Dark City... OMG, i saw it when I was a kid, and was flabbergasted, and stunned throughout my life when people had no idea what I was talking about. Had a rewatched recently and bruh... this movie still hold up today. Definitely in my top 3 SCI fi movies of all time.
Maybe not a kid but I've seen it the 1st time so long time ago I had only a few moments in my memory and memorized mostly mood. Rewatching it was a great idea as it is really underrated plot.
It was also the first big "reality is a lie" movie to come out a year before The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor, and Existenz. I'm sure that there are others - but Dark City was unquestionably the first, and The Matrix was definitely ripping off the aliens a bit with the agents, also with Neo/The One having powers as John Murdoch does.
One of my favourites. Sam Rockwell nailed it. A really sad film and very well done. No CGI from what I understand and that made it look more realistic for me. Very sad.
I don’t really understand this list though, aren’t these pretty much all (with the exception of The Machine) pretty well known and appreciated by science fiction fans? I hoped we’d get a list of lesser known and actual underappreciated science fiction movies… 😒
As a Spaceflight Scientist who adores Sunshine I’m so happy to see it on your list. You hit all the salients points. Well done. Excellent video overall. In case you’re interested, I made a video on Sunshine digging a bit deeper into the third act to try and explain why the film is both misunderstood and underrated.
Great list. One movie that deserves a mention is eXistenZ directed by David Cronenberg, a definitely underrated sci-fi movie. Came out the in same period as Dark City and the Matrix and dealt with similar themes regarding the nature of reality. Weird but good!
I like this list. 80% are a part of my dvd collection. My honorable mentions are: Predestination, Under The Skin, Snowpiercer and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (anime).
Gotta make the switch to Blu Ray or 4K UHD. Bit more costly, but well worth it. Get as many as you can, as Best Buy and other retailers are no longer going to be selling physical media.
Your honorable mentions are great movies, but I wouldn't say they're underappreciated, Predestination gets mentioned way more than Gattaca and Dark City, the Snowpiercer has a spin off series on Netflix, and Hayao Miyazaki's work has been deified.
I wouldn't class Nausicaa as anime. To me anime are the gamut of long running animated TV series. Nausicaa and other Ghibli films are animated films - and I mean that in the most complete sense, as in films that happen to be animated instead of live action. Anime has a lot of baggage attached to it because of the weirder (and pervier) TV series out there, so I find it much safer to just call the good films animated movies - because when you try and recommend them to people as anime they immediately think of the bad stuff, and if they are not into the culture they will just not and then ignore you.
@@nicholasszabo5954 "Gotta make the switch to Blu Ray or 4K UHD" 99% of the time these days when people say DVD they mean a mix of all 3 formats, especially as many films and TV series are still not available on even Blu Ray, let alone 4K. James Cameron's The Abyss being one glaring example that is only just now getting a Bluray and 4K release more than 2 decades after the DVD release which itself was literally just the old non anamorphic Laserdisc master repackaged on a new format. Another James Cameron directed classic True Lies is also in this same limbo, with no release in sight as yet. The fact that it took Cameron 10+ years to shart out Avatar and then a similar time to shart out Avatar 2 and sequels to come without addressing new format masters for these 2 films is one of many reasons I dislike the self involved pr!ck.
I'd recommend this Mexican sci-fi called The Incident (2014). It's like Nolan meets Kojima, with a wildly original and mind-numbing plot with twists and turns. Also give Aniara (2018) a watch. It's a Swedish sci/existential horror about a trip to Mars that veers off-course, leading to some of the most terrifying events you can imagine.
Wow, never heard of "The Machine". So wonderful to still find unknown movies... ;) BTW: "The morrow" from Gattaca´s OST is a wonderful pice of music, just like Moon´s "Welcome to Lunar Industries"
Good selection. The only one I haven't seen is The Machine. Brazil and Gattaca are in my top 20 movies. Duncan Jones followed up Moon with the far more poppy Source Code which is worth a look. Would also recommend Cypher by Vincenzo Natali and Hardware by Richard Stanley.
I came across your video purely by chance, but I was one of the VFX artists on The Machine, and I also did a few days on set. There were probably about 8 of us working on it in our little studio in Cardiff (most of the film was shot in South Wales nearby), over four months or so. The shot at 11:03 was the first shot I did of Caity's blue glowing eyes that got the director (Caradog James) to sign off on the look. I added a subtle rotation, like the iris was adjusting to the light as her eyes open for the first time. So I got to do all of the eye shots, one of which was among the hardest VFX shots I ever worked on (the Machine emerges from under a table, and I just could not get a good track on her eyes!). Loads of my shots in the trailer clip, so a nice trip down memory lane. Thanks for featuring the film in your list!
