1970's SCI-FI FAVOURITES.

The 1970's was a decade when the science-fiction movie genre really came into its own. Although fewer sci-fi pictures were produced in these years than in either the 50's or 60's, it was a decade which spawned several of the off-beat sci-fi pictures which are now recognised as classics by movie fans around the world. This popularity was undoubtedly fed by the U.S. going to the Moon in real-life from 1969, and sci-fi fans could live out their fantasies both by watching news of the Moon trips on TV and by going to any of the many sci-fi offerings in the cinemas during that time. Whether the two intentionally occured simultaneously is anyone's guess, but it would have been a logical move by the powers-that-be to arrange it that way. Greater public awareness and interest in all things scientifically spacey would mean that there would have been more public acceptance of the great costs associated with the space programme. I have no proof of this, of course, but it seems to me to be a very convenient co-incidence.

Of course, science-fiction as a genre covers more than just space pictures, but these are the movies which I tend to stick to most in my sci-fi viewing; they hold more fascination for me than monster movies or pictures about brains being transplanted. The decade of the 1970's gave us many of the space blockbusters that are now part of science-fiction history. It is hard to pick a forerunner between such classics as "Star Wars", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", the "Planet of The Apes" sequels, "Star Trek : The Motion Picture", "Alien", etc, etc. As well as these popular pictures, the 70's also offerred up several flops, most of whose titles are not even uttered nowadays by the aficionado's of sci-fi cinema.

The movies which I have listed below are those which I consider to be the better ones of those made in the decade, so therefore some other well-known pictures from the time may not appear, and I have ignored the dreadfuls, (sorry if you are one of those who likes the bad sci-fi's for their corny factors). I have also included the odd non-space movie if they come up to scratch and are entertaining. You will see that I have also included a star rating on each picture. This reflects how well made, enjoyable, and entertaining I personally think that the movie is in comparison to others. It is a personal view, but it may help you to decide whether or not a movie is worth seeing.

Some of the movies may not be available on DVD, so in those cases I have listed the VHS version instead. Also, many of the pictures will be available in several versions, such as widescreen, blue-ray, Director's cuts, collector's editions, etc. In such cases I have included a note in the movie description that "Other" versions are available.

I hope that you will gain something from this lens, and you will leave your comments below. Thanks and enjoy !

Note: For science-fiction movies from other decades please see these sister lenses -

1950's Sci-fi movies

Sci-fi movies of the 1960's

Sci-fi's of the 80's.

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