From the classic, low-budget Flash Gordon Saturday matinee serials of the 1930s and ’40s to mammoth blockbusters like Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey, filmdom’s most imaginative contributions to science fiction are vividly recaptured in this compelling book. With intriguing insights from film critics and a wealth of factual details from historians and academics, general editor Stephen Jay Schneider has brought together the data, the drama, and the passions that have inspired movies about time travel, close encounters, distant planets, extraterrestrial monsters, alien invasions, and the many other story ingredients that enliven science fiction films. Plot summaries, cast and credit listings, and 200 dramatic illustrations recapture unforgettable moments from sci-fi hits that include Alien, The Andromeda Strain, The Empire Strikes Back, The Fly, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Planet of the Apes, Silent Running, The Thing, and many, many others. Illustrations include dramatic still shots from the films and memorable movie posters. Here is a reference volume that belongs on the bookshelf of every film buff and science fiction fan.

Includes profiles for: Le Voyage dans la Lune • Metropolis • Back to the Future • Things to Come • The Day the Earth Stood Still • Forbidden Planet • Invasion of the Body Snatchers • The Incredible Shrinking Man • La Jetée • Children of Men • Aelita • Gojira Alphaville • Planet of the Apes • 2001: A Space Odyssey • It Came From Outer Space • A Clockwork Orange • Solaris • Sleeper • La Planète Sauvage • The Man Who Fell to Earth • Star Wars • Close Encounters of the Third Kind • Stalker • Alien • The Empire Strikes Back • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial • The Thing • Blade Runner • Videodrome • Return of the Jedi • The Terminator • Brazil • The Quiet Earth • The Fly • Aliens • Akira • Total Recall • Terminator 2: Judgment • Day • Jurassic Park • Independence Day • Tetsuo • The Matrix • The Fifth Element • Gattaca • Logan’s Run • THX 1138 • Abre Los Ojos • Dune • Total Recall • TRON