I might be biased because i consider Villeneuve the best director working in Hollywood, but Arrival is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. The premise, the dialogues, the music, the VFXs and the twist, they're absolutely perfect. It's a movie that transcends its genre, not only is it a great sci-fi movie, it's a great movie, period.
Thanks for a very useful list! I didn’t know about half of them so I look forward to some engaging streaming experiences over the next few evenings. I would add the dystopian film George Lucas made before Star Wars- “THX 1138“ from 1971. Totally different from his blockbusters- cerebral and eerily tense.
Watched them all except Brazil and The Machine. Sunshine and Equilibrium are amongst my all time favourite films, Dark City, Gattacca, and Moon way up there too.
Moon, Starship Troopers, Sunshine, Gattaca, Brazil - if you havnt seen one or all of these you must. Great highlight from this channel on good scifi. Thumbs up. Cloud Atlas - You must be really awake but its great.
Strange Days is brilliant. For some reason, though they're completely different, I can't watch Strange Days without thinking of Existenz, and vice-versa.
Thank you so much. Some of my very favorite movies are on this list. I'm going to be sure to check out the others that I'm not familiar with. It's videos like this that keep truly great films from getting lost forever
Fantastic list! I've seen most of these, but the one movie I really thought you'd include was Event Horizon (truly embracing the cosmic horror aspect of human existentialism, and also inspired the Dead Space game series - considered one of the most immersive and disturbing ever made). I haven't seen Moon, The Machine, or Cloud Atlas, so I'll give those a glance. Thank you for mentioning both Equilibrium and Dark City! Some of my all-time favorites, and what I feel were nearly lost rare gems. I want to say Dark City probably inspired the game BioShock.
@@Michelle-EdenAgreed. Wish I could get the wasted time back. It was so bad I didn't bother to even remember wha5 it is about. At least it wasn't Ad Astra, probably the worst sci fi movie of all time.
Great list... Dark City is in my Top 10 Best Sci-Fi films, Equilibrium is right below it. Have 6 of the 10 in my DVD collection. Will be watching the others... Thanks👍
Gattaca is by far the best movie in the list, a true masterpiece. Great acting, great story with deep meaning. Cited in bioethics publications and relevant in university grade courses and symposiums.
Great selection, although there's a couple more I'd suggest: 1. Alita: Battle Angel - a really different film experience based on a great manga series by Yukito Kishiro. There's plenty of additional ways that subsequent films could cover, depending on how closely (or otherwise) the series is followed. But Alita is a really good film in its own right, with a terrific performance from Rosa Salazar as Alita. 2. Edge of Tomorrow - one of the few Tom Cruise movies that I can watch. Great premise (alien invasion that totally disrupts time for some soldiers) and well-acted, especially by Emily Blunt And of course, there are also some older films, such as Metropolis (1927), Flash Gordon (1980), and The Abyss (1989), amongst so many others.
Sunshine, Moon and The Machine I saw on their Premieres. I sat behind Ewan McGregor on the The Machine (Ewan's uncle plays the main antagonist), and it had outstanding acting from Caity Lotz. Anyhoo, a super list that every SF must have at least seen (if not own).
I know the guys who made The Machine they’re really nice and always called themselves amateur filmmakers, they’re legends in Wales (their home country).
I would add Europa to this list. Moon is my favorite on this list. Then Sunshine and Brazil But this list is completely correct that all of these were mostly overlooked but incredible movies. These are all on my list of favorite Sci-fi.
Just so you know, Darrel. I can see you’ve chosen your words carefully. I’ve been concentrating on each single word (yep, I’m weird), and I’m pretty stunned about the boiled-down descriptions. Normally I listen in a kind of daze. Your show today is in a class of its own. I’ve seen most of these but will chase up the others.
I went to the cinema when I was 17 to watch Starship troopers and I loved it. Gattaca as well. I love Equilibrium, Sunshine, Moon and Dark City. I've also enjoyed A scanner darkly. I haven't seen The machine nor Brazil, but this last one looks great. I didn't like Cloud Atlas. Great selection, by the way.
Starfield Troopers is a masterpiece. You start out enjoying it for its slapstick sci-fi teen-movie fun, and at some point you suddenly realise that you are watching an allegory about fascism and the casual nature of evil.
"Fans of the book (Starship Troopers) might have been disappointed or even shocked..." is the understatement of the century. Like the other Heinlein adaptation I saw (Puppet Masters) the source material was butchered into something closer to Frankenstein's monster than cinema. I really can't understand why any of the characters and story remain in the movie, except to insult those that found the book moving and inspiring.
