Reader Top Ten Greatest Science Fiction Films of the 1970s: Josh McCormack

My friend and reader Josh McCormack presents his list of top ten greatest science fiction films of the 1970s next.

Josh writes:

“10. King Kong - Not the best "Kong" film. Hell, not even the best remake. But, thanks to my father showing it to me at a young age, it gives me fond memories

9. Dark Star - John Carpenter's directorial debut grows on you the more you watch it. It has a unique sense of humor, and the special effects are poor, but you can still see the immense effort put into all of them.

8. Escape from the Planet of the Apes - A very entertaining (and witty) entry in the "Apes" saga. But it also contains one of the most depressing endings in science fiction cinema.

7. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes - Not only the most underrated. "Apes" film, but one of the most underrated movies of all time. A beautiful, dystopian, design (matching the likes of "A Clockwork Orange" and "The Road Warrior"), Roddy McDowall's greatest performance, and a chilling, destructive, finale makes this the best of the sequels.

6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Though I still think "E.T." is Spielberg's crowning Sci fi achievement, this film is a masterpiece in its own right. It also features one of the best John Williams' scores EVER!

5.Westworld –A s a nine year old boy, this was the only film in which I felt such an odd mixture of wanting for there to be a place like this and thanking god it doesn't exist. It also kind of felt like an odd introduction into slasher movies. Yul Brynner's robotic 'Gunslinger' acts like a Michael Myers or Leatherface at times.

4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Yes, there was indeed a time when remakes were just as good, if not better than the originals. This 1978 Philip Kaufman remake of the '56 classic,deserves just as much praise. Great performances, odd atmosphere, and a terrifying twist ending make it one of the greatest remakes of all time.

3. Alien - Five sequels, a prequel(?), and countless rip offs, yet Hollywood can never quite match the near-perfection of Ridley Scott's 1979 Sci fi horror masterpiece. Led by a strong, believable cast, HR Giger's brilliant creature design, and a powerful score from Jerry Goldsmith makes this the gold standard of Science fiction/ horror crossovers.

2.Superman:The Movie - No matter how many dark sub plots, distracting explosions, and "Avatar" style dragons Zack Snyder throws at me, he'll never make me forget how much I love Richard Donner's lovely, warm, adventurous, 1978 epic. Christopher Reeve IS The Man of Steel. I don't know what else to say. His performance is almost too great to put into words. But luckily, the rest of the cast does fantastic as well. It's a loving, caring, but never boring super hero film, that more super hero flicks need to take notes from. Try all you want, but no one can replace this gem.

1.Star Wars -Well...duh. It's the movie that made me love film. I was raised with it. The film, and the rest of the franchise is embedded in my DNA. It's the, very hard to find, perfect film (Even though, the follow up is better). Without "Star Wars" I don't know what I'd do, it's that important.

Honorable Mention- Godzilla vs. Megalon: A thought provoking, and satirical look at...NAH! I'm just kidding. It's an extremely stupid Godzilla movie that happens to be my favorite of the franchise and a guilty pleasure. It's final fight, is stupid, non-stop, fun. Why you be hatin' Mr. Muir?!?!

Hi Josh, I love your list!  I love Megalon as a monster (or my son would kill me…), I just don’t love Godzilla vs. Megalon overall as a movie.  My problem with it is that even though it is a lot of fun, Godzilla only puts in a cameo appearance, and Jet Jaguar does all the heavy lifting.

But otherwise, I just want to say that it warms my heart to see King Kong (1976) on this list.  I think all my readers know that I consider it a great film, and one with a rich subtext about the Energy Crisis of the decade. It’s a fun film to hate on, but I prefer it (immensely) to the 2005 remake which was, approximately, about nothing.

I also love that your list includes Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, also my favorite of all the apes sequels. It’s a radical, hard-core, unapologetic film about how social change can, sometimes, only come through violence.  There’s nothing easy or cheap about the film, and you are so right to tag the visuals.  The film really seems to be taking place in a future city…one with lots of shopping venues.

Brilliant list!