[Music]
there are days that define your story
beyond your life like the day they
arrived because you only have one chance
to make a first impression
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
first contact movies for this list we’ll
be looking at the films that best
represent the concept of first contact
with alien that is otherworldly peoples
and races the events that follow don’t
have to go completely smoothly but we
will be drawing the line at all-out
invasions and conflicts
[Music]
number ten flight of the navigator David
Freeman is just barely in his double
digits when he’s plucked up by an alien
spaceship picked up in 1978
David is offloaded in 1986 and finds
from his perspective anyway that his
eight-year-old brother has become 16 in
the span of about four and a half hours
this is totally rad I mean you’re my big
little brother crazier still somewhere
along the way during his 1120 Lightyear
round-trip to fail on young David’s
brain has become jam-packed full of data
and star maps so you need me and my
inferior brain to fly that thing
correction I need the superior
information in your own Furio brain to
fly this thing
max the ship’s robotic pilot realizes he
needs David’s maps and that he’s plunked
the lad in the wrong decade but is
unable to undo his mistake but his
adventure unfolds max does find a way
and it’s a journey loved by so many that
a remake has been discussed
[Music]
number nine Starman have people from
your world been here before before yes
we are interested in your species
directed by John Carpenter and leading
to a TV spin-off and an Oscar nod for
lead Jeff Bridges star man is a love
story disguised as a sci-fi what’s it
like okay it is beautiful
not like this but it is when an alien
race mistakes humanity’s invitation to
visit earth as sincere they take us up
on it only to have their Scout shot down
over Wisconsin as his people live as
pure Energy Star man needs to take a
physical form to try and salvage his
vacay in the Midwest and he becomes the
spitting image of a Widow’s recently
deceased husband represent almost all of
the human inhabitants of the planet
Earth I send greetings through goodwill
and proof of peaceful intentions
the widow agrees to help the alien meet
up with his rescue party along the way
Starman takes part in the finest of
earthly pleasures driving a Ford Mustang
gambling in Vegas and making sweet sweet
love
number eight the abyss hell yes we read
good at you join us coffee deport hey
I’m God directed and written by James
Cameron the abyss is a first contact
film unlike any other following a
submarine accident the u.s. government
sends in a team of scientists and Navy
SEALs soon the group discovers a society
of aliens dubbed NT eyes or non
terrestrial intelligence living under
the sea NP eyes oh man that’s better
than UFOs oh but that works too huh
underwater flying objects known as much
for the horrid filming conditions 40% of
which was shot underwater at an
abandoned nuclear power plant as it is
for its game-changing effect the abyss
mixes the wonder of offworld life-forms
with the highs and lows of the human
condition
and sets it all against Cold War
tensions with the Soviet Union
Jonah Clifton he’s about to declare war
on an alien species just when they’re
trying to make contact with us please
number seven the Man Who Fell to earth
can’t see few will deny that the late
David Bowie was a genius and an equal
few would likely deny that he was a
little odd all of this made him a
perfect casting choice for Thomas Jerome
Newton a charming yet quirky alien who
lands on earth on a mission to locate a
source of water for his drought plagued
planet Newton quickly learns to play the
industrial game and files patents for
his offworld tech raking in millions in
the process I can’t explain it to you
completely but if I stay here
should the Thin White Duke from another
son plans to use the money to build a
ride back home but then the government
has to railroad as plans as only the
government can thanks to Bowie’s
performance and its striking imagery
this sci-fi drama has since earned
itself a cult following what do you do
we’re living at me oh just visiting
number 6 district 9 I just want everyone
watching this right now to learn from
what has happened at its best sci-fi
uses its futuristic and alien trappings
to tackle subject matter that would
otherwise be taboo unsettling or
unpleasant something district 9 pulls
off like few others I want to be
realistic with everyone the aliens will
not be able to go home the aliens are
here to stay ostensibly a story about
the fallout of South African contact
with an alien species d9 is in many ways
an allegory for the country’s apartheid
era past and the real-life district 6
how are you doing that you need with
thirty million dollars set aside for an
unmade hallo movie d9 sees veikkaus von
demova a bumbling government agent
overseeing the relocation of
Johannesburg’s alien population however
things are flipped turned upside down
when veikkaus is hit by an alien spray
that begins altering his DNA we just
found a dangerous object yeah it’s as a
fluid in that I suspect might leak onto
people or cause damage the result is a