Will there be a spoiler free version of this? Having watched "The Moon", some of your comments relate to items not in the 1st 1/3rd of the film. Off to find "The Machine" as it is the only film on your list that I have not seen. Thanks for the list
Artifice Girl ( 2023 ) : similar to Ex - Machina, the best low budget SF movie I ever watched. Excellent story & dialogues. One guy is a director, screenwriter & one of the actors. Highly recommend. Never heard of " The Machine " looks good, thanks Darrel
Very good list! I've seen 9 of these with the exception being The Machine. But I also discovered several in the comments that I haven't seen and have added to my future watch list. Unfortunately my future watch list now sits at 500+ titles! Here are two more from me that I enjoyed and you don't hear much about: "John Carter" (2012) Campy Sci-fi fun and "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964). Similar to more recent "The Martian" and definitely better than you would expect given the name.
It's excellent. I've seen comparisons where people say "Ex Machina" is more cerebral, and I wonder if they watched the same version of both films that I did. Honestly, many people confuse polish with sophistication and solid content. "Ex Machina" had a budget of $15 million - exactly 10 times that of "The Machine" at $1.5 million, and that is reflected in the special effects. However, the "big ideas" that drive sci-fi and make it such an enjoyable genre are just better in "The Machine".
Sam Rockwell is a brilliant actor and I would love to see him in bigger movies. Imagine him playing doc along side Tom holland in a back to the future requeal.
Wish I could give this two likes. Loved Moon and Cloud Atlas. Will have to look at Star Troopers again. Seemed very silly at the time. So much new to look for. Thanks.
A great list. The only ones I haven't seen are Dark City, Starship Troopers and The Machine. The rest are (or have been, lol) in my DVD bookcase. I was really chuffed to see four of my favourite films on the list; Equilibrium, Gattaca, Moon and A Scanner Darkly. Anything by Phil Dick is okay by me! :)
I've actually seen all 10 of these movies. Well I can agree with nine of them, the idea that starship troopers is a satire is way beyond my comprehension. It does seem like just a another space opera Western, in the mold of Star wars with insects. I guess maybe you just have a love for this particular movie for some reason and somehow are able to pick out some satire in some form that for me just does not exist. However your narrative your ability to describe these movies are amazing and very talented. Very impressive use of editing and great delivery. Hopefully your presentation will get other people to really have an opportunity to experience most of these movies as they originally needed to be. Thanks for your contribution.
I think this is the first time that I have watched such a review video and found that I’ve seen all of the movies featured (and read some of the books). I would not disagree with any of the inclusions here. The list could have been longer, but this collection of movies would not disappoint any Sci-Fi fan. Read the book before you watch Cloud Atlas.
Great list, 6 I've seen and loved and I'll be checking out the other 4 sometime soon. A shout out for George Lucas first film THX 1138 bleak but ultimately uplifting
Moon was my favorite movie that year and one of the best sci-fi films of the decade. A career high performance by Sam Rockwell too who manages to convey the full spectrum of emotion. It takes a great actor to carry an entire film on their back like that, especially in such an isolated space. If you liked Cast Away, you’ll appreciate this.
I have seen, Moon, Gattica ( I have a DVD copy), AScanner Darkly (and read the book), Sunshine, Cloud Atlas and Brazil.. My favorite has to be Gattica with Scanner Darkly and Sunshine joint second.
1998 and 1999 was a remarkable time for Sci-Fi movies. A plethora of movies questioning the nature of reality came out during these two years. They are all quite different, but they all share the dilemma of discerning what the nature of the world really is. Remarkably, they are all quite good, and any of them are worth watching. I'm talking about DARK CITY, THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR, EXISTENZ, THE TRUMAN SHOW, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, RUN LOLA RUN, and, the king of them all, THE MATRIX. Strange times.
A great list, though I've never even heard of The Machine, and personally, I would've excluded Cloud Atlas and include Extracted, a brilliant and underappreciated hidden gem if ever I've seen one.
The Machine was (to me) so much better than Ex Machina (which had 10 times the budget). If I had to recommend one of them to a friend, I'd choose with The Machine.
@@matreyia Unrelated question - Have you read "Lord of Light" by Zelazny? Your screen name (nickname for the Buddha) is one of the protagonist's nicknames, along with Mahasamatman (he preferred simply "Sam"). The book has one of the greatest opening paragraphs of all time.
@@paulmerry8929 I would be happy to recognise the sarcasm if you hadn't had a ratio of 2 great to 4 crap films. Now if you had Jean de Florrette, The Seven Samarei, One flew over the cuckoos nest, psycho ... It would have been funnier
@@derekcouzens9483 the only crap film he has in there is titanic, but that’s just my opinion. There’s enough going on there to reasonably understand his point and you pulling him up on it is, quite frankly churlish. Thought I’d treat you likewise
Hello, I’m going to start to write sci fi short stories to build my portfolio and strengthen myself as a writer. Any advice before getting started on this journey?
Have you seen Gareth Edwards' The Creator yet? That looks like it might be tumbling down a similar rabbithole as this lot, and deserves so much more ...
