Top 20 Scifi and Fantasy Films in my life

Why have a list?

What is so special about sci-fi or fantasy that it should require list - its all made up anyway!

Actually as far as I am concerned thats part of the allure, its all part of the exciting package. The sheer creativity and drama, the eye-popping effects and mind-boggling ideas can only be found in good scifi and fanatsy. Its this that keeps drawing us back. Not to mention the often satrical, witty or ironic takes on whats happening around us in the world.

Often it is this genre that brings us new breaks in special effects or stunts - often the cinematogrpahy is jaw-droppingly awesome.

So below is a short list of what I consider to be some of the top 20 scifi and fantasy films of all time - they are in no particular order as how can I choose?!

Terminator 2

This has got to be one of the best films of all time - across any genre. A total classic, it has stood the test of time and now 18 years it still looks as exciting and raw as it did when it came out.

The story is that the cyborg who once tried to kill Sarah Connor (in The Terminator) must now protect her teenager son, John Connor, from an even more powerful and advanced cyborg.

The movie won an awesome 4 Oscars and gave us many trademark a quotes, the most famous of which has to be "I'll be back", and scenes such as when the Terminator and the T1000 meet for the first time, the Terminator takes the gun out of the flower box and walks over the roses.

Some Terminator trivia (yay!):

- Most of Edward Furlong's voice had to be re-dubbed by Furlong again in post-production because it changed during shooting.

- The sound used for Arnold Schwarzenegger's shotgun is actually two cannons!

- The Minigun used in the Cyberdyne scene was so heavy that Arnold Schwarzenegger was in fact the only person on stage that could carry the gun!!!!!

Star Wars IV, V and VI

The sheer "awesomeness" of this movie cannot be described here by me. I remember watching it as a child, the excitement I felt at watching the fight scenes with the ever-cool lightsabres and the chases through space in futuristically shaped spaceships can still now be felt today.

The movie bought something completely new to this genre and blew away audiences with never before seen special effects. The first movie came out in 1977 - thats a pretty long time ago but even today the original films have millions of fans round the world. And why not?

The movies still stand today as well made and awe-inspiring scifi masterpieces.

Some Star Wars trivia:

- George Lucas originally planned for the characters of Luke Skywalker and his aunt and uncle, to be dwarves.

- Lucas also had planned the character of Han Solo to be a huge green-skinned monster with no nose and gills. Then Lucas changed the idea of Han Solo to a black human. He auditioned several black actors and even musicians but after this he decided to make the role white.

- Most of the Stormtroopers are left-handed. That is because of how the weapons are constructed.

- Studio executives were unhappy that Chewbacca has no clothes and attempted to have the costume redesigned with shorts. (how awful would that have been?! I can just imagine him now in a pair of hawain print shorts!)

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

I know, I know - why did I lump them all together?? Everyone has their favourites out the trilogy but I like them all. its very rare for such a classic fantasy novel to be made into a movie and its even rarer for the movie to be done as well and in such a believable way. Peter Jackson lovingly made these movies and the care taken can be seen in the fantastic end result. These movies blew me away and I am not ashamed to admit I saw them a few times at the cinema, each!

Whether of not you like fantasy, or have read The Lord of the Rings, you have to appreciate the special effects in these movies and how well its all pu together - the end result is an awesome trilogy that will surely stand the test of time.

The story is set in a fictional world called Middle Earth and follows Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring and thus ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron.

The movies were so big that even National Geographic caught the fever - see here

Some Lord of the Rings Trivia:

- Stuart Townsend was originally cast as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but after several days of shooting director Peter Jackson realized that an older actor was needed for the part. Citing "creative differences," Townsend was released from the project and replaced by Viggo Mortensen who had never even auditioned for the role.

- Eight of the nine members of the Fellowship got a small tattoo of the word "nine" spelled out in Tengwar, which is the Elvish script created by Tolkien. They got it at a tattoo parlor in Wellington, New Zealand, to commemorate the experience of the movie.

- Daniel Day Lewis turned down the role of Aragorn.

