Space is no longer a new frontier in Hollywood. From the 1902 production ‘A Trip to the Moon’ to ‘Star Trek’ to ‘Star Wars’, the space-film genre has garnered a legion of fans over the years. In the below hit-list we countdown the 5 Best Space Films of All Time:
5. Contact
From the director that brought you ‘Back to the Future’, the 1997 blockbuster ‘Contact’ has stood the test of time. The Oscar-nominated classic stars Jodie Foster and ‘Interstellar’ hunk Matthew McConaughey in one of his first major roles. Who could have predicted he would star in another soon-to-be ‘space classic’ nearly 17 years later? The film sees Foster play a doctor who has discovered signs of alien existence through sound waves on the radio. Her quest for the truth sees Foster embark on a space mission on board a ‘special’ machine (never actually referred to as a spacecraft). The film is an adaptation of Carl Sagan’s novel, and showcases the two lead actors at their very best.
4. Apollo 13
The 90’s was a decade of stellar films that included the ensemble starrer ‘Apollo 13’ based on a real-life lunar mission in the 1970s. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise star in this Oscar-winning classic directed by ‘Rush’ director Ron Howard. Hanks delivers an outstanding performance at the peak of his career – a time when he was starring in cinematic masterpieces that included ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘Philadelphia’. As luck would have it, ‘Apollo 13’ lost out on the Best Picture Oscar to ‘Forrest Gump’ – another Tom Hanks-starrer.
3. Gravity
2013’s award-winning ‘Gravity’ will go down in history as one of the biggest space-epics of all time. The George Clooney and Sandra Bullock-starrer took home seven Oscars including Best Achievement in Cinematography and Directing. Brilliant performances from both lead actors with an engaging plot skyrocketed ‘Gravity’ onto the list. This is a beautiful story about a medical engineer and an astronaut teaming up in a bid for survival after the destruction of their space shuttle.
2. Aliens
James Cameron is credited with giving us some of the greatest sci-fi flicks of all time. From ‘The Terminator’ and ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’, to ‘Avatar’ to ‘Aliens’ — the grand sequel to Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’. The 1986 blockbuster starring Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn won two Oscars, as well as a place on this list. One of the film’s most memorable scenes saw an alien burst out of Weaver’s stomach – something that’s sure to stay with you forever. ‘Aliens’ is also listed among the most commercially successful films of the 80’s.
1. Interstellar
Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway star in the ultimate space journey directed by Christopher Nolan. Nolan, the renowned hitmaker behind runaway successes ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘Inception’ and ‘Memento’, takes us on a space journey in which a group of explorers arrive on a planet via a wormhole. They hope to make the planet a sustainable home for all humanity. ‘Interstellar’ is one of this year’s most highly-rated films and a must-watch for all fans of the space-film genre.
So there you have it… Space voyages, alien encounters and above all – survival. These are just some of the themes featured in the above-mentioned films. We have been privileged to see some of the best from Hollywood that transported us from our fair planet Earth to galaxies far far away. We hope you enjoyed our list, and that you get a chance to relive these classics again and again!