I liked Dark City. Rented it from Blockbuster and my girlfriend (now wife) fell asleep in the first four minutes, leaving me to enjoy the movie as a sci fi fan.
We have the exact same taste. I watched every single one, from this and from the other video. BTW, "The Man from Earth" and "Primer" are my two favorite films and screenplays ever. I have zero suggestions for you; that's a first. It's like I've done the video. Cheers !!!
Equilibrium was an accidental find for me, shortly after release and i now watchit atleast once a year, as its just a cult classic by now. And Starship Troopers...well lets just say, i watched all of them and just did it again, after some reactioners on YT reacted to it...^^ I've fortunately seen most of them, but i like to see them getting the appreciation they deserve and thx for the reminder, that i could watch of them again. :)
Dark City...
OMG, i saw it when I was a kid, and was flabbergasted, and stunned throughout my life when people had no idea what I was talking about. Had a rewatched recently and bruh... this movie still hold up today. Definitely in my top 3 SCI fi movies of all time.
Maybe not a kid but I've seen it the 1st time so long time ago I had only a few moments in my memory and memorized mostly mood.
Rewatching it was a great idea as it is really underrated plot.
Watched Dark City six times the week it came out
Covers too much of the same ground as matrix
@@nosuchthing8 Are you not mistaking with Equilibrium?
@@archieil I need to see it
2:42 Appreciates Moon and it looks like he bought Bank's culture series, Subscribed.
Thanks for mentioning Dark City. Great thought-provoking movie, it's about time I watch it again.
If you haven't yet, try to watch it with Roger Ebert's full-length commentary track. It is fascinating.
It was also the first big "reality is a lie" movie to come out a year before The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor, and Existenz.
I'm sure that there are others - but Dark City was unquestionably the first, and The Matrix was definitely ripping off the aliens a bit with the agents, also with Neo/The One having powers as John Murdoch does.
Are there any actual evidence for The Matrix ripping off Dark City? Having things in common isn't the same thing.@@mnomadvfx
Moon is a brilliant film. I tend to avoid films with more or less one character in a very limited universe, but this is one of very few exceptions.
Not many actors could have done what Sam Rockwell did.
What a great movie. This is a true underrated movie.
One of my favourites. Sam Rockwell nailed it. A really sad film and very well done. No CGI from what I understand and that made it look more realistic for me. Very sad.
Sam Rockwell was so good!
those "bottle episode" type movies are literally the best
I agree with all your observations. Moon, Dark City, Starship Troopers, Sunshine, Cloud Atlas are all favourites. Keep up the good work!
I don’t really understand this list though, aren’t these pretty much all (with the exception of The Machine) pretty well known and appreciated by science fiction fans? I hoped we’d get a list of lesser known and actual underappreciated science fiction movies… 😒
The Machine is new to me, so I'll have to check it out. Hope you'll feature more lists like this.
It is a good one. Has a satisfying ending. Ava (Caity Lotz) is rather good in this as is Toby Stephens.
Yes, all the others are well known and quite well loved among science fiction fans so I don’t understand why they are on this list 🤔
As a Spaceflight Scientist who adores Sunshine I’m so happy to see it on your list. You hit all the salients points. Well done. Excellent video overall. In case you’re interested, I made a video on Sunshine digging a bit deeper into the third act to try and explain why the film is both misunderstood and underrated.
Great list. One movie that deserves a mention is eXistenZ directed by David Cronenberg, a definitely underrated sci-fi movie. Came out the in same period as Dark City and the Matrix and dealt with similar themes regarding the nature of reality. Weird but good!
I've seen most of these. Another underrated movie is "The Fountain" with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz!
An incredible movie. But is it science fi though?
@@crazycutz8072 I would say so. The third act takes place in the far future. It also has a theme about finding the secret to eternal life.
It’s similar to Cloud Amal’s with the time jumping.
Great list, really enjoyed Cloud Atlas, and agree Sunshine is under appreciated!
Sunshine may be underappreciated, but the ending kinda botched it for me - a great looking film otherwise wasted.
@@mnomadvfx Man touches the sun..What more you want?
@@mnomadvfx
Isn’t Sunshine pretty appreciated and have a solid reputation though?
I like this list. 80% are a part of my dvd collection. My honorable mentions are: Predestination, Under The Skin, Snowpiercer and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (anime).
Gotta make the switch to Blu Ray or 4K UHD. Bit more costly, but well worth it. Get as many as you can, as Best Buy and other retailers are no longer going to be selling physical media.
i cant remember much about predestination, but those other 3 are amazing films for sure.
Your honorable mentions are great movies, but I wouldn't say they're underappreciated, Predestination gets mentioned way more than Gattaca and Dark City, the Snowpiercer has a spin off series on Netflix, and Hayao Miyazaki's work has been deified.
