List of science fiction films of the 1970s

A list of science fiction films released in the 1970s. These films include core elements of science fiction, but can cross into other genres. They have been released to a cinema audience by the commercial film industry and are widely distributed with reviews by reputable critics.

During the 1970s, blockbuster science fiction films, which reached a much larger audience than previously, began to make their appearance. The financial success of these movies resulted in heavy investment in special effects by the American film industry, leading to big-budget, heavily marketed science fiction film releases during the 1990s.^[1] Collectively, the science fiction films from the 1970s received 11 Academy Awards, 10 Saturn Awards, six Hugo Awards, three Nebula Awards and two Grammy Awards. Two of these movies, Star Wars (1977) and Superman (1978), were the highest grossing films of their respective years of release.

List

Years

• 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1970
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes	Ted Post	James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans
Colossus: The Forbin Project	Joseph Sargent	Eric Braeden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsent		[nb 1]
Crimes of the Future	David Cronenberg	Ronald Mlodzik, Jon Lidolt, Tania Zolty
Gamera vs. Jiger	Noriaki Yuasa	Tsutomu Takakuwa, Kelly Varis, Katherine Murphy
Gas-s-s-s	Roger Corman	Robert Corff, Elaine Giftos, Bud Cort
I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen	Oldřich Lipský	Jiří Sovák, Jana Brejchová, Lubomír Lipský
The Mind of Mr. Soames	Alan Cooke	Terence Stamp, Robert Vaughn, Nigel Davenport
No Blade of Grass	Cornel Wilde	Nigel Davenport, Jean Wallace, John Hamill
On the Comet	Karel Zeman	Emil Horváth, Magda Vášáryová, František Filipovský
Scream and Scream Again	Gordon Hessler	Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing
Skullduggery	Gordon Douglas	Burt Reynolds, Susan Clark, Roger C. Carmel
Space Amoeba	Ishirō Honda	Akira Kubo, Atsuko Takahashi, Yukiko Kobayashi
Toomorrow	Val Guest	Olivia Newton-John, Benny Thomas, Vic Cooper
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth	Val Guest	Victoria Vetri, Robin Hawdon, Patrick Allen
1971
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
The Andromeda Strain	Robert Wise	James Olson, Arthur Hill, David Wayne
A Clockwork Orange	Stanley Kubrick	Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
Escape from the Planet of the Apes	Don Taylor	Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman
Gamera vs. Zigra	Noriaki Yuasa	Koji Fujiyama, Daigo Inoue, Reiko Kasahara
Glen and Randa	Jim McBride	Steven Curry, Shelley Plimpton, Woody Chambliss
Godzilla vs. Hedorah	Yoshimitsu Banno	Akira Yamauchi, Toshie Kimura, Hiroyuki Kawase
Haytabo	Ulli Lommel	Eddie Constantine, Katrin Schaake, Uschi Obermaier		[2]
The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant	Anthony Lanza	Bruce Dern, Patricia Ann Priest, Casey Kasem
The Million Dollar Duck	Vincent McEveety	Dean Jones, Sandy Duncan, Joe Flynn
The Omega Man	Boris Sagal	Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash
Out of the Darkness	Chatrichalerm Yukol	Sorapong Chatree
Quest for Love	Ralph Thomas	Joan Collins, Tom Bell, Denholm Elliott
The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler	Bob Wynn	Leslie Nielsen, Bradford Dillman, James Daly
THX 1138	George Lucas	Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Don Pedro Colley
You Are a Widow, Sir	Václav Vorlíček	Iva Janžurová, Olga Schoberová, Eduard Cupák
1972
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
Beware! The Blob	Larry Hagman	Robert Walker, Jr., Gwynne Gilford, Richard Stahl
The Boy Who Turned Yellow	Michael Powell	Mark Dightam, Robert Eddison, Helen Weir
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes	J. Lee Thompson	Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban
Doomsday Machine	Herbert J. Leder	Bobby Van, Ruta Lee, Mala Powers
Doomwatch	Peter Sasdy	Ian Bannen, Judy Geeson, John Paul
Eolomea	Herrmann Zschoche	Cox Habbema, Ivan Andonov, Rolf Hoppe
Godzilla vs. Gigan	Jun Fukuda	Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru Takashima
The Happiness Cage	Bernard Girard	Christopher Walken, Joss Ackland, Ralph Meeker
Horror Express	Eugenio Martin	Telly Savalas, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing
