http://slashdot.org/articles/04/08/26/1416237.shtml?tid=214&tid=192&tid=97&tid=1&tid=6
Blade Runner Is The Best Sci-Fi Film
Delchanat writes "Now there's scientific proof: according to 60 of the most influential scientists in the world, including British biologist Richard Dawkins and Canadian psychologist Steven Pinker, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) is the best science fiction film. Late Mr. Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) finished 2nd, followed by George Lucas' Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980)." There are several other stories as well: favorite authors, the basics of science fiction, and an excerpt of a new Iain M. Banks novel.
from The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1290561,00.html
3 Star Wars (1977)/Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The first two films of the original Star Wars trilogy make it onto the list probably for reasons of nostalgia rather than science. Essentially westerns set in space, they both cover the universal themes of good versus evil while making lead actors Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher spit out mind-boggling technospeak on a regular basis. There is also an element of mysticism (which some say sets them apart from the rest of science fiction), with the idea of an all-pervading "force" that can be harnessed by certain people for good or evil. The epic saga revolves around the battle between the all-enslaving Empire (led by the Emperor, a force-wielding maniac and his part-human part-machine henchman Darth Vader) and a small band of rebels. Its use of science is sketchy at best - light-speed travel is dealt with by the use of a "hyperspace" where the normal laws of physics don't seem to apply and force-wielding Jedi fight with theoretically impossible lightsabers - but the emphasis here is certainly not on answering the problems of the human condition. Two of the first blockbusters, they also started the franchises for toys, games and replicas that no science fiction film can do without nowadays.