50 Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 1970s
by danelon-andre | created - 10 Jul 2015 | updated - 12 Jul 2015 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Laserblast (1978)
PG | 85 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A teenager stumbles upon an alien weapon, which transforms him into a grotesque killer.
Director: Michael Rae | Stars: Kim Milford, Cheryl Smith, Gianni Russo, Ron Masak
Votes: 6,705
2. The Incredible Melting Man (1977)
R | 86 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
An astronaut is transformed into a murderous gelatinous mass after returning from an ill-fated space voyage.
Director: William Sachs | Stars: Alex Rebar, Burr DeBenning, Myron Healey, Michael Alldredge
Votes: 5,257
3. Starcrash (1978)
PG | 92 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An outlaw smuggler and her alien companion are recruited by the Emperor of the Galaxy to rescue his son and destroy a secret weapon by the evil Count Zarth Arn.
Director: Luigi Cozzi | Stars: Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, Christopher Plummer, David Hasselhoff
Votes: 7,965
4. Welcome to Blood City (1977)
96 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A group of people find themselves as slaves in what looks like a Wild West town, but with no memory of who they are or how they got there. In this town, people advance through killing ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Sasdy | Stars: Jack Palance, Keir Dullea, Samantha Eggar, Barry Morse
Votes: 542
5. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
G | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission searches for the only survivor of the previous expedition. He discovers a planet ruled by apes and an underground city run by telepathic humans.
Director: Ted Post | Stars: James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison
Votes: 51,427 | Gross: $19.00M
6. Deathsport (1978)
R | 82 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Futuristic Science Fiction about a sport to the death, using "destructocycles".
Directors: Allan Arkush, Nicholas Niciphor, Roger Corman | Stars: David Carradine, Claudia Jennings, Richard Lynch, William Smithers
Votes: 2,460
7. Message from Space (1978)
PG | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An embattled planet, which is on the edge of doom, sends an S.O.S. and an intergalactic team comes to its rescue.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Vic Morrow, Shin'ichi Chiba, Philip Casnoff, Peggy Lee Brennan
Votes: 1,647
8. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979–1981)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A 20th-century astronaut emerges out of 500 years of suspended animation into a future time to become Earth's greatest hero.
Stars: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Felix Silla, Mel Blanc
Votes: 10,399
9. Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
G | 98 min | Action, Sci-Fi
The world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a U.S. spacecraft. They become the toast of society, but one man believes them to be a threat to the human race.
Director: Don Taylor | Stars: Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy
Votes: 39,222 | Gross: $12.30M
10. Damnation Alley (1977)
PG | 91 min | Sci-Fi
In a post-apocalyptic world, a group of survivors travel and find other settlements in huge custom designed all terrain vehicles.
Director: Jack Smight | Stars: Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Dominique Sanda, Paul Winfield
Votes: 5,874 | Gross: $8.72M
11. Futureworld (1976)
PG | 108 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Upon uncovering the dirty secret of futuristic theme-park Futureworld, an ex-employee is killed after he tips off two other reporters who decide to do an undercover investigation.
Director: Richard T. Heffron | Stars: Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill, Yul Brynner
Votes: 11,787 | Gross: $8.72M
12. Wizards (1977)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
On a post-apocalyptic Earth, a wizard and his faire folk comrades fight an evil wizard who's using technology in his bid for conquest.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Bob Holt, Jesse Welles, Richard Romanus, David Proval
Votes: 13,011 | Gross: $9.00M
13. Hardware Wars (1978)
Not Rated | 13 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
This is a short parody of the movie Star Wars.
Director: Ernie Fosselius | Stars: Frank Robertson, Scott Mathews, Jeff Hale, Artie Deco
Votes: 2,068 | Gross: $0.50M
14. Battlestar Galactica (1978)
PG | 148 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Mankind, the last major fighter carrier leads a makeshift fugitive fleet on a desperate search for the legendary planet Earth.
Directors: Richard A. Colla, Alan J. Levi | Stars: Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, Herbert Jefferson Jr.
Votes: 10,765
15. The Omega Man (1971)
PG | 98 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Dr Robert Neville has developed an experimental vaccine which makes him the only immune survivor of a biological catastrophe. A gang of homicidal mutants blame science for their condition and attempt to kill him.
Director: Boris Sagal | Stars: Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash, Paul Koslo
Votes: 34,076 | Gross: $8.72M
16. Crimes of the Future (1970)
Not Rated | 63 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
In a dystopic world where a plague is killing off pubescent human females, an esoteric researcher seeks his missing mentor while trying to retain morality in the sex-obsessed society he lives in.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Ronald Mlodzik, Jon Lidolt, Tania Zolty, Paul Mulholland
Votes: 3,050
17. The Terminal Man (1974)
PG | 104 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Hoping to cure his violent seizures, a man agrees to a series of experimental microcomputers inserted into his brain but inadvertently discovers that violence now triggers a pleasurable response to his brain.
Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat
Votes: 2,553 | Gross: $0.22M
18. The Black Hole (1979)
PG | 98 min | Action, Sci-Fi
A research vessel finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist, on the edge of a black hole.
Director: Gary Nelson | Stars: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms
Votes: 27,996
19. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
PG | 88 min | Action, Sci-Fi
In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity.
