Thursday, August 26, 2004
The Best Science Fiction Movie?
In a poll of 60 eminent scientists, Blade Runner has been voted the best science fiction ever made. "2001:A Space Odyssey" came in second while "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" came in third. "Alien" and "Solaris" round up the top 5, while "Terminator" came in at No:6 and "The Matrix" came in at No:9.
Stephen Minger, a stem cell biologist, said Blade Runner had won because it was "so far ahead of its time". Mr Minger, from King's College, London, said: "Blade Runner is the best movie ever made."It was so far ahead of its time and the whole premise of the story - what is it to be human and who are we, where we come from? It's the age-old questions." Chris Frith of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College, London, paid tribute to the film's discussion of how to tell a human from a machine.
The scientists were also polled on their favourite science fiction writers.
Isaac Asimov headed the list for his novel I, Robot and the Foundation Trilogy. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham was also a favourite, as was Fred Hoyle's The Black Cloud.Other writers in the top 10 included Arthur C Clarke, Ursula le Guin, Philip K Dick, Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert and Stanislaw Lem.
I was a little surprised "Bladerunner" beat "2001" since I thought the latter would be a slam-dunk among the scientific community. Do you folks agree with these results? Feel free to leave your vote for favourite science fiction film and science fiction writer in the comments section.
Stephen Minger, a stem cell biologist, said Blade Runner had won because it was "so far ahead of its time". Mr Minger, from King's College, London, said: "Blade Runner is the best movie ever made."It was so far ahead of its time and the whole premise of the story - what is it to be human and who are we, where we come from? It's the age-old questions." Chris Frith of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College, London, paid tribute to the film's discussion of how to tell a human from a machine.
The scientists were also polled on their favourite science fiction writers.
Isaac Asimov headed the list for his novel I, Robot and the Foundation Trilogy. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham was also a favourite, as was Fred Hoyle's The Black Cloud.Other writers in the top 10 included Arthur C Clarke, Ursula le Guin, Philip K Dick, Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert and Stanislaw Lem.
I was a little surprised "Bladerunner" beat "2001" since I thought the latter would be a slam-dunk among the scientific community. Do you folks agree with these results? Feel free to leave your vote for favourite science fiction film and science fiction writer in the comments section.