I wouldn't class Nausicaa as anime.
To me anime are the gamut of long running animated TV series.
Nausicaa and other Ghibli films are animated films - and I mean that in the most complete sense, as in films that happen to be animated instead of live action.
Anime has a lot of baggage attached to it because of the weirder (and pervier) TV series out there, so I find it much safer to just call the good films animated movies - because when you try and recommend them to people as anime they immediately think of the bad stuff, and if they are not into the culture they will just not and then ignore you.
@@nicholasszabo5954
"Gotta make the switch to Blu Ray or 4K UHD"
99% of the time these days when people say DVD they mean a mix of all 3 formats, especially as many films and TV series are still not available on even Blu Ray, let alone 4K.
James Cameron's The Abyss being one glaring example that is only just now getting a Bluray and 4K release more than 2 decades after the DVD release which itself was literally just the old non anamorphic Laserdisc master repackaged on a new format.
Another James Cameron directed classic True Lies is also in this same limbo, with no release in sight as yet.
The fact that it took Cameron 10+ years to shart out Avatar and then a similar time to shart out Avatar 2 and sequels to come without addressing new format masters for these 2 films is one of many reasons I dislike the self involved pr!ck.
I'd recommend this Mexican sci-fi called The Incident (2014). It's like Nolan meets Kojima, with a wildly original and mind-numbing plot with twists and turns.
Also give Aniara (2018) a watch. It's a Swedish sci/existential horror about a trip to Mars that veers off-course, leading to some of the most terrifying events you can imagine.
I can’t vouch for The Incident since I haven’t seen it yet but the The Similars from the same director is worth checking out if you like weird.
@@waverlyking6045 Oh yeah, i enjoyed that. The director seems to be doing something different atleast. Good stuff.
Aniara would fit well in this list.
What an excellent list.
As number 11, I'd add Arrival. That is one of the best films I've ever had the pleasure of watching.
Wow, never heard of "The Machine". So wonderful to still find unknown movies... ;)
BTW: "The morrow" from Gattaca´s OST is a wonderful pice of music, just like Moon´s "Welcome to Lunar Industries"
Good selection. The only one I haven't seen is The Machine. Brazil and Gattaca are in my top 20 movies. Duncan Jones followed up Moon with the far more poppy Source Code which is worth a look. Would also recommend Cypher by Vincenzo Natali and Hardware by Richard Stanley.
Man, I'm impressed. This is a good list. Not only are these underrated, but there are some actual deep cuts like Dark City and Gattaca.
Of this list I've only watched Moon, Gattaca and Brazil and I can confirm they are wonderful movies 😁
I was introduced to Equilibrium by Roger Ebert when he was on TV. He compared it to Matrix. I ended up buying and enjoying it.
The Gun Karta is pretty awesome.
I came across your video purely by chance, but I was one of the VFX artists on The Machine, and I also did a few days on set. There were probably about 8 of us working on it in our little studio in Cardiff (most of the film was shot in South Wales nearby), over four months or so. The shot at 11:03 was the first shot I did of Caity's blue glowing eyes that got the director (Caradog James) to sign off on the look. I added a subtle rotation, like the iris was adjusting to the light as her eyes open for the first time. So I got to do all of the eye shots, one of which was among the hardest VFX shots I ever worked on (the Machine emerges from under a table, and I just could not get a good track on her eyes!). Loads of my shots in the trailer clip, so a nice trip down memory lane. Thanks for featuring the film in your list!
I might be biased because i consider Villeneuve the best director working in Hollywood, but Arrival is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. The premise, the dialogues, the music, the VFXs and the twist, they're absolutely perfect. It's a movie that transcends its genre, not only is it a great sci-fi movie, it's a great movie, period.
Thanks for a very useful list! I didn’t know about half of them so I look forward to some engaging streaming experiences over the next few evenings.
I would add the dystopian film George Lucas made before Star Wars- “THX 1138“ from 1971.
Totally different from his blockbusters- cerebral and eerily tense.
Love that film.
good call
Watched them all except Brazil and The Machine. Sunshine and Equilibrium are amongst my all time favourite films, Dark City, Gattacca, and Moon way up there too.
Moon, Starship Troopers, Sunshine, Gattaca, Brazil - if you havnt seen one or all of these you must. Great highlight from this channel on good scifi. Thumbs up.
Cloud Atlas - You must be really awake but its great.
Great list. I would also recommend Automata, Until The End of The World and Strange Days.
Strange Days - good call.
@@Thurgosh_OG Angela Bassett was as good a version of Molly Millions as we're gunna get :)
That's exactly what I thought when I first saw the film back in the day.
Strange Days is brilliant. For some reason, though they're completely different, I can't watch Strange Days without thinking of Existenz, and vice-versa.
