The 1970s were a decade when a major science fiction phenomenon was born -Star Wars! The first movie premiered in 1977 and changed the world of sci-fi and cinema in general forever. The downside to all this is that it’s easy to forget some other interesting sci-fi movies that premiered in the 1970s and that have nothing to do withStar Wars.
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Some of them have the added advantage of having a novel version that they were based on. But whatever their inspiration is, they all have one thing in common - they offer strong stories that use science fiction elements creatively and will keep the audience interested as a result. After all, not every movie that is mostly forgotten deserves that status.
6Westworld (1973)
These days, when somebody mentionsWestworld, most people immediately think ofthe hyper-successful HBO show. But without this movie, it’s possible there would be no show. Michael Crichton wrote both the story and also directed the movie about a man who goes to visit the western-themed amusement park and comes across a robot who defies his programming and starts killing people. Even though the story is relatively simple and straightforward, the movie’s short running time (only 88 minutes) and imaginative setting still make it fun to watch for all the fans of the science fiction genre.
It helps that the movie stars Yul Brynner as the murderous gun-toting robot, and Brynner’s determined performance as he stalks his victim is similar to the likes of Schwarzenegger’sTerminator, who came a whole decade later! For Brynner alone, the movie is worth watching, as long as the audience doesn’t try too hard to compare it to the modern version ofWestworldbecause both of the stories are drastically different.
5The Stepford Wives (1975)
A lot of younger viewers won’t know that the iconic Ira Levin horror/science fiction novel got a movie adaptation in the 1970s. The more recent 2004 version with Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick drew more attention to it, but it’s the 1975 movie that’s more successful atcreating an intense atmosphere, similar to the one the book has.
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The story is mostly well known - a woman moves to a small city with her husband and starts suspecting something is going on with the local people, especially the women. Even thoughThe Stepford Wivesnever got as much attention as another one of Levin’s adaptations,Rosemary’s Baby(1968), it’s an intelligent and well-acted movie that becomes scarier as the story progresses.
4Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
Alien invasions can have many forms in the movies. Sometimes, the aliens don’t hide their true intentions right from the start and choose an aggressive form of attack. But even more frightening is the option when they invade the Earth without notice, especially if it means killing its people. In this movie, the aliens replace humans with their perfect copies, except for one important detail - the copies have no emotions. And it’s impossible to escape the replacement because it happens when people go to sleep.
The movie creates a strong atmosphere of increasing terror as more and more people get replaced, and the characters realize there’s no escape.Invasion of the Body Snatchershas a strong cast as well, including well-known names such as Donald Sutherland and Leonard Nimoy. So even though it’s a remake of a movie from 1956, this version offers its own original, high-quality spin on the story.
3Coma (1978)
The 1970s were a good time for all fans of Michael Crichton and movies based on his work, as more than one adaptation came out in this decade.Comais the lesser-known one. The movie focuses on the doctor Susan Wheeler, who discovers that a lot of people are falling into comas in the hospital she’s working in and decides to investigate the problem, even though it puts her in danger.
Thanks to the movie using Susan’s perspective, it’s difficult to guess what will happen next. At the same time, the viewers feel that Susan is in danger, which makes them even more personally invested in her story. The Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold has starred in many high-quality movies, andComais one of them.It also gives a lot of space to Michael Douglas, who gives yet another strong performance.
2The Brood (1979)
David Cronenberg isbest known for his later work, movies such asThe Fly(1986) orThe Dead Zone(1983). However, his work from the 1970s also deserves attention. When mysterious murders start happening, the person responsible might be someone nobody else would ever suspect.
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The movie will keep its audience guessing and will hook them right at the beginning.The Broodcreates an intense atmosphere of growing fear and terror, and its final plot twist is something that will cement the story firmly in the minds of most people who watch it.
1The Troops & Aliens (1979)
The viewers who want to try out a non-American science fiction movieshould pay attention to this French comedy. Even though it’s a part of a series, it mostly works as a stand-alone too, and it’s the only movie from the series that contains science fiction elements.
Louis de Funès plays the policeman Cruchot, who discovers that aliens have invaded Saint-Tropez, and it’s up to him and his colleagues (who don’t always believe him) to stop them. The movie contains a lot of humorous scenes and even though the special effects didn’t stand the test of time, the most important aspects of the movie - the comedy and the actors - work even today.
