Earthlings Unite

2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick's quiet masterpiece probes the mysteries of space and human destiny. While investigating the appearance of mysterious monoliths throughout the universe, astronauts David (Keir Dullea) and Frank (Gary Lockwood) battle their ship's intelligent computer, HAL-9000. This epic sci-fi drama based on Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel" was nominated for four Academy Awards and won for its stunning special effects.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

When Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) encounters a UFO, he's left with a sunburned face, a skeptical family and a shaken psyche. In an attempt to make sense of what he saw, Roy starts seeking out others who've had similar "visions." Among those he finds are a woman (Melinda Dillon) who's lost her son to the aliens, and a researcher (Francois Truffaut) preparing for Earth's first contact with extraterrestrials.

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace

In this Star Wars prequel, jedi Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) must protect Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) from the evil clutches of Darth Sidious and Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). Along the way, they meet Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a child who shows intimations of a great gift. Terence Stamp and Samuel L. Jackson co-star amid spectacular CGI scenery in director George Lucas's sci-fi epic.

Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

George Lucas's epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), cocky Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.

Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Director George Lucas delivers the finale to his original epic space trilogy with the rebel forces' last stand against the Empire and Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) fateful confrontation with his nemesis, Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones). Skywalker tries to rescue Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) from Jabba the Hutt, while the rebel army and the small, furry Ewoks battle the enormity of the rebuilt Death Star.

Cocoon

A group of shut-ins at a rest home get a new lease on life when they're offered the gift of eternal youth by visiting aliens led by Brian Dennehy. Steve Guttenberg plays a charter boat captain who helps Dennehy and Don Ameche (who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) marshal their fellow seniors (Hume Cronyn, Wilford Brimley, Jack Gilford, Jessica Tandy and Maureen Stapleton) into making the choice between perennial youth or old age.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

A humanoid envoy (Michael Rennie) from another world lands in Washington, D.C., with a warning to Earth's people to cease their violent behavior. But panic erupts when a nervous soldier shoots the messenger, and his robot companion tries to destroy the capital. A sci-fi hallmark that offers wry commentary on the political climate of the 1950s, this Golden Globe-winning classic is less concerned with special effects than with its potent message.

Total Recall

Life is mind-bending and chaotic in director Paul Verhoeven's violent, Oscar-winning sci-fi adventure based on a Philip K. Dick story. When construction worker Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) discovers a memory chip in his brain during a virtual-reality trip, he also discovers that his past has been invented to conceal a plot of planetary domination. Soon, he's off to Mars to find out who he is and who planted the chip..

Altered States

Harvard scientist Eddie Jessup's (William Hurt) mind-altering experiments on himself, involving a hallucinatory drug and an isolation chamber, get out of control when his handiwork shuttles him back and forth on the evolutionary spectrum -- from human to ape-man. Equal parts sci-fi actioner, 1960s psychedelic trip and farce, the film was based on a Paddy Chayefsky novel and received Oscar nominations for music and sound. Blair Brown co-stars.

Jurassic Park

A multimillionaire (Richard Attenborough) unveils a new theme park where visitors can observe dinosaurs cloned using advanced DNA technology. But when an employee tampers with the security system, the dinosaurs escape, forcing the visitors to fight for their survival. Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern star in this thrilling, action-packed blockbuster from acclaimed director Steven Spielberg and based on the novel by Michael Crichton.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Four years after Jurassic Park's genetically bred dinosaurs ran amok, multimillionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) shocks chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) by revealing that Hammond has been breeding more beasties at a secret location. Malcolm, his paleontologist ladylove (Julianne Moore) and a wildlife videographer (Vince Vaughn) join an expedition to document the lethal lizards' natural behavior in this action-packed thriller.

Jurassic Park III

In need of funds for research, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) accepts a large sum of money to accompany Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni) on an aerial tour of the infamous Isla Sorna. It isn't long before all hell breaks loose and the stranded wayfarers must fight for survival as a host of new -- and even more deadly -- dinosaurs try to make snacks of them. Laura Dern, Michael Jeter, Alessandro Nivola and Trevor Morgan co-star.

The Terminator

In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back to 1984 to snuff Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior (Michael Biehn) to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

The Terminator: Hunters and Killers

Based on the 1984 sci-fi blockbuster, this imaginative digital comic continues the tale of humanity's present and future fight for survival against the tyrannical Skynet supercomputer and its ruthless machines. It's 2029, and with the only remaining Russian nuclear submarine on the loose, a new variety of undetectable terminators is dispatched to capture the vessel before its payload can deal a knockout blow to the machines.

Independence Day

When aliens in enormous spacecraft suddenly arrive in Earth's atmosphere and start blowing things up, it falls to a cocky pilot (Will Smith) and a goofy scientist (Jeff Goldblum) to save the planet from total destruction. With plenty of action, special effects sequences and pithy one-liners, Independence Day is one of the 1990s' best popcorn flicks. Bill Pullman co-stars as the gung-ho president who urges his citizens to fight back.

