Reader Top Ten Greatest Science Fiction Films of the 1970s: The Sci-Fi Fanatic

Friend and blogger extraordinaire, The Sci-Fi Fanatic, Gordon Roberts, starts off our Friday with a great list of his top ten science fiction films of the 1970s.

Gordon writes:

“Great decade and I love that you really limited the scope of this list John.   Thank you.  Clearly, no pretensions here. I'm not venturing into high art in some cases but just insanely incredible, fun art of the classic science fiction variety and no less convincing in their sincerity.

10. Godzilla Vs. Hedora (a.k.a. Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster) (1971). Director: Yoshimitsu Banno. The only film to be directed by Banno on a Godzilla feature not to be directed by Ishiro Honda or apprentice Jun Fukuda from the Showa period of films. Underrated and brilliant good fun.

9. Space Amoeba (a.k.a. Yog Monster From Space) (1970). Director: Ishiro Honda. 

He steps away from his baby Godzilla and comes up with a good, old-fashioned Toho, fantasy monster romp. The famous Akira Kubo and Kenji Sahara are in the cast and it's a blast. Played often in heavy rotation on Saturday Creature Double Feature out of Boston, MA in the 1970s. The 1960s and 1970s were a rich period for Toho and these two aforementioned pictures are proof of that.

8. Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971). Director: Don Taylor. 

A film centered on two of my favorite characters from the franchise. The late, great Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter shine. With Ricardo Montalban thrown in for good measure, honestly, you can't go wrong with this exceptional installment in the series.

7. Terror Of Mechagodzilla (1975). Director: Ishiro Honda. 

The final installment for the Godzilla Showa period sees the return of Honda on directing shores for his final outing for the Big G. Akihiko Hirata also appears. Hirata and Honda collaborated on the classic Gojira (1954). To be clear that I'm not completely in the tank for Toho and Godzilla pictures several are conspicuously absent from my list simply because they are fun if not classic. Godzilla Vs. Megalon, Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla Vs. Gigan and even Gamera Vs. Zigra (1971) and Gamera Vs. Jiger (1970) do not make my list. So there.

6. The Omega Man (1971). Director: Boris Sagal. 

The father of Sons Of Anarchy's Katey Sagal directs one of those classic dystopian tales of apocalypse and implements the mood and decay of the 1970s era to great effect. There's a terrific vibe throughout the picture based on Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. I still like it better than the Will Smith vehicle of the same name.

5. The Land That Time Forgot (1975). Director: Kevin Connor. 

A fantastic and fun film based on the terrific work of American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950). The B-movie doesn't get more classic than this science fiction fantasy. Wonderful stuff. At The Earth's Core (1976) and The People That Time Forgot (1977) are good but not this good. I also positively adore Connor's Warlords Of Atlantis (1978) a picture drawn very much fromt he same mold as The Land That Time Forgot.

4. The Island Of Dr. Moreau (1977). Director: Don Taylor. 

Taylor makes my list twice. This is just a terrifically entertaining picture starring Michael York (Logan's Run) and based on the 1896 novel by H.G. Wells. It's a stunning morality tale and something remarkably different from other science fiction pictures of the period. I'm also a fan of the underappreciated 1996 adaptation from the late John Frankenheimer.

3. Star Wars. Director: George Lucas.

Along with Planet Of The  Apes, such backyard play was had. Nuff said.

2. Alien (1979). Director: Ridley Scott. 

The start of a beautiful love affair with Scott and the alien franchise. Like David Bowie sang, I was Loving The Alien.

1.Space Battleship Yamato (1977). Director: Toshio Masuda.

Space Battleship Yamato, the series, and Tatsunoko's Gatchaman were influential on my love of all things anime. Not only was Starblazers (the American version of Space Battleship Yamato) terrific, but this film was a standout highlight in retrospect putting it all together. Masuda and Leiji Matsumoto's Farewell To Space Battleship Yamato: In The Name Of Love (1978) is another winner along with the third in the trilogy, Be Forever Yamato (1979). The original picture actually outsold Star Wars in Japan. Just saying.

I actually just ran out of room. What a decade! But I wish I had room for Jack Smight's Damnation Alley (1977), Jun Fukuda and Toho's fun The War In Space (1977), Kinji Fukasaku's Message from Space (1978), The Spy Who Loved Me (sort of sci-fi) (1977), Moonraker (1979), Mad Max (1979) and The Black Hole (1979) - all pictures I just love. Heck I even loved those Witch Mountain films.

What a period of filmmaking in science fiction!

Honestly, my pictures may not be classic in the purest artistic sense, but for me these were ten of the most powerful and influential films in my young life. I'm going against the grain here and well, these were films I had such admiration for as a kid. They may not be perfect but they were classics to me.  I stand by them.”

Gordon:  First of all, I love any list which name-checks Katey Sagal and Sons of Anarchy. 

My wife and I are addicted to that show: it is fricking amazing, and deserves the adjective “Shakespearean.” The entire scenario seems very Hamlet, with Jax in the role of the prince, Gemma as Gertrude, and Clay as Claudius, the usurper on the throne.  We are just about finishing-up season two, and binge watching the whole run.  I used to think Mad Men was the best series on TV, and had no idea what I was missing still I was introduced to SAMCRO.

Okay, back to Sci-Fi: Your list is amazing.

 My favorite Godzilla film -- Godzilla vs. Hedorah -- made the list, which is great.  It’s right in step with its era (and films like No Blade of Grass, or Z.P.G.) in that it makes a strong environmental argument at the same time that it tells a great story, and features a great villain. 

I’m also thrilled to see one of my very first movie loves, The Land that Time Forgot, make the cut.  It’s an underrated film, and a great one.  

Also, I have an admiration for The War in Space (1977), a film I watched for the first time recently (while writing my book), and have come to admire for its qualities as a pastiche.