# OT: List "Top 10 movie Space Ships"



## JT1 (Nov 11, 2006)

I know these lists are generally stupid, but they sometimes can generate some fun conversation.

http://filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/95a45e26914c25ff862562bb006a85f2/6e86919f31c820c50825722a00689c42?OpenDocument


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## Rainfollower (Oct 6, 2006)

Hmmmm.

I'd add the Valley Forge from Silent Running.


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## enterprise_fan (May 23, 2004)

Here is my 2 cents ..... the mother ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.


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## CessnaDriver (Apr 27, 2005)

enterprise_fan said:


> Here is my 2 cents ..... the mother ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.


By the way, I had no idea the studio model was on display at the Smithsonian Museum at Dulles International airport. 

Turned the corner and was quite surprised.

Funny, most people looking at it knew to look for all the fun details like R2D2.


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

Just because there was a movie made about the flight of Apollo 13 doesn't mean Apollo 13 is a "movie spaceship." I'd replace that particular entry with the Imperial Stardestroyer. I mean, the opening shot of "Star Wars" didn't blow us away for nothing.


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## enterprise_fan (May 23, 2004)

This list would never be comlete if everyone removes one ship for another. As lists go everyone has a favorite top 10 movie spaceships.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

No Flying Saucer from Forbidden Planet?

a poor list indeed.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Carson Dyle said:


> I'd replace that particular entry with the Imperial Stardestroyer. I mean, the opening shot of "Star Wars" didn't blow us away for nothing.


 
I agree that Apollo 13 was a poor choice, but there were worst ones - "The Thunder Road" What the hecks up with that? 

I also agree that because of that opening scene the Star Destroyed does deserve a place on the list.

I even remember realizing Battlestar Galactica(The Movie) attempted to upstage that scene in it's "SensorRound" theater release.

I believe it actually did upstage the scene, due to the superior low frequency tricks that SensorRound employed. In a SensorRound equipped theater you actually FELT like there was a humongous Battlestar passing in front of you that would smash you to bits if you somehow drifted a few feet closer.

I remember several people had heart and nervous system reactions to the showing and SensorRound was adjusted so there was no where near as much low-frequency sound put out - which pretty much killed SensorRound and made it pointless. Oh well...

Even though I think the Galactica in original SensorRound made a bigger impression though, physically. It will never be remembered the way the opening Star Destroyer scene is by millions so I would vote to keep the Star Destroyer in and the movie Galactica out.

Just my personal two cents.



Carson Dyle said:


> Just because there was a movie made about the flight of Apollo 13 doesn't mean Apollo 13 is a "movie spaceship."


Actually... yep. It does. It was a spaceship. If they hadn't made a movie about it it would not be a "movie spaceship." But they did.(I kinda liked Apollo 13 as a movie myself but wished I would have seen Apollo 1-12 first :lol: )



Carson Dyle said:


> Just because there was a movie made about the flight of Apollo 13 doesn't mean Apollo 13 is a "movie spaceship."


 
It was a spaceship.
It was in a movie.


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## Roguepink (Sep 18, 2003)

You mean the C-57D. Hyperdrive, even!

I can fairly well agree with the list as posted, but I also concur that Apollo XIII was not well placed on the list. It was, however, an INCREDIBLE bit of filming to make us all believe it. The launch scene is a benchmark test of all good home theater systems.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

OT: The circling scenes from "Black Hawk Down" will help you appreciate a good home theater system a bit too...


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> It was a spaceship.
> It was in a movie.


To my way of thinking, the term "movie spaceship" suggests a spaceship created for the movies. 

I mean, honestly, who thinks of Apollo 13 as being "that spaceship from that movie with Tom Hanks."

On second thought, nevermind.


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## CessnaDriver (Apr 27, 2005)

The Columbiad from Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon" should be on any top ten list. Verne was quite predictive of many aspects of the flight of Apollo 11.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

It's anyone going to vote for the Scorpion from the last Trek movie?:devil: 

Not even you, John P.?


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Carson Dyle said:


> To my way of thinking, the term "movie spaceship" suggests a spaceship created for the movies.
> 
> I mean, honestly, who thinks of Apollo 13 as being "that spaceship from that movie with Tom Hanks."
> 
> On second thought, nevermind.


Nevermind?

Methinks you probably took a quick poll of a few people under the age of 40.:lol:

Most of whom would respond when asked about the Cold War, "What? The Cold What? You mean the *Cola Wars*!?! The *Coke-Pepsi* thing... yeah I heard about that back a long time ago. The last I heard one of them Colas had Michael Jackson's hair set on fire and they decided they went too far and called a truce."


