The 1980's science fiction movie poll

also these fine animated features:
Rock & Rule
Time Masters
Starchaser: Legend of Orin
Lightyears

Heavy Metal

Predator wins because I've seen it more than Back to the Future, and drawn him more than the Xenomorph.

And I got my baseball coach into trouble for getting him to talk my mom into letting me watch Predator.

i would argue for 'streets of fire' to be included

Earth Girls ARE Easy

I voted for Bladerunner, but dude!

Empire Strikes Back, Road Warrior, Escape from New York, Outland, E.T., Tron, The Thing, Khaaaaan, Testament (good god, every junior high student in the world should be required to watch that one), Dead Zone, Repo Man, Terminator, Buckaroo Banzai, Starman, Brazil, ST: Save the Whales, Tremors (mwahahahaha), The Abyss (minus the last ten minutes) ....

That was a good decade for chilling out in the dark and going where no human has gone before.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fa/Krull.jpg/392px-Krull.jpg

I loved the weird shriek the stormtroopers in Krull uttered upon being shot.

So many great films here, but I gotta go for Akira for totally blowing my mind about what animation can do. Plus it's a great film storywise too.

Also, it was made 20 years ago, but I still can think of only handful of other animated features that would look as great as Akira.

I always associate Akira with the 90s since it didn't come out in the US until 90-91.

Voted for Videodrome (which I'd always kinda associated more with horror) but ain't seen lots on this list...

One not on there that I really loved was the Russian flick Kin-Dza-Dza.

voted videodrome because
http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/videodrome.jpg

1. E.T.
2. Blade Runner

Xpost: Kin-Dza-Dza looks fascinating. Where did you see it? Is it available subbed or dubbed into English?

D/l'ed it (with fan subs, which unfortunately were out-of-time and I had to resync) a couple of years ago. I remember checking for a subtitled DVD at the time and there wasn't one available. Definitely worth seeing - I think I might give it a rewatch tonight actually.

Also, no Tetsuo? Not sci-fi enough?

Soukesian, it has never been officially translated into English but an old roommate of mine made a translation a couple of years ago which I have as an .srt file. if you're interested email me using my profile email address.

Anyone who votes for Buckaroo Banzai needs to be dragged out into the street & shot.

Stupendously incorrect.

agreed w/ kkvg, dragging them out into the street is completely unnecessary

it's a fine way to kill what, an hour and a half? but it's certainly the farthest thing from best sci-fi movie of the eighties that i can think of.

come on, anything with peter weller is worth seeing. i feel the same way about lance henriksen.

although i suppose that's what you said.

I feel the same way about AT-ATs.

you know what i miss?
x-wing vs. tie fighter and its precursors.

Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai is what I remember most about Sunday afternoons in the late 80s, sitting around watching UHF with friends. Someone at channel 54 really liked that movie and so did I. You guys are right though, there's probably a dozen better movies up there.

Xpost to Tracer - thanks for the offer on Kin-Dza-Dza, but Ruscico (Russian Cinema Council) have it on their website under 'coming soon', so I'll wait for that. Check 'em out - they have a lot of Soviet era SF and Fantasy on offer. Discs are nicely put together, dubs, subs and extras.

Caught Lifeforce again on late night TV recently. What a fascinating disaster. Some classic character actors propping up utterly wooden and miscast leads, almost to the point of ventriloquism. However there's a still a cool 'Quatermass' vibe, the effects still look pretty good, and the destruction of London is quite spectacular. A LOT of money has been spent, but it still manages to look like as cheap episode of 'New Avengers' most the time. (But that vampire spaceship!)

Just imagine if this had been another John Carpenter/Kurt Russell joint, though.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

this is tough, maybe tougher than the 70s one. let's see...

Altered States - some terrible acting and lousy dialogue, but the gonzo visuals carry the day. writhing crucified man with head of an eight-eyed goat? check. snake turns into your naked girlfriend, then into desiccated dust statue eroded by desert winds? check. lava lamp soul implosion whirlpool? check. but when william hurt sits at his kitchen table watching his arm ripple, I think that's not sci-fi, that's how I spent most of my time in college.

Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior) - pound for pound this is my favorite movie on the list, but I agree with morbs that it's one of the least sci-fi. however, it is one of the most quotable and compulsively watchable. a marvel of editing. and casting - even the bit players give great face.

