Thinking Person's Science Fiction

List creator: AcmeFilmCompany Created on: January 16, 2006 - 10:50 PM PST Description: The directors of these movies never underestimated their viewer's intellect.

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	movie title	related list	average rating	MPAA rating	watch	rent	buy
	2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Perhaps too obvious a choice for this list, but consider the risks this movie took. This is a very special movie for baby boomers who saw computers come into our lives from out of the blue.
	A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Playing god with technology. Speilberg made a very unflattering movie here and frankly I found this movie to be very upsetting. Brilliant in many ways, but also upsetting.
	Altered States (1980)
Ken Russel is nuts and went a little heavy with the special effects, but there is no denying that Paddy Chayefsky wrote a brilliant mad scientist movie.
	The Andromeda Strain (1971)
The alien invador as germ warfare. This is surprisingly relevant even today.
	Blade Runner (Director's Cut) (1982)
The Gold Standard as far as I'm concerned. Go with the director's cut.
	Brazil (Criterion Collection) (1985)
Same thing here. Go with the director's cut. His vision was too much for the studios but it's not too much for you. See it as it was meant to be seen and enjoy.
	The Butterfly Effect (2004)
When I saw this movie, it provided me with an alternative ending. See them both. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie.
	Dark City (1998)
Keifer Sutherland is the weak link in an otherwise compelling house of mirrors and creepy images.
	eXistenZ (1999)
Cronenberg takes on video games and provides a movie with the same sense of attention deficit disorder. This is one you're either going to love or hate. No middle of the road with this one.
	Fahrenheit 451 (1966)			Not Rated
Ray Bradbury liked this movie. I think that says alot.
	The Final Cut (2004)
Robin Williams can act. The movie's pace and theme is somewhat depressing but it's also a brilliant concept handled quite well.
	The Handmaid's Tale (1990)
The government dicates what women could do with their bodies in the future. It's called Science Fiction.
	Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Collector's Edition) (1978)
The other versions are fine, but Phillip Kaufman is a very fine director and clearly had fun making this movie.
	The Matrix (1999)
Perhaps too self-important on a marketing level, but still a stunning presentation of cyber-punk fantasy.
	Metropolis (1927)			Not Rated
This is here out of respect for the first robot on film.
	Pitch Black (Director's Cut) (2000)
This is a thriller in the alien vein and it's very, very good.
	Solaris (Criterion Collection) (1972)
The Clooney/Soderbergh version is quite good too.
	The Thing (1982)
This is better than the original.
	Vanilla Sky (2001)
This is my guilty pleasure. Based on the Spanish movie, "Open Your Eyes", this is a movie that's very difficult to explain and in my opinion, quite compelling. Like Fight Club. This is like a Science Fiction version of "Fight Club"
	Videodrome (Criterion Collection) (1982)			Not Rated
David Cronenberg gets very nasty with cable television.
	War of the Worlds (2005)
This was a very good movie. Impossible not to think of Sept. 11th, when watching this.
	12 Monkeys (Collector's Edition) (1995)