Director: J. Lee Thompson | Stars: Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban, Natalie Trundy
Votes: 35,944 | Gross: $9.81M
20. Time After Time (1979)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner, Charles Cioffi
Votes: 20,644
21. Dark Star (1974)
G | 83 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
In the far reaches of space, a small crew, 20 years into their solitary mission, find things beginning to go hilariously wrong.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Dan O'Bannon, Dre Pahich, Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm
Votes: 27,260
22. Death Race 2000 (1975)
R | 80 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
In a dystopian future, a cross country automobile race requires contestants to run down innocent pedestrians to gain points that are tallied based on each kill's brutality.
Director: Paul Bartel | Stars: David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone, Simone Griffeth, Mary Woronov
Votes: 30,910 | Gross: $8.00M
23. Sleeper (1973)
PG | 89 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
A nerdish store owner is revived out of cryostasis into a future world to fight an oppressive government.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck, Mary Gregory
Votes: 44,829 | Gross: $2.91M
24. Logan's Run (1976)
PG | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A police officer in the future uncovers the deadly secret behind a society that worships youth.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne
Votes: 61,051 | Gross: $25.00M
25. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
G | 143 min | Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi
When an alien spacecraft of enormous power is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk resumes command of the overhauled USS Enterprise in order to intercept it.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan
Votes: 96,630 | Gross: $82.26M
26. Demon Seed (1977)
Approved | 94 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A scientist creates Proteus--an organic super computer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator's wife.
Director: Donald Cammell | Stars: Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham, Berry Kroeger
Votes: 10,008
27. Soylent Green (1973)
PG | 97 min | Crime, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A nightmarish futuristic fantasy about the controlling power of big corporations and an innocent cop who stumbles on the truth.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors
Votes: 70,581 | Gross: $7.92M
28. The Brood (1979)
R | 92 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle, Henry Beckman
Votes: 34,324
29. Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Billy Pilgrim has mysteriously become unstuck in time. He goes on an uncontrollable trip back and forth from his birth in New York to life on a distant planet and back again to the horrors of the 1945 fire-bombing of Dresden.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche, Sharon Gans
Votes: 13,911 | Gross: $0.57M
30. Fantastic Planet (1973)
PG | 72 min | Animation, Sci-Fi
On a faraway planet where blue giants rule, oppressed humanoids rebel against their machine-like leaders.
Director: René Laloux | Stars: Barry Bostwick, Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin, Jean Topart
Votes: 36,842 | Gross: $0.19M
31. Superman (1978)
PG | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando
Votes: 187,566 | Gross: $134.22M
32. God Told Me To (1976)
R | 91 min | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi
A New York detective investigates a series of murders committed by random New Yorkers who claim that "God told them to."
Director: Larry Cohen | Stars: Tony Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis, Sylvia Sidney
Votes: 6,552
33. THX 1138 (1971)
R | 86 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Don Pedro Colley, Maggie McOmie
Votes: 54,621 | Gross: $2.44M
34. Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
M | 100 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Thinking this will prevent war, the US government gives an impenetrable supercomputer total control over launching nuclear missiles. But what the computer does with the power is unimaginable to its creators.
Director: Joseph Sargent | Stars: Eric Braeden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsent, William Schallert
Votes: 10,157
35. Stalker (1979)
Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko
Votes: 144,797 | Gross: $0.23M
36. A Boy and His Dog (1975)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
A young man and his telepathic dog wander a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Director: L.Q. Jones | Stars: Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Susanne Benton, Tim McIntire
Votes: 19,223 | Gross: $6.90M
37. Mad Max (1979)
R | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley
Votes: 222,433 | Gross: $8.75M
38. The Andromeda Strain (1971)
G | 131 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Top scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what killed the citizens of a small town and how the deadly contagion can be stopped.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: James Olson, Arthur Hill, David Wayne, Kate Reid
Votes: 40,449 | Gross: $3.42M
39. Rollerball (1975)
Approved | 125 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Sport
In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck
Votes: 29,305 | Gross: $30.00M
40. Westworld (1973)
PG | 88 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A robot malfunction creates havoc and terror for unsuspecting vacationers at a futuristic, adult-themed amusement park.
Director: Michael Crichton | Stars: Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, Norman Bartold
Votes: 62,981 | Gross: $16.06M
41. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
PG | 115 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.
Director: Philip Kaufman | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 69,878 | Gross: $24.95M
42. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
PG | 138 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
Roy Neary, an Indiana electric lineman, finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon
Votes: 216,933 | Gross: $132.09M
43. Phase IV (1974)
PG | 84 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Suddenly, desert ants form a group intelligence and wage war on the humans. It's up to a couple of scientists and a girl to stop them
Director: Saul Bass | Stars: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford
Votes: 9,577
44. Silent Running (1972)
G | 89 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft.
Director: Douglas Trumbull | Stars: Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint
Votes: 31,473 | Gross: $0.69M
45. Zardoz (1974)
R | 105 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
In the late 23rd century, a savage trained only to kill finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity's achievements.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman, John Alderton
Votes: 24,563 | Gross: $0.07M
46. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness
Votes: 1,449,885 | Gross: $322.74M
47. Solaris (1972)
PG | 167 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetskiy
Votes: 98,284
48. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi
In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke
Votes: 881,468 | Gross: $6.21M
49. The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
R | 139 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
An alien must pose as a human to save his dying planet, but a woman and greed of other men create complications.
Director: Nicolas Roeg | Stars: David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark, Buck Henry
Votes: 28,678 | Gross: $0.10M
50. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 951,098 | Gross: $78.90M
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