EddieMoney

Honestly, there are too many classics in this list. Mind boggling, almost.

Ash Ketchum

I just checked to see which one I'd voted for and it was THEM! But if I'd voted after seeing INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS last October, I probably would have voted for that. And there are times when I would have voted for GOJIRA.

hanshotfirst1138

Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I think time has been remarkably kind to it, and I prefer it to the many other adaptations. The emasculating studio-imposed ending excepted, the dark paranoia is still pretty powerful, IMO.

davidh777

Sex Fiend

Agreed. That list is full of win, and you could probably add another twenty more from the Fifties that would equally deserve mention.

Which also points up how forgettable the science fiction genre has been in the decades since - or at least, post 1970s. I don't think it would even be possible to fill out a list of at least ten good science fiction films for any individual decade from the 1980s through the 2000s.

Nick Danger

I haven't seen them all. But a lot of them are awesome.

The list is missing one of my favorites: Qatermass 2, written by Nigel Neale. It is as paranoid as the X-Files.

Lt Ripley

A few from the 80's:

Blade Runner
The Thing
Aliens
Abyss
Vidoedrome
Empire Strikes Back
Terminator
The Fly
Final Countdown
Altered States
Brazil
E.T.

Ash Ketchum

Anime sci-fi features: ten exemplary titles each from the 1980s and '90s:

1980s:
Phoenix 2772
Mobile Suit Gundam Movies I, II & III
Adieu Galaxy Express
Arcadia of My Youth
Harmageddon
Macross the Movie: Do You Remember Love?
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Wicked City
Akira

1990s:
Patlabor: The Movie
Gundam F91
Roujin-Z
Patlabor 2
A Wind Named Amnesia
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Ghost in the Shell
Tenchi Muyo in Love
Tenchi Forever
Black Jack The Movie

And let's not forget the SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO movies, which started in 1977 and continued into the early '80s.

In the 2000s, we got STEAMBOY and GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE, but I'm drawing a blank on others right now.

Charlie Goose

Just saw this one. It's a bit of a cheat since it's not 1950s, but actually 1961.

It's bad. Gangster gets caught in the middle of atomic testing (clumsy!) and becomes the man of steel, so he sets out for revenge on the other gangsters that betrayed him. Not much sci-fi here, since he doesn't really do a lot except ward off a few bullets. And double over in pain every so often from the radiation poisoning. It's not fun like other sci-fi movies of the time either, it's actually kind of salacious in some parts. Starring no one you know, and for good reason. I need to watch a giant bug movie now to get this one off my mind.

Charlie Goose

My first time seeing this one, I think I saw some of the 80s remake years ago.
This was the best of the bunch so far. Good suspense and direction during the first half, I think the kid pulled off a good performance. A lot like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Too much repeated footage and a lot of stock footage of the US military gearing up to kick ass. One of the characters mentioned how we were going to use space to keep weapons pointed at the enemy, which was how the space race started, so I guess they wanted some USA RAH RAH in there.
The second half is weaker, with big lumbering Martians taking orders from the Great Gazoo. That was a letdown. Repeated foootage is a lot more obvious at this point.
The ending

Ash Ketchum

It was made in 1958. From IMDB:
It was the last film by silent film pioneer Allan Dwan who'd been directing since 1911!

And what do you mean "Starring no one you know"??? Debra Paget is my favorite starlet of the 1950s. She does a very sexy "Egyptian" dance in PRINCESS OF THE NILE (1954). Her co-star in MOST DANGEROUS MAN ALIVE, Elaine Stewart, actually starred in a NILE knock-off, also in 1954, THE ADVENTURES OF HAJI BABA. See what you're missing?

EddieMoney

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but I also always liked The Day of the Triffids.

FRwL

The 80s is the 2nd best scifi decdae behind 50s.

Ash Ketchum

That's 1963.

EddieMoney

Damn!

Charlie Goose

Here's another good one. An undersea earthquake has uncovered some prehistoric eggs at the bottom of the Salton Sea, and they've hatched ugly giant swimming caterpillars. Some scenes reminded me a lot of Jaws. Gets a little slow in the middle, but picks up at the end. Extra points for having Hans Conried. See if you can keep track of how many times someone says, "Salton", I lost count.

B5Erik

Hmmmm...

Four years later I think I would still say the same thing. War Of The Worlds is my favorite, but I think the best from that era was Forbidden Planet. I love all of the movies I listed here.

That's a movie that's well worth watching if you haven't seen it yet.

Ash Ketchum

I watched this film for one of the Sci-Fi challenges on DVD Talk and I was quite impressed with it. It was largely shot on location and the monsters were all mechanically created and manipulated in real time on the set, just like they did with the ants in THEM! When they do it right, it's one of the most effective ways to make a monster movie.

Charlie Goose

I really liked the stop motion crawling brains with antennae and tendril-like arms. Very creepy. Certainly better than the earlier part of the movie when they were still invisible.
Surprisingly gory for the time, with the Fiends bleeding marinara or dissolving into applesauce. Tasty!

mike7162

Great films, all of them, but I'm going with The Incredible Shrinking Man - how can you go wrong with existentialism and a giant kitty?

ddrknghtrtns

Spottedfeather

I have that exact tape in my hand right now...great movie.

FRwL

The Fiend w/out a Face monster looks just the most evil thing ever. Anything with antennae.