The progression of science fiction cinema and the trends within the genre itself can often be tracked by the most successful films within it. It’s easy to see the influence that Star Wars or Blade Runner had on the genre as a whole over a decade or two. Those films are two major milestones in science fiction cinema, often cited as the definitive films of the genre within their respective decades. That same honor could also be bestowed upon Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
As arguably the greatest science fiction film ever made, Kubrick’s masterpiece represented a major turning point in cinema in terms of its depiction of outer space, and its impact can still be felt in films made today. It may be the most consequential sci-fi film ever made that shifted the entire dynamic of the genre, especially with its emphasis on visual effects of a much higher fidelity than had ever been seen before. As fascinating as it is to view the long-term effects 2001: A Space Odyssey had on cinema in the years after its release, it’s equally interesting to look at the greatest sci-fi films that came before it. All classics in their own right that express the true expanse of the genre, these eleven films all defined sci-fi on the big screen before 2001: A Space Odyssey.
‘A Trip to the Moon’ (1902)
As the first science fiction film ever made, Georges Méliès‘ A Trip to the Moon’s place in cinematic history is assured. Even without that honor, the film would remain among the greatest ever made in the genre for its fantastical and iconic visuals and immeasurable impact on the entire medium. Melies pioneered editing and effects techniques that inspired future filmmakers and exposed audiences to a whole new world of storytelling possibilities. It is the first major milestone for sci-fi movies and a landmark for cinema.
Inspired by the works of Jules Verne and possibly H.G. Wells, the 14-minute film depicts an adventurous expedition to the moon. Six astronauts are shot into space in a capsule that lands on the moon in possibly the most iconic shot in any science fiction film ever made. On the moon, the astronomers discover, and then subsequently must flee from, an alien kingdom. It’s a visual feast for the eyes, and was a technical marvel for its time, implementing effects and camera techniques the likes of which no one had ever seen before. Anyone who calls themselves a fan of science fiction has an incomplete education if they haven’t seen this silent classic.
‘Metropolis’ (1927)
While the 1916 production of Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is generally considered the first feature-length sci-fi film, its reputation has been far eclipsed by the more renowned Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang. Lang’s film is a visually spectacular expressionist masterpiece, depicting a future dystopia in ways that were both massively influential and incredibly prescient. While the film was heavily edited after its original premiere and has only more recently been restored to close to its former glory, its impact was never lessened. Even by today’s standards, it has astounding visuals and a plot that is culturally pertinent.
Set in the titular futuristic city where the wealthy elite look down upon the working class from towering skyscrapers, the movie follows a clash between classes as seen through the eyes of the master of the city and his disillusioned son. Metropolis is famous for its visual effects, which include the miniatures used to realize its dystopic city of skyscrapers as well as the android at the center of the plot. The iconic production and character designs observably influenced decades worth of subsequent sci-fi, and yet Metropolis remains just as astounding to watch despite how far visual effects technology has come since.
‘Frankenstein’ (1931)
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is widely considered to be the first science fiction novel. While the character of Frankenstein’s monster has become an icon of Gothic horror, his sci-fi origins are undeniable and are evident in most adaptations. Several film versions of Shelley’s novel preceded it, but the James Whale-directed Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff remains the quintessential adaptation. Its depiction of both the doctor and his creation served as the basis for an entire subgenre of mad scientist horror and sci-fi films, and the film’s legacy has lived on in every subsequent adaptation.
Following the titular scientist in his quest to conquer death and play God, the film simplifies the plot of Shelley’s novel, stripping much of the monster’s intelligence and development away. Whale’s film may be far from a faithful adaptation, but it’s still far more effective than many later films that adhered closer to the source material. Karloff’s sympathetic monster may not possess the same vocabulary as his book counterpart, but the legendary actor brings incredible depth to a performance composed almost entirely of grunts and shambling movements. Frankenstein is an undeniable horror masterpiece that also brushes shoulders with science fiction to great effect.
‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ (1951)
The ’50s were a monumental decade for science fiction, with dozens of iconic films produced during the decade. Atomic fears and Cold War paranoia inspired all manner of invasion films, from the close quarters close encounter of The Thing From Another World to the widespread destruction of The War of the Worlds. Not all invasion films featured aliens coming to Earth in pursuit of wholesale slaughter, though; some came with a dire warning, as in the classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. Featuring a more highly evolved alien antagonist, the film advocated for compassion and international unity, a theme that has only grown more compelling as divisions have become more deeply sewn into the fabric of our increasingly isolated communities.
Using the Cold War and its nuclear arms race as a backdrop, the film sees the alien Klaatu come to Earth in peace, but with an important message for humanity. He tells them that other advanced civilizations are aware of Earth’s nuclear capabilities and destructive nature, warning them that continuing down their present path will result in their pre-emptive annihilation. Compared to the aforementioned invasion films, The Day the Earth Stood Still is far less explosive, but no less emotional or effective. This film is an essential classic of the genre, and its message remains timeless.
‘Godzilla’ (1954)
The effects of those atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan during World War 2 created a long-lasting legacy of damage, trauma and anxiety that was represented in many of the country’s films in the decades that followed, most illustratively in the kaiju sci-fi classic Godzilla. While its giant marauding monster has gone from a nuclear nightmare to a towering hero and back again over the years, his original film is where his presence is most potent and powerful.