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> I even remember realizing Battlestar Galactica(The Movie) attempted to upstage that scene in it's "SensorRound" theater release.


I hate to be picky, but it was spelled "Sensurround." Okay, I like being picky.


Carson Dyle said:


> I mean, honestly, who thinks of Apollo 13 as being "that spaceship from that movie with Tom Hanks."


Or the _Hindenburg_ as "the airship from that movie with George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft"? Or H.M.S. _Bounty_ as "the ship from that movie with Clark Gable and Charles Laughton/Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard/Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins"? Or the _Titanic_ . . .


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## idman (Apr 11, 2004)

CessnaDriver said:


> By the way, I had no idea the studio model was on display at the Smithsonian Museum at Dulles International airport.
> 
> Turned the corner and was quite surprised.
> 
> Funny, most people looking at it knew to look for all the fun details like R2D2.



HMMMM I'll have to check that out when i fly home next year


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> No Flying Saucer from Forbidden Planet?
> 
> a poor list indeed.


These days all of these "Best Of" lists appear to be compiled by children who don't believe any film made before 1965 is worth watching.

However, I believe enterprise_fan is absolutely correct--I don't think you could find _ten_ sci-fi fans that would agree on "The Top 10 Movie Spaceships" let alone the rowdy bunch of malcontents on this forum (and I mean that in a good way).


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## BEBruns (Apr 30, 2003)

Zombie_61 said:


> These days all of these "Best Of" lists appear to be compiled by children who don't believe any film made before 1965 is worth watching.


1965? Go to the Forums on IMDb.com and look for people comiling lists. For many people it seems as if no movies existed before *1995*.


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## abu625 (Jul 4, 2002)

What a ridiculous list. No sense of historical perspective at all. You want a REAL list? How's this:

#1 - U.S.S. Enterprise (All versions) - Arguably the most recognizable fictional spacecraft of all time.

#2 - The Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) - Not only is it a truly unique design, but it helped blow up the Death Star -- twice!

#3 - Orion III (2001: A Space Odyssey) - Our first glimpse of the "future" from one of the most influential sci-fi films of all time. Its lines are not that dissimilar from the actual Space Shuttle that arrived 15 years later.

#4 - Dr. Zarkov's Rocket Ship (Flash Gordon) -- Although it first appeared as the "Mars Wing" from 20th Century's Fox's sci-fi musical comedy "Just Imagine," this plucky rocketship epitomized sci-fi serials during the 1930s and was enjoyed by fans via TV returns through the 1960s.

#5 - Luna (Destination Moon) - Elegant and simple, it's the classic 1950s "Winged Ogive."

#6 - C-57D (Forbidden Planet) - THE classic 1950s flying saucer, it appeared in cameos in numerous TWILIGHT ZONE episodes. And it was the first "flying saucer" flown by humans, not aliens!

#7 - DISCOVERY ONE (2001: A Space Odyssey) - The first credible interplanetary spacecraft -- one based on actual physics. And it looked so REAL.

#8 - MARTIAN WAR MACHINE (WAR OF THE WORLDS, 1953) - Who can ever forget the sinister manta-shaped spacecraft with the glowing cobra-head? Certainly one of the most elegant and sinister designs to come from Hollywood's nightmare factory.

#9 - CYGNUS (THE BLACK HOLE) - A terrible movie, but featuring perhaps the most elaborate spacecraft miniature of all time. A unique blend of Victorian and late 20th Century sensibilities.

#10 - THE "SHELL" (FROM EARTH TO THE MOON) - The first movie "spaceship" from the Georges Melies film of 1902. The image of the shell slamming into the "Man in the Moon" is one of cinema's most famous iconic images.

Let the debate continue!


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## chiangkaishecky (Oct 4, 2000)

scotpens said:


> I hate to be picky, but it was spelled "Sensurround." Okay, I like being picky.


Picky? Nah.
Factual ... yes.


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## Nova Designs (Oct 10, 2000)

Better, Abu625, but I still think that the Galactica, Star Destroyer, and CEOT3K mothership belong on that list. Even if the first isn't strictly a "movie" spaceship.


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

I have a problem with all the space ships rumbling by IN SPACE where there IS NO AIR to transmit it. 2001 got it right! Lesson NOT LEARNED by later directors. Apollo 13 was fair as you just CAN'T be more impressive with little models than the REAL Saturn 5 launch vehicle. 