The Day After

This stirring made-for-TV movie depicts the aftermath of nuclear disaster as it follows the lives of a handful of residents of Lawrence, Kan., including a professor (John Lithgow), a doctor (Jason Robards), a young woman (Lori Lethin) and a college student (Steve Guttenberg). Tension rises as radiation levels increase and Americans must find ways to survive against all odds -- physically, mentally and emotionally.

Star Trek: First Contact

The Borg are back! Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) confronts the archenemies who kidnapped and assimilated him in a "Next Generation" TV episode. Now, the Borg have time-traveled to Earth's past to preclude the first contact between humans and Vulcans, which resulted in the Federation's birth. Bent on revenge, Picard follows the Borg to the 21st century. Will Picard sacrifice everything to stop the villains?

Men in Black

On a top-secret mission, J (Will Smith), a charismatic New York City cop, teams up with K (Tommy Lee Jones), a seasoned government agent who monitors aliens on Earth, to stop intergalactic alien terrorist Edgar (Vincent D'Onofrio) from inciting an interstellar, humanity-destroying war. Linda Fiorentino, Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub co-star in director Barry Sonnenfeld's funny and slick sci-fi extravaganza.

Dune

In the far future, a remote desert world becomes the epicenter of a struggle that will spark a revolution, fulfill an ancient prophecy and forever change the galactic balance of power. Stability and life itself are threatened, and the chances of reversing the prophecy are slim. William Hurt and a universe of incredible special effects star in this TV miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic novel of galaxy-spinning intrigue and adventure.

I, Robot

Inspired by Isaac Asimov's work, this techno-thriller stars Will Smith as Del Spooner, a technology-wary cop investigating the murder of a scientist in mid-21st century Chicago, who isn't the perfect man for the job … but he takes it on anyway. Aided by expert Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), Spooner discovers that an android (Alan Tudyk) might be the culprit -- and realizes the entire human race could be at the mercy of machines.

2010: The Year We Make Contact

In this stunning sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, ex-NASA chief Heywood Floyd (Roy Scheider) helms a U.S.-Soviet mission of scientists (including John Lithgow and Helen Mirren) trying to rendezvous with the abandoned Discovery spacecraft to reactivate the homicidal HAL 9000 computer and learn the truth. Set with Earth on the verge of nuclear war, this tense epic from director Peter Hyams earned five Oscar nods.

The Triangle

A shipping tycoon (Sam Neill) is losing vessels to a murky menace that he can't quite finger. So, he assembles a team to investigate, including a doubting journalist (Eric Stoltz), an engineer (Catherine Bell), a scientist (Michael Rodgers) and -- for added insurance -- a psychic (Bruce Davison). Together, this mismatched group aims to solve the daunting mystery of missing ships and men … set in the very middle of the vaunted Bermuda Triangle.

Alien Nation

In this thought-provoking sci-fi drama, a futuristic Los Angeles is home to 300,000 Newcomers, humanoid alien refugees who have integrated themselves into society. When a gang of Newcomers murder Det. Matthew Sykes's (James Caan) partner, he and his new partner, alien Samuel Francisco (Mandy Patinkin), must put aside their differences to nab the culprits. Their investigation soon uncovers a threat more terrifying than they'd ever imagined. …

Cocoon: The Return

In this sequel to the huge hit Cocoon, the seniors who exited Earth in exchange for eternal youth return to terra firma to visit with the loved ones they left behind. Meanwhile, their alien hosts plot the rescue of a cocoon retrieved from the ocean floor by a troublesome oceanographer (Courteney Cox). Don Ameche reprises his Oscar-winning role along with Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon, Maureen Stapleton and Jessica Tandy.

Signs

Everything farmer and former priest Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) believes about the world changes when he finds an intricate pattern of circles carved into his fields, mysterious markings that cause a media frenzy and test Hess's faith. Ultimately, he uncovers the circles' origins, which will forever alter his and his family's lives. Joaquin Phoenix also stars in this sci-fi thriller from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense).

Forbidden Planet

A pulp-fiction sci-fi classic, Forbidden Planet stars Leslie Nielsen as a heroic starship captain who finds the paradise planet Altair-IV, which is inhabited by Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter, the sole survivors of an earlier expedition. Morbius uncovered the secrets of the long-lost civilization that made Altair-IV a paradise -- the same secrets that unknowingly destroyed the society!

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

San Francisco biologist Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) turns to health inspector Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) for help when her live-in beau begins acting odd -- and distant. Matthew and Elizabeth notice that suddenly almost everyone around them has become impassive. When their friends discover a developing doppelgänger in their commercial mud baths, the foursome realizes an alien invasion is under way. Can they stop it?

The War of the Worlds

When a scorching meteor-like object crashes to Earth near a Southern California town, scientist Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) waits three ill-fated days for the object -- a spaceship filled with Martians -- to cool. Meanwhile, the extraterrestrials continue to invade across the planet. It will take an unseen threat -- bacteria -- to conquer them. This Academy Award-winning adaptation of H.G. Wells's novel set the sci-fi standard for years to come.