- The bridge in Hobbiton was built by the New Zealand army out of polystyrene.

- Bilbo Baggins's birthday cake has 111 candles on it and they eventually set fire to the polystyrene cake.

- Hobbiton was made a year before production began to make it look like it was a natural, lived-in place, complete with real vegetable patches. The greens department regulated the length of the grass by having sheep eat it.

- The large tree that stands above Bag End was built especially by the production department. Every leaf had to be manually attached.

- The nocturnal screams of possums were used for the screeches made by the Orcs in the mines of Moria

The Matrix

Well isn't this different?!

When this movie came out it felt like the whole world was obsessed with it - rave reviews were everywhere and everyone seemed to think it was the best thing sinced sliced bread.

Well, it was pretty darn good!! Once again a movie broke through and blew away an audience with never before seen special effects and a creative and jaw-dropping plotline.

It was just so cool!

The plotline is wonderful simple and yet complex at the same time (kinda like reality!): A computer hacker, Neo, learns from mysterious rebels, including the wonderful Morpheus, about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against the controllers of it - the machines.

Trivia:

- The guns in the lobby sequence and the elevator sequence, were actually plastic lightweight weapons. They made a very faithful cast of MP5K, which weighs about 150-200 grams, so that Keanu could carry them quite easily without worrying about the weight.

- The scene in which Neo meets the gifted children in the Oracle's apartment is an homage to the similar scene at the end of Akira (anime film). The Wachowski brothers are anime fans.

- Some of the Martial Arts syles used are Ju Jitsu, Savate, Kempo, Tae Kwon Do, and, of course, Kung Fu and Zui Chuan, or Drunken Boxing.

- The create the sound of the Matrix code the Sound Designer digitized raindrops against window panes.

The glyphs on the computer screens, with the exception of the call traces, consists of reversed letters, numbers, and Japanese katakana characters.

- Neo's room number is 101. Room 101 was the place in the book 1984 (George Orwell) where people were sent to be tortured and would end up believing something that wasn't true.

- The blocking moves Neo uses against Agent Smith upon his realization of being "the One", are the exact same techniques Daniel LaRusso uses against Mr. Miyagi upon his realization that he has in fact been karate training in The Karate Kid (what a nerdy thing to know!)

Alien

Well I actually love the whole Quadrilogy - the series is awesome (no other word will do!)!

I can only imagine the awe and excitement the viewing world felt when the first Alien movie was unvieled - its unique look and the totally believable appearance of the Alien itself must have been a sight to be seen. Even now the look is totally believable and just as jaw-dropping.

The idea of the alien species is unique and so well thought out that everytime I view this movie (which is quite often) I find myself riveted yet again.

The plot line is simple, its the details that make this movie: A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates, the entire crew are unaware of the terror which they would unleash upon their ship.

Alien Trivia:

- An early draft of the script had a male Ripley

- The front (face) part of the alien costume's head is made from a cast of a real human skull.

- Ridley Scott is reportedly quoted as saying that originally he wanted a much darker ending. He planned on having the alien bite off Ripley's head in the escape shuttle, sit in her chair, and then start speaking with her voice in a message to Earth. Apparently, 20th Century Fox wasn't too pleased with such a dark ending.

- It was conceptual artist 'Ron Cobb (I)' who came up with the idea that the Alien should bleed acid. This was done to explain why the crew couldn't just shoot the Alien.

- The original title was "Star Beast".

- The blue laser lights that were used in the alien ship's egg chamber were borrowed from The Who.The band was testing out the lasers for their stage show in the soundstage next door!

- In the first alien bursting through the chest scene real guts were being used so as to provoke genuine reactions of shock and disgust.

Blade Runner

Everyone MUST have heard of this movie - I grew up hearing about it and I didn't always realise how good it was but this movie is so unique in its look and its all punk!

Its a huge part of popular culture and a must see for everyone.

The Plot: Mankind has developed the technology to create replicants, human clones used to serve in the colonies outside Earth but with fixed lifespans. In Los Angeles, 2019, Deckard is a Blade Runner, a cop who specialises in terminating replicants. Originally in retirement, he is forced to re-enter the force when six replicants escape from an offworld colony to Earth.