Only hits, no misses. Great video, thanks a bunch!
Great list. I have seen all these movies multiple times. They are definitely on my favorites list.
Thank you so much. Some of my very favorite movies are on this list. I'm going to be sure to check out the others that I'm not familiar with. It's videos like this that keep truly great films from getting lost forever
Moon and Brazil both are amazing and my favourite movies.
Never heard of Dark City, definitely gonna check this out. Thanks for the recommendation.
Dark City and A Scanner Darkly seem quite promising. Thank you for your effort! 😘
Enjoyed your picks - Sunshine is a top-10 film for me, Gattaca and Cloud Atlas not too far behind
So many great choices on your list ,good job.
Moon is SO great! Rockwell is so underrated.
Thank you for the video and list. I will take a second look at some of them.
Oh My Goddess, I have seen so many of these hidden gems! THANK YOU for shining the spotlight on them & giving them some love!💗🥰🥰🥰💗
Really great list!
Great video. I've got another candidate if you want to make a longer list: the 1977 sci-fi thriller Demon Seed.
That's interesting. I liked the book, but I've never seen the movie.
Dean Koontz doesn't get the love he deserves when it comes to Hollywood.
Fantastic list! I've seen most of these, but the one movie I really thought you'd include was Event Horizon (truly embracing the cosmic horror aspect of human existentialism, and also inspired the Dead Space game series - considered one of the most immersive and disturbing ever made). I haven't seen Moon, The Machine, or Cloud Atlas, so I'll give those a glance. Thank you for mentioning both Equilibrium and Dark City! Some of my all-time favorites, and what I feel were nearly lost rare gems. I want to say Dark City probably inspired the game BioShock.
Cloud Atlas is a masterpiece.
That's funny. I thought it was unwatchable.
@@Michelle-EdenAgreed. Wish I could get the wasted time back. It was so bad I didn't bother to even remember wha5 it is about. At least it wasn't Ad Astra, probably the worst sci fi movie of all time.
Beautifully shot, artful and just disturbing enough to be memorable. The opposite of pulp sci-fi. One of the few movies I bothered to buy on Blu Ray.
Great list... Dark City is in my Top 10 Best Sci-Fi films, Equilibrium is right below it. Have 6 of the 10 in my DVD collection. Will be watching the others... Thanks👍
Gems the lot of them! Dark City was an eye opener for me.
I have watched and enjoyed nearly all of these, yet to see The Machine. A very good list indeed.
Brilliant list! You have a new subscriber, despite the Sunshine puns….
You forgot to mention that dark city is best watched in the Directors cut. The theatrical version ruins the plot in the first 30 seconds.
Gattaca is by far the best movie in the list, a true masterpiece.
Great acting, great story with deep meaning.
Cited in bioethics publications and relevant in university grade courses and symposiums.
Excellent list. I had never heard of The Machine, and have never seen Cloud Atlas. I've got some movies to watch...
Great selection, although there's a couple more I'd suggest:
1. Alita: Battle Angel - a really different film experience based on a great manga series by Yukito Kishiro. There's plenty of additional ways that subsequent films could cover, depending on how closely (or otherwise) the series is followed. But Alita is a really good film in its own right, with a terrific performance from Rosa Salazar as Alita.
2. Edge of Tomorrow - one of the few Tom Cruise movies that I can watch. Great premise (alien invasion that totally disrupts time for some soldiers) and well-acted, especially by Emily Blunt
And of course, there are also some older films, such as Metropolis (1927), Flash Gordon (1980), and The Abyss (1989), amongst so many others.
100% agreed on good additions ; both excellent manga/anime adaptations
Slop
good list
1 & 2 get all the love they deserve. The abyss just made a comeback. Flash Gordon is the 80s version of Barbarella.
Great list! I want to watch all of them. Thanks.
Fantastic !!! Thanks you for this.
Sunshine, Moon and The Machine I saw on their Premieres. I sat behind Ewan McGregor on the The Machine (Ewan's uncle plays the main antagonist), and it had outstanding acting from Caity Lotz. Anyhoo, a super list that every SF must have at least seen (if not own).
I know the guys who made The Machine they’re really nice and always called themselves amateur filmmakers, they’re legends in Wales (their home country).
What a great list. Love all these fab films
dark city was a staple with me and my friends . amazing movie
I would add Europa to this list.
Moon is my favorite on this list.
Then Sunshine and Brazil
But this list is completely correct that all of these were mostly overlooked but incredible movies.
These are all on my list of favorite Sci-fi.
Really liked The Machine, for such a low budget it was awesome, great atmosphere and music, as well as the performance from Caity Lotz.
Just so you know, Darrel. I can see you’ve chosen your words carefully. I’ve been concentrating on each single word (yep, I’m weird), and I’m pretty stunned about the boiled-down descriptions. Normally I listen in a kind of daze.
