Reader Top Ten Greatest Science Fiction Films of the 1970s: Cannon

Blogger and reader Cannon presents next his list of the top ten greatest science fiction films of the 1970s.

Cannon writes:

“Once again I’m forced to repeat myself: for me, Star Wars is far more fantasy than science fiction, while Mad Max isn’t really science fiction at all. Otherwise, both would surely make the list.

10. Empire of the Ants / Kingdom of the Spiders

One has giant sized ants that take over people’s minds. The other has regular sized spiders ...and William Shatner.

9. The Terminal Man

The first of three on this list from Crichton. Mike Hodges’ staid direction coupled with George Segal’s eerie, doubled performance makes for an effective slow-burner that predates many a man-machine films with its cautionary tale of modern science wreaking a murderous havoc.

8. The Andromeda Strain

Robert Wise the Great, and his clinically precise approach in crafting one of the finest techno-thrillers to ever grace the medium. Here, there be intelligent characters who actually think their way through a tightly wound narrative. Still possibly the most realistic depiction of alien contact.

7.Coma

Directed by Crichton himself, and surely inspired by Wise (maybe some Hitchcock, too). The behavior of its main protagonist as a woman in a (then) modern medical environment -- the psychological/sociological factors -- is as crucial to the story as is the plot concerning mysterious deaths during anesthesia.

6. The Brood

A rather bizarre horror tale of a woman with the power of parthenogenetic creation. It’s really rather difficult to explain any further without drifting into complicated notions of meta-science therapy and supernatural psychosomatics. It’s Cronenberg, so, you know it’s weird.

5. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Phillip Kaufman’s A-game in the director’s chair (2^nd only to The Right Stuff). I’ve always particularly loved the San Francisco setting, among other. Honestly, it is to the 1956 original what Carpenter’s The Thing is to Hawks’ 1951 version. And that ending...  

4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Ironically, the aliens themselves are the least interesting part; Spielberg does more cheating with sensationalism than genuinely exploring the concept. The real magic at work here is how he uses the premise to illustrate dysfunctions of the Baby-Boomers and contemporary American culture in general; about a regular suburban family man that suffers from slight arrested development, sent for the tailspin of all tailspins.  

3. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

A masterpiece. Hands down, the best cinematic incarnation of Roddenberry’s romantic futurism, and Wise’s best film. No, it wasn’t like the TV show. That was the whole goddamn point: the embrace of something bigger, grander and more epic. To boldly go where no Trek episode had gone before, with class and widescreen majesty. It’s visual, musical; poised and astute. And, no, it doesn’t lack character depth. The crew and its main three are right there, in the thick of a profound, high-concept journey, each fully realized with story-related perspectives that offer insight to VG’rer’s evolution.   

2. Alien

I like the part where a half-naked Ripley slips into her space suit. That whole scene is rife with sexual zigzags: a predatory intruder -- a rapist -- and a woman slipping on "protection".  

1. THX 1138

Lucas has since described this as a comedy of sorts. Watch closely, he’s right. Dry absurdity permeates the film. In any event, it’s abstract, audiovisual storytelling that only Lucas can do.

Cannon: Your list and your explanations never fail to impress.  

Your list is heavy on Michael Crichton – The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, and Coma – and that’s a good thing.  The seventies were the great decade for that author’s work on screen (especially when you add Westworld and The Great Train Robbery to the list).  I love all of those films, and feel that they were trading not merely in conspiracies (a major topic of 1970s films because of the Watergate Scandal), but the cutting-edge of bio-ethics and sociology, as you rightly tag.

Also, I am very happy to read your affirmation of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Your description absolutely nails the film’s virtues.  I also agree with your description of THX-1138.  There's a droll sense of humor under the surface there.  It's a vibe that doesn't become entirely clear until the ending, and the capitulation of the State.