Trivia:

- The ending title sequence in the theatrical cut of the film contains unused footage from Kubrick's The Shining.

- The 'snake scale' seen under the electron microscope was actually a marijuana bud.

- Blade Runner' is based on a stgory called 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep'.

- Priss' incept date, is shown on the monitor - It's the 14th of february 2016. Being the "basic pleasure model", she was born on Valentine's Day, of course.

Donnie Darko

What a unique movie and idea - the first time I saw it I loved it. Its a dark movie with some hidden humour and it can be hard to work out exactly what is happening the first time you see it but its worth watching.

The Plot: During the presidential election of 1988, a teenager named Donnie Darko sleepwalks out of his house one night, and sees a giant, demonic-looking rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. He returns home the next morning to find that a jet engine has crashed through his bedroom. As he tries to figure out why he survived and tries to deal with people in his town, like the school bully, his conservative health teacher, and a self-help guru, Frank continues to turn up in Donnie's mind, causing him to commit acts of vandalism and worse.

Trivia:

- The original poster art for the movie had used an Arabic-style font, but this was changed to the more common Trajan typeface for the video release after the terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001. However, the font retains its original style in the film itself.

- The movie takes place in 1988. Frank tells Donnie the world will end in 28 days, 06 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. If you add these numbers, the sum is 88.

- Both Vince Vaughn and Mark Wahlberg were lined up to play Donnie. Vaughn refused because he didn't feel comfortable playing a 16 year-old. Wahlberg wanted to play Donnie with a lisp but the director disagreed.

Interview with the Vampire

What an awesome movie - I really do not think there has been anything quite like it. It could possibly be the best vampire movie - leagues ahead of this "Twilight"-stuff that mascarades as a movie!

Its dark, its funny, its got a great script, a unique plot and brilliant acting - what more does a girl need?!

The Plot: In 1791, plantation owner, Louis is unhappy with the life he has, until Lestat, a vampire, comes into his life. Lestat allows Louis to make the decision of either death or life as a vampire forever. And not until his decision is already made, does Louis realize what he has become. He refuses to take human life and is about to leave when Lestat, being the clever and manipulative being that he is, turns a little orphan girl into a vampire. The story is told by Louis in 1991 to an interviewer about the lives of himself, Lestat and Claudia through trouble, death, curse and love over the past 200 years.

Trivia:

- Tom Cruise wanted a private set, and hence tunnels were built to escort the actors to and from the set. This was done so that the vampire's makeup effects would remain a secret.

- Johnny Depp was offered the role of Lestat.(!!!!!!!how different it could have been!!!!!!!)

- Anne Rice (the author of the book) was so pleased with this adaptation that she took out a two page ad in both Vanity Fair and the New York Times endorsing it as "a masterpiece".

- In the book, the reason why Louis becomes depressed in the beginning of the movie is because he feels guilty about the death of his brother; not because he had a wife and child that died. In fact, he never had a wife in the book version.

Edward Scissorhands

I have not watched this film for years as I just cannot cope with how incredibly sad I find out but this does not mean it is not a brilliant film. Its another Tim Burton creation that reveals his genius - the movie looks like a classic Burton and its beautifully filmed. Johnny Depp is totally amazing in this character and the whole film plays as a piece of art.

The Plot: When Pegg Bogs, the local Avon lady, attempts one last stop to sell her products, she wanders off to the mansion on top of the large hill in the suburb. Finding a unique and alone man named Edward with scissors for hands, Peg decides to bring Edward back with her into society. Edward makes a good impression and even falls in love with Peg's high school daughter Kim, but after a robbery with a framed Edward as the culprit, things in his life begin to go downhill and Kim finally understands his feelings.

Trivia:

- The houses used in the film were a real community in Florida, completely unchanged except for their garish exterior paint.

- The first draft of the film was written as a musical.

- Johnny Depp said only 169 words in this film.