masterful emotional and captivating
movie with the makings of a sci-fi
classic gamma stirs there’s women’s yeah
number five contact this morning
detection of an identified radio source
from each space can either be confirmed
nor denied based on a novel by Carl
Sagan contact is the story of a really
good day for the SETI while the
government works towards defunding and
even ending the program dr. Eleanor
Arroway picks up a series of prime
numbers a definite sign of intelligent
alien life 2 3 5 7 those are all prime
numbers man there’s no wait it’s natural
phenomenon
just calm down arriving with the numbers
and a repeat of Hitler’s in 1936 Olympic
address is 60,000 pages of data all of
which researchers determine came from
the Vega system 26 light years away if
it works and you travel to Vega at even
close to the speed of light when you
come back if you come back when Arroway
is elected to make contact with the
alien people it raises questions of the
merit of religion and faith in the face
of scientific discovery and how far
either side will go to defend its
position the only thing we’ve found and
makes the emptiness bearable is each
other what happens now
now
you go home number four The Day the
Earth Stood Still
[Music]
although remade in 2008 with Keanu
Reeves in the lead role it’s the 1950s
original that stood the test of time
directed by Robert Wise The Day the
Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi by which
all others are judged gone back to
Barada nikto based on the 1940 short
story farewell to the master the film
sees an alien craft land in Washington
DC it’s occupants an alien named Klaatu
and his robot guard Gort have brought an
important message for all of Earth’s
leaders play nice or be destroyed your
choice is simple join us and live in
peace or pursue your present course and
face obliteration when Klaatu goes
native as mr. carpenter the Jesus
allegory stack-up
but the film’s main thread of earth’s
need to toe the line
remains clear you’re a long way from
home aren’t you mr. carpenter how did
you know how I can tell in you England
accent a mile away number three et the
extra-terrestrial you were outside last
night waiting for that thing to come
back weren’t you developed from Steven
Spielberg stalled sci-fi horror project
night skies the more kid-friendly et
would become one of the biggest and
highest grossing films of the decade
[Music]
essentially the story of an alien
botanist stranded on earth
ete shows himself to be able to restore
life but he also seemingly has jedi-like
powers including telekinesis and a
psychic bond with Elliot the young boy
who helps and looks after him it’s
uplifting story of friendship and family
as well as its elements of sci-fi
fantasy have earned it critical acclaim
multiple awards and a spot in millions
of hearts
[Music]
number two 2001 a Space Odyssey 18
months ago the first evidence of
intelligent life off the earth was
discovered it’s hard for anyone to say
exactly what this 1968 Stanley Kubrick
classic is actually about but let’s try
it anyway although it’s easy to be
distracted by the film signature dish
the sentient computer Hal 9000 2001 is
at its core about first contact in the
form of the ominous black monoliths that
repeatedly change the course of the film
Kubrick did in fact consider putting
aliens on screen but was advised against
using humanoids by author and astronomer
Carl Sagan as well as by limitations of
budget and special effects technology
the result instead is the mysterious and
ambiguous monoliths that accelerate
humankind’s knowledge and natural
evolution with each encounter except for
a single very powerful radio emission
aimed at Jupiter the four million year
old black monolith has remained
completely inert before we unveil our
number one pick here are some honorable
mentions
[Music]
what is he doing he’s making a model
[Music]
they say if we go with them we live
forever that’s good
my god they’re really from another world
number one Close Encounters of the Third
Kind
he says the Sun came out last night he
says it’s sang to him when Lyman roy
neary experiences a UFO flyby it opens
up a whole new world to him eventually
uncovering government cooperation with
extraterrestrials roy discovers not only
a UFO landing zone but also witnesses an
organized offloading of people from
decades past what do you want I just
want to know it’s it’s really happening
finding the aliens to be peaceful
explorers rather than hostile invaders
Roy ultimately decides to join them
missionary I envy you aliens aside the
critically and commercially successful
Close Encounters has been forever etched
into pop culture from its distinct
five-note musical motif to the iconic
image of an obsessed Roy sculpting
Devil’s Tower in mashed potatoes I don’t
think we’re gonna need any security
really because it’s gonna be very
low-key believe it do you agree with our
list
I am leaving soon and you will forgive
me if I speak bluntly what’s your
favorite first-contact movie form or
ambassadorial top 10s published every
day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com live long and prosper
[Music]
you
there are days that define your story
