# 70s Sci-Fi Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383 "2008-05-15T02:04:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yearsofstatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/779978/32.png) [@yearsofstatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearsofstatic)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/1 "2008-05-15T02:04:07Z")
Just finished watching Westworld. Saw it when I was a kid, forgot about it until I heard it mentioned today. Really really enjoyed it. All that CGI and related bull today is fun, but there’s just something about early special effects that I love. I like knowing that when I see a guy on fire, it’s actually a guy on fire and not some computer animations. Anyway, I need more. Any sci-fi from the 60s-early 80s. And not the obvious stuff. No Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, Star Trek. Omega Man, awesome. Enemy Mine, sweet. Last Starfighter, fantastic. Talking about the stuff that as someone born in 1982 I would not know about. Help me out please! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/2 "2008-05-15T02:07:32Z")
_Westworld_ is completely awesome for one reason and one reason only: Yul Brynner. Have you seen _Battle Beyond the Stars_? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/3 "2008-05-15T02:11:05Z")
Slaughterhouse Five? A Boy and His Dog? ---
**Author:** ![yearsofstatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/779978/32.png) [@yearsofstatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearsofstatic)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/4 "2008-05-15T02:19:31Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] _Westworld_ is completely awesome for one reason and one reason only: Yul Brynner. Have you seen _Battle Beyond the Stars_? [/QUOTE] Yeah, he’s crazy creepy. Robert Patrick most have taken some cues from him. And sadly Battle Beyond the Stars is not available on Netflix. Slaughterhouse 5 and A Boy and his Dog are, so yipee. Keep them coming! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/5 "2008-05-15T02:21:43Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Have you seen _Battle Beyond the Stars_? [/QUOTE] Heh. We had some lamos running the venues in my town. _Battle Beyond The Stars_, _Galaxina_, and _Galaxy Of Terror_ came out around the same time. So a marquee had _Battle Behind The Stars_ and _Galaxina Of Terror_. **yearsofstatic** : I kind of liked [Silent Running](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067756/). A little heavy-handed, and I thought the conflict was a bit far-fetched (why destroy the biodomes instead of putting them in orbit?); but it was cool when I was a kid. [A Boy And His Dog](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0072730/) is good one, based on Harlan Ellison’s book. [Logan’s Run](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074812/) is good, and Jenny Agutter gets naked briefly. [Dark Star](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069945/) is a hoot! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/6 "2008-05-15T02:27:10Z")
[QUOTE=yearsofstatic] Yeah, he’s crazy creepy. Robert Patrick most have taken some cues from him. [/quote] I’m pretty sure I’ve read that the entire character was based on him. > [@yearsofstatic](#): > > And sadly Battle Beyond the Stars is not available on Netflix. Slaughterhouse 5 and A Boy and his Dog are, so yipee. Keep them coming! That’s weird, just a WAG but I would think it is the most popular of those 3 movies. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/7 "2008-05-15T02:34:25Z")
[_Dark Star_ trailer](http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2879389977/)😛 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/8 "2008-05-15T02:39:28Z")
The **Overlook Film Encyclopedia (Science Fiction)** is a massive listing of SF films chronologically. There are a LOT of films in theperiod 1960-1985 or so. I will ignore all of them except the really good or significant ones, plus those you mention: \*\* Angry Red Planet Atlabtis, the Lost Continent Atomic Submarine The Time Macine Village of the Damned The Doomed Master of the World The Mysterious Island\*\* (Harryhausen! and Verne!) **Creation of the Humanoids Dr. No Panic in Year Zero The Birds Children of the Damned The Day of the Triffids Ikarie XB-1/Voyage to the End of the Universe** (Stanisla Lem!) **La Jette Lord of the Flies X-The Man with the X-Ray Eyes Dr. Strangelove First Men in the Moon** (Harryhausen and Wells!) **Goldfinger Crack in the World Robinson Crusoe on Mars** (highly recommended) **The Satan Bug the War Game Thunderball Fail Safe** (John Campbell called this one of the 10 best SF films) **Fahrenheit 451 Fantastic Voyage Seconds Barbarella The Power** obscure but good offering from George pal. With Michael Rennie!) **Quatermass and the Pit/Five Million Years to Earth** HIGHLY recommended! **You Only Live Twice Charly** (Recommended) **The Illustrated Man** (Bradbury!) **The Monitors** (offbeat – made by Second City!) **2001** (of course!) **Planet of the Apes Beneath the Planet of the Apes The Forbin Project Marooned The Mind of Mr. Soames On Her Majesty’s Secret Service When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth The Andromeda Strain No Blade of Grass THX-1138 A Clockwork Orange Diamonds are Forever The Omega Man Silent Running Solaris Slaughterhouse Five Fantastic Planet Soylent Green Sleeper Westworld Zardoz Dark Star Flesh Gordon The Man with the Golden Gun The Parasite Murders/They Came from Within/Shivers The Stepford Wives Terminal Man Young Frankenstein A Boy and His Dog** (Harlan Ellison!) **Rollerball Logan’s Run The Man Who Fell to Earth Rabid Capricorn One Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Spy Who Loved Me Star Wars Dawn of the Dead Invasion of the Body Snatchers Alien The Brood Mad Max Moonraker Quintet Stalker Star Trek – The Motion Picture Time After Time Altered States Battle Beyond the Stars Empire Strikes Back Escape from New York Android Blade Runner ET Firefox Star Trek II The Thing The Road Warrior Tron Videodrome Brainstorm The Dead Zone Never Say Never Again Return of the Jedi Strange Invaders War Games Brother from Another Planet** (Highly Recommended) **The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Dune Firestarter The Last Starfighter NineteenEighty Four** (Recommended) **Repo Man Star Trek III Starman The Terminator** (Of Course!) **Adventures of Mark Twain** (A personal favorite) \*\*Back to the Future 2010 Brazil Cocoon Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome Real Genius \*\* ---
