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Grand Illusion
Best classic sci-fi/fantasy films

The sixteenth-annual TCM Classic Film Festival just kicked off in Hollywood, and this year’s theme is “Grand Illusions: Fantastic Worlds on Film”. For this week’s Showdown, create a list of your ten favorite sci-fi and/or fantasy films released a long time ago in a galaxy not-so far away—i.e. during or before 1980, the debut year of TCM Fest’s opening-night film, The Empire Strikes Back. Harken back to a land that time forgot, where effects were practical, green screens weren’t yet popularized and dancing penguins were hand-drawn rather than CGI… But hey, some things never change: King Kong and Godzilla were still goin’ at it. (Pro tip: browse films by selecting the ‘fantasy’ or ‘science fiction’ genres—or both—then filter by decade. Here’s a web example that finds films tagged with both genres, and here are some lists by Jeannie and Peter.)

  • House

    1

  • Phantasm

    2

  • Godzilla

    3

  • Vampyr

    4

  • Viy

    5

  • Stalker

    6

  • Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare

    7

  • Fantastic Planet

    8

  • Wizards

    9

  • Metropolis

    10