beyond your life like the day they
arrived because you only have one chance
to make a first impression
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
first contact movies for this list we’ll
be looking at the films that best
represent the concept of first contact
with alien that is otherworldly peoples
and races the events that follow don’t
have to go completely smoothly but we
will be drawing the line at all-out
invasions and conflicts
[Music]
number ten flight of the navigator David
Freeman is just barely in his double
digits when he’s plucked up by an alien
spaceship picked up in 1978
David is offloaded in 1986 and finds
from his perspective anyway that his
eight-year-old brother has become 16 in
the span of about four and a half hours
this is totally rad I mean you’re my big
little brother crazier still somewhere
along the way during his 1120 Lightyear
round-trip to fail on young David’s
brain has become jam-packed full of data
and star maps so you need me and my
inferior brain to fly that thing
correction I need the superior
information in your own Furio brain to
fly this thing
max the ship’s robotic pilot realizes he
needs David’s maps and that he’s plunked
the lad in the wrong decade but is
unable to undo his mistake but his
adventure unfolds max does find a way
and it’s a journey loved by so many that
a remake has been discussed
[Music]
number nine Starman have people from
your world been here before before yes
we are interested in your species
directed by John Carpenter and leading
to a TV spin-off and an Oscar nod for
lead Jeff Bridges star man is a love
story disguised as a sci-fi what’s it
like okay it is beautiful
not like this but it is when an alien
race mistakes humanity’s invitation to
visit earth as sincere they take us up
on it only to have their Scout shot down
over Wisconsin as his people live as
pure Energy Star man needs to take a
physical form to try and salvage his
vacay in the Midwest and he becomes the
spitting image of a Widow’s recently
deceased husband represent almost all of
the human inhabitants of the planet
Earth I send greetings through goodwill
and proof of peaceful intentions
the widow agrees to help the alien meet
up with his rescue party along the way
Starman takes part in the finest of
earthly pleasures driving a Ford Mustang
gambling in Vegas and making sweet sweet
love
number eight the abyss hell yes we read
good at you join us coffee deport hey
I’m God directed and written by James
Cameron the abyss is a first contact
film unlike any other following a
submarine accident the u.s. government
sends in a team of scientists and Navy
SEALs soon the group discovers a society
of aliens dubbed NT eyes or non
terrestrial intelligence living under
the sea NP eyes oh man that’s better
than UFOs oh but that works too huh
underwater flying objects known as much
for the horrid filming conditions 40% of
which was shot underwater at an
abandoned nuclear power plant as it is
for its game-changing effect the abyss
mixes the wonder of offworld life-forms
with the highs and lows of the human
condition
and sets it all against Cold War
tensions with the Soviet Union
Jonah Clifton he’s about to declare war
on an alien species just when they’re
trying to make contact with us please
number seven the Man Who Fell to earth
can’t see few will deny that the late
David Bowie was a genius and an equal
few would likely deny that he was a
little odd all of this made him a
perfect casting choice for Thomas Jerome
Newton a charming yet quirky alien who
lands on earth on a mission to locate a
source of water for his drought plagued
planet Newton quickly learns to play the
industrial game and files patents for
his offworld tech raking in millions in
the process I can’t explain it to you
completely but if I stay here
should the Thin White Duke from another
son plans to use the money to build a
ride back home but then the government
has to railroad as plans as only the
government can thanks to Bowie’s
performance and its striking imagery
this sci-fi drama has since earned
itself a cult following what do you do
we’re living at me oh just visiting
number 6 district 9 I just want everyone
watching this right now to learn from
what has happened at its best sci-fi
uses its futuristic and alien trappings
to tackle subject matter that would
otherwise be taboo unsettling or
unpleasant something district 9 pulls
off like few others I want to be
realistic with everyone the aliens will
not be able to go home the aliens are
here to stay ostensibly a story about
the fallout of South African contact
with an alien species d9 is in many ways
an allegory for the country’s apartheid
era past and the real-life district 6
how are you doing that you need with
thirty million dollars set aside for an
unmade hallo movie d9 sees veikkaus von
demova a bumbling government agent
overseeing the relocation of
Johannesburg’s alien population however
things are flipped turned upside down
when veikkaus is hit by an alien spray
that begins altering his DNA we just
found a dangerous object yeah it’s as a
fluid in that I suspect might leak onto
people or cause damage the result is a
