The results are in for TotalFilm’s top 50 Science Fiction films. With a deserved, but it seems from the comment, controversial first for Blade Runner.
(You can find the SMH write up on the list here.)
While others might pick apart why the different films have made it to the top list, I am interested in some of the other statistics about the movies.
Who are the top lead actors in SciFi films? And who are the top directors?
For my analysis I have only considered lead actors or directs with 2 or more top 50 movies under their belt to be common. And I have ordered people with the same number by the order their movies appear in the list.
In the top 50 movies there are 6 common lead actors, with a total of 12 movies between them.
| Actor | # Movies |
|---|---|
| Arnold Schwarzenegger | 4 |
| Harrison Ford | 3 |
| Sigourney Weaver | 3 |
| Jeff Goldblum | 3 |
| Mark Hamill | 2 |
| Carrie Fisher | 2 |
While there are only 2 more directors, for a total of 8, they account for nearly half the list, 22. Which makes sense as people favour styles that the director produces.
| Director | # Movies |
|---|---|
| Steven Spielberg | 5 |
| James Cameron | 4 |
| Paul Verhoeven | 3 |
| Ridley Scott | 2 |
| Stanley Kubrick | 2 |
| George Lucas | 2 |
| John Carpenter | 2 |
| Terry Gilliam | 2 |
The top 50 provides an interesting selection of movies, and it was nice to see Akira make the list. Thought I question some of the additions.
Being a SciFi fan I have wondered how you could make the ultimate film. Who do you put in it and with what direction? Do you think the above 6 actors would work together? And should you get Spielberg or Cameron to direct them?
Note: I’m using film order in the top 50 as the weighting to sort actors/directors with the same number of appearances.
Edit (2011.7.27): I forgot Sigourney Weaver was in Avatar (oops), so updated the actor listing.