Your show today is in a class of its own.
I’ve seen most of these but will chase up the others.
👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐So many great choices on your list ,good job. 10,- Cloud Atlas is my favorite!
I went to the cinema when I was 17 to watch Starship troopers and I loved it. Gattaca as well. I love Equilibrium, Sunshine, Moon and Dark City. I've also enjoyed A scanner darkly. I haven't seen The machine nor Brazil, but this last one looks great. I didn't like Cloud Atlas.
Great selection, by the way.
Starfield Troopers is a masterpiece.
You start out enjoying it for its slapstick sci-fi teen-movie fun, and at some point you suddenly realise that you are watching an allegory about fascism and the casual nature of evil.
"Fans of the book (Starship Troopers) might have been disappointed or even shocked..." is the understatement of the century. Like the other Heinlein adaptation I saw (Puppet Masters) the source material was butchered into something closer to Frankenstein's monster than cinema. I really can't understand why any of the characters and story remain in the movie, except to insult those that found the book moving and inspiring.
Subscribed for this man's voice alone.
I’ve seen all of these, except for Cloud Atlas and Sunshine. I agree that this is a great list!
I love seeing Equilibrium receiving some attention
I haven't seen Moon or The Machine, but I agree with the rest on this list.
Will there be a spoiler free version of this? Having watched "The Moon", some of your comments relate to items not in the 1st 1/3rd of the film. Off to find "The Machine" as it is the only film on your list that I have not seen. Thanks for the list
Artifice Girl ( 2023 ) : similar to Ex - Machina, the best low budget SF movie I ever watched. Excellent story & dialogues.
One guy is a director, screenwriter & one of the actors.
Highly recommend.
Never heard of " The Machine " looks good, thanks Darrel
Great list of sci-fi films. The machine is the only one that I have not watched.
Well lucky you, it's too late for me but save yourself.
Great list! Here’s an older one (80s) that I think is way overlooked. The Quiet Earth.
Fantastic list. I have 3 I still have to watch.
I've seen most of these movies and they were all great. Under-appreciated indeed.
Very good list! I've seen 9 of these with the exception being The Machine. But I also discovered several in the comments that I haven't seen and have added to my future watch list.
Unfortunately my future watch list now sits at 500+ titles!
Here are two more from me that I enjoyed and you don't hear much about: "John Carter" (2012) Campy Sci-fi fun and "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964). Similar to more recent "The Martian" and definitely better than you would expect given the name.
The Machine looks brilliant.
It's excellent. I've seen comparisons where people say "Ex Machina" is more cerebral, and I wonder if they watched the same version of both films that I did. Honestly, many people confuse polish with sophistication and solid content.
"Ex Machina" had a budget of $15 million - exactly 10 times that of "The Machine" at $1.5 million, and that is reflected in the special effects.
However, the "big ideas" that drive sci-fi and make it such an enjoyable genre are just better in "The Machine".
Sam Rockwell is a brilliant actor and I would love to see him in bigger movies. Imagine him playing doc along side Tom holland in a back to the future requeal.
Wish I could give this two likes. Loved Moon and Cloud Atlas. Will have to look at Star Troopers again. Seemed very silly at the time. So much new to look for. Thanks.
Would highly recommend the German sci fi film Cargo from 2009. A hidden gem definitely.
A great list. The only ones I haven't seen are Dark City, Starship Troopers and The Machine. The rest are (or have been, lol) in my DVD bookcase. I was really chuffed to see four of my favourite films on the list; Equilibrium, Gattaca, Moon and A Scanner Darkly. Anything by Phil Dick is okay by me! :)
Have you seen Next with Nicholas Cage?
That's another lesser known PKD adaptation.
@@mnomadvfx Yes, that's another good one. :)
I've actually seen all 10 of these movies. Well I can agree with nine of them, the idea that starship troopers is a satire is way beyond my comprehension. It does seem like just a another space opera Western, in the mold of Star wars with insects. I guess maybe you just have a love for this particular movie for some reason and somehow are able to pick out some satire in some form that for me just does not exist. However your narrative your ability to describe these movies are amazing and very talented. Very impressive use of editing and great delivery. Hopefully your presentation will get other people to really have an opportunity to experience most of these movies as they originally needed to be. Thanks for your contribution.
cloud atlas is amazing, very rewatchable imo
Sunshine is such a hidden gem, love that movie.
I haven't seen A Scanner Darkly or The Machine, will have to check them out. The rest are all great movies. I'd also add UNDER THE SKIN to this list.
I think this is the first time that I have watched such a review video and found that I’ve seen all of the movies featured (and read some of the books). I would not disagree with any of the inclusions here. The list could have been longer, but this collection of movies would not disappoint any Sci-Fi fan. Read the book before you watch Cloud Atlas.