**Author:** ![yearsofstatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/779978/32.png) [@yearsofstatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearsofstatic)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/9 "2008-05-15T02:46:45Z")
Holy geez. That’ll do it. Thanks Cal. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/10 "2008-05-15T02:52:48Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Fail Safe\*\* (John Campbell called this one of the 10 best SF films) [/QUOTE] I love this movie, but I would not call it sci-fi. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/11 "2008-05-15T03:15:38Z")
[QUOTE=yearsofstatic] Just finished watching Westworld. Saw it when I was a kid, forgot about it until I heard it mentioned today. Really really enjoyed it. [/QUOTE] [Andromeda Strain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andromeda_Strain_(film)) [The Forbin Project](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus:_The_Forbin_Project) One day [Damnation Alley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damnation_Alley_%28film%29) will be available And if you think Sean Connery in a diaper is a turn on, then there’s [Zardoz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zardoz). If the diaper offends, try [Outland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outland_%28film%29). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/12 "2008-05-15T07:56:53Z")
Hard to characterize, though it’s often listed with horror flicks:\* Lair of the White Worm.\* A VERY different viewing experience. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/13 "2008-05-15T11:47:04Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > : > > Originally Posted by CalMeacham > > Fail Safe\*\* (John Campbell called this one of the 10 best SF films) > > I love this movie, but I would not call it sci-fi. Neither would most people, which is pretty much the point Campbell was trying to make. Campbell was a fascinating, iconoclastic, and controversial writer and editor who did an awful lot to define science fiction. He didn’t elaborate on this movie (My cite here is a questionnaire that he responded to, as did many other SF people, for the book **Focus on the Science Fiction Film**. Heinlein’s responses are typically Heinleinian – extremely terse, in an “I’m busy and you’re not paying me for this” way, while most other respondents put in at least one long answer). I do believe that he was saying that most people don’t have a very good definition of science fiction, and that even as mainstream a movie as "Fail Safe’ falls easily within his definition. ---
**Author:** ![Wheeljack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@Wheeljack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheeljack)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/14 "2008-05-15T12:10:57Z")
Thirding **Dark Star**. I’ll never look at beach balls the same. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/15 "2008-05-15T13:48:41Z")
What about The Black Hole? OH yeah, it totally sucks. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/16 "2008-05-15T14:26:41Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I do believe that he was saying that most people don’t have a very good definition of science fiction, and that even as mainstream a movie as "Fail Safe’ falls easily within his definition. [/QUOTE] The problem with making a definition too broad is it becomes meaningless. Yes, you could make a case that **The Birds** and **The Lord of the Flies** are science fiction as animal behavior and sociology are sciences, but you pretty much render the term useless. ( **Sleepless in Seattle** is science fiction because it involves psychology and architecture!) ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/17 "2008-05-15T14:34:03Z")
If we’re including cheesy Star Wars ripoffs like Battle Beyond the Stars, why not Starcrash (the Adventures of Stella Star)? [Prepare to be hurled…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tESwX3doaI&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/18 "2008-05-15T14:45:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes, you could make a case that The Birds and The Lord of the Flies are science fiction as animal behavior and sociology are sciences Well, no, that’s not the reason. The book I took this list from included both of those. But if you read **Lord of the Flies** , the setting is a future war in which the boys have to be evacuated and the implications are that it’s a pretty big and possibly nuclear war. It’s as much a candidate as **Fail-Safe**. A lot of people have included \*\*The Birds \*\* as SF/Fantasy. The magazine **Cinefantastique** devoted an entire cover story to it, saying that it was Hitchcock’s only foray into the genre. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/19 "2008-05-15T14:48:06Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] [Logan’s Run](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074812/) is good, and Jenny Agutter gets naked briefly. [/QUOTE] She also gets naked briefly in [_An American Werewolf in London._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_american_werewolf_in_london) (If that counts as sci-fi.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383/20 "2008-05-15T14:51:06Z")
[QUOTE=TWDuke] If we’re including cheesy Star Wars ripoffs like Battle Beyond the Stars, why not Starcrash (the Adventures of Stella Star)? [Prepare to be hurled…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tESwX3doaI&feature=related) [/QUOTE] I’m at work, where I don’t have audio. But I do have _Star Crash_ on a VHS tape. I remember not liking it when it came out. Total dreck. I thought it would be fun in its badness. I… think I need to be in the right mood. > [@Wheeljack](#): > > Thirding Dark Star. I’ll never look at beach balls the same. Or baking pans or muffin tins. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70s-sci-fi-movies/449383.md?page=2)