- The idea for the movie was inspired by a drawing Tim Burton did as a teenager

- This is Tim Burton's favourite of all his movies!

The Green Mile

Its an unassuming movie but its beautifully filmed with wonderful acting, a great script and a unique plot.

The Plot: Death Row guards at a penitentiary, in the 1930's, have a moral dilemma with their job when they discover one of their prisoners, a convicted murderer, has a special gift.

Trivia:

- The prison guards wear uniforms to give the movie a better feel, even though uniforms weren't in use at the time in which the movie is set.

- By the time Paul introduced Elaine to Mr. Jingles, the mouse would have to be at least 64 years old - over nine times the age of the oldest ever known real mouse.

- When Stephen King visited the set he asked to be strapped into Old Sparky to see how it felt. He didn't like it and asked to be released.

- John Travolta was offered the role of Paul Edgecomb but turned it down. (How incredibly different would that have been?!)

- The movie is set in 1935 Lousiana, and all of the executions are through electrocutions. However, executions by that method in that state didn't happen till 1941.

The Mummy

I know - its not serious at all. Its not even brilliant or earth-shattering. Its just so much fun though- its one of the rare movies in this genre that you can watch as a family and everyone can enjoy it. Its funny, its exciting, its silly - fun.

The Plot: As punishment for killing Pharaoh Seti and sleeping with his mistress, Egyptian priest Imhotep was mummified alive and cursed. But in 1923 he is inadvertently resurrected by treasure hunters and must be stopped before he can wreak his final vengeance on the world.

Trivia:

- Brendan Fraser passed out while filming because the noose around his neck was too tight!

- "Imhotep" was actually the name of the architect who developed the first pyramids in ancient Egypt, most notably the Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara around 2600 BC. His ability was such that he was later said to have descended from the gods. His name means "one who comes in peace"

- The prison scene was shot entirely at an apartment complex in Marrakech.

- During the filming of the scene in which hail and fire fall down on Cairo, dried dog food was painted white and used as balls of hail, thrown down on the set.

- The locusts shown in the scene at Hamunaptra were mostly computer-generated, but a number of live grasshoppers were used for the shot; the grasshoppers were chilled in a refrigerator to make them more sluggish and easy to film.

Mary Poppins

This movie is amazing - I'm sure not many people see this as a typical movie in this genre but it belongs here! Its not just a typical, happy childrens movie - buts its one of the rare movies that are fantasy but not seen as such - it has totally become mainstream. Thats pretty neat! The confirmation - it won 5 Oscars!

The Plot: The movie combines a diverting story, songs, color and sequences of live action blended with the movements of animated figures. Mary Poppins is a kind of super-nanny who flies in with her umbrella in response to the request of the Banks children and proceeds to put things right with the aid of her rather extraordinary magical powers before flying off again.

Trivia:

- Walt Disney considered Mary Poppins as one of the crowning achievements of his career.

- The planning and composing of the songs took about two years.

- At the time, the most expensive film produced by the Disney Studios.

- The cherry tree blossoms in Cherry Tree Lane were made of plastic, imported from France and Portugal. Each leaf and bloom was hand-mounted.

- In the transition from page to screen, the Banks family manages to lose a set of twins, John and Barbara.

- Many of the nannies in the large queue of applicants for the job at the start of the film were actually men in drag.

- The film was shot entirely indoors.

- Mary Poppins and Mrs. Banks never speak to each other in the film!

Indiana Jones (all the originals)

Well... they were good and they all involved something slightly "spooky". These are classics and I'm sure just about everyone has seen them - how could you not have??? They're wacky, their fun and their just so entertaining!

The Plots: Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones falls into finding or is hired to find certain artifacts (often mysterious and mythical) and the movies follow his adventures along the way - often saving the world too.

Trivia:

- Tom Selleck was originally cast as Indiana Jones at the request of George Lucas, who initially objected to the casting of Harrison Ford because he did not want the actor to be constantly associated with his films. Selleck, however, was unable to take the role

- In the Temple of Doom: For the bug chamber sequence, Kate Capshaw was covered with over 2,000 bugs. Incredibly, the actress had to be taught how to scream – it would have taken us seconds!

