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Suggest lesser-known good Sci-Fi films

Digby

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Edit: Just changed the title a little to focus on less well known films. It doesn't have to be something nobody has heard of, but presume I have seen all the big/well known films (Terminator, Total Recall, Planet of The Apes, Aliens, Matrix...you get the drift). Thanks

Any suggestions as to good (better still, excellent) Sci-Fi films, preferably pre-2000s. I admit to being rather less than impressed with the genre when it is on film, compared to book form. No need to suggest any of the very obvious stuff, i.e Bladerunner (which I found dull tbh) and The Fifth Element (a good film, but not very Sci-Fi imo).

I would usually say the weirder the better, but there are definitely limits. I did give the original Russian Solaris a try. At first I thought it was excellent, but I was waiting for something to happen, something that tied it all together, but I just ended up baffled and bored, so turned off before the end.
 
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flor

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Hmm, 90s sci-fi I’ve seen and can recommend… let’s see…

Alien3
Armageddon
Cube
Dark City
Demolition Man
Event Horizon
Galaxy Quest
Gattaca
Ghost in the Shell
The Iron Giant
Judge Dredd
Johnny Mnemonic
The Matrix
Men in Black
Species
Stargate
Starship Troopers
Strange Days
Total Recall
12 Monkeys
Waterworld
 
OP
D

Digby

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Hmm, 90s sci-fi I’ve seen and can recommend… let’s see…

Alien3
Armageddon
Cube
Dark City
Demolition Man
Event Horizon
Galaxy Quest
Gattaca
Ghost in the Shell
The Iron Giant
Judge Dredd
Johnny Mnemonic
The Matrix
Men in Black
Species
Stargate
Starship Troopers
Strange Days
Total Recall
12 Monkeys
Waterworld
I've seen most of these. Standouts for me would be Cube and Ghost in the Shell. Definitely more like these two would be appreciated.

Dark City was very good too.
 

JanesJr1

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Battlestar Galactica (the early-2000's version) is a fun ride. Traditional sci-fi but well done with lots of outlandish adventure and a character-driven, ensemble cast that any series would envy. (Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff at the top of the list.) Some episodes or seasonal story-lines are absolute sci-fi classics.

I won't drag things out with a run-down of all the goodies in this 5 year series, but I will mention that it came out just when true, long-format serials with stories that went on for seasons first hit the small screen. (E.g. Lost, the Wire). (Before that, almost all TV was episodic, with the Xfiles starting to transition into longer-format stories in the late 90's as it went along.) The first of those serials (Lost), itself became totally lost in the woods, because it didn't have any idea where it was going to begin with; so the central mysteries established so well in season 1 dissolved into a contrived mess.

By contrast, the central mystery of Battlestar Galactica gradually comes into focus over time, with final clarity in the last minute of the series ... it knew where it was going, and the big reveal came out in a series of aha! moments over time. This made the reveal worth the wait. (OK, so it was quasi-mystical, but it was also a fun sci-fi premise.)
 
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Andretti60

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How far back from pre-2000?

Metropolis
On The Beach
Forbidden Planet
Failsafe
The Day Earth Stood Still
2001 Space Odissey
Soylent Green
Stalker
Silent Running
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (all versions)
Planet of the Apes (the original)
Village of the Damned (the original)
 

Triliza

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Equilibrium (2002) is very good if you haven't seen it. Brazil (1985) is another classic.

Tarkovsky films can be a masterpiece or unwatchabale depending on the mood and frame of mind, Stalker (scifi-sh in a sense) has been like that for me, can't number the times I have started and stopped it after a while (I have watched it a couple of times in it's entirety btw).
 

Snarfie

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Star Trek Next Generation last episode(s) All Good Things an Interstellar.
 

fordiebianco

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  • Serenity
  • Children of Men
  • Starship Troopers
  • Star Trek 4, 6, 8
  • Silent running
  • Invasion of the body snatchers
  • 2001, 2010
  • Abyss
  • Terminator
  • Tron
  • The last Starfighter
  • Delicatessen
  • Stargate
  • Escape from New York
  • Contact
  • Universal Solider
  • Day after tomorrow
 

MAB

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Trying not to repeat suggestions...

City if Lost Children
Children of Men
Akira
The Terminator
RoboCop
The Fly
Sunshine
Fantastic Planet
12 Monkeys
Wizards
Predator
Heavy Metal
Dune (SciFi channel adaptations)
Pan's Labyrinth
A Clockwork Orange
Mad Max
Road Warrior
Ex Machina

And although you didn't like Blade Runner (I assume you mean the director's cut of the original movie, perhaps...)
Minority Report
Total Recall
A Scanner Darkly
The Adjustment Bureau
 

fordiebianco

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flor

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I've seen most of these. Standouts for me would be Cube and Ghost in the Shell. Definitely more like these two would be appreciated.

Dark City was very good too.
Not strictly Sci-fi, more in the atmosphere of Cube and Ghost in the Shell:

“What is Reality” list on Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/aZ1F8

“We live inside a dream” list on Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/2e6rE

“Surreal” list on Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/KXO8

“It’s all in your head” list on Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/AUuY

Maybe start with the films that are common among these lists and fan out from there!
 
OP
D

Digby

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Not strictly Sci-fi, more in the atmosphere of Cube and Ghost in the Shell:
This may be what I'm searching for, an 'atmosphere' more than just strictly Sci-Fi, preferably incorporating some kind of Sci-Fi elements.

I enjoy films like Starship Troopers, Planet of The Apes, Terminator, Total Recall and so on, but either the atmosphere isn't quite what I'm after and/or they are films that 95% of people will have seen already (many of us will have seen them multiple times). I'm really after things a little more unknown.

Here is a rather odd suggestion from me Liquid Sky. It will be probably be a love it or hate it experience, but it is certainly quite unique.
 

fordiebianco

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This may be what I'm searching for, an 'atmosphere' more than just strictly Sci-Fi, preferably incorporating some kind of Sci-Fi elements.

I enjoy films like Starship Troopers, Planet of The Apes, Terminator, Total Recall and so on, but either the atmosphere isn't quite what I'm after and/or they are films that 95% of people will have seen already (many of us will have seen them multiple times). I'm really after things a little more unknown.

Here is a rather odd suggestion from me Liquid Sky. It will be probably be a love it or hate it experience, but it is certainly quite unique.
I’ve just seen ‘everything everywhere at once’, and that might be up your street!
 

sofrep811

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Solaris (1972 Russian version)

Stalker (1979 Russian) Same director as above

The Thing – Original movie but still one of the best ever made.

Under The Skin – Creepy AF but great movie about aliens hunting humans

Snowpiercer – Think like The Thing this is more popular than I think?



Check out the movies that got bad reviews. A lot of mainstream reviewers are not the best at Sci-Fi moves. I love PT Anderson, Kurbrick, etc but sometimes I need something fun and easy to watch.
 
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