As the embodiment of nuclear devastation, Godzilla is an ancient creature awoken by H-bomb testing, wreaking havoc across the seas and land of Japan. The government is helpless to stop the unstoppable force, leading to the creation of yet another terrible weapon by a conflicted scientist to destroy him. There’s a sobering somberness to the original Godzilla that’s often lost in translation in American adaptations of the character, and even many of his subsequent appearances in Japanese cinema. For as many films that have served as cautionary tales of nuclear destruction, Godzilla is the only one that has endured in the cultural conversation by using science fiction as a pretense.
‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1956)
While nuclear devastation fueled the paranoia behind so many of the best sci-fi films of the 1950s, there were other anxieties that proved just as inspirational, such as the loss of individuality that informs the alien takeover in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. As an allegory, the classic sci-fi film has been interpreted as a condemnation of encroaching communism and homegrown McCarthyism, but as entertainment, it is a taut, intelligent thriller that has continued to inspire genre filmmakers.
Beginning in the small town of Santa Mira, California, the film tracks an alien infiltration whereby humans are slowly subsumed and replaced by pod people. Trying to helplessly warn everyone is one doctor, whose words are only able to save humanity thanks to a studio-mandated ending. Even without the pessimistic power of its original ending, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is still the most dramatically effective alien invasion film of the ’50s, one whose paranoia has proven continually applicable.
‘Forbidden Planet’ (1956)
Aliens weren’t the only ones making the trek across the stars in 1950s cinema; we humans were getting in on the interstellar travel, too. Inspiring everything from the original Star Trek to Star Wars, Forbidden Planet is an adventure in a galaxy far away that pioneered so many of the tropes that are now associated with the sci-fi genre. It might seem quaint or dated through a modern lens, but more than half of the science fiction we love today wouldn’t exist without it. It’s a monumental science fiction film that represents a fundamental shift in the genre’s focus and direction.
A group of interstellar travelers on a mission to discover the fate of a lost expedition lands on a distant planet where they discover the only survivor of that expedition is a scientist who has gone mad with power. In purely aesthetic terms, Forbidden Planet is as iconic as any science fiction film that has ever been made, from its costume design to the memorable mechanical Robby the Robot. Beneath the space-faring adventure veneer, however, is a story of the dangers of unchecked human hubris when technology outpaces our own morality. It’s timeless themes delivered with quintessential sci-fi visuals that defined the genre for decades to come.
‘Planet of the Vampires’ (1965)
Space travelers getting more than they bargained for after setting down on a mysterious planet is a classic premise in science fiction, and films far beyond Forbidden Planet played with the format before it was redefined in Ridley Scott‘s Alien in 1979. That seminal sci-fi horror film wouldn’t exist without several very important precursors. Indeed, the film owes a serious debt to the campy delight It! The Terror From Beyond Space, and an even larger one to Mario Bava‘s visually striking pulp comic come-to-life Planet of the Vampires. This sci-fi horror classic is an exercise in atmosphere despite budgetary constraints, as Bava was able to craft an eerie, psychedelic trip into galactic horror with less than a quarter of a million dollars.
Two ships receive a distress call from an unknown planet in the dark reaches of space. After landing, they discover an unsettling fog and pulsing colorscape that seems to emanate a phantom force that causes them all to engage in their most violent tendencies. Planet of the Vampires is more than just a footnote of inspiration to Alien, which took the film’s sequence of the crew exploring a derelict spacecraft and discovery of a giant skeleton wholesale from it. It’s a pure visual distillation of classic sci-fi comics brought to life in colorful, kaleidoscopic glory.
‘Alphaville’ (1965)
Image via Art Theatre Guild
Where Alien was influenced by Planet of the Vampires, Ridley Scott’s next sci-fi venture, Blade Runner, exists in the shadow of Jean-Luc Godard‘s Alphaville. This French New Wave sci-fi noir featuring the American character of Lemmy Caution, set in a dystopic future represented by the mid-century architecture of Paris, shares the same hard-boiled meets high-tech aesthetic of Blade Runner, and offers the same triumph of love and human connection over technology and emotional repression. It’s a seminal installment of both the neo and tech-noir genres that continues to maintain its relevance.
Caution is a secret agent sent to the titular city with the singular purpose of destroying it and the oppressive computer system that controls its citizens. Free thought and all other acts of individualism expanding from thereof have been banned within the city by its A.I. overlord. As a classic noir protagonist, Caution is the prototypical analog detective in a digital world, and it’s through his developing love story with a broken citizen of the system that he is able to cause its downfall. While the current state of affairs of artificial intelligence and free thought suppression may not look quite like the world created by Godard, it’s still too close for comfort.
‘Seconds’ (1966)
Far from atomic kaiju, dystopic metropolises or far-out space exploration, John Frankenheimer‘s existential nightmare masterpiece Seconds uses science fiction to explore the nature of identity and is an essential entry into the psychological thriller subgenre. Based on the novel by David Ely, it explores the hollow ethos of American capitalism and the emptiness of skin-deep transformations. It is the most stark and startling entry in Frankheimer’s paranoia trilogy, which includes the films The Manchurian Candidate and Seven Days in May, surpassing his other classics through its proto-body horror thrills.
Rock Hudson plays Arthur Hamilton, a New York banker who has become disillusioned with his current state of being. Through an old acquaintance, he discovers an opportunity to be reborn with a new identity. His new face and name bring him fleeting pleasure that gives way to the same dissatisfaction that plagued him before. Frankenheimer’s psychologically haunting film was met with much audience derision and a flaccid box office when it was first released, but in time has become a cult favorite among those who appreciate their science fiction to explore the inner space of the darkest human psyche.