You really won't hear anything outside the atmosphere, so NO Jupiter 2 fusion core sounds, No Enterprise swishing by, and no rumbling of Star Destroyers, Battlestars, or Millinium Falcons et al. 

In Space, No one can hear you scream.


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## CessnaDriver (Apr 27, 2005)

"#8 - MARTIAN WAR MACHINE (WAR OF THE WORLDS, 1953) - Who can ever forget the sinister manta-shaped spacecraft with the glowing cobra-head? Certainly one of the most elegant and sinister designs to come from Hollywood's nightmare factory."

Hella cool. 
BUT
Not technically a spacecraft.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

CessnaDriver said:


> "#8 - MARTIAN WAR MACHINE (WAR OF THE WORLDS, 1953) - Who can ever forget the sinister manta-shaped spacecraft with the glowing cobra-head? Certainly one of the most elegant and sinister designs to come from Hollywood's nightmare factory."
> 
> Hella cool.
> BUT
> Not technically a spacecraft.


It was sent through space in a "shell" of sorts - much in the way that the Apollo 13 module was by the Saturn V.

Maybe we should call them _*launched-into-and-through-space*_ crafts?


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

abu625 said:


> What a ridiculous list. No sense of historical perspective at all. You want a REAL list? How's this:
> 
> #1 - U.S.S. Enterprise (All versions) - Arguably the most recognizable fictional spacecraft of all time.
> 
> ...


Now that's a fantastic list!

I have to agree with everything from #1-#8 and pleade ignorance on the last two though. I have seen the image you discribe in #10 though - I remember it from a 25 year old(or so) encyclopedia of Sci-fi I still have somewhere. I just haven't seen the movie to know whether or not to agree on #10. Same problem with #9, even though it's a relatively recent movie I have yet to see *Black Hole*.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

How about this, guys?

Let's try to put together our own little Movie and TV top *Forty*!

We can debate about order of importance, but it would be interesting to see if we could come up with 40 memorable TV and Movie Spacecraft.

On the Trek side I'd suggest we keep it to Movies Only(or a seperate Trek top Forty) as we could probably fill the 40 with Trek ships alone if we counted series ships.


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## Prince of Styrene II (Feb 28, 2000)

Sounds like fun!! Okay, here's some from me in no particular order:

USS Enterprise - various incarnations
C57-D
Cygnus
The Millennium Falcon
Y-Wing
Orion III
Close Encounters "Mother Ship"


Oops! Off to work!


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## CessnaDriver (Apr 27, 2005)

I always liked the Planet of the Apes craft.
Since then it has been named "Icarus".

Also the Narcissus shuttle from Alien and Aliens.


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## cozmo (Nov 29, 2004)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> How about this, guys?
> 
> Let's try to put together our own little Movie and TV top *Forty*!


What the arguements that the original list could start isn't enough?

I having enough fun with those.

Especially the part where the only *REAL* craft on the list doesn't deserve to be there.

Objectively is the only way to do it. That means my favorite won't make the top ten. But should make the top fourty.


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

1. C57D
2. Metaluna Craft from This Island Earth
3. Millinium Falcon
4. Tyderium Shuttle
5. Star Destroyer (TESB)
6. Nostromo
7. Dark Star
8. Orion (2001)
9. Shell ship from Buckaroo Banzai
10. Ark 2 from When Worlds Collide
11. Klatuu saucer
12. Enterprise(s)
13. Slave-1
14. rocket-It the terror from Space
15. rocket-Luna
16. rocket-Flight to Mars
17. Cosmotrator
18. weltraumschiff(polaris 1)
19. saucer - Earth vs the Flying Saucers
20. Saucer - ID4
21. rocket - 20 Million Miles to Earth
22. Klingon Bird of Prey
23. Klingon D7
24. Vulcan Shuttle
25. ET's ball ship
26. Close Encounters Mothership
27. USS Valley Forge
28. rocket - Journey to a prehistoric planet
29. Reliant-ST2
30. Tantive IV
31 Discovery (2001)
32. Buck Rogers ships(3)
33. USS Argo
34. Sulaco
35. Mon Calimari Cruiser (SW: ROTJ)
36: Serenity
37. USS Cygnus (black holes)
38. Spice Freighter (Dune)
39. Moonraker
40. Armegeddon shuttle
41. Vaders Tie Fighter
42. Jerkoff's Space Ship (Flesh Gordon)
43. Event Horizon
44. Battlestar Galactica
45. USS Palomino
46. ?????


