15 Greatest Hard Science Fiction Movies Of All Time

Back in the 1980s the name Carl Sagan held as much respect for science documentaries as David Attenborough's does today for documentaries about the natural world. Sagan did more than anyone else to popularize mainstream interest in cosmology, astronomy and the universe around us. More recently, Neil deGrasse Tyson brought Sagan's flagship series, Cosmos, into the 21st century.

His 1985 novel, Contact, explores the possibility of humanity discovering a wormhole, opening up the chance of contact with extra-terrestrials. Jodie Foster stars as Dr. Arroway in Robert Zemeckis's screen adaptation, taking on the role of a scientist working for the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) organization who discovers a repeating signal of prime numbers.

Contact's preoccupation with the compatibility of science and religion might lack sufficient depth to make it completely compelling, but the finale - in which Arroway is inserted into a pod and sent through a series of wormholes - is a wonderfully crafted cinematic experience which places a perspective on extra-terrestrial life in a similar way to Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.