Pants

Two dumb things are happening in this thread:

1. People are saying Star Wars is not sci-fi without properly explaining their position.

2. People are construing this as a criticism of Star Wars and getting all huffy and indignant.

The root of the arguement that Star Wars is not sci-fi is that it embodies the post-modern concept of the genre hybrid. Those of you who keep calling it a "fantasy" are equally wrong. Star Wars is less of a fantasy than it is a sci-fi picture. Notice that the films you guys argue over are always new films. The emergence of genre hybrids has happened only in the last 25 years. Alien: Is it Horror or Sci-fi? The Abyss: Is it drama, action, or sci-fi? Terminator: Is it Action or Sci-fi? The answer to all of this is "Yes, they're all that and more!"

Star Wars is a Western, a war film, a samurai film, a cliffhanger pulp serial, and an Action Adeventure picture. The hybridization of genre is (was) a new evolution in story telling. THAT'S the reason the film is so brilliant.

IF one were to argue that Star Wars is influential, then it isn't influential for its Special Effects (which had all been done before. No new processes were invented for Star Wars. It just repopularized the processes and made audiences interested in Special Effects). It's influential because it was revolutionary craftsmanship of something new out of the detritus of the past.

daniel18

I hope The Matrix never becoms influential.

fumanstan

The Matrix already is influential.

And Star Wars is Sci Fi. That would get my vote.

theneobez

Star Wars would get my vote too, it IS sci-fi.

Fielding Mellish

Forbidden Planet begat Star Trek.

Star Trek begat (Fill in the blank with anything from 1970-on)

Star Wars Guy

"Lando Calrissian is a positive role model in the realm of science fiction-fantasy" - Holden McNeil

D-Ball

I don't consider Star Wars to be sci-fi. It has many of the same elements but doesn't quite fit into the genre. Our known human society is the basis for science fiction, and then there is some scientific element added to the story (time travel, aliens, advances in technology, etc.) Star Wars takes place in a fantasy world and is not bound by any aspects of our known society. If you look at the choices in the poll, all of them deal with human civilization, and you could logically fill in the gaps between our current world and the world depicted in the movie. That's just not possible with Star Wars.

My vote went to Blade Runner.

NEUMANN

I put my vote in for star wars as most influential,i was born in 1960 so i grew up in the 70's(well got taller in the 70's anyway lol) and by the time 77 rolled around sci-fi was pretty much dead at the movie theatre very few sci-fi movies where being made then along came star wars and it pulled sci-fi from the grave and made it a viable option for the studios again.

Without Star Wars there might not have been a studio willing to greenlight movies like bladerunner.So for me anyway star wars was the most influential.Also you can put every sci-fi movie ever made into a sub catagory includeing the ones on this list,whether it be sci-fi noir,sci-fi fantasy,sci-fi action,sci-fi horror,sci-fi comedy or sci-fi whatever(there are to many to list)So leaving star wars off this list for that reason is just plain silly

El-Kabong

Um, yes it is. Aliens? Check. Spaceships? Check. Laser guns? Check. Robots? Check. Worlds other than Earth? Check. Yup - looks like we have all the trappings of a science fiction movie.

It belongs on the list, because not only is it the most infulencial Sci Fi movie, but it's quite possably one of the most influential movies ever. It changed the way films are marketed forever, it created (along with Jaws) the Summer Blockbuster Season, it gave rise to merchandising tie-ins and happy meals, and gave birth to the first really big special effects house. For good or for ill, its had a ripple effect throughout every movie for the last 25 years.

Pants

So with that criteria is Vanila Sky science fiction? It doesn't have any of those things.

Groucho

I was torn between Metropolis and The Day the Earth Stood Still, but ultimately chose Metropolis.

I would have liked to seen "Other" as a choice on the poll over The Matrix. That film may very well prove to be influential, but at this point it's too early to tell.

El-Kabong

I know it's an unsual stance to take on the internet, but I can't judge - I've not seen it. But there are lots of movies that dont use the Star Wars trappings that are still science fiction.

Hokeyboy

Science fiction isn't about the trappings: robots, laser guns, space ships, aliens, etc.. It's about the ideas and concepts, how speculative life in different "futuristic" milieus comment on our contemporary existence.

On that basis, I'd say no, Star Wars isn't science fiction.

2001, with its theme of human ingenuity, evolution and ascendance, is applicable. Same with Blade Runner and its stance on the essence of humanity and the soul in the face of rampant consumerism and globalization.

Star Wars, in comparison, is simply a well-told space fantasy, an action-adventure tale that culled from many diverse influences (mythological archetypes, westerns, samurai adventures, space opera, serial cliffhangers) and gelled into something entirely unique and entertaining.

NEUMANN

I would have to say no Star wars is not a space fantasy,it is a sci-fi fantasy,it is a sci-fi film that fits in the sub catergory of sci-fi fantasy.Just like blade runner is a sci-fi movie that fits into the sub catergory of sci-fi noir,or alien fits into sci-fi horror,when you call star wars a space fantasy i really can't understand it,i mean are you saying star wars is a space film and not a sci-fi film?you call star wars a space film,well that is not really even a catergory.You don't walk into a store and go to the space section you go to the sci-fi section.it seems people want to call star wars something other then sci-fi-fantasy so they come up with anything and everything else like space fantasy which no one has ever heard of,i know of no librarys or stores that have a space section for books or movies,why can't people just call star wars what it is.A sci-fi film in the sci-fi/fantasy sub catergory

For someone to call star wars a space fantasy and not a sci-fi fantasy makes me scratch my head,i mean does that make alien a space horror movie instead of a sci-fi horror movie,i guess i just don't get it because you could call any movie set in outer space a space movie instead of a sci-fi movie

Supermallet

Something else I just noticed. Why isn't Alphaville on this list? That was the first true sci-fi noir, and as such, has had an influence on following sci-fi noir films. That's pretty influential.

