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.

 

[jian]

Quintet isn’t that sci-fi either - it’s post apocalyptic but you could transplant it to any number of historical settings (such as any Gold Rush) and it’d work fine.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Quintet isn’t that sci-fi either - it’s post apocalyptic but you could transplant it to any number of historical settings (such as any Gold Rush) and it’d work fine.

I mean, it is (as I understand it, correct me if I'm wrong) speculative fiction with a fictional setting and a fictional disaster and fictional game, which are based in science/science-like approaches rather than fantasy, if that's not science fiction, we're getting into very dangerous waters where we have to start "No true Scotsman"-ing a whole bunch of less extreme SF. The "you could transplant it to another setting and remove the SF elements and tell basically the same story" thing is true of like, a huge amount of SF, not like, oh I don't know, Star Wars and maybe the majority of episodes of Star Trek.

Whereas it is fair to say Capricorn One isn't sci-fi, because, well, there's no science-fiction, it's just a paranoid conspiracy thriller. I think it fits into the same vibe as a lot of this and appeals to the same people/interests so it's fine to include it with them though.

Phase IV only goes full SF at the end, of which there are at least two versions, one more grounded and one wildly fantastic.

Oh my god that explains why I was really confused the second time I watched it because the ending was way less cool than I remembered but I didn't remember specifics. I must have seen the grounded version the second time!

I'd replace it with Space Battleship Yamato.

Come on, you can't take Silent Running off and then just put that on, because frankly, way more people know Space Battleship Yamato, especially people under 40, than Silent Running. Not that Silent Running is a "sleeper", you're right to say it's not, but neither is Yamato.

Not bad, but also not great. I'd replace it with Fantastic Planet.

However this is a a good suggestion.

I might also offer Planet of the Vampires - I think it's pretty overlooked/forgotten outside of very aesthetic spheres, and it absolutely BLEW MY MIND when I saw it in 2000-ish, because it was made in 1965, but had aesthetics which still looker newer and cooler than 2000s-era SF in a lot of ways! It isn't a great movie but it is a fantastic one to look at.