A Glean movie guide
Beyond the Horizon: Top Space Travel Epics
The ultimate sci-fi flight list.
From realistic survival to galactic adventures, these are the definitive journeys into the
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Interstellar
A visually stunning epic that blends hard science with a deeply emotional journey across the stars.
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
- 02
2001: A Space Odyssey
The definitive cinematic vision of humanity’s evolution and our first steps into the deep unknown.
Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.
- 03
The Martian
A thrilling and optimistic look at scientific ingenuity and the sheer will to survive on a lonely planet.
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
- 04
Alien
A masterclass in atmosphere that captures the claustrophobia and terror of industrial space travel.
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.
- 05
Gravity
A relentless, real-time survival thriller that captures the terrifying beauty and danger of Earth's orbit.
Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer, is on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.
- 06
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
The quintessential space fantasy that defined the sense of adventure for an entire generation.
Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.
- 07
Sunshine
A striking psychological thriller about a desperate mission to save humanity by reigniting the sun.
Fifty years into the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is threatened by arctic temperatures. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun — but the mission fails. Seven years later, a new team is sent to finish the mission as mankind’s last hope.
- 08
Contact
A thoughtful exploration of faith and science centered on humanity's first interstellar voyage.
A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.
- 09
Star Trek
A high-energy reboot that perfectly captures the spirit of exploration and camaraderie on the final frontier.
The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk, is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, a Vulcan, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before. The human adventure has begun again.
- 10
Moon
A haunting, low-budget gem that focuses on the psychological toll of long-term lunar isolation.
With only three weeks left in his three-year contract, Sam Bell is eager to return to Earth. Stationed alone at a Moon-based facility with his computer assistant GERTY, an unexpected accident sets off a series of unsettling events that shake his isolation.
- 11
Dune: Part One
A grand, immersive spectacle that treats interstellar transit with a sense of ancient, political weight.
Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
- 12
Wall-E
A charming and visually inventive tale that follows a lonely robot from Earth to the far reaches of space.