Sci-fi and fantasy movies help to shape and stimulate one's imagination. The greatest sci-fi and fantasy movies offer the ultimate in escapism - you leave reality behind and enter another world of magic and wonder.

As "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II" brings a resurgence of interest in magical fantasy movies this summer, let's celebrate with these top ten sci-fi and fantasy movies of all time.

   "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)

 

"E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" [fanpop.com]

"E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) is a 1982 American fantasy movie myth directed by Steven Spielberg. As one of the top box-office films of all time, the movie tells the story of Elliott (played by Thomas), a young, fatherless, lonely suburban boy who befriends a lost, benevolent and homesick extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is from another planet and mistakenly left stranded and orphaned on Earth. Elliott and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while they attempt to keep it hidden from their mother and the government. This story of friendship is one of the greatest science fiction film ever made.