The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS), the international association of the leading Internet-based cinema journalists, is celebrating the first century of science fiction filmmaking with its list of the Top 100 Sci-Fi Films of the Past 100 Years. At the top of the list, according to the 115 members of the OFCS, is Stanley Kubrick’s cryptic 1968 masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Beginning with Georges Melies’ 1902 fantasy “A Trip to the Moon” and continuing through this summer’s top releases including “Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones” and the upcoming “Minority Report,” sci-fi has proven to be among the most durable and prescient of film genres. In celebrating the Top 100 films from a century of sci-fi movies, the OFCS writers considered more than 400 titles spanning every decade and a variety of formats from short subjects to animation to classics of global cinema.
Following “2001: A Space Odyssey” in the Top 10 portion of the OFCS’s list is “Blade Runner” (1982), “Star Wars” (1977), “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial” (1982), “Metropolis” (1927), “Brazil” (1985), “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), “A Clockwork Orange” (1971), and “Alien” (1979).
In polling the OFCS membership for this survey, the society invited its members to provide their choices for the century’s greatest sci-fi offerings. “It’s very interesting to see what a broad spectrum of films can be considered science fiction,” says Erik Childress, editor of the Chicago-based eFilmCritic.comand a member of the OFCS Governing Committee. “By letting our members vote with their own thoughts instead of tying them down with an absolute final ballot AFI-style, we enjoyed a wide array of titles that many, including myself, wouldn’t even consider science-fiction (like “Dr. Strangelove” or “Night of the Living Dead”).”
Now celebrating its fifth anniversary, the Online Film Critics Society has been the key force in establishing Internet-based film journalism as a legitimate and invaluable source for high-quality commentary on the contemporary and classic cinema. The OFCS features writers from North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia and Africa, with journalists representing the top entertainment news sites including Salon, Slate, TV Guide Online, FilmCritic.com, Daily-Reviews.com and the Internet Movie Database.
The Society’s web site provides the most comprehensive online listing of reviews and original interviews with the leading artists in today’s cinema, plus links to the most important film-related web sites. The annual OFCS Awards, announced on January 2nd, are widely regarded as a prime barometer in determining the top contenders for the Academy Awards.
For more information and the full Top 100 list, visit the Online Film Critics Society at www.ofcs.org