Night of the Lepus	William F. Claxton	Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun
Now You See Him, Now You Don't	Robert Butler	Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn
Silent Running	Douglas Trumbull	Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin
Slaughterhouse Five	George Roy Hill	Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche		[nb 2]
Solaris	Andrey Tarkovskiy	Natal'ya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet		[nb 3]
The Thing with Two Heads	Lee Frost	Rosey Grier, Ray Milland, Don Marshall
The Twilight People	Eddie Romero	Pam Grier, John Ashley, Pat Woodell, Jan Merlin
Z.P.G.	Michael Campus	Oliver Reed, Geraldine Chaplin, Don Gordon
1973
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
Battle for the Planet of the Apes	J. Lee Thompson	Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy
Beyond Atlantis	Eddie Romero	Patrick Wayne, John Ashley, Leigh Christian
The Crazies	George A. Romero	Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones
Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World	Joseph McGrath	Jim Dale, Spike Milligan, Angela Douglas
The Day of the Dolphin	Mike Nichols	George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Paul Sorvino
Fantastic Planet	René Laloux	Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin, Jean Topart
The Final Programme	Robert Fuest	Jon Finch, Jenny Runacre, Sterling Hayden
Godzilla vs. Megalon	Jun Fukuda	Katsuhiko Sasaki, Hiroyuki Kawase, Yutaka Hayashi
Idaho Transfer	Peter Fonda	Kelly Bohanon, Kevin Hearst, Caroline Hildebrand
Invasion of the Bee Girls	Denis Sanders	William Smith, Anitra Ford, Victoria Vetri
Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future	Leonid Gayday	Yuriy Yakovlev, Leonid Kuravlyov, Aleksandr Demyanenko
Murder in a Blue World	Eloy de la Iglesia	Sue Lyon, Christopher Mitchum, Jean Sorel
The Neptune Factor	Daniel Petrie	Ben Gazzara, Walter Pidgeon, Ernest Borgnine
Nihon Chinbotsu	Shiro Moritani	Keiju Kobayashi, Hiroshi Fujioka, Ayumi Ishida
Sleeper	Woody Allen	Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck		[nb 4]
Soylent Green	Richard Fleischer	Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Leigh Taylor-Young		[nb 5]
Westworld	Michael Crichton	Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin
1974
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
And Now My Love	Claude Lelouch	Marthe Keller, André Dussollier, Charles Denner
Chosen Survivors	Sutton Roley	Jackie Cooper, Alex Cord, Richard Jaeckel
Dark Star	John Carpenter	Dan O'Bannon, Dre Pahich, Brian Narelle		[nb 6]
ESPY	Jun Fukuda	Hiroshi Fujioka, Kaoru Yumi, Masao Kusakari
Flesh Gordon	Michael Benveniste, Howard Ziehm	Jason Williams, Suzanne Fields, Joseph Hudgins
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla	Jun Fukuda	Masaaki Daimon, Kazuya Aoyama, Reiko Tajima
Invasion from Inner Earth	Bill Rebane	Paul Bentzen, Debbi Pick, Nick Holt
The Island at the Top of the World	Robert Stevenson	David Hartman, Donald Sinden, Jacques Marin
The Little Prince	Stanley Donen	Richard Kiley, Steven Warner, Joss Ackland
Morel's Invention	Emidio Greco	Giulio Brogi, Anna Karina, John Steiner
Moscow-Cassiopeia	Richard Viktorov	Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Vasiliy Merkur'yev, Lev Durov
The Mutations	Jack Cardiff	Donald Pleasence, Tom Baker, Brad Harris
Phase IV	Saul Bass	Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick
Prophecies of Nostradamus	Toshio Masuda	Tetsuro Tamba, Toshio Kurosawa, Kaoru Yumi
Space Is the Place	John Coney	Barbara Deloney, Sun Ra, Raymond Johnson
The Terminal Man	Mike Hodges	George Segal. Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart
UFO: Target Earth	Michael A. DeGaetano	Nick Plakias, Cynthia Cline, LaVerne Light
Zardoz	John Boorman	Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman
1975
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
A Boy and His Dog	L.Q. Jones	Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Susanne Benton		[nb 7]
Black Moon	Louis Malle	Cathryn Harrison, Therese Giehse, Alexandra Stewart
Bug	Jeannot Szwarc	Bradford Dillman, Joanna Miles, Richard Gilliland
Death Race 2000	Paul Bartel	David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone, Simone Griffeth
Escape to Witch Mountain	John Hough	Eddie Albert, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence
Footprints on the Moon	Luigi Bazzoni	Florinda Bolkan, Peter McEnery, Nicoletta Elmi
The Giant Spider Invasion	Bill Rebane	Steve Brodie, Barbara Hale, Robert Easton
Hu-Man	Jérôme Laperrousaz	Terence Stamp, Jeanne Moreau, Agnès Stevenin
The Land That Time Forgot	Kevin Connor	Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon
A Long Return	Pedro Lazaga	Mark Burns, Lynne Frederick, Charo López
The Noah	Daniel Bourla	Robert Strauss, Geoffrey Holder, Sally Kirkland
The Rocky Horror Picture Show	Jim Sharman	Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick
Rollerball	Norman Jewison	James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams		[nb 8]
Shivers	David Cronenberg	Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry
The Stepford Wives	Bryan Forbes	Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson
The Strongest Man in the World	Vincent McEveety	Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, Eve Arden
The Super Inframan	Hua-Shan	Danny Lee, Terry Liu, Hsieh Wang
Teens in the Universe	Richard Viktorov	Mikhail Yershov, Aleksandr Grigor'yev, Vladimir Savin
Terror of Mechagodzilla	Ishirō Honda	Katsuhiko Sasaki, Tomoko Ai, Akihiko Hirata
The Ultimate Warrior	Robert Clouse	Yul Brynner, Max von Sydow, Joanna Miles
1976
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
Any Day Now	Roeland Kerbosch	Ansje van Brandenberg, Huib Broos, Ton van Duinhoven
At the Earth's Core	Kevin Connor	Doug McClure, Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro
Embryo	Ralph Nelson	Rock Hudson, Barbara Carrera, Diane Ladd
The Food of the Gods	Bert I. Gordon	Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Ralph Meeker
Futureworld	Richard T. Heffron	Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill
God Told Me To	Larry Cohen	Tony Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis
In the Dust of the Stars	Gottfried Kolditz	Jana Brejchová, Alfred Struwe, Ekkehard Schall
Logan's Run	Michael Anderson	Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan		[nb 9]
The Man Who Fell to Earth	Nicolas Roeg	David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark		[nb 10]
The Rat Savior	Krsto Papić	Ivica Vidović, Mirjana Majurec, Relja Bašić
1977
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Steven Spielberg	Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr		[nb 11]
Cosmos: War of the Planets	Alfonso Brescia	John Richardson, Yanti Somer, West Buchanan
Damnation Alley	Jack Smight	Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Dominique Sanda
Demon Seed	Donald Cammell	Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham
Empire of the Ants	Bert I. Gordon	Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, John David Carson
End of the World	John Hayes	Christopher Lee, Sue Lyon, Kirk Scott
The Glitterball	Harley Cockliss	Ben Buckton, Keith Jayne, Ron Pember
Great Plates of Malikov	Jaromil Jireš	Vlastimil Brodský, Jan Tříska, Iva Janžurová
The Incredible Melting Man	William Sachs	Alex Rebar, Burr de Benning, Myron Healey
The Island of Dr. Moreau	Don Taylor	Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Nigel Davenport
Kingdom of the Spiders	John Cardos	William Shatner, Tiffany Bolling, Woody Strode
Legend of Dinosaurs & Monster Birds	Junji Kurata	Tsunehiko Watase, Nobiko Sawa, Shotaro Hayashi
A Nice Plate of Spinach	Václav Vorlíček	Vladimír Menšík, Jiří Sovák, Iva Janžurová
The People That Time Forgot	Kevin Connor	Patrick Wayne, Doug McClure, Sarah Douglas, Dana Gillespie
Planet of Dinosaurs	James K. Shea	Mary Appleseth, Harvey Shain, Derna Wylde
Polygon	Anatoliy Petrov	Anatoliy Kuznetsov, Vsevolod Yakut, Oleg Mokshantsev
Prey	Norman J. Warren	Barry Stokes, Sally Faulkner, Glory Annen Clibbery
Rabid	David Cronenberg	Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver
Space Battleship Yamato	Toshio Masuda	Gorô Naya, Kei Tomiyama, Shūsei Nakamura
Star Wars	George Lucas	Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher		[nb 12]
Starship Invasions	Ed Hunt	Robert Vaughn, Christopher Lee, Daniel Pilon
Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea	Jindřich Polák	Petr Kostka, Jiří Sovák, Vladimír Menšík
The War in Space	Jun Fukuda	Kensaku Morita, Yuko Asano, Ryo Ikebe
Welcome to Blood City	Peter Sasdy	Jack Palance, Keir Dullea, Samantha Eggar
Wizards	Ralph Bakshi	Jesse Welles, Bob Holt, Richard Romanus
1978
