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Star Wars loses best sci-fi crown

By This is London 02.04.07

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Classic sci-fi: But Star Wars has been knocked off the top spot

No1: Serenity topped the poll

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Film classic Star Wars has lost its crown as the world's best sci-fi movie.

George Lucas's Star Wars debut has been usurped by the little-known 2005 title Serenity in a poll of sci-fi favourites.

Gallery: See the top 10 sci-fi films here

Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford, is third, following 1977 classic Star Wars.

Planet Of The Apes scoops fourth place, followed by Keanu Reeves's film The Matrix and Sigourney Weaver's Alien.

Others in the top ten include Fifties classic Forbidden Planet, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Terminator, which launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's career.

The Michael J Fox time-travelling classic Back to the Future takes tenth place in the SFX magazine poll of 3,000 fans.

Serenity, about the crew of a spaceship of the same name, was a spin-off from a short-lived US TV series.

SFX magazine editor Dave Bradley said: "Seeing Serenity topple Star Wars as the UK's favourite sci-fi movie is a massive surprise.

"The TV show may have been cancelled, yet the Serenity universe clearly struck a chord with fans, thanks to its likeable characters, witty dialogue and amazing special effects.

"Our list features some really classic movies, many of which, like Serenity, launched to no praise or applause at the box office, but have lived on for many years thanks to the fans, and continue to influence today's films and TV."

The Top Ten

1. Serenity (2005)
2. Star Wars (1977)
3. Blade Runner (1982)
4. Planet of the Apes (1968)
5. The Matrix (1999)
6. Alien (1979)
7. Forbidden Planet (1956)
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
9. The Terminator (1984)
10. Back to the Future (1985)

Reader views (4)

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Here's a sample of the latest views published.

Nobody will remember Serenity in three years time let alone thirty . Star Wars is the Sci Fi film classic and that can never change. I really enjoyed Serenity but it is not a great film. It changed nothing.

- Ben, Brighton, East Sussex

hot, I LOVE Serenity and I generally hate outerspace movies so its good in my book.

- Lambman, st. paul, usa

I agree that Star Wars was a great sci-fi film, but the script and acting are nowhere near as good as Serenity. The characters are so much deeper, funnier and more believable. Kudos to the Browncoats for supporting Serenity!

All the movies in the top 10 are really good films.

- Devil, California, United States

Serenity is a fantastic film and was a great TV show as well. It was such a shame it was cancelled. Hopefully there will be a few more Serenity films (even though a couple of major charecters were killed off in the film) Star Wars will always be a classic. But I think the last three films have tarnished its appeal a bit.

- Liz, London