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Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2009 > July > 20 > Entry
What are the best space exploration movies?
With today being the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, I think it’s an ideal time to list the best space exploration movies.
Please note that’s space exploration movies, NOT movies set in space. So Star Wars and Star Trek and its ilk do NOT count, nor do other movies about battling aliens. I’m talking about movies that are about either going from Earth to space, or exploring the deep reaches of space from earth to find out what’s out there.
Those who are interested in space exploration would be well advised to see Moon, which I caught yesterday at the Little Art Theatre. I’m still absorbing the movie, but it’s an engrossing little puzzler starring Sam Rockwell as a lone moon explorer who has a strange close encounter when he finds - himself. See it to find out what I mean.
Here are five of my favorites, in mostly alphabetical order. The list does not include documentaries.
Apollo 13: Everyone who knows their history knows how this ends, and yet it’s still incredibly suspenseful. Ron Howard’s best film to date.
Contact: Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of Carl Sagan’s novel posed some fascinating questions about belief and did so with extraordinary visual panache. Generally underrated, this was one of the best films of 1997.
Solaris: I can already hear people groaning about this one, but I flatly disagree with them. I thought this film starring George Clooney was an absolutely fascinating mind-bender about love and loss and what’s real and what’s not. Unlike a lot of folks, I like movies that don’t feed you all the answers and ask you to try to puzzle things out yourself. (For the record, I have not yet seen the 1972 original Russian film.)
2001: Well, since this is one of my 10 favorite films, I kind of have to put it on here. And it’s another great mind-bender too.
October Sky: OK, this one’s a bit of a cheat, since it’s not actually about space exploration, but it’s an entertaining and moving story about Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal), a rocket scientist without whom the space program would not have been possible.
You may be asking “Where’s The Right Stuff?” While I like that film a lot, I don’t like it quite as much as the ones I list here.
And here’s a question: How come a theatrical movie hasn’t been made about Apollo 11 yet? is the story too good?
Your turn - tell me your favorite space exploration movies.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: Ask the Audience, Lists
Comments
By Captain Mike
July 21, 2009 4:50 PM | Link to this
Destination Moon. It is, first and foremost, a space exploration movie. The technical effects are a bit dated, but there still pretty impressive considering the technology at the time. The movie is also virtually unique in the history of Hollywood for being as scientifically accurate as possible. Space Cowboys. Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy had some unkind words about the science in this movie, but I’ve got to say that I loved it to bits. I found it interesting because despite being set in outer space, it is not science fiction. It’s just fiction set in outer space.By CMPW
July 21, 2009 10:33 AM | Link to this
I think you could include the newest Star Trek in this list, yes there are battles between alien races, but there is a lot about exploration too, and I’m not a trekky by any stretch of the imagination. The Right Stuff does belong on this list.By johns son
July 20, 2009 9:30 PM | Link to this
Capricorn 1…..chuckle.By SRCputt
July 20, 2009 7:27 PM | Link to this
How about the first science fiction movie, A Trip to the Moon? For those who thought Solaris was slow, the 1972 version is almost an hour longer. Actually, I’ve seen both and think both versions are excellent. And looking to the future, I have to mention Alien and Aliens. I know battles are involved, but the details of space exploration are well done in both films.By T-bonious Funk
July 20, 2009 5:39 PM | Link to this
Like you, Sir Critic, “2001: A Space Odyssey” is at the top of my list, but I would also include “2010: The Year We Make Contact” not only because of the continued exploration of Jupiter and its four very different moons, but because it was set in a Cold War era where the U.S. and Russia were at each other’s throats. The scientists and astronauts aboard the Leonov were forced to work together despite socio-political differences; a wonderful character study. I also enjoyed “Solaris” a lot. “Serenity” was quite excellent too, but not really so much about exploration as just good sci-fi!By Northwind98
July 20, 2009 4:56 PM | Link to this
The 1964 Adaptation of an H.G. Wells’ story is a classic with great acting and devoid of the cheesy special effects of today. Shot in a new “wide-screen” process for the time. Chronicles an eccentric Brit scientist who builds an Iron orb and a chemical that essentially curtails the effects of gravity. Wonderful flic for the whole family.By Doc
July 20, 2009 4:20 PM | Link to this
ANY of the Star Trek movies!! Come on!!! ;)By whatelse
July 20, 2009 3:13 PM | Link to this
Easily Amazon Women on the Moon, the 1957 film classic that is usually shown without commerical interruptions.By Bdub
July 20, 2009 2:17 PM | Link to this
What about Wall-e ??… some of the best scenes in the movie are when he is clinging to the spaceship exploring space …. beautiful animation!By Roger
July 20, 2009 2:09 PM | Link to this
Does “Event Horizon” (1997) count? What about “Space Camp” (1986) with the young Joaquin (Leaf) Phoenix and Lea Thompson? And I liked “The Astronaut Farmer” (2006).By space!
July 20, 2009 1:52 PM | Link to this
Wheres Armageddon?! Best movie!By Sir Critic
July 20, 2009 12:02 PM | Link to this
“Apollo 13” does NOT plod. “The Right Stuff,” as good as it is, occasionally does. As for “Marooned,” I’ve seen it - when it got the MST3K treatment under a different title. And if an “unfilmable” novel like “The Right Stuff” can work, why not Apollo 11?By McRib
July 20, 2009 12:00 PM | Link to this
The Three Stooges in “Have Rocket, Will Travel” A real 50’s space movie classic!By vistavision
July 20, 2009 11:53 AM | Link to this
You need something cheesy on this list, since most of the space exploration genre has been cheesy. How about “Marooned”? There has been no Apollo 11 movie because the crew really isn’t very interesting. See Mike Collins’ excellent book “Carrying The Fire” for the description of the three of them as “amiable strangers,” even on the back side of the moon.By vistavision
July 20, 2009 11:50 AM | Link to this
You like Ron Howard’s pedestrian, plodding “Apollo 13” over Phillip Kaufman’s truly cinematic “The Right Stuff”? The novel of “The Right Stuff” struck me as unfilmable, but Kaufman got all the nuance through.By jmiller
July 20, 2009 11:43 AM | Link to this
Apollo 13, hands down; I enjoyed October Sky as well.