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1970'/early 80's science fiction films

Started by Mr_Simnock, February 11, 2014, 01:28:32 AM

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Mr_Simnock

 1970's slash early 1980's science fiction films were some of the best for me because of the feel and atmosphere about them. Due to lack of CGI interesting locations and sets were constructed usually out of next door to fuck all but more often than not they pulled it off. I'm primarily thinking of films like Silent Running, The Andromeda Strain and even Sleeper. Has anyone seen the Phase IV or Demon Seed? I haven't watched many movies for a while so this could be a good way of getting back into trying to rent obscure films on Blu ray. Anyone have any suggestions?











Glebe

I recall watching The Man Who Fell to Earth some years ago, and the creepy scene where he's disturbed in the bathroom with his yellow eyes suddenly striking me as a hazy childhood 'hide behind the couch' moment. I'm still not certain I did see it as a nipper, but it seemed really familiar.

Demon Seed is bloody creepy, particularly the cruel, casual beheading. The Andromeda Strain is pretty good, as I recall... one of those smart, plausible SF films that builds tension without the use of special effects.

I'd love to see stuff similar to The Quiet Earth, if anyone has any recommendations.

zomgmouse

I've not seen or read The Andromeda Strain, but I have seen two of the films that Michael Crichton wrote and directed in this period: Westworld and Looker. They both have terrific concepts but suffer from excruciating execution. The technologies and musings in both are superb but unfortunately the films themselves are very flawed. Still worth seeking out, I'd say, especially the former.







zomgmouse

I'm also terribly fond of Rollerball. It does that whole "corporations use a violent sport as a means of distracting the audience from the horrors of reality and corporations" thing very well.






Famous Mortimer

Lots of interesting ones in foreign - Solaris is my favourite of the lot though.

BlodwynPig


zomgmouse

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on February 11, 2014, 08:19:43 AM
Lots of interesting ones in foreign - Solaris is my favourite of the lot though.
World on a Wire would count. I don't know how much I liked it given how trite the twist was (
Spoiler alert
it's a film about simulated universes, obviously he's going to find out he's in a simulated universe
[close]
) but it still looked fantastic. Better than the book, too.

Blumf

Scanners is certainly worthy of this thread


Would Repo Man count? It's not the clean cut, sterile, corp. paranoia type that a lot of films from the era have though.


Speaking of sterile corps. and paranoia, a brilliant 70/80s sci-fi film from 2010, Beyond the Black Rainbow:



And seeing as I'm playing with period, I'll chuck in Fahrenheit 451 as I love the atmosphere it induces and think it prefigures a lot of stuff, like the above mentioned Rollerball



zomgmouse

Quote from: Blumf on February 11, 2014, 11:12:49 AM
Scanners is certainly worthy of this thread



If we're talking Scanners, we gotta talk Videodrome.








zomgmouse

Ooh, and as long as we're invoking Douglas Trumbull with Silent Running, let us not forget his other feature film, Brainstorm, aka Natalie Wood's last film before she was pushed off a boat.





Had the fortune of seeing this in a cinema. The aspect ratio transitions were glorious.

billtheburger

Massive fan of the 70s science fiction.
I accidentally received the wrong Phase IV with that Dean guy from the 90s Superman series, so haven't seen the proper one. I think it's on Youtube, too.

Notable favorites not yet discussed include;
Soylent Green,
THX 1138,
A Boy and His Dog,
Zardoz,
Death Race 2000.

great_badir

Blade Runner, obviously.

Less obviously, Liquid Sky is visually amazing (albeit quite dated now - think Sigue Sigue Sputnik) and would fit in this thread.

I'm a huge fan of Outland and, on the subject of Peter Hyams, 2010 is decent as well.

Not keen on it myself, but Footprints on the Moon (with Klaus Kinski) might be up peoples' street.

A Boy and His Dog is a nice little film.

Does Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior count?  I bloody love that film.

Quote from: clingfilm portent on February 11, 2014, 03:10:16 AM
I'd love to see stuff similar to The Quiet Earth, if anyone has any recommendations.

As Time Goes By, if you can find it anywhere, is worth a watch.  It also stars Bruno Lawrence.

Benjaminos

I have a tendency to repeat myself in these threads, and just repeat the same three recommendations over and over.

That said, Colossus: The Forbin Project is a cracker. Artificial intelligence gets put in charge of the US nuclear arsenal, results are much as you'd expect. Quite chilling, really, especially the ending.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/

Blumf


Brundle-Fly



I saw Saturn 3 at the cinema back in 1980 and remember loving it. Not seen it since, does the film still stand up today?  Actually, just the idea of a three hander film starring Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett and Harvey Keitel, directed by Pete 'n Dud's Bedazzled's Stanley Donen  and a John Barry OST must must be a draw already, no?

