What are the best Dystopian movies? Probably the most loved topic by modern authors is Dystopia. The word dystopia is derived from the greek word utopia and dystopia generally means a place or society where it is too hard to survive. With the turn of 21st century many authors imagined that how our future will be if technology kept on growing at same pace. Will gadgets and robots take over humanity? Will we still have faith in god and us? Such questions led to various imaginations in their brilliant minds and it resulted in publications of best selling sci fi books.
From HG wells to Alan Moore almost every author gave their own view on future society. These were called dystopian future societies where the conditions for living were too harsh and hostile. Our cinema was also impressed by this popular sub-genre of sci fi literature. However due to budget restrictions and lack of technology equipments, it was hard to put those horrifying yet brilliant imaginations on screen.
Dystopian sub-genre entered our cinema in 1950s when directors like Nicholas Nayfack and Christian Nyby directed classic movies as Forbidden Planet and The Thing. However It was not until the 1980s decade that dystpoian became a popular sub genre of sci fi movies and mainstream cinema. Dystopian films were often set in distant future where living conditions and parameters have changed. Such movies are often depicted from the point of view of a character who still have humanity inside him/her and who wants to save the society. Dystopian films were instant hits among viewers and even critics didn’t shied of giving them high ratings. Dystopian films often have theme that technology have adverse effect on humanity and create unimaginable problems for mankind.
Here we have chosen 83 greatest dystopian films that were not only loved by fans but were also praised by critics:
Contents
83. Ultraviolet
Director – Kurt Wimmer
Cast – Nick Chinlund, Milla Jovovich, Cameron Bright, William Fichtner
IMDB Rating – 4.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 9%
Release Date – March 3, 2006
Box Office – $31.1 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –
82. Soldier
Director – Paul W. S. Anderson
Cast – Jason Scott Lee, Michael Chiklis, Kurt Russell, Gary Buse
IMDB Rating – 6
Rotten Tomatoes – 12%
Release Date – 23 October 1998
Box Office – $14.6 million
Genre – Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –
81. Cypher
Director – Vincenzo Natali
Cast -Timothy Webber, Jeremy Northam, Nigel Bennett, Lucy Liu
IMDB Rating – 6.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 58%
Release Date – 2 August 2002
Box Office –
Genre – Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –
80. 1984
Director – Michael Radford
Cast – Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, John Hurt, Cyril Cusack
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 78%
Release Date – 10 October 1984
Box Office – $8.4 million
Genre – Drama, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –
79. Southland Tales
Director – Richard Kelly
Cast – Seann William Scott, Dwayne Johnson, Mandy Moore, Miranda Richardson, Sarah Michelle Gellar
IMDB Rating – 5.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 38%
Release Date – 14 November 2007
Box Office – $374,743
Genre – Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Awards – None
Plot –
78. A Boy and His Dog
Director – L. Q. Jones
Cast – Susanne Benton, Ron Feinberg, Don Johnson, Jason Robards
IMDB Rating – 6.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 75%
Release Date – March 15, 1975
Box Office –
Genre – Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –
77. Atlas Shrugged Part 1
Director – Paul Johansson
Cast – Grant Bowler, Matthew Marsden, Taylor Schilling, Jsu Garcia, Edi Gathegi
IMDB Rating – 5.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 12%
Release Date – 15 April 2011
Box Office – $4.6 million
Genre – Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –
76. Alphaville
Director – Jean-Luc Godard
Cast – Akim Tamiroff, Eddie Constantine, Howard Vernon, Anna Karina
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 5 May 1965
Box Office –
Genre – Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –
75. Sleeper
Director – Woody Allen
Cast – Woody Allen, Susan Miller, Diane Keaton, Marya Small, John Beck
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 17 December 1973
Box Office – $18,344,729
Genre – Comedy, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –
74. Fortress
Director – Stuart Gordon
Cast – Loryn Locklin, Christopher Lambert, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Kurtwood Smith
IMDB Rating – 5.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 40%
Release Date – 18 December 1992
Box Office – $48 million
Genre – Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –
73. City of Ember
Director – Gil Kenan
Cast – Harry Treadaway, Saoirse Ronan, Martin Landau, Toby Jones
IMDB Rating – 6.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 53%
Release Date – 0 October 2008
Box Office – $17.9 million
Genre – Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Awards – None
Plot –
72. Babylon AD
Director – Mathieu Kassovitz
Cast – Lambert Wilson, Vin Diesel, Jérôme Le Banner, Mélanie Thierry, Gérard Depardieu, Michelle Yeoh
IMDB Rating – 5.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 6%
Release Date – 20 August 2008
Box Office – $72.1 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –
71. Aeon Flux
Director – Karyn Kusama
Cast – Marton Csokas, Sophie Okonedo, Charlize Theron, Jonny Lee Miller, Frances McDormand
IMDB Rating – 5.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 9%
Release Date – 2 December 2005
Box Office – $52.3 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –
