Reader Top Ten Greatest Science Fiction Films of the 1970s: Jason Shepherd

Friend and reader Jason Shepherd gives us our first Reader Top Ten for Sunday.  Vis-à-vis the top ten best science fiction films of the 1970s, Jason writes:

“1) Star Wars - This is my favorite movie.

A month or so ago, my wife asked me why Star Wars was such a big deal for me. I thought about it and came up with a few different answers.

- I identify very strongly with these characters. Over the years, I've been the naive kid with unrealized potential, the smug outsider, the true believer in causes... now I find myself drifting into the wizened mentor role. I love Star Wars because I've lived it.

- The movie itself is a marvel. People used to make a big deal about its special effects, but the movie is a masterpiece of editing, music, production value. It flies by so rapidly, but it never feels rushed.

- Perhaps most importantly.... Star Wars came out when I was three, so I spent the majority of my childhood playing with Star Wars action figures. In my mind, I created stories for the heroes that were as exciting and valid and canon as anything that appeared in the comics or novels or the next movies. I was invested in that universe…and part of me still is.

2) Alien - Just as Star Wars had a major influence on science fiction, Alien was a huge milestone in cinematic horror. The movie is a masterpiece of pacing and acting, and features one of the most iconic monsters ever.

3) Conquest of the Planet of the Apes - The original Planet of the Apes will always be the pinnacle of that series, but Conquest is a close second in my book. Watching Roddy McDowell's Caesar progress from naive innocent to fire-eyed revolutionary is always epic. I've watched the film in both its theatrical and restored versions, and I still feel chills when I hear: "Tonight... we have seen the birth... of THE PLANET OF THE APES!!"

4) Star Trek: The Motion Picture - I love the 1970s-ness of this movie: the cool, clean design of the ships and sets and costumes, tied into a distinctly New Age philosophy that feels like a linear descendant of the Original Series' boisterous optimism. It's not like any of the other Star Trek movies, and I love it for that.

5) Superman: The Movie - The best comic book superhero movie ever. Superman: The Movie perfectly captures the world of Superman, with all its grandeur and innocence and outrageousness. In the center of it all is Christopher Reeve, playing the definitive Superman. If there could really be a Superman in the real world, I would want him to be Christopher Reeve.

6) The Andromeda Strain - I love how the emphasis is on the science instead of the fiction in The Andromeda Strain. Michael Crichton and Robert Wise take a fantastic concept and play it out in very realistic terms. The scientists look like scientists instead of actors or models, the sets look real, and the suspense is awesome.

7) The Black Hole - Is there a film in 1970s sci-fi cinema that generates stronger opinions? The Black Hole is one of those movies you either love or hate -- I never encounter a sci-fi fan who doesn't fall into one of those extremes.  Well, I fall firmly into the "love it" category. The Black Hole combines solid acting, gorgeous special effects (when I picture a black hole in my head, I see the spinning blue disk from this movie) and steadily mounting suspense and foreboding... 'tis awesome.

8) Westworld - Michael Crichton would famously return to the concept of an exotic amusement park gone fatally wrong, but Westworld is a fantastic introduction to that concept. I particularly like how average guy Richard Benjamin is the one who gets to face down Yul Brynner's unstoppable robot gunslinger.... I love rooting for the Everyman.

9) The Omega Man - Charlton Heston vs. Vampires... that's all I need to hear. Seriously, though, I love how The Omega Man uses Heston's rock-solid heroic presence as its anchor. The movie is far from perfect, but what does work, works because of Heston.

10) Young Frankenstein - Maybe it's not strictly science fiction, but Young Frankenstein is a classic. Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder were firing on all cylinders in a movie that both lampoons and celebrates the classic Universal horror films. Always hilarious, and so darned quotable!

Jason: This is a fantastic list, and one brilliantly-explained.  I love your explanation for Star Wars, for example.  I saw the film when I was seven years old, and like you, I have come to see it (and the characters in it) very differently over the years.  Han Solo used to be my hero and favorite, and these days, I am endlessly intrigued by Obi-Wan Kenobi.  I watched Star Wars again last weekend with my seven year old son, Joel  -- the circle is now complete -- and the film holds up just beautifully.   It’s a masterpiece, and the people who don’t get it are like the people who don’t get John Carpenter’s Halloween.  Somehow, both those films so revolutionized their respective genres that movie-goers today think they are just imitations when in fact they are dynamic innovators.

I also love The Black Hole. I rate it 3.5 stars (out of 4) in my Science Fiction and Fantasy Films of the 1970s book.  There are some questionable moments, to be certain, but this is one of the creepiest kid’s movies ever made, and it heads into cerebral 2001: A Space Odyssey territory with its final scene.  I love the film, warts and all.