What would recommand as hard science fiction films ?

[Deleted]

2001
2010
Apollo 13
Capricorn one
The Andromoda Strain (1971) ignore the 2008 remake, Not that it is bad, it is just no way near as good or "Hard" as the original film version.
Europa Report
The Abyss


although only 3 of the list fall into your category of failing equipment, the others are really good sci fi films that come close in one respect or another.

[Gaaz]

Don't forget about Russian sci-fi like Stalker and Solyaris.

Also, Metropolis, which pretty much defined science fiction.

Stalker is not really a science fiction movie. I mean it is as deep as a Mariana Trench, but has more to do with psychology and mystification. Kind of like X-Files but more realistic. The movie is still great. You can never tell where reality ends and an insanity begins. One of the "must have" films on any movie list for an enthusiast.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1043378-stalker

[Deleted]

Except science fiction specifically refers to fictional science. You say the "fiction" part is because it's fiction and not documentaries, but that's not accurate. People don't talk about seeing a new "horror fiction" movie or seeing a preview for a new "fantasy fiction" show, or they picked up that great new Jack Reacher "action fiction" book, because the fact that it's fiction is a given, there's no NEED to tack "fiction" on to the end. The fiction IS tacked on to the end of the phrase "science fiction" specifically because it refers to a genre with science/technology BEYOND what is actually real. If it does not, it's just "drama"(like Apollo 13) or whatever, not science fiction.

Going to have to disagree with you, Science Fiction has a huge amount of sub genres, with Hard Sci-Fi being one of the most loved amongst sci fi-purists, Granted a lot is fictionally based titles, but Hard Scifi very rarely crosses the sub genres.

Hard Sci Fi
Usually the storyline makes a great deal on the emphasis on being scientifically accurate. This is probably the hardest sub genre for casual scifi watchers to get into in a film, as the majority of the time is spent on the actual science involved on why an event is actually happening or has happened.

• 2001
• 2010
• Primer
• Contact (to a certain point)

Now the other Sub Genres are nearly always based in a more fictional universe, Things work because they just do, No real effort is made to explain how or why.

Space Opera
This spans several storylines, multiple people or events and locations, usually serialised into multiple movies or shows with a continuing story line

• Star Trek
• Star Wars
• Babylon 5
• Firefly

Space Horror
Usually a horror film set in space, but could also be set on earth, mainly the antagonist is an Alien of some description, but could also be a virus.

• Alien
• Event Horizion
• Lifeforce
• Pitch black
• Apollo 18
• Pandorum

Sci-Fi Comedy
This is probably the easiest sub Genre for the average movie watcher to get into, Story lines are nonsensical and comedic, all concepts of scientific accuracy is thrown out of the window in favour of giving the audience a laugh.

• Spaceballs
• Galaxy Quest
• Mars Attacks
• HHGTG
• Men in Black
• Guardians of the Galaxy

It is also incredibly easy to cross non hard-scifi sub genres due to less emphasis on keeping scientific accuracy. The Fictional part of sci fi can refere to either the story line, the science involved, or both.

[Deleted]

Too bad hard sci-fi isn't considered edible for mainstream viewers. I'd love to see more hard sci-fi classics done right as movies/tv-series.

My top choices for hard SF are

Europa Report
Sunshine
Moon
Chronicle
Children of Men
The Man from Earth

Hmm..Gattaca as well. To be fair, few of these choices cannot be considered to be 'hard' sci-fi. Eh, fuggedaboutit.

[Elim Garak]

Except science fiction specifically refers to fictional science. You say the "fiction" part is because it's fiction and not documentaries, but that's not accurate. People don't talk about seeing a new "horror fiction" movie or seeing a preview for a new "fantasy fiction" show, or they picked up that great new Jack Reacher "action fiction" book, because the fact that it's fiction is a given, there's no NEED to tack "fiction" on to the end. The fiction IS tacked on to the end of the phrase "science fiction" specifically because it refers to a genre with science/technology BEYOND what is actually real. If it does not, it's just "drama"(like Apollo 13) or whatever, not science fiction.

Fiction was tacked to science, because science alone didn't cut it without context and then it transformed into sci-fi and got its own life. Which is not what I was talking about. At the core fiction is not about science it's about the nature of the story. Science is about the topic/background of the story. Note that Fantasy has no fiction attached to it. Because fantasy is just another word for fiction. Btw, sci-fi is a sub-genre of fantasy genre.

