A Glean movie guide
The Sci-Fi Canon
From silent classics to modern epics.
The essential films that defined the genre and reshaped our vision of the future.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
2001: A Space Odyssey
A visual masterpiece that redefined cinema's approach to space, 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 tech-noir that questions the very nature 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 revolutionary blend of high-concept philosophy and ground-breaking martial arts action.
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 that seamlessly fuses deep-space exploration with visceral 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 ultimate space opera that transformed the genre into a global cultural phenomenon.
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
A stunning silent-era landmark that laid the visual and thematic groundwork for all future sci-fi.
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
Inception
A mind-bending heist thriller that explores the complex architecture of the human subconscious.
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.
- 08
Children of Men
A gritty, immersive vision of the future captured through breathtaking, long-take cinematography.
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
Arrival
A deeply moving first-contact drama that focuses on the power of language and the perception of 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.
- 10
Interstellar
An ambitious epic that balances hard science with a powerful story about human connection across time.
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.
- 11
The Thing
A chilling study of isolation and paranoia featuring some of the greatest practical effects in film history.
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
- 12
Ex Machina
A sleek, tense chamber piece that examines the ethical boundaries of creating sentient life.
Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.