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## John F (May 31, 2001)

Mega Maid from Spaceballs


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Y3a said:


> 1. C57D
> 2. Metaluna Craft from This Island Earth
> 3. Millinium Falcon
> 4. Tyderium Shuttle
> ...


 
Jeez, all of these that I'm familiar with are fantastic ships!

I can't see leaving any of the ones I recognize off so I'm sure that the ones I don't are good too.

So maybe we should be going for a top 100 then?
I didn't realize there had been this many ships until the above post, great work - Y3a!

Though on future lists, re-edits of lists maybe we could give a little more detailed info on the more obscure references if you have the info readily at hand. *(I'm not really talking about 90+ percent of your list - Y3a - but all the lists in general. I still don't know what the heck "The Thunder Road" mentioned on the list that started all of this is/looks like!)* If not, or if you are at work or dashing off to work like PrinceofStyrene just spit it out quickly and we'll eventually all be able to fill in the blanks and/or figure out the reference...


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

cozmo said:


> What the arguements that the original list could start isn't enough?
> 
> I having enough fun with those.


Sci-Fi debates are like Jello.

There is always enough room for *more* Jello!!!


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## CessnaDriver (Apr 27, 2005)

I see a poll coming in the future.


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## chiangkaishecky (Oct 4, 2000)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> I still don't know what the heck "The Thunder Road" mentioned on the list that started all of this is/looks like!)


It looks kinda like an armless, junkyard 2001 EVA pod built by River Phoenix, Ethan Hawke and another child actor who couldn't/wouldn't segue into adult roles
http://www.pardo.ch/1999/im/pictures/hRes/10.jpg
http://img.clubic.com/photo/00109303.jpg
"Ship" and movie are unworthy of any top 10 lists


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Yep. 
I'd like to see us name 100 memorable TV and Movie spaceships first though.
I personally am not too worried about debating importance, it would just be a great list to compile(without resorting to too many Trek series ships - we could have the list up to the hundreds in no time with that one! Not that Trek series ships don't deserve their own "most memorable" list)


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## Ohio_Southpaw (Apr 26, 2005)

Let's not forget the Vulture from Salvage 1!


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Y3a said:


> I have a problem with all the space ships rumbling by IN SPACE where there IS NO AIR to transmit it. 2001 got it right! Lesson NOT LEARNED by later directors. Apollo 13 was fair as you just CAN'T be more impressive with little models than the REAL Saturn 5 launch vehicle.
> 
> You really won't hear anything outside the atmosphere, so NO Jupiter 2 fusion core sounds, No Enterprise swishing by, and no rumbling of Star Destroyers, Battlestars, or Millinium Falcons et al.
> 
> In Space, No one can hear you scream.


_Silence is golden! _

You are exactly right about the sound thing, *Y3a*. If you've got the flare of music or theme song, why bother having swishes or rumblings?

_2001_ showed how impressive absolute silence could be while watching the spaceships fly.

I'd rather they have more sounds _within_ the vessel, if appropriate, of their machinery and engines. 

I like the idea of a master list but why not take it a couple of steps further? 

We could make a list with a representative illustration of each ship and place them on web pages on a sci-fi modeling reference website such as this one or Starship Modeler. Surely, from amongst all of us, we could find good pics and beg or borrow from the experts on this board and elsewhere.


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

A Big list with details about each ship WITH A PHOTO sounds more like a book...

I must admit I had some help here at NASA HQ. Anybody heard of Michael Surbrook? he's written and illustrated a few gaming/character books. He's also a trivia nut, so we hammered this out in less than a 1/2 hour. We figure All Star Wars ships would be around 35 or so, and the many Trek movies world bring in another 15 or so. I was after the obscure, just to irritate the readers :-> and need to add a few more pseudo-shuttles - Churchill from Life Force, and Moonraker. I think their are a few from the japanese giant monster movies, and several more bad 1950's movie craft like the "drill Saucer" from "Teenagers from Space". You Trek fans do the Entire Trek list, same goes for the Star Wars fans. The most obscure ship I listed was "weltraumschiff(polaris 1)" which I still haven't convinced Brent Gair to build yet. It was featured in Space Explorers. that animated kiddy show with Pre-WWII german SPFX shots.


