Fave Sci-fi Films 1970–1989

The 70’s and 80’s were not particularly good decades for science fiction movies.

After Kubrick’s A Space Odyssey, people scarcely knew what to do with a space sci-fi flick any more. For a long time, everything seemed simply out-classed in beauty and scope.

++must-see
+good but flawed
OKinteresting but not for everybody
-very flawed, some redeeming features

The Love War

1970

++

Brazil

1985

++ beautiful hilarious political

Blade Runner

1982

++ until regrettable ending

Alien

1979

++ v. scary

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

1981 series

++ comedy

Sleeper

1973

++ comedy

A Boy and His Dog

1975

++ post-apocalypse tongue-in-rosy-cheek

Liquid Sky

1983

++ drug-induced paranoid

Mad Max

1979

++ post-apocalypse action

The Black Hole

1979

- pretty space drama. poor characters, bad ending

Star Wars

1977

++ space action opera

At the Earth’s Core

1976

OK HG Wells knock-off

Westworld

1973

+ Robot social commentary

The Land that Time Forgot

1975

+ Edgar Rice Burroughs; dinosaurs

Zardoz

1974

OK campy post-apocalypse

Dark Star

1973

++ space spoof

Soylent Green

1973

OK apocalyptic social commentary

Slaughterhouse-Five

1972

++ Time travel social commentary

The Omega man

1971

OK apocalyptic vampires

Silent Running

1971

+ space opera, robots, social commentary

THX 1138

1970

+ bleak futuristic social commentary

Saturn 3

1980

- pretty, space detective story

Dune

1984

- epic space opera

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

1984

+ science spoof

Repo Man

1984

++ black comedy, aliens

Cocoon

1985

+ alien visitation

Enemy Mine

1985

+ space aliens social commentary

Lifeforce

1985

- space vampires

Short Circuit

1986

OK cute robot

Cherry 2000

1986

OK robots social commentary