Reader Top Ten: The Greatest Science Fiction Films of the 1970s: Le0pard 13 at It Rains, You Get Wet

Le0pard13, the great blogger at It Rains, YouGet Wet, has written a wonderful top ten list, and please read the entire post, which is replete with illustrations and brilliant explanations.

In the meantime, here is his list:

10. Rollerball (1975)

09. Phase IV (1974)

08. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

07. Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)

06. Time After Time (1979)

05. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

04. The Andromeda Strain (1971)

03. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

02. Star Wars (1977)

01. Alien (1979)

There are a bunch of first-time titles on this list, including Rollerball, Phase IV, Colossus, and Time After Time.  All are superb films, and ones that have not, necessarily, gotten their fair shake. 

Rollerball (1975) drew terrible reviews at the time, for instance, but today seems like an absolutely prophetic film about bread and circuses being used to distract the masses while corporations run roughshod over society. 

Phase IV, meanwhile, has the awesome Lynne Frederick in it.  She also starred in No Blade of Grass (1970) -- one of my selections for the top ten of the 1970s -- and had a guest shot on Space: 1999 (“A Matter of Balance.”) Saul Bass directed Phase IV, and the photography throughout the film is absolutely astonishing.  Some of the compositions showcasing the determination and “unity” of the ants remain aw-dropping, even today.

The thing that always gets me about Colossus: The Forbin Project is that, under the surface, it seems to be about man’s ability to anthropomorphize anything, even machines.  From a certain point of view, after all, Colossus is only fulfilling his programming – from the U.S. President – to ensure world peace.  But because Colossus does so in a way that humans consider terrifying, he becomes a kind of “monster.”  In fact, he is still serving us, after a fashion, we just don’t like how he has chosen to do so!

Great list, my friend!