I see they've remade it with Angelina Jolie.



Bingo Fury

There's a remake of Saturn 3, of all things? Did no one think to call abort-time on it?

biggytitbo

I am baffled as to why Saturn 3 is regarded as a turkey, its a bloody good film, incredibly creepy and it looks great for the its era.


Here's one though, if Star Trek- The Motion Picture was nothing to do with the Star Trek franchise it would be regarded as one of the great sc-fi films. Discuss.


I mean its an austere, cold looking film, but one entirely about ideas. And big, interesting, audacious ideas. Its just a genuinely interesting film, and gets unjustly overlooked because its not really the Star Trek film people either expected or wanted (That was Star Trek 2)

biggytitbo

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on February 11, 2014, 07:21:42 PM


I saw Saturn 3 at the cinema back in 1980 and remember loving it. Not seen it since, does the film still stand up today?  Actually, just the idea of a three hander film starring Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett and Harvey Keitel, directed by Pete 'n Dud's Bedazzled's Stanley Donen  and a John Barry OST must must be a draw already, no?

I see they've remade it with Angelina Jolie.



Won't be the same without a 65 year old man's flabby bottom in it. Could they get Michael to do it I wonder?

Blumf

Quote from: biggytitbo on February 11, 2014, 08:28:28 PM
I am baffled as to why Saturn 3 is regarded as a turkey, its a bloody good film, incredibly creepy and it looks great for the its era.

Me too, what's wrong with it? The SFX we fine, the story neat, and I think I'd rate it as having the scariest robot in a film (Terminator? Poof! Maximilian? Respect, but you ain't no Hector)

10%? Fuck off Rotten Tomatoes! It's a good film ya bast!
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/saturn_3/

zomgmouse

I've been meaning to see Saturn 3 for some time, mostly because it's directed by Stanley Donen.

Some more:

Logan's Run





La planète sauvage









Slaughterhouse-Five


mothman

Some others, I don't know if you'd class them as good, but they're of the age and genre... (links have spoilers!)

Android - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_%28film%29
Futureworld - the sequel to Westworld - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futureworld
Battle Beyond The Stars - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_beyond_the_stars

Brundle-Fly


Brundle-Fly


Glebe

Aside from Star Wars, the other big 70s SF flick is of course Alien, oh and let's not forget A Clockwork Orange and THX 1138 (which admittedly I've never seen). And moving into the next decade, three heavy-hitters from 1982: the aforementioned Blade Runner, ET and The Thing. That's some year for the genre.

zomgmouse

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on February 11, 2014, 11:45:46 PM

Quite brilliant, and one of he greatest OSTs ever!

Definitely. Wikipedia's entry on the composer, Alain Goraguer, reads:

QuoteAlain Goraguer (born 20 August 1931 in Rosny-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis) is a French jazz pianist, sideman of Boris Vian and Serge Gainsbourg, arranger and composer. He reached his creative peak in the 1960s and 1970s.
Judgmental much??

Bad Ambassador

Look at the credits of the Saturn 3 remake poster.

Mark Steels Stockbroker

Quote from: biggytitbo on February 11, 2014, 08:28:28 PM
Here's one though, if Star Trek- The Motion Picture was nothing to do with the Star Trek franchise it would be regarded as one of the great sc-fi films. Discuss.

Yep. They just didn't know what to do with a ST film.

Mark Steels Stockbroker

Battle Beyond The Stars was a poor Star Wars rip-off IIRC. The Last Starfighter (1984) was at least amusing in as much as it used the idea that video-games were a means for aliens to recruit humans as fighter pilots in their war.

The Flash Gordon film was also a bit al over the place, rather like the Star Trek film there's a sense they weren't sure what they were trying to do with it (homage to the original serials? Star Wars rip-off? thoughtful SF? comedy piss-take?) Wasn't there supposed to be a sequel?

Krull was fucking awful, dunno if you want to include it as SF though. It gets a positive write-up in the David Shipman's highly contrary history of SF films (which is negative about Blade Runner, Kubrick, and a lot of 70s stuff, mostly through dislike of the pessimistic edge). You may as well count Legend in that case. Is that now a respected film? It got an absolute kicking when it was released.

phantom_power

The Black Hole is a great film, despite its reputation. Brilliant design, awesome soundtrack and a really unnerving atmosphere.