And there seems to be an odd argument going on around here. There are people who seem indignant that Star Wars is not being listed as sci-fi, who then try to argue it is, and THEN try and argue that it is also the most influential sci-fi film ever made.

I don't care whether or not Star Wars is science fiction or not, it is NOT the most influential science fiction film ever made. While its special effects techniques were oft used afterwards, and its success did get studios to greenlight a lot of sci-fi films in its wake, but as far as its influence on other films go, it does not run as deep as Metropolis, 2001, or Blade Runner.

So, argue all you like about the texbook definition of what genre the film belongs to, but don't then extend your argument to say it's also the most influential sci-fi film.

El-Kabong

Oft used afterwards? Like by nearly every single film since. The films that ILM worked on - a company that wouldnt exist without SW - is a list as long as my arm. The technology and techniques perfected at ILM have spread to every other effects house on the planet. And that's just one small aspect of the film's impact.

Dont get me wrong - Metropolis is a very, very, very good film. One of my favorites in fact - but what it did has been overshadowed by Lucas.

NEUMANN

Well now that we have made it clear that star wars is a sci-fi picture,i will also state it is the most influential sci-fi movie ever made,no other sci-fi movie had as profund effect on its generation and following generations as star wars did,the whole nation and even the world simply marveled at this movie when it first came out,there had never been anything quite like it before,the country was caught up in star wars mania it became a national institution and it boosted sci-fi movies into the mainstream and opened the floodgates for future sci-fi movies for the next quarter century all this at a time that sci-fi was almost dead. This is something that metroplis or any other sci-fi movie did not achieve.

I shiver to think of the great sci-fi movies that would not have been made if not for star wars,and not puting it in this poll makes the poll invalid as far as i am concerned,no way this movie should have been left out

sataniko

A Clockwork Orange!

MrN

LOL!

But seriously, I don't really think either camp is willing to concede at this point.

I will say this - just because a film is listed as 'sci-fi' at best buy or blockbuster doesn't make it so. You can just look at what's playing on the Sci-Fi channel for proof.

Also, just because a film has a spaceship doesn't mean it is sci-fi. This might be where sci-fi movie-fans and book-fans differ. In books the emphasis is on the ramifications of technologies on people's way of life and culture. In films sometimes its just to make things look cool by showing off special effects.

jaeufraser

As to whether Star Wars is sci-fi...that's just a matter of interpretation of what science fiction is. I think this narrow view that disincludes Star Wars is silly...Star Wars is hardcore science fiction, but it definately has traits of the genre and can be considered as such.

Is Star Wars the most influential science fiction film? Truthfully, in terms of pushing forward ideas in science fiction and design, perhaps not. But the truth is Star Wars in general film is the most influential by far. Quite simply, Star Wars changed the entire film market, changed how movies are made, and so on. Every film on this list made after 1977 owes much of its existence to Star Wars. Alien, Blade Runner, The Matrix...I doubt those movies would exist save for Star Wars. I know for a fact Alien was made to cash in on that success. Star Trek was revived for much the same reason.

So whether you consider it to be sci-fi or not...you do have to admit that it influenced a large number of sci-fi afterwards, even though that influence might not be from a creative standpoint, but more from the commercial and technical side. Though there is no doubt that many a film has patterned itself after the winning blockbuster formula of Star Wars.

Deftones

The only two movies I'd consider choosing. I'd have to go with Metropolis merely for the fact that it's one of, if not the first sci-fi flick ever.

QuiGonJosh

Star Wars is has the best parts of many genres...Western...Samurai...Sci-Fi...Fantasy...40's Serial...etc. But the main genres are Sci-Fi/Fantasy...so why isnt the title of this thread Sci-Fi/Fantasy...since the two seem to usually go together?

William Fuld

I'm still pissed Return of the Jedi wasn't included in the "Best Musical Since 1970" poll.

Burnt Alive

If Star Wars isn't Sci-Fi, then neither is Alien.

Supermallet

Actually, I think the very first sci-fi film is A Trip To The Moon. However, the only thing I can tell that took influence from that film was a Smashing Pumpkins video.

El-Kabong: I agree that Star Wars changed the way the world used special effects. However, I don't think it's fair to say that Star Wars is the most influential sci-fi film because of that. The most influential special effects film, perhaps. The most influential commercial blockbuster, perhaps (although I would say Jaws is the start of the modern blockbuster). But in terms of what it did for the evolution of science fiction, all you can point to is the special effects. Whereas other sci-fi films actually bring forth themes that comprise what some people here might call more legitimate science fiction, namely, using future scenarios to comment on our society as it exists today. So I still maintain that within the realm of impact on science fiction, Star Wars is not the most influential, visually or thematically.