhoeven, 1990)

65. eXistenZ (directed by David Cronenberg, 1999)

64. The Fifth Element (directed by Luc Besson, 1997)

63. Dune (directed by David Lynch, 1984)

62. Pitch Black (directed by David Twohy, 2000)

61. Equilibrium (directed by Kurt Wimmer, 2002)

60. Gojira /Godzilla/ (directed by Ishirô Honda, 1954)

59. Stalker (directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)

58. Starman (directed by John Carpenter, 1984)

57. Contact (directed by Robert Zemeckis, 1997)

56. The Abyss (directed by James Cameron, 1989)

55. Predator (directed by John McTiernan, 1987)

54. Robocop (directed by Paul Verhoeven, 1987)

53. Star Trek: First Contact (directed by Jonathan Frakes, 1996)

52. On the Beach (directed by Stanley Kramer, 1959)

51. 28 Days Later (directed by Danny Boyle, 2002)

49. X-Men (directed by Bryan Singer, 2000)

48. Watchmen (directed by Zack Snyder, 2009)

47. The Village of the Damned (directed by Wolf Rilla, 1960)

46. Westworld (directed by Michael Crichton, 1973)

45. Mad Max 2 (directed by George Miller, 1981)

44. Them! (directed by Gordon Douglas, 1954)

43. Seconds (directed by John Frankenheimer, 1966)

42. Forbidden Planet (directed by Fred M. Wilcox, 1956)

41. Minority Report (directed by Steven Spielberg, 2002)

40. Donnie Darko (directed by Richard Kelly, 2001)

39. Back to the Future (directed by Robert Zemeckis, 1985)

38. K-PAX (directed by Iain Softley, 2001)

37. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (directed by Michel Gondry, 2004)

36. The Truman Show (directed by Peter Weir, 1998)

35. Abre los ojos /Open Your Eyes/ (directed by Alejandro Amenabar, 1997)

34. The War of the Worlds (directed by Byron Haskin, 1953)

33. Andromeda Strain (directed by Robert Wise, 1971)

32. Strange Days (directed by Kathryn Bigelow, 1995)

31. The Fly (directed by David Cronenberg, 1986)

30. Jurassic Park (directed by Steven Spielberg, 1993)

29. Planet of the Apes (directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968)

28. V for Vendetta (directed by James McTeigue, 2005)

27. The Thing (directed by John Carpenter, 1982)

26. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (directed by Philip Kaufman, 1978)

24. A Clockwork Orange (directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1971)

23. Star Wars (directed by George Lucas, 1977)

22. Delicatessen (directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1991)

21. Brazil (directed by Terry Gilliam, 1985)

20. The Terminator (directed by James Cameron, 1984)

19. Solyaris /Solaris/ (directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)

18. Aliens (directed by James Cameron, 1986)

17. Children of Men (directed by Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)

16. The Day the Earth Stood Still (directed by Robert Wise, 1951)

14. Fahrenheit 451 (directed by François Truffaut, 1966)

13. Le voyage dans la lune /A Trip to the Moon/ (directed by Georges Melies, 1902)

12. Metropolis (directed by Fritz Lang, 1927)

11. The Time Machine (directed by George Pal, 1960)

9. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (directed by James Cameron, 1991)

8. Gattaca (directed by Andrew Niccol, 1997)

7. The Matrix (directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski, 1999)

6. Dark City (directed by Alex Proyas, 1998)

5. Serenity (directed by Joss Whedon, 2005)

4. 12 Monkeys (directed by Terry Gilliam, 1995)

3. Alien (directed by Ridley Scott, 1979)

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

1. Blade Runner (directed by Ridley Scott, 1982)

We hope you liked our countdown of Best Science Fiction Movies.

And now the moment we've all been waiting for...

Vote for Your Top 10 Science Fiction Movies

You can vote for any number of movies (between 1 and 10) and they will receive following points:
No.1 -> 10 points,
No.2 -> 9 points,
No.3 -> 8 points... and so on.

So tell us Science Fiction Movie Explorer ...

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