The 60’s And ’70s were a wild time for science fiction movies. As filmmakers got better at special effects, creative visions expanded beyond the boundaries of previous generations. The psychedelic era from the mid-60s to the 70s brought funkier clothes, music, and style to film. Jane Fonda’s costumes inside Barbara leaned towards the 1960s fashion trends and brought a campier style to the screen.
As the 1970s progressed, the focus shifted from sci-fi to disasters and dystopias: showing how bad things can get when we let our imaginations run wild. Audiences were drawn to the disaster genre because it made for intense and engaging cinema. Although the political climate seemed dire, disaster movies were palpable because the events took place only fictionally. Here are 10 sci-fi movies that showcase the wildness that took place in the ’60s and ’70s.
10 The Andromeda tribe
The Andromeda tribe (1971), directed by Robert Wise (aka The hunt And the sound of music) was the first film adaptation of a novel by Michael Crichton, more famous for Jurassic ParkAnd Congo, among other movies. In the film, a government satellite carrying a microscopic alien organism crashes into a New Mexico town, killing everyone except an old man and a baby. The survivors are taken underground to a secret facility where a team of prepared scientists study them to stop what is happening and prevent it from happening again.
Known as one of the most popular disaster movies of the 1970s, this movie is unique for its realistic depiction of a deadly organism. Crichton’s background as a doctor shows: apart from the alien origin of the organism, the whole plot is something plausible – until it turns into a disaster movie.
9 Soylent green
In Soylent green, it is the year 2022 and the earth is polluted and overpopulated. We have used all of our natural resources that we depend on for food from Soylent Industries, a company that makes food made from plankton from the oceans. Soylent’s board member William R. Simonson is murdered in NYC by a burglar, prompting Detective Thorn (Charlton Heston) to investigate the case with his partner Solomon “Sol” Roth (Edward G. Robinson).
As Thorn pokes around, he uncovers a bizarre secret involving the ingredient used to make Soylent Green. Directed by Richard Fleischer, the 1973 film speaks of the controlling power of large corporations. On The Simpsons, Soylent green is a running gag who has appeared or been referenced on several occasions, such as in episodes or scenes set in the future.
8 The green slime
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Oh no, a giant asteroid is headed for Earth! To make it happen, a group of astronauts must travel from a nearby space station to blow it up. As the mission succeeds, they travel back to the station, not realizing that they had brought a suspicious sticky green substance. Soon the astronauts are dealing with more than just gooey green stuff as it transforms into a one-eyed tentacled monster that feeds on electricity; which of course replicates in many of them all over the space station.
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, The green slime(1968) was meant to be taken seriously in its day and not be seen as the campy or goofy movie we might see it today. The green slime was also used for the pilot episode of the movie mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988). And while The Razzies nominate worst movie of the year, the Green Slime Award is presented annually for worst science fiction at Buonicon, a convention that takes place in New Mexico.
7 Santa Claus conquers the Martians
In Santa Claus conquers the Martians (1964), the Martians dislike that their children have become lazy and joyless from watching Earth TV shows. The ancient leader of Mars, Chochem, supports the idea that the kids on Mars should have more fun, including a Santa like the one found on Earth. Supreme Leader Lord Kimar prepares an expedition to Earth where they kidnap two children. Once led to the North Pole, they capture the real Santa and return him and the two children to Mars for an attempt at a happier life for Martian children. The film, directed by Nicholas Webster, stars John Call as Santa Claus.
6 Matango
Matango (1963) is a Japanese horror film directed by Ishirō Honda, a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films and was also known as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki. In the film, a group of fun-seeking youths are stranded on a mysterious island when their boat crashes. One by one, they succumb to the lure of the deadly mushrooms. The movie was almost banned in Japan since the makeup some characters wore when they turned into humanoid mushroom creatures “It is very reminiscent of how many Japanese took care of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
5 Mothra against Godzilla
Mothra against Godzilla (1964) is known as a classic Japanese monster or kaiju movie. Like it Mantago this film is also directed by Ishirô Honda. The movie is the best in the series of Godzilla movies released in the 1960s. A huge egg is found by local villagers while journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko Nakanishi cover the wreckage of a typhoon. The pair join Professor Miura and the journalists discover that the egg was sold to Mr. Kumayama of Happy Enterprises, who want to exploit the egg.
When Mothra’s fairies arrive, they are aided by the journalists who beg for the egg to return to Mothra and Infant Island. Their requests rejected, Godzilla emerges from the wreckage. In order to save Japan from Godzilla, Sakai, Junko and Miura must plead with Mothra. While the special effects don’t really hold up today, they represent the pinnacle of Toho’s kaiju production efforts at the time. And who doesn’t love endless monster-on-monster battles?
4 Barbara
Jane Fonda played the lead role Barbara (1968) in this cult classic directed by Roger Vadim, Fonda’s husband at the time. In the year 40,000, astronaut Barbarella lands on the frozen planet Lythion after floating peacefully in weightlessness. She goes in search of the famous scientist Durand Durand in the City of Night, Sogo, where a new sin is invented every hour. Along the way, she encounters strange psychedelic occurrences, such as the Excessive Machine, a real sexual organ on which a skilled keyboard artist – in this case Durand Durand himself – can drive a victim to death through pleasure.
While the film is often downright bizarre, it had impressive special effects for its time, taking you on the wild ride that was the late ’60s sci-fi genre. That was recently announcedEuphoria Sydney Sweeney stars and produces a new version of the film. Fonda expressed her uncertainty about remaking the film and also stated that she had an idea to remake the film someday, but Dino De Laurentiis (the original producer), when he was alive, would not listen to it. . Fonda went on to say that “it could have been a really feminist movie.”
3 The X from space
Directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu, The X from space (1967) is ridiculously fun. In the film, the spaceship AAB-Gamma is dispatched from FAFC headquarters in Japan and is about to land on the planet Mars. Once they get close to Mars, they encounter a suspicious UFO covering the ship’s hull with unusual tracks. They take one of the specimens back to Earth, where it soon develops and grows into a giant chicken lizard alien monster that tramples Japan.
Film historian Chuck Stephens described the film as having “a well-earned reputation as one of the silliest and, consequently, best-loved monster movies in rubber suits ever made”. Perhaps a clichéd Japanese monster movie in many ways, the movie still holds up as one of the wildest sci-fi flicks of this era.
2 The creeping hand
Directed by Herbert L. Strock, The creeping hand (1963) is another wild sci-fi movie that’s easy to joke about, but also has a lot of knack when you analyze it for what it was back then. In the film, an astronaut’s space capsule is detonated in orbit, leading a teenager to find a severed arm on a beach, among wreckage on Earth. The arm then comes back to life to kill and possess the young man’s ghost. Like many of the wild movies of this era, you can watch this movie with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 comment and enjoy all the themed jokes and puns you can roll up your sleeves (Season 1 Episode 6).
1 Laser beams
Laser beams (1978) is another one of those 1970s sci-fi films that can be said to be “so bad it’s good”. The film, starring Kim Milford, Cheryl Smith and Gianni Russo, was directed by Michael Rae and produced by Charles Band, who was known for producing B movies. In this bizarre plot, an alien kills a mutated alien in the California desert. A lone teacher stumbles upon the remains, a high-tech laser gun and power source accidentally left behind. The power source causes the teen to mutate as well, causing him to go on a murderous rampage. Enjoy the crazy commentary from Mystery Science Theater 3000 also for this one (Season 7 Episode 6).