A Glean movie guide
Sci-Fi Hall of Fame: The Essentials
The ultimate science fiction canon.
From silent masterpieces to modern mind-benders, these are the films that defined the genre.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
2001: A Space Odyssey
The foundational epic of human evolution and artificial intelligence.
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.
- 02
Blade Runner
The definitive cyberpunk vision of what it means to be human.
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
- 03
The Matrix
A high-concept action masterpiece that questioned the nature of reality.
Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.
- 04
Alien
A masterclass in atmospheric tension and extraterrestrial horror.
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
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
The seminal space opera that changed cinema forever.
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.
- 06
Metropolis
The visionary silent epic that birthed the sci-fi city.
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
- 07
Arrival
A profound, grounded exploration of language and non-linear time.
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
- 08
Children of Men
A visceral, single-take journey through a hauntingly plausible dystopia.
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
- 09
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The gold standard for sci-fi action and groundbreaking visual effects.
Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.
- 10
Inception
A complex, dream-bending heist that rewards every repeat viewing.
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.
- 11
The Thing
A paranoid, practical-effects landmark of isolation and suspicion.
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
- 12
Stalker
A slow-burning, philosophical journey into the heart of human desire.
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.