First Contact!

Movies about "first contact" with aliens, both friendly and decidedly not.
Updated September 29, 2022
Unbound Librarians
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Arrival [2016 film]
Denis Villeneuve
Based on Ted Chiang's 1998 short story "Story of Your Life," Denis Villeneuve's Arrival is a mind-bending journey into alien contact, human frailty, grief and comparative linguistics.
Super 8 [2011 film]
J. J. Abrams
J. J. Abrams' small-town, big-budget Super 8 feels like a Spielberg movie—in fact Spielberg co-produced—with themes of friendship, loss, and coming of age.
Predator [1987 film]
John McTiernan
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and other 80s action-figure actors are hunted by a malevolent, transparent alien.
Independence Day [1996 film]
Roland Emmerich
Aliens arrive, fireworks ensue.
The Day the Earth Stood Still [1951 film]
Robert Wise
Classic 1950s science fiction.
War of the Worlds
Cruise, Tom.
DVD
An earth-shattering adventure that both "rivets and amazes" (Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune), War of the Worlds reunites superstar Tom Cruise and Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg for one of the most awe-inspiring cinematic experiences of all time! A contemporary retelling of H.G....
Spielberg brings Wells' iconic novel to New York City. Stars include Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbin.
The Abyss [1989 film]
James Cameron
First contact under water!

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