Scientists vote "Blade Runner" best ever sci-fi film

maximus otter

maximus otter

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Scientists vote "Blade Runner" best ever sci-fi film
Thu 26 August, 2004 11:00

LONDON (Reuters) - "Blade Runner", a bleak vision of the future set in Los Angeles, has been voted best sci-film of all time by a group of international scientists, according to a poll published by the Guardian newspaper on Thursday.

Stanley Kubrick's classic "2001: A Space Odyssey" was voted second, while Luke Skywalker's moral journey through "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back" -- the first films in the Star Wars trilogy -- helped secure third equal spot.

"Blade Runner is the best film ever made," Dr. Stephen Minger, a stem cell biologist at King's College London, told the newspaper.

"It was so far ahead of it time and the whole premise of the story -- what is it to be human and who are we, where we come from? It's the age-old questions," he said.

The newspaper interviewed 56 eminent international scientists for the poll from fields as diverse as quantum physics and zoology.

In fourth position was "Alien", directed by Ridley Scott, in which a bloody creature bursting out of John Hurt's chest has become one of the most enduring images of modern cinema.

"Solaris", directed by Andrei Tarkovksy secured fifth position.

"The 1972 Solaris is perhaps the only film to address the limits of science set by our constrained human perceptions, categories and tendency to anthropomorphise," said physics professor Gregory Benford, from the University of California.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had his day made, finding himself in sixth position with "Terminator", released in 1984, and "T2:Judgement Day", released in 1991.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still", the tale of an alien landing in Washington to tell earthlings to live peacefully, secured seventh position while HG Wells' "War of the Worlds" came in at eighth.

"The Matrix", starring Keanu Reeves as Neo, a computer hacker who discovers the world he lives in might be artificially constructed, was voted ninth best sci-fi film.

In tenth position was Stephen Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", an ultimately positive reflection of what it will be like when aliens get here.

The poll also found that Isaac Asimov was the scientists' favourite author, followed by British writers John Wyndham and Fred Hoyle.

maximus otter
 
Just watched it again last night.

I have to admit it's one of my favorites as well. The film bears little resemblance to the original Phillip K. Dick story (Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep), in which the whole buisness about the replicants was just a side-plot.

Don't ask me what the actual plot was about; I've read the thing twice and it eludes me, as does much of Dick's writing.

But taking that part of the story and placing it into a society that was lifted straight out of Gibson's cyberpunk novels was a stroke of genius.

Sean Young was one hot android, I'd-done her. And Rutger Hauer was really terrific as "Roy".

Isaac Asimov- what can you say? The good doctor is an icon. John Wyndham, little remembered by most now, but he authored "Days of the Triffids", a great novel that was never successfully captured on film. (though the BBC had a nice go at it.)
Wonder where Gibson placed?
 
I saw the quote by Greg Benford. I agree with him that Solaris was a great story, too. What I would like to see is a few of Benford's own novels on screen. It's funny they identify him as a physics professor and don't mention how successful he is as an SF writer himself.
 
I am happy to hear that Blade Runner finally got the accolades it deserves. When I first saw it like two decades ago (or more), I thought it was unusually clever movie, even though it was a bit dark.

I believe it gradually progressed to become one of those "cult" movies, for want of a better word. :)
 
Mwerner, don't feel bad. A lot of PKD's writings are somewhat obtuse. The main common thread I have noticed in his stories is that things are never what they appear to be. His "Faith of our Forefathers" [Set in Red China after the state has initiated the wide spread use of hallucinogens to keep the population under control, the main character is given an anti-hallucinogen and sees the Glorious Leader as what it is, not what it appears to be] would have made a neat short film. Just wish they had not hacked up "I Can Remember It For You Wholesale" (IIRC, that was the name of the story they based "Total Recall" on). PKD was definitely one of the most unusual characters to write science fiction.

Anyone remember the late James Tiptree, Jr. ? She turned out to be a damn good author. I would love to see a couple of her stories turned into movies.

My personal picks would be SO 2001, TDTESS and Bladerunner, in that order. All three are in my "let's leave as Dad is watching those damn movies again" rotation. The Star Wars movies don't even get to the bottom of my top ten, while they are watchable they are not good science fiction to my way of thinking. "The Thing From Outer Space" 1950s version is another one I would have to throw somewhere in my top ten. I loved the John Carpenter remake but there is just something about the black and white version that appeals to me.
 
For sci fi/horror nothing beats John Carpenter's The Thing. Nothing.

Except Pee Wee's Big Adventure. :p
 
Mwerner, I agree with your whole post except that Blade Runner was made 2 years before Neuromancer was released, thus making said "lifting" a bit difficult. ;)

Speaking of which, I was playing the current Canadian Trivial Pursuit this weekend and saw not just one but TWO William Gibson questions in the "Written Word" category.
 
That's interesting! Many media types have commented on the similarities between Gibson's "Sprawl" and the dark vision of L.A. in Blade Runner. Maybe the influence was the other way around!

I remember when Count Zero was serialized in Asimov's sci-fi magazine, the first novel to be so treated.
 
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