Enemy Mine

Earthling Davidge (Dennis Quaid) is one of many space warriors facing a brutal battle against the reptilian Draconians, who include the soldier Jeriba (Louis Gossett Jr.). But when the pilots' spaceships crash-land on the same planet, these foes must team up to stay alive. The stakes climb higher when Jeriba dies after giving birth to a baby Drac, and Davidge becomes foster father to his own natural enemy as he tries to survive in a hostile land.

Soylent Green

Set in a polluted, congested New York City in 2022, this sci-fi thriller stars Charlton Heston as Robert Thorn, a gumshoe looking into the murder of a corporate executive (Joseph Cotten) whose company makes a nutritious synthetic food called Soylent Green. But in the process of tracking down the killer, Thorn unearths shocking information about the product's ingredients. The cast also includes the great Edward G. Robinson in his last film role.

The Andromeda Strain

When a satellite crashes in New Mexico, scientists race against the clock to stop a deadly virus from spreading in this Oscar-nominated sci-fi classic based on Michael Crichton's novel. The probe carried an alien virus that's already killed all but two of the residents in the town where it landed, and it's up to a team of scientists to isolate and stop the virus. Note: Contains graphic scenes that may be unsuitable for young children.

Paycheck

Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) is a genius who's hired -- and paid handsomely -- by high-tech firms to work on highly sensitive projects, after which his short-term memory is erased so he's incapable of breaching security. But at the end of a three-year job, he's told he isn't getting a paycheck and instead receives a mysterious envelope. In it are clues he must piece together to find out why he wasn't paid … and how he's gotten in hot water.

Starman

In this sci-fi love story from John Carpenter, Jeff Bridges -- who received an Oscar nod for his work -- plays Starman, an alien who crashes on Earth and takes the form of a recently deceased man in order to evade authorities. On seeing the image of her dead husband before her, widow Jenny (Karen Allen) is frightened. But eventually, Starman wins her trust -- and her affection -- and she agrees to help him return to his home planet.

The Philadelphia Experiment

A top secret experiment to disguise a naval battleship from enemy radar inexplicably sends a pair of World War II sailors 40 years into the future. They arrive in 1984 to a changed world and a bizarre electrical storm that seems linked to their arrival. On the run from the Navy and the local authorities, the pair takes a hostage to help find a way home. But they soon learn that the future of the world depends on the destruction of their ship.

Bicentennial Man

Two hundred years in the life of an extraordinary robot are chronicled when the Martin family purchases an android named Andrew (Robin Williams) to perform menial household tasks. Before long, the humans (Sam Neill and Embeth Davidtz) realize they may be rubbing off on their domestic servant as Andrew, astonishingly, begins to experience human feelings and creative thought.

The Abyss

When a nuclear submarine sinks, a team of divers descends the depths to conduct a rescue mission and to determine the cause. Led by "Bud" Brigman (Ed Harris), the crew includes his estranged wife (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), who's an engineer, and a paranoid Navy lieutenant (Michael Biehn) with an agenda. During the investigation, it becomes evident that an extraterrestrial power is at work. The film reeled in an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

Brainstorm

Mike Brace (Christopher Walken) is a technological genius who's created a device that can record and play back human thought. But when the military emerges as an unwanted 'silent partner' in his project, Mike and his wife (Natalie Wood) are thrust into a breathless, non-stop race to prevent the machine from falling into the wrong hands and becoming the ultimate government weapon in this touching, thought-provoking thriller.

Contact

When Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) hears a signal being broadcast from outer space, the race is on to interpret humanity's first contact with alien intelligence in this adaptation of Carl Sagan's thoughtful novel about the divide between science and religion. Matthew McConaughey co-stars as Palmer Joss, a Christian philosopher who is Ellie's friend as well as her lover. Robert Zemeckis directs.

Timeline

In the near future, when a technology corporation has created a method for traveling into the past, a history professor (Billy Connolly) is trapped in 1357 France, prompting his students and son (Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor and Gerard Butler) to travel back in time to rescue him. Once there, they have to deal with untold perils before they can complete their mission. Based on the titular novel by best-selling author Michael Crichton.

Frequency

Policeman John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel) has long dreamed of altering the events that took the life of his fireman father (Dennis Quaid) in October 1969. So when a series of miraculous occurrences makes it possible for John to communicate with his dad, he tries to change history. But by entwining the past, present and future, John gets much more than he bargained for … and unwittingly triggers a chain reaction of tragic events.

Minority Report

Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, a top "Precrime" cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator (Colin Farrell) targets him for a murder charge. Can Anderton find a glitch in the system and prove his innocence before it's too late? Steven Spielberg directs this adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel, which co-stars Samantha Morton and Max von Sydow.

K-Pax

Kevin Spacey stars as Prot, an extraterrestrial from the planet K-PAX (or so he'd have us believe), in this science-fiction drama that casts Jeff Bridges as a psychiatrist who doubts Prot's otherworldly origins. But the doctor begins to question his own instincts when his unusual patient begins talking to dogs -- and understanding them -- and pulling off other artful tricks that can't be easily explained.