70s Sci Fi Sleepers

[Dannyalcatraz]

I just watched this video:

Of the 10 films mentioned, I’ve seen all except Colossus and Quintet- the first & last ones mentioned. (And of course, I can think of a few more…)

I have to say that I agree with the maker(s) of the video: all of these films are worth the time to watch. There’s good storytelling. They’re classics of sci-fi.

 

[Ryujin]

Of all of those, "Quintet" is the only one that I've never seen. "Colossus" would frequently run on WKBW 7, in Buffalo, on their Sunday afternoon movie in the mid to late '70s. Another gem, that was serious freakout material, was "Phase IV." It was also a mid to late '70s Sunday afternoon frequent flyer, plus on late night TV in the '80s.

 

[VashVet]

I’ve seen about half of those but heard of all of them. It definitely underscores how much Star Wars changed cinema at that time, but by the same token I feel like there was a general exhaustion with the bleak, downbeat, dystopian and paranoia tinged movies of the 70s. Vietnam was ending and then was over, Nixon had left office, and people wanted something exciting and more upbeat.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Of the 10 films mentioned, I’ve seen all except Colossus and Quintet- the first & last ones mentioned.

Same. I've never even heard of Quintet!

I was surprised Phase IV was not on the list - I think it's a rather more impressive vision than a couple of ones on the list, which are kinda just cheesy (naming no names!).

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

I'm not watching a video. What are the movies?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm not watching a video. What are the movies?

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
Silent Running (1972)
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
Dark Star (1974)
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Demon Seed (1977)
Capricorn One (1977)
Quintet (1979)

 

[Deset Gled]

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
Silent Running (1972)
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
Dark Star (1974)
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Demon Seed (1977)
Capricorn One (1977)
Quintet (1979)

My favorites from this list are Dark Star and Andromeda Strain. Absolute classics. But I'll quibble with it a little.

For my taste, the first that I would take off is Capricorn One. I actually like this movie. It's fun and gets bonus points for a young Sam Waterson. But I can't really call it sci-fi. It's a political thriller that happens to feature NASA as the background political branch. I'd replace it with Space Battleship Yamato.

The other one I'd argue with is Silent Running. First, I don't think it's much of a "sleeper", as I've seen on on lots of sci-fi movie lists. And second, I've always felt it's a bit overrated. A bit too preachy, a little too campy, and not hard enough on the science for the message it's trying for. Not bad, but also not great. I'd replace it with Fantastic Planet.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Same. I've never even heard of Quintet!

I was surprised Phase IV was not on the list - I think it's a rather more impressive vision than a couple of ones on the list, which are kinda just cheesy (naming no names!).

Phase IV only goes full SF at the end, of which there are at least two versions, one more grounded and one wildly fantastic. But Capricorn One isn't really SF at all, it's a conspiracy theory thriller. I'm not sure about the "forgotten" status of some of these - Andromeda Strain and Silent Running seem to be mentioned fairly regularly.