Which of these is the greatest sci-fi film?

I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.

I don't find watching the whole film to be an enjoyable exercise.

I am increasingly loving Alphaville.
Unlike almost any other film, the more times I watch it the more I appreciate it as a work of genius and masterpiece.
I think it is Godard's greatest work.

Alphaville 1965...A cool French new wave film. Not much in hard sci-fi but big on societal commentary which was relevant to what was going on in the world and in French politics at the time. There are many unconventional story telling methods used to further the narrative, coupled with some really innovative camera work like the direct edit 'I came to give you a light'. I don't know how much Alphaville influenced other film makers, some of course, but I'd say the other three sci fi films you listed had more influence on future sci fi films. Though the filming style of Godard did influence future films.

Blade Runner 1982...I might be bias in my opinion of Blade Runner but I'd say this one is the winner in regards to "directorial imagination, innovation and influence, as well as its insightfulness into the future and any comment it makes on humanity/society"...Ridley really shines with his world building/set design skills. If I remember correctly Ridley started out as a set designer. Blade Runner takes alot of the real world and stretches it into a believable future that's not so rosy. It makes one helluva a comment on how society treats people viewed as 'less important'. Oh.. Deckard was a human, not a replicant.

Gosh, this can go in dozens of directions. All fine movies, and favorites, but nothing past 1982?...
Setting aside obvious box-office favorites (Star Wars, Matrix, various Spielberg joints, Terminator (just 1 and 2 for me), etc.). How about Inception, Children of Men, District 9, Brazil, Primer, Ex Machina, Arrival, Moon, Her ... OK, you get the point. This is kind of the "old fart's like me" (yes, like me) list.

The schlocky one I'd absolutely include as a personal favorite: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Clearly the only correct answer is "none of the above"

The obvious answer is Fritz Lang's Metropolis

Amusingly, to me at least, when I wrote my review of Alphaville a year or two ago one of my biggest takeaways was how influential it must have been on Scott's Blade Runner. How it seemed like Blade Runner before Blade Runner.

Gosh, this can go in dozens of directions. All fine movies, and favorites, but nothing past 1982? (But for me that "newbie" in the list, Blade Runner, is far and away the best. I'd go for the original theater version, as I love the noir-ish narration. Though I won't fight you that the forced ending was done better in later versions.)

Setting aside obvious box-office favorites (Star Wars, Matrix, various Spielberg joints, Terminator (just 1 and 2 for me), etc.). How about Inception, Children of Men, District 9, Brazil, Primer, Ex Machina, Arrival, Moon, Her ... OK, you get the point. This is kind of the "old fart's like me" (yes, like me) list.

The schlocky one I'd absolutely include as a personal favorite: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Also E.T. (and Close Encounters).

It was a fantastic period for sci-fi.

E.T. I'd say that was influential in children's movies, but not in sci-fi.

A discussion of sci-fi cinema cannot be complete without mentioning Georges Méliès's Le voyage dans la lune (1902) - many people have seen just clips of it, but you gotta watch the whole thing to really grasp its significance....

2001 seems to be leading the vote, but for me, it was way too NASA-dry and procedural. The climactic, psychedelic ending seemed tacked on for visual interest, but whatever content it held was lost on me as well as most people I know that have seen it

2001 is a deeply philosophical movie. Maybe people had an easier time grasping that in the 1960s, I don't know. But you can immerse yourself in it and spend all of its running time thinking about all the movie is saying about humanity and the human mind.

From that perspective, every single second of its running time is fascinating, imho

I have to admit that I understood the philosophy, some post-Nietzschean fantasy, but it was lost on me and moved way too slow.

Can what 2001
The last time I watched it, I was fortunate enough to attend the 70mm IMAX engagements that were set up for the anniversary or something