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My Best Science Fiction Movies of Twentieth Century

by p-barycz • Created 13 years ago • Modified 13 years ago
by year of release
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  • 244 titles
  • Brigitte Helm in Metropolis (1927)

    1. Metropolis

    19272h 33mNot Rated98Metascore
    8.3 (194K)
    In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
    DirectorFritz LangStarsBrigitte HelmAlfred AbelGustav Fröhlich
  • Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, and Henry Travers in The Invisible Man (1933)

    2. The Invisible Man

    19331h 11mApproved87Metascore
    7.6 (42K)
    A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
    DirectorJames WhaleStarsClaude RainsGloria StuartWilliam Harrigan
  • Things to Come (1936)

    3. Things to Come

    19361h 40mNot Rated
    6.6 (9.6K)
    The story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.
    DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsRaymond MasseyEdward ChapmanRalph Richardson
  • Buster Crabbe and Jean Rogers in Flash Gordon (1936)

    4. Flash Gordon

    19364h 5mApproved
    6.9 (2.8K)
    Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.
    DirectorsFrederick StephaniRay TaylorStarsBuster CrabbeJean RogersCharles Middleton
  • Buster Crabbe and Constance Moore in Buck Rogers (1939)

    5. Buck Rogers

    19393h 57mApproved
    6.8 (1.1K)
    A 20th Century pilot named Buck Rogers and his young friend Buddy Wade awake from 500 years in suspended animation to find that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane.
    DirectorsFord BeebeSaul A. GoodkindStarsBuster CrabbeConstance MooreJackie Moran
  • Peter Lorre, Jon Hall, Cedric Hardwicke, and Ilona Massey in Invisible Agent (1942)

    6. Invisible Agent

    19421h 21mApproved
    5.9 (2.9K)
    The Invisible Man's grandson uses his secret formula to spy on Nazi Germany.
    DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsIlona MasseyJon HallPeter Lorre
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

    7. The Day the Earth Stood Still

    19511h 32mG83Metascore
    7.7 (88K)
    An alien lands in Washington, D.C. and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.
    DirectorRobert WiseStarsMichael RenniePatricia NealHugh Marlowe
  • Robert Cornthwaite, Margaret Sheridan, Douglas Spencer, and Kenneth Tobey in The Thing from Another World (1951)

    8. The Thing from Another World

    19511h 27mApproved
    7.0 (35K)
    Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.
    DirectorsChristian NybyHoward HawksStarsKenneth TobeyMargaret SheridanJames Arness
  • The War of the Worlds (1953)

    9. The War of the Worlds

    19531h 27mG78Metascore
    7.0 (40K)
    A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.
    DirectorByron HaskinStarsGene BarryAnn RobinsonLes Tremayne
  • Ishirô Honda and Takashi Shimura in Godzilla (1954)

    10. Godzilla

    19541h 36mNot Rated79Metascore
    7.6 (43K)
    After a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.
    DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira Takarada
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

    11. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

    19542h 7mG83Metascore
    7.2 (39K)
    A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.
    DirectorRichard FleischerStarsKirk DouglasJames MasonPaul Lukas
  • Forbidden Planet (1956)

    12. Forbidden Planet

    19561h 38mG80Metascore
    7.5 (55K)
    A starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate the silence of a distant planet's colony, only to find just two survivors, a powerful robot, and the deadly secret of a lost civilization.
    DirectorFred M. WilcoxStarsWalter PidgeonAnne FrancisLeslie Nielsen
  • Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

    13. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    19561h 20mApproved92Metascore
    7.7 (57K)
    A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
    DirectorDon SiegelStarsKevin McCarthyDana WynterLarry Gates
  • The Blob (1958)

    14. The Blob

    19581h 26mApproved58Metascore
    6.3 (31K)
    An alien lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows.
    DirectorsIrvin S. Yeaworth Jr.Russell S. Doughten Jr.StarsSteve McQueenAneta CorsautEarl Rowe
  • On the Beach (1959)

    15. On the Beach

    19592h 14mApproved55Metascore
    7.1 (15K)
    After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.
    DirectorStanley KramerStarsGregory PeckAva GardnerFred Astaire
  • First Spaceship on Venus (1960)

    16. First Spaceship on Venus

    19601h 19mUnrated
    4.7 (3.4K)
    When an alien artifact discovered on Earth is found to have come from Venus, an international team of astronauts embarks to investigate its origins.
    DirectorKurt MaetzigStarsYôko TaniOldrich LukesIgnacy Machowski
  • Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux in The Time Machine (1960)

    17. The Time Machine

    19601h 43mG67Metascore
    7.5 (47K)
    A man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.
    DirectorGeorge PalStarsRod TaylorAlan YoungYvette Mimieux
  • The Lost World (1960)

    18. The Lost World

    19601h 37mApproved
    5.5 (4.8K)
    Professor Challenger leads an expedition of scientists and adventurers to a remote plateau deep in the Amazonian jungle to verify his claim that dinosaurs still live there.
    DirectorIrwin AllenStarsMichael RennieJill St. JohnDavid Hedison
  • Shin'ichi Chiba, Mitsue Komiya, and Ryûko Minakami in Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961)

    19. Invasion of the Neptune Men

    19611h 14m
    2.2 (2.9K)
    Clumsy invaders from Neptune are thwarted by hero Space Chief and a nondescript group of microshort-wearing Japanese kids.
    DirectorKôji OhtaStarsShin'ichi ChibaRyûko MinakamiMitsue Komiya
  • The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

    20. The Manchurian Candidate

    19622h 6mPG-1394Metascore
    7.9 (83K)
    An American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.
    DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsFrank SinatraLaurence HarveyJanet Leigh
  • Ray Milland and Diana Van der Vlis in X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

    21. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes

    19631h 19mApproved
    6.6 (8.7K)
    An ambitious scientist invents an eye drop formula that grants him X-ray vision, but his new powers have disastrous consequences.
    DirectorRoger CormanStarsRay MillandDiana Van der VlisHarold J. Stone
  • Voyage to the End of the Universe (1963)

    22. Voyage to the End of the Universe

    19631h 21m
    6.9 (3.2K)
    The year is 2163. Starship Ikarie XB 1 embarks on a long journey across the universe to search for life on the planets of Alpha Centauri.
    DirectorJindrich PolákStarsZdenek StepánekFrantisek SmolíkDana Medrická
  • Fail Safe (1964)

    23. Fail Safe

    19641h 52mApproved75Metascore
    8.0 (26K)
    A technical malfunction sends American bombers to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?
    DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaWalter MatthauFritz Weaver
  • Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

    24. Robinson Crusoe on Mars

    19641h 50mApproved
    6.4 (7.4K)
    Stranded on Mars with only a monkey as a companion, an astronaut must figure out how to find oxygen, water, and food on the lifeless planet.
    DirectorByron HaskinStarsPaul ManteeVictor LundinAdam West
  • Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina in Alphaville (1965)

    25. Alphaville

    19651h 39mNot Rated92Metascore
    7.0 (29K)
    An agent wrecks the main computer on another planet.
    DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsEddie ConstantineAnna KarinaAkim Tamiroff

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