masterful emotional and captivating
movie with the makings of a sci-fi
classic gamma stirs there’s women’s yeah
number five contact this morning
detection of an identified radio source
from each space can either be confirmed
nor denied based on a novel by Carl
Sagan contact is the story of a really
good day for the SETI while the
government works towards defunding and
even ending the program dr. Eleanor
Arroway picks up a series of prime
numbers a definite sign of intelligent
alien life 2 3 5 7 those are all prime
numbers man there’s no wait it’s natural
phenomenon
just calm down arriving with the numbers
and a repeat of Hitler’s in 1936 Olympic
address is 60,000 pages of data all of
which researchers determine came from
the Vega system 26 light years away if
it works and you travel to Vega at even
close to the speed of light when you
come back if you come back when Arroway
is elected to make contact with the
alien people it raises questions of the
merit of religion and faith in the face
of scientific discovery and how far
either side will go to defend its
position the only thing we’ve found and
makes the emptiness bearable is each
other what happens now
now
you go home number four The Day the
Earth Stood Still
[Music]
although remade in 2008 with Keanu
Reeves in the lead role it’s the 1950s
original that stood the test of time
directed by Robert Wise The Day the
Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi by which
all others are judged gone back to
Barada nikto based on the 1940 short
story farewell to the master the film
sees an alien craft land in Washington
DC it’s occupants an alien named Klaatu
and his robot guard Gort have brought an
important message for all of Earth’s
leaders play nice or be destroyed your
choice is simple join us and live in
peace or pursue your present course and
face obliteration when Klaatu goes
native as mr. carpenter the Jesus
allegory stack-up
but the film’s main thread of earth’s
need to toe the line
remains clear you’re a long way from
home aren’t you mr. carpenter how did
you know how I can tell in you England
accent a mile away number three et the
extra-terrestrial you were outside last
night waiting for that thing to come
back weren’t you developed from Steven
Spielberg stalled sci-fi horror project
night skies the more kid-friendly et
would become one of the biggest and
highest grossing films of the decade
[Music]
essentially the story of an alien
botanist stranded on earth
ete shows himself to be able to restore
life but he also seemingly has jedi-like
powers including telekinesis and a
psychic bond with Elliot the young boy
who helps and looks after him it’s
uplifting story of friendship and family
as well as its elements of sci-fi
fantasy have earned it critical acclaim
multiple awards and a spot in millions
of hearts
[Music]
number two 2001 a Space Odyssey 18
months ago the first evidence of
intelligent life off the earth was
discovered it’s hard for anyone to say
exactly what this 1968 Stanley Kubrick
classic is actually about but let’s try
it anyway although it’s easy to be
distracted by the film signature dish
the sentient computer Hal 9000 2001 is
at its core about first contact in the
form of the ominous black monoliths that
repeatedly change the course of the film
Kubrick did in fact consider putting
aliens on screen but was advised against
using humanoids by author and astronomer
Carl Sagan as well as by limitations of
budget and special effects technology
the result instead is the mysterious and
ambiguous monoliths that accelerate
humankind’s knowledge and natural
evolution with each encounter except for
a single very powerful radio emission
aimed at Jupiter the four million year
old black monolith has remained
completely inert before we unveil our
number one pick here are some honorable
mentions
[Music]
what is he doing he’s making a model
[Music]
they say if we go with them we live
forever that’s good
my god they’re really from another world
number one Close Encounters of the Third
Kind
he says the Sun came out last night he
says it’s sang to him when Lyman roy
neary experiences a UFO flyby it opens
up a whole new world to him eventually
uncovering government cooperation with
extraterrestrials roy discovers not only
a UFO landing zone but also witnesses an
organized offloading of people from
decades past what do you want I just
want to know it’s it’s really happening
finding the aliens to be peaceful
explorers rather than hostile invaders
Roy ultimately decides to join them
missionary I envy you aliens aside the
critically and commercially successful
Close Encounters has been forever etched
into pop culture from its distinct
five-note musical motif to the iconic
image of an obsessed Roy sculpting
Devil’s Tower in mashed potatoes I don’t
think we’re gonna need any security
really because it’s gonna be very
low-key believe it do you agree with our
list
I am leaving soon and you will forgive
me if I speak bluntly what’s your
favorite first-contact movie form or
ambassadorial top 10s published every
day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com live long and prosper
[Music]
you
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