10 Top Ten Film Genres - Science Fiction

100 Years...100 Movies

AFI's 10 Top 10
Film Genres

Part 4 (Science Fiction)

The American Film Institute in Los Angeles, California, in 2008 honored America’s 10 greatest films in 10 classic film genres. The jury was asked to choose up to 10 movies per genre from a comprehensive list.

To compile the final list, AFI distributed a ballot with 500 Nominated Films (50 per genre) to a jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and historians.

In previous years, the AFI has also produced other lists of the following:

AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies (1998)
AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars/Legends (1999)
AFI’s 100 Years…100 Laughs (2000)
AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills (2001)
AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions (2002)
AFI's Heroes and Villains (2003)
AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs (2004)
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes (2005)

AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers (2006)

AFI's 100 Greatest American Films - 10th Anniversary Edition (2007)

AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies (1998) (original)
400 Greatest American Films (nominees) (original)
Read this site's Commentary on AFI's 100 Greatest American Movies (original)
100 Greatest American Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)

AFI asked jurors to consider the following criteria in their selection process:

Feature-length: Narrative format typically over 60 minutes in length.
American film: English-language film with significant creative and/or production elements from the United States. Additionally, only films released before January 1, 2008 were considered.
Critical Recognition: Formal commendation in print, television, and digital media.
Major Award Winner: Recognition from competitive events including awards from peer groups, critics, guilds and major film festivals.
Popularity Over Time: This includes success at the box office, television and cable airings, and DVD/VHS sales and rentals.
Historical Significance: A film's mark on the history of the moving image through visionary narrative devices, technical innovation or other groundbreaking achievements.
Cultural Impact: A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

Note: The films that are marked with a yellow star are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the 100 Greatest Films.

AMERICA's 10 Top 10
Film Genres

Part 4 (Science Fiction)
Please see this site's extensive section on Science-Fiction Films

Science Fiction:

AFI described science fiction as "a genre that marries a scientific or technological premise with imaginative speculation. Whether it's a flying saucer whirling through space or a gleaming city on a distant planet, at the core of all science fiction is the provocative question, "What if...?" Science fiction presents stories and situations that tap our brightest hopes and darkest fears about what might, one day, turn out to be true."

Nominees: 22 of the 50 movies contained an alien presence.

Winners: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (# 1), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) (# 2), E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial (1982) (# 3), A Clockwork Orange (1971) (# 4), The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) (# 5), Blade Runner (1982) (# 6), Alien (1979) (# 7), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) (# 8), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) (# 9), Back to the Future (1985) (# 10).

Comments: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) was a romantic comedy, for the most part, not Science Fiction. Planet of the Apes (1968) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) should be in the top 10, as well as The Matrix (1999). E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was more a children's fantasy film, not pure science fiction. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), although it had science-fiction elements, was mostly an action film. Dark City (1998) should have been a nominee. Back to the Future (1985) was a light-hearted comedy for the most part, although it had time-travel/sci-fi elements.