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
The Alien Factor	Donald M. Dohler	Don Leifert, Tom Griffith, Richard Dyszel
The Alpha Incident	Bill Rebane	Ralph Meeker, Stafford Morgan, John F. Goff
The Bermuda Triangle	René Cardona Jr.	John Huston, Gloria Guida, Marina Vlady
Blue Christmas	Kihachi Okamoto	Hiroshi Katsuno, Keiko Takeshita, Eiji Okada
The Boys from Brazil	Franklin J. Schaffner	Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason
The Cat from Outer Space	Norman Tokar	Ken Berry, Sandy Duncan, Harry Morgan
Deathsport	Allan Arkush, Nicholas Niciphor, Roger Corman	David Carradine, Claudia Jennings, Richard Lynch
Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: In the Name of Love	Toshio Masuda, Leiji Matsumoto	Kei Tomiyama, Yôko Asagami, Gorô Naya
Hardware Wars	Ernie Fosselius	Frank Robertson, Scott Mathews, Jeff Hale
Invasion of the Body Snatchers	Philip Kaufman	Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright		[nb 13]
Laserblast	Michael Rae	Kim Milford, Cheryl Smith, Gianni Russo
The Medusa Touch	Jack Gold	Richard Burton, Lee Remick, Lino Ventura
Message from Space	Kinji Fukasaku	Vic Morrow, Sonny Chiba, Philip Casnoff
Return from Witch Mountain	John Hough	Bette Davis, Christopher Lee, Kim Richards
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Movie	Hisayuki Toriumi	Katsuji Mori, Isao Sasaki, Kazuko Sugiyama
Starcrash	Luigi Cozzi	Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, Christopher Plummer
Superman	Richard Donner	Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve		[nb 14]
The Swarm	Irwin Allen	Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark
Warlords of Atlantis	Kevin Connor	Doug McClure, Peter Gilmore, Shane Rimmer
1979
Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
Alien	Ridley Scott	Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt		[nb 15]
El Año de la Peste	Felipe Cazals	Alejandro Parodi, José Carlos Ruiz, Rebeca Silva
The Black Hole	Gary Nelson	Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster
The Brood	David Cronenberg	Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century	Daniel Haller	Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Pamela Hensley
The Fortress	Miklós Szinetár	Bella Tanay, Sándor Oszter, József Madaras
Galaxy Express 999	Rintaro	Masako Nozawa, Masako Ikeda, Yôko Asagami
G.I. Samurai	Kosei Saito	Sonny Chiba, Jun Etô, Moeko Ezawa
Goldengirl	Joseph Sargent	Susan Anton, James Coburn, Curd Jürgens
H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come	George McCowan	Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Barry Morse
The Hamburg Syndrome	Peter Fleischmann	Helmut Griem, Fernando Arrabal, Carline Seiser
The Humanoid	Aldo Lado	Richard Kiel, Corinne Cléry, Leonard Mann
Island of the Fishmen	Sergio Martino	Barbara Bach, Claudio Cassinelli, Richard Johnson
Little Orbit the Astrodog and the Screechers from Outer Space	Jean Image
Mad Max	George Miller	Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne
The Medic	Pierre Granier-Deferre	Alain Delon, Véronique Jannot, Bernard Giraudeau
Meteor	Ronald Neame	Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden
Moonraker	Lewis Gilbert	Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michel Lonsdale
Phantasm	Don Coscarelli	Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister
Plague	Ed Hunt	Daniel Pilon, Kate Reid, Céline Lomez
Quintet	Robert Altman	Paul Newman, Vittorio Gassman, Fernando Rey
Ravagers	Richard Compton	Richard Harris, Ernest Borgnine, Ann Turkel
Spaced Out	Norman J. Warren	Barry Stokes, Tony Maiden, Glory Annen Clibbery
Stalker	Andrey Tarkovskiy	Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn
Star Trek: The Motion Picture	Robert Wise	William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
Test pilota Pirxa	Marek Piestrak	Sergey Desnitskiy, Bolesław Abart, Vladimir Ivashov
The Thing in the Castle	Gottfried Kolditz	Erwin Geschonneck, Vlastimil Brodský, Jaecki Schwarz		German title: Das Ding im Schloß[3]
Thirst	Rod Hardy	Chantal Contouri, Shirley Cameron, Max Phipps
Time After Time	Nicholas Meyer	Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner
Unidentified Flying Oddball	Russ Mayberry	Dennis Dugan, Jim Dale, Ron Moody
I viaggiatori della sera	Ugo Tognazzi	Ugo Tognazzi, Ornella Vanoni, Roberta Paladini
The Visitor	Giulio Paradisi	Mel Ferrer, Glenn Ford, Lance Henriksen