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## Prince of Styrene II (Feb 28, 2000)

DUH!!! I can't believe I forgot _*Serenity*_!!!   :roll:


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

43. Unnamed ship to Flosten Paradise from 5th Element
44. Cavorite Sphere
45. Thunderbirds (Frakes folly)
46. space ship from Invaders from Mars
47. Saucers - Mars Attacks
48. Icarus - Planet of the Apes
49. Jupiter 2 - LIS the (hideous) Movie
50. NSEA Protector
51. the Betty (alien4)


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

Their are a BUNCH of big lists on the Intarweb!


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Y3a said:


> Their are a BUNCH of big lists on the Intarweb!


Ours can be from the model-makers' points of view and perhaps restrict ourselves to physical models.


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## enterprise_fan (May 23, 2004)

A Big list with details about each ship WITH A PHOTO sounds more like a book...

Back around 1975 BSW (Before Star Wars) the company produced the now defunct Starlog magazine came out with a magazine type book of spaceships.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

enterprise_fan said:


> A Big list with details about each ship WITH A PHOTO sounds more like a book...
> 
> Back around 1975 BSW (Before Star Wars) the company produced the now defunct Starlog magazine came out with a magazine type book of spaceships.


I've got those books around here somewhere--excellent stuff! So much more could be added now . . .


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

_From the Earth to the Moon_, for some strange reason, reminds me of the "rocket" in _The Mouse on the Moon_. (Maybe, the radical extremes of g forces?)

BTW, I just found out that this silly flick got Lester the "Hard Day's Night" gig(!)


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## abu625 (Jul 4, 2002)

Call me an old poopie-head, but I don't like the idea of a Top 50 or Top 100 list because it eliminates the need for _discrimination. _Yeah, a Top 10 list is going to be controversial, but THAT'S THE POINT. It requires you to think and evaluate. Listing 100 "Top" movie spaceships basically comes down to listing _all_ movie spaceships, and that requires no critical thinking whatsoever.

I like the initial question asked here: What are the Top 10 most important fictional spaceship designs to come from the movies? What designs influenced others and the way the general public came to imagine space travel? 

I put the Destination Moon LUNA on my list because it was the first winged ogive in the movies (albeit based heavily on the German V-2 rocket), a design that was copied/borrowed by dozens more to follow.

The Enterprise, although it was born on TV, is not only the most recognizeable fictional spaceship of all time, but it was truly revolutionary in that it was the first fictional spaceship THAT DIDN'T USE ROCKET ENGINES. (In the initial NBC promotional artwork, used as the cover art on the first James Blish collection of Star Trek short stories, artist James Bama actually put rocket exhaust coming out of the E's nacelles and engineering section just to make it look "normal.") 

Others on the list need to be chosen for similarly specific historical reasons, not just because we liked the movie or thought the design was "cool."


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## enterprise_fan (May 23, 2004)

toyroy said:


> _From the Earth to the Moon_, for some strange reason, reminds me of the "rocket" in _The Mouse on the Moon_. (Maybe, the radical extremes of g forces?)
> 
> BTW, I just found out that this silly flick got Lester the "Hard Day's Night" gig(!)


Was that the movie about a rather small old world country that got into the space race just to get US goverment funding? If it was I thought it was called "The Mouse That Roared"


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## abu625 (Jul 4, 2002)

No, THE MOUSE THAT ROARED was about a tiny country (The Dutchy of Grand Fenwick) that goes to war with the U.S. so that it can surrender and then get foreign aid. (Unfortunately, it ends up WINNING.) THE MOUSE ON THE MOON was a sequel of sorts, featuring the same tiny Dutchy in the space race.


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

First Spaceship On Venus.

Classic pointy silver tailsitter with three outrigger engines, and a robot.


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

enterprise_fan said:


> Was that the movie about a rather small old world country that got into the space race just to get US goverment funding? If it was I thought it was called "The Mouse That Roared"





abu625 said:


> No, THE MOUSE THAT ROARED was about a tiny country (The Dutchy of Grand Fenwick) that goes to war with the U.S. so that it can surrender and then get foreign aid. (Unfortunately, it ends up WINNING.) THE MOUSE ON THE MOON was a sequel of sorts, featuring the same tiny Dutchy in the space race.


Both right! _The Mouse on the Moon_ was the sequel. It was also about getting more money, ostensibly for space exploration, but really to get the plumbing fixed.

I remember the "rocket" moved so slowly, they stopped in mid-launch to fetch something they forgot!


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

IIRC, they used the locally produced wine as fuel. That's got to be some powerful wine!


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