Sites lists the 'Top 12 Movies That Were Ahead of Their Time'

Posted Friday, February 16, 2007 at 2:38 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

I'm a sucker for lists — top five of this, top ten of that. I guess some of it has to do with staying up late each night as a kid to watch David Letterman's Top Ten lists.

I'm even more of a sucker for movie lists, especially a unique one like FirstShowing.net's "Top 12 Movies That Were Ahead of Their Time." The subject instantly conjures candidates in your head. I think the web site got it mostly right. (My biggest criticisms: Starship Troopers? I don't think so. No The Wizard of Oz? It was made in 1939 for Pete's Sake!)

As FS.net indicates, their list is judged "primarily because of technical and visual effects achievements." Their dozen selections, presented in chronological order, even includes a honorable mention thirteenth choice -- one that I would personally put head and shoulders above the others.

• Psycho (1960)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Jaws (1975)
• Star Wars (1977)
• Tron (1982)
• WarGames (1983)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
• Jurassic Park (1993)
• The Fifth Element (1997)
• Starship Troopers (1997)
• Office Space (1999)
• The Matrix (1999)
• Honorable Mention: Metropolis (1927)

The brief postscript to their article is a subject that deserves just as much consideration -- what are the recent movies that we will back on 10-15 years as being ahead of their time? They say: Monsters Inc., Sin City, A Scanner Darkly, The Fountain, Children of Men, and the upcoming 300.

I'll add Donnie Darko, Idiocracy, and Kill Bill 1 and 2 to that discussion.