See also

• History of science fiction films

Notes

1. Won a Golden Scroll of Merit in 1979 for theatrical motion picture production.
2. Won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.
3. Winner of the Grand Prize of the Jury and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
4. Won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and a Nebula Award for Best Script.
5. Winner of a Nebula Award for Best Script and a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.
6. Won a Golden Scroll for Best Special Effects in 1976.
7. Winner of a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
8. Winner of a BAFTA for Best Art Direction.
9. Winner of an Academy Award for Visual Effects (Special Achievement Award) and a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.
10. Won a Nebula Award for Best Script and a Saturn Award for Best Actor in a film.
11. Winner of Academy Awards for Cinematography and Sound Editing (Special Achievement Award) and a Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special and Best Instrumental Composition (1979). It was also the second highest grossing film of 1977.
12. Won Academy Awards for Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound (Special Achievement Award), Visual Effects; a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film, and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. It was also the highest grossing film of 1977.
13. Remake. Winner of Saturn Awards for Best Director and Best Sound.
14. Won the Academy Award for Visual Effects (Special Achievement Award), Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film, Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Grammy Award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special and Best Instrumental Composition. It was also the highest grossing film of the year.
15. Winner of the Academy Award for Visual Effects, Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film and Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

References

1. King, Geoff; Krzywinska, Tanya (2000). Science fiction cinema: from outerspace to cyberspace. Short cuts. 3. Wallflower Press. pp. 4–7. ISBN 1-903364-03-5.
2. Reimer, Robert C.; Reimer, Carol J. (1 April 2010). The A to Z of German Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 190. ISBN 9780810876118.
3. Fritzsche, Sonja (Fall 2010), "A Natural and Artificial Homeland: East German Science-Fiction Film Responds to Kubrick and Tarkovsky", Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies, 40.2: 80–101, doi:10.1353/flm.2010.0002

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