- According to Steven Spielberg the decision to have Sean Connery play Indiana Jones’ father was an inside joke to James Bond being the father of Indiana Jones. The director had always wanted to helm a Bond film but did Indiana Jones as a James Bond style character.

- Probably not something you needed to know, but Sean Connery and Harrison Ford wore no trousers during the shooting of the Zeppelin sequence – because it was filmed in a very hot studio and Connery didn’t want to sweat too much. That’s father-son, erm, Bonding at its best!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

A winner of 3 Oscars - this is a movie like no other. A total classic.

The Plot: Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect. Groundbreaking interaction between the live and animated characters, and lots of references to classic animation.

Trivia:

- Hoskins' son was reportedly furious that his father hadn't brought any of his cartoon co-stars home to meet him. (awwwwwwww!)

- Eddie enters a Toontown men's room which has the graffiti "For a Good Time, call Allyson Wonderland" in the background. In the original theatrical version, a phone number was visible beside the words - Michael Eisner's home phone number. The phone number was removed for the VHS and Laserdisk releases.

- Although the film's title is a question, no question mark appears in the title, as this is considered bad luck in the industry.

Back to the Future

What a total classic! I'v seen this far too many times (probably cos its always on TV) but its one of those movies everyone has seen and the new generations will probably grow up seeing. To top it off its a fun family movie that everyone can watch. It doesn't have the darkness or wit most hardcore scifi or fantasy movies have - but its so entertaining, does it matter?

The Plot: It is the year 1985. Marty McFly, a mild-mannered high school student, stopped by Dr. Emmett L. Brown's laboratory to play around with an amplifier. Then he receives a message from Doc that he needs help from him for Doc's latest invention, a time machine made out of a DeLorean sports car that can travel through time instantaneously when it reaches a speed velocity of 88 MPH. The movies follow Marty's adventures through time.

Trivia:

- Michael J Fox had to learn to skateboard for the film.

- Michael J Fox was allowed by the producer of "Family Ties" to film this movie on the condition that he kept his full schedule on the TV show - meaning no write-outs or missing episodes - and filmed the (majority) of the movie at night - meaning he averaged about 1-2 hours of sleep a day.

- The DeLorean was deliberately selected for its general appearance and gull wing doors, in order to make it plausible that people in 1955 would presume it to be an alien spacecraft.

- The device originally considered for use as the time travel machine was a refrigerator.

2001: A Space Odyssey

NO list would be complete without this total classic - the look and feel of this movie is unique and its so incredibly well known due to its uniqueness.

The Plot:  "2001" is a story of evolution. Sometime in the distant past, someone or something nudged evolution by placing a monolith on Earth (presumably elsewhere throughout the universe as well). Evolution then enabled humankind to reach the moon's surface, where yet another monolith is found, one that signals the monolith placers that humankind has evolved that far. Now a race begins between computers (HAL) and human (Bowman) to reach the monolith placers. The winner will achieve the next step in evolution, whatever that may be.

Trivia:

- The main Discovery set was built by aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrong inside a 12-meter by two-meter drum designed to rotate at five km per hour. It cost $750,000.

- Stanley Kubrick had several tons of sand imported, washed, and painted for the moon surface scenes.

- There is no dialogue in the first 25 minutes of the movie (ending when a stewardess speaks at 25:38), nor in the last 23 minutes (excluding end credits). With these two lengthy sections and other shorter ones, there are around 88 dialogue-free minutes in the movie.

- In honor of the book and movie, NASA named a Mars orbiter: 2001 Mars Odyssey. This was not the first time NASA had a connotation with the film; the Apollo 13 command module's callsign was Odyssey during the ill-fated mission.

- HAL 9000 never once says, "Good Morning, Dave," despite this line being one of his most recognized quotations.

- If you consider the relative positions of Bowman when he first arrives in the suite, when he is next standing in the room, when he is in the bathroom, when he is at the table, and when he is in the bed, these points form a star.