Escape from New York - watched this recently and was surprised by how well it has held up. also noticed how it amalgamates elements from carpenter's previous films; the tough guy bravado and urban grit of assault on precinct 13, creepy corner-of-the-frame shock scenes a la halloween, kurt russell from elvis, the fog's atmospheric claustrophobia. plus, snake plissken is the best action hero handle ever.

Scanners - huge soft spot for this movie, in spite of its flaws, which are many. poorly plotted, acting is all over the map, lead character is dishwater dull. at one point the sound even goes out of sync for several minutes?! but the set pieces are fantastic (the exploding head, the art gallery) and the concept and ideas are enough to keep this train wreck humming.

Videodrome - both more polished and more beserk than scanners, but the queasy, post-burroughs satire doesn't wear as well.

The Thing - this is always a fun watch but never a love thing for me. perhaps it's the all-dude cast, or maybe because the special effects so totally overpower every other aspect of the movie.

Liquid Sky - haven't seen this in decades but I have fond memories of fluorescent discos, rhythmic self-abuse, and killer orgasms. which is how I imagine the rest of the world spent their time in college.

Repo Man - another one that's stood the test of time. however, the movie straddles so many genres it becomes genreless and putting it in a sci-fi category does it a disservice. maybe file under "california satire"? now that I think about it, this is emilio estevez's best performance ever - never again was his dunderheaded smirking used to such advantage.

Aliens - I patiently await rrrobyn's revenge for calling this a popcorn movie, but it really *is* one, a movie's movie. thrills! chills! spills! it's one hollywood cliche after another executed with such jackhammer precision that there's no reason not to strap yourself in and yell "we're in the pipe, 5 by 5!"

The Fly - has there ever been a more successful sci-fi remake? it nails the type of heartbreak altered states strived for but failed to deliver, breathing life into a universal message that hits home with every generation; honey, I love you but I'm willing to undergo horrific genetic mutation for my job. hope you'll understand.

I took the lefthand path and voted for

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/scanners.gifhttp://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/scanners.gifhttp://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/scanners.gif

I never noticed this before, but there's a moment mid-explosion when he looks really surprised.

"woah, wasn't expecting that"

lol

Hi Jordan,
We've updated your homepage! The movies below were selected based on your ratings and past activity. Over time it will change as we learn more about what you like.
Action Sci-Fi & Fantasy
from the 1980s
Based on your recent interest in:

* Outland
* Blade Runner: The Final Cut
* Predator: Collector's Edition

TronTronAdd to Queue
3.7 Stars

Star Wars: Return of the JediStar Wars: Return of the JediAdd to Queue
4.6 Stars

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars: The Empire Strikes BackAdd to Queue
4.6 Stars

The Road WarriorThe Road WarriorAdd to Queue
3.9 Stars

Also, no Tetsuo? Not sci-fi enough?

(from earlier in the thread)

Altered States - some terrible acting and lousy dialogue, but the gonzo visuals carry the day. writhing crucified man with head of an eight-eyed goat? check. snake turns into your naked girlfriend, then into desiccated dust statue eroded by desert winds? check. lava lamp soul implosion whirlpool? check. but when william hurt sits at his kitchen table watching his arm ripple, I think that's not sci-fi, that's how I spent most of my time in college.

Blair Brown nekkid vs. Saturn 3 Farah Fawcett
Bailey vs. Jennifer

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

give me one (1) break!

how did aliens get no votes? and nobody repped for innerspace either. Oh, we are a failure, aren't we.

Blair Brown nekkid

I parsed this incorrectly and it conjured up some very disturbing imagery.

Alien won the first poll, and there are way more options on this poll, so I can understand it.

how did aliens get no votes? and nobody repped for innerspace either. Oh, we are a failure, aren't we.

Better movies were released in the 1980s and Inner Space is a vast wasteland of suckage.

I expected three of ILX's top five to put me to sleep. I was right, and I haven't even seen the other two.

good for you! good for you!

so does anything cool happen towards the end of Blade Runner?

she's a he

but we did sort of have a renaissance of aliens love, between this and the aliens poll.

honestly, i thought the thing would be #1 or #2.

btw blade runner: the final cut just arrived today from netflix.