Good years for science fiction....

[Warped9]

1951 - The Day The Earth Stood Still and When Worlds Collide
1953 - War Of The Worlds
1956 - Forbidden Planet and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
1966 - Fantastic Voyage and the debut of Star Trek
1968 - Planet Of The Apes and 2001: A Space Odyssey
1979 - Alien and Star Trek - The Motion Picture

 

[Kelso]

2009 wasn't too shabby. We had an epic planetary romance in Avatar, a humorous and exciting space adventure film in Star Trek, a fabulous character piece set in space with Moon, and an Earthbound socio-political commentary in District 9.

Those 4 films were pretty distinct from one another, but all were scifi classics in their own way. I hope we get another year like that soon.

 

[Harvey]

Any year from the 1950s produced so many SF films (the number I just read was that 600 SF films were made between 1950 and 1962!) that there's always a few gems every year.

1951--The Thing From Another World and Five
1953--Invaders from Mars
1954--20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and THEM!

Etc...

Of more recent years, I think 2006 was a solid one. It gave us A Scanner Darkly, Children of Men, The Fountain, and Slither.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

1968: 2001:A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes

1982: Blade Runner, E.T., The Thing

2009: Avatar, District 9, Moon, Star Trek

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Yeah, you can debate the quality of, say, Avatar and District 9 (or Star Trek for that matter), but not the overall reception and popularity of the films. I know I have my criticisms ... but it's undeniable that 2009 was an exceptional year for sci-fi.

 

[AvBaur]

Totally agree about 1982 (which also had Star Trek II and Tron) and 2009. Here's another one:

1999: The Matrix, The Iron Giant, eXistenZ, Galaxy Quest, The 13th Floor, Star Wars: Episode I (well, I guess some like it...)

 

[Greylock Crescent]

^ Not exactly sci-fi, but 1999 also had The Mummy which was a pretty decent flick.

 

[FormerLurker]

"The Mummy" pretty firmly falls in the fantasy camp.

 

[Brandonv]

1994 was good year for Sci-Fi on television - Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: DS9, Babylon 5, and the X-Files all on the air the same year.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

2009 wasn't too shabby. We had an epic planetary romance in Avatar, a humorous and exciting space adventure film in Star Trek, a fabulous character piece set in space with Moon, and an Earthbound socio-political commentary in District 9.

Those 4 films were pretty distinct from one another, but all were scifi classics in their own way. I hope we get another year like that soon.

Absolutely Right(TM).

1968, obviously - 2001 and Planet Of The Apes.

 

[Sykonee]

1997

DS9 S5/6
VOY S3/4
B5 S4
Third Rock From The Sun S2
Star Wars Trilogy: SE
Contact
The Fifth Element
Men In Black
The Lost World
Starship Troopers
Event Horizon
(anything else?)

Yeah, '97 was a good year.

 

[23skidoo]

2009 wasn't too shabby. We had an epic planetary romance in Avatar, a humorous and exciting space adventure film in Star Trek, a fabulous character piece set in space with Moon, and an Earthbound socio-political commentary in District 9.

Those 4 films were pretty distinct from one another, but all were scifi classics in their own way. I hope we get another year like that soon.

It's a shame, though, that none of those films are original. The "influences" (to use the polite phrase) on Avatar number in the dozens; Star Trek was a continuation of a series; Moon has been compared to a number of films including Solaris; and District 9 ticks off many of the same boxes as V and Alien Nation.

That doesn't make these bad films, and certainly not every one of the films listed in the OP are original either.

Alex

 

[Harvey]

certainly not every one of the films listed in the OP are original either.

Most of them are derived from some other source, actually...

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL -- based on a short story
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE -- based on a novel
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS -- based on a novel
FORBIDDEN PLANET -- based on 'The Tempest'
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS -- based on a novel
STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE -- based on the television series
PLANET OF THE APES -- based on a novel
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY -- based on a short story, 'The Sentinel'

Of the three that remain, if you expand your criterion to 'influences' you're left with even fewer 'original' films...

FANTASTIC VOYAGE – original
ALIEN – original (though indebted to IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE)
STAR TREK -- original (though indebted to FORBIDDEN PLANET)

My point, I suppose, is not to be pedantic, but to indicate that 'originality' in the sense that you seem to define it isn't all that useful. MOON might be compared to SOLARIS, but it's by no means the third iteration of the Lem story, but something quite different. That a work of science fiction carries the markers and influences of other films in the genre (and of other genres) is inevitable at this point. If those are grounds for dismissing work as unoriginal, well, you'll be left with nothing new at all from the genre at this point.

That was less too the point than I wanted it to be, but seeing as I just typed out that list, might as well go forth...

 

[Greg Cox]

1968, obviously - 2001 and Planet Of The Apes.

Don't forget Barbarella!

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

1968, obviously - 2001 and Planet Of The Apes.

Don't forget Barbarella!

Yeah, but I couldn't get in to see it in '68. Had to wait years for a college film festival.

 

[Greg Cox]

1968, obviously - 2001 and Planet Of The Apes.

Don't forget Barbarella!

Yeah, but I couldn't get in to see it in '68. Had to wait years for a college film festival.

I sympathize. Back in '68, my parents wouldn't let me see Rosemary's Baby, which also came out that year.