-Aside from the film's music, no sound is heard in the space sequences. This is because technically in space, there is no sound.

Planet of the Apes

Oh what a classic - and no, not the new one. I am talking about the 1968 classic.

The Plot: Taylor and two other astronauts come out of deep hibernation to find that their ship has crashed. Escaping with little more than clothes they find that they have landed on a planet where men are pre-lingual and uncivilized while apes have learned speech and technology. Taylor is captured and taken to the city of the apes after damaging his throat so that he is silent and cannot communicate with the apes.

Trivia:

- During breaks in filming, actors made up as different ape species tended to hang out together, gorillas with gorillas, orangutans with orangutans, chimps with chimps. It wasn't required, it just naturally happened.

- When adjusted for inflation, the movie holds the world record for the highest make-up budget (then £345,542), which represented about 17% of the total budget (£2 million).

- The fourth astronaut Stewart was originally written as a man.

- There are no female gorillas or orangutans in the film.

- The apes' village is modeled on the work of legendary Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi.

E.T:

I'm sure every child has watched this ( at least those with TVs!)- wat a total classic. Totally entertaining, fun-filled, exciting,emotional and creative - I dont think there has been anything similar to this before or since.It won 4 oscars - well deserved!

The Plot: A group of Earth children help a stranded alien botanist return home.

Trivia:

- ET's communicator actually worked, and was constructed an expert in science and technology interpretation for the public.

- Spielburg shot most of the film from the eye-level of a child to further connect with Elliot and E.T.

- Spielburg shot the film in chronological order to invoke a real response from the actors (mainly the children) when E.T. departed at the end. All emotional responses from that last scene are real.

- When it was test-screened at the Cannes Film Festival as an unofficial entry, it brought the house down, receiving a standing ovation that had eluded most of the official entries.

- E.T. riding in the basket on Elliot's bicycle flying in front of the moon has become the trademark image of Amblin Entertainment.

- Elliot's last name is never mentioned.

- With the exception of Elliot's mom, no adults' faces are shown until the last half of the film.

Serenity

I loved the Firefly series so I of course loved the movie - Joss Whedon is a genius. This is a witty, action-packed, fun-filled movie - totally entertaining. The format is unique and can be thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The Plot: The crew of Serenity will take any job, even if that job isn't exactly legal. Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew take small smuggling and robbery jobs to keep their ship afloat, and to stay under the radar of The Alliance, the galactic conglomerate that not only rules the galaxy, but was on the opposite side of the war Mal lost years ago. But when a Simon and his unstable, telepathic sister, River join the crew, they get in much more trouble than they bargained for. A mysterious man is after River, because she stumbled onto a secret no one was supposed to know...

Trivia:

- Although only a portion of the animated "Fruity Oaty Bar" commercial is visible in the movie, it was produced in its entirety and is visible as an "Easter Egg" on the DVD.

- Fanty and Mingo are named for the pair of mafia thugs from "The Big Combo" (1955)

- The futuristic-looking handcuffs used on River are in fact Clejuso Number 13s, the second heaviest handcuffs currently in production.

- Mal's drink of choice, Ng Ka Py, is a Chinese brandy.

Stargate:

OH I do love this - the movie and the series. Does that make me sad? Its a unique concept and I love it. Its so fun and entertaining.

The Plot:  An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.

Trivia:

- Many of the crowd scenes feature mannequins, as they were cheaper than extras.

- Wardrobe and cinematography had to work around Jaye Davidson's nipple rings - he refused to remove them.

- Jaye Davidson despised the costumes he wore so much, on the last day of shooting his scenes, after hearing the final "cut", he stripped naked on the set without going to his trailer. Moreover, Davidson retired from acting after completion of this film. He has only appeared in one thing since, and that was five years later.

- This was the first movie to ever have an official website.

- Jaye Davidson dislike of the attention that he received after The Crying Game but he didnt want to just turn down the offer so made what he expected to be an unacceptable demand of $1 million. This was accepted and he appeared.

 Ok I'm not totally happy with this list but there is just so much out there!