In sci-fi technology doesn't need to go beyond what's real, it can but in doing so it becomes less science and more fantasy - soft sci-fi if you will. Star Wars is the prime example of this - it even got its own sub-genre. In hard Sci-fi technology only goes beyond what is available now, not what is real. E.g. warp drives in Star Trek are not available now, but they are scientifically possible (in theory) so is energy-matter transformation used in replication technology, not to mention the holodeck and teleportation. Although Star Trek uses a lot of soft sci-fi mumbo-jumbo terminology, the technology depicted in it is scientifically realistic, it's something that has a real possibility to be real in the future. Of course all the aliens and planets are fiction.

[Stormcall]

Fiction was tacked to science, because science alone didn't cut it without context and then it transformed into sci-fi and got its own life. Which is not what I was talking about. At the core fiction is not about science it's about the nature of the story. Science is about the topic/background of the story. Note that Fantasy has no fiction attached to it. Because fantasy is just another word for fiction.

Fantasy refers to a specific TYPE of fiction, that is why it doesn't have "fiction" attached. It refers to fiction set in a "low-technology" world, typically featuring magic, and beings from myth and legend. Horror is not called fantasy, nor is it called "horror fiction", it's simply called horror as horror itself is the genre type. Sure, you can break it down into subgenres(vampires, zombies, slashers, ghost stories, etc) but the genre itself is just referred to as "horror", no need to add "fiction" because it goes without saying that the story is fiction. Same thing with the Jack Reacher books. Sure, they aren't real stories, but they are NOT referred to as "fantasy"(because they completely lack the elements of the fantasy genre, despite being fiction), nor are they referred to as "action fiction" or "thriller fiction", because the "fiction" part goes without saying.

[Yunru]

Maybe a Dune movie?

Its kinda weak compared to book.

[Lodreh]

Any book from Philip K. Dick that was adapted to film:

Total Recall
Blade Runner
Minority Report
Paycheck
Next

[Gaaz]

Maybe a Dune movie?

Its kinda weak compared to book.

Yeah. First Dune adaptation is fine, but not exceptional by any standards. There is a more recent, 2001 version of Dune film by the way:

It solves some of the problems of the original adaptation. Sadly, it adds more of them as well. Nevertheless, still very good. And the Children of Dune is also worth watching. All films are actually quite good, if you ignore slight deviations and absence of some plot twists from the books. But you can not actually fit thousands of pages of condensed plot and imagery in a 3-4 hours movie, so that is understandable.

The book however is a masterpiece. You can nor really compare film adaptations to books Dune and Children of Dune. They are simply worlds apart.

[Elim Garak]

Fantasy refers to a specific TYPE of fiction, that is why it doesn't have "fiction" attached.

No, Fantasy refers to specific GENRE of fiction. It doesn't have fiction because it has the meaning of it in its name.

Horror is not called fantasy, nor is it called "horror fiction", it's simply called horror as horror itself is the genre type.

Horror Fiction is a thing. Google it. Just because the fiction part is sometimes being replaced by "book" or "movie" doesn't mean it's not there. That doesn't work with Science Fiction though. Science book means a completely different thing.

[frogger237]

Wait so Hard Science fiction doesn't need to have any realistic future tech, just realistic science? So a movie set in Ancient Rome or Greece with realistic science for the time period would be considered hard science?

[Elim Garak]

Wait so Hard Science fiction doesn't need to have any realistic future tech, just realistic science? So a movie set in Ancient Rome or Greece with realistic science for the time period would be considered hard science?

Only if that movie (or rather the play) was written in Ancient Rome/Greece.
Why did you tie science to time period anyway? Science fiction is about cutting edge science for the time period of the author not the story. Be it hard realistic science or soft "death star has a bigger laser" science. Completely fantastical science is indistinguishable from magic and that puts it into Fantasy section.

[Deleted]

There's a case to be made that there needs to be at least some amount of "lasers and spaceships and shit" for it to be actual sci-fi, instead of just "near future reality" or some such. I mean, why else have the "fiction" part there at all. But, yeah... Sci-fi is, indeed, a scale. Suppose it's everyone's personal preference how high or low they like. Same with fantasy.

Then there's science fantasy too, technofantasy, and whatnot.

Yes, this was the idea with ''hard'' science fiction : more or less the same technology as today, no hyperdrives.

I mean, it's kinda what he asked.

[Miyagie]

2001
2010
Apollo 13
Capricorn one
The Andromoda Strain (1971) ignore the 2008 remake, Not that it is bad, it is just no way near as good or "Hard" as the original film version.
Europa Report
The Abyss


although only 3 of the list fall into your category of failing equipment, the others are really good sci fi films that come close in one respect or another.

Andromeda Strain was so awesome tobad the remake sucked but Helix had a nice vibe from this 70s classic.