Great list, 6 I've seen and loved and I'll be checking out the other 4 sometime soon. A shout out for George Lucas first film THX 1138 bleak but ultimately uplifting
I love the last 3 movie well done and very interesting movie some I have just not got around to watching yer
Moon was my favorite movie that year and one of the best sci-fi films of the decade. A career high performance by Sam Rockwell too who manages to convey the full spectrum of emotion. It takes a great actor to carry an entire film on their back like that, especially in such an isolated space. If you liked Cast Away, you’ll appreciate this.
I have seen, Moon, Gattica ( I have a DVD copy), AScanner Darkly (and read the book), Sunshine, Cloud Atlas and Brazil.. My favorite has to be Gattica with Scanner Darkly and Sunshine joint second.
I don't think these are underrated,
I think these are all the movies that scifi stans try to get me to watch. But scifi itself is niche.
Equilibrium is a positively stunning film! Alex Proyas is a magnificent director! A Scanner Darkly speaks for itself.
My mate was effects and scene director on Moon.
1998 and 1999 was a remarkable time for Sci-Fi movies. A plethora of movies questioning the nature of reality came out during these two years. They are all quite different, but they all share the dilemma of discerning what the nature of the world really is. Remarkably, they are all quite good, and any of them are worth watching. I'm talking about DARK CITY, THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR, EXISTENZ, THE TRUMAN SHOW, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, RUN LOLA RUN, and, the king of them all, THE MATRIX. Strange times.
These are all brilliant films I have watched more than once. Sam Rockwell was so good in Moon.
A great list, though I've never even heard of The Machine, and personally, I would've excluded Cloud Atlas and include Extracted, a brilliant and underappreciated hidden gem if ever I've seen one.
The Wall (German: Die Wand) is a 2012 Austrian-German drama film written and directed by Julian Pölsler and starring Martina Gedeck.
The Machine was a masterpiece. Dark City a classic. Moon another classic, Gattica same. Sunshine very dope.
The Machine was (to me) so much better than Ex Machina (which had 10 times the budget).
If I had to recommend one of them to a friend, I'd choose with The Machine.
@@MrVvulf Totally man. Totally.
@@matreyia Unrelated question - Have you read "Lord of Light" by Zelazny? Your screen name (nickname for the Buddha) is one of the protagonist's nicknames, along with Mahasamatman (he preferred simply "Sam"). The book has one of the greatest opening paragraphs of all time.
Can't wait for the next underrated movies list such as:
- Godfather
- Citizen Kane
- Titanic
- Matrix
- Saving private Ryan
- Lord of the Rings
My thoughts exactly 😅
The list is those "underrated" ... Citizen Kane and Godfather almost always turn up in lists of the best films ever and rightly so.
@@derekcouzens9483I see sarcasm is lost on you
@@paulmerry8929 I would be happy to recognise the sarcasm if you hadn't had a ratio of 2 great to 4 crap films. Now if you had Jean de Florrette, The Seven Samarei, One flew over the cuckoos nest, psycho ... It would have been funnier
@@derekcouzens9483 the only crap film he has in there is titanic, but that’s just my opinion. There’s enough going on there to reasonably understand his point and you pulling him up on it is, quite frankly churlish. Thought I’d treat you likewise
Hello, I’m going to start to write sci fi short stories to build my portfolio and strengthen myself as a writer. Any advice before getting started on this journey?
Read sci-fi short stories. I would start with the classics - collections of Hugo winners, etc.
@@Pemulis1 Thanks man. Really appreciate this advice. Now I just got decided which collections to choose! Thanks again🙏😊
Strange that 6 out of the 10 have always been favorites of mine.
Have you seen Gareth Edwards' The Creator yet? That looks like it might be tumbling down a similar rabbithole as this lot, and deserves so much more ...
I liked Dark City. Rented it from Blockbuster and my girlfriend (now wife) fell asleep in the first four minutes, leaving me to enjoy the movie as a sci fi fan.
We have the exact same taste. I watched every single one, from this and from the other video. BTW, "The Man from Earth" and "Primer" are my two favorite films and screenplays ever. I have zero suggestions for you; that's a first. It's like I've done the video. Cheers !!!
Saw all but The Machine. Could have found a spot on your list for, Phase lV. 1974.
Equilibrium was an accidental find for me, shortly after release and i now watchit atleast once a year, as its just a cult classic by now.
And Starship Troopers...well lets just say, i watched all of them and just did it again, after some reactioners on YT reacted to it...^^
I've fortunately seen most of them, but i like to see them getting the appreciation they deserve and thx for the reminder, that i could watch of them again. :)
there was a to show spin off that didn't get more than one season,but both were good. (starship troopers)