My Choice For Best Science Fiction Movies 1950s to 1980s I have to admit it, I am a fan of Science fiction television shows and movies. It is a double edge sword however. You might be wondering why I am saying that? It is because when a science fiction show or movie has a good story and is not made on a shoestring, it can be very good by my standards, but when someone is just looking to make a quick buck by making one with only one or two people in it who are not even actors, it is hard to think of anything that would be that bad. I am not covering science fiction animation in this article. When people my age talk about movies the dates go much further back than most of the age of the people around today. I think Flash Gordon and just a little later, Buck Rogers were the first science fiction movies I remember. They were actually serials and when we went to the movies, we would see another chapter. While the serial was released in the movies in 1936, which is before even I was born, it became a staple in movie houses which showed old movies for a cheap price for many years later. I first saw it about 1949 in an old theater named the Monroe in Brooklyn, N.Y. Buck Rogers went the same way making it into these cheap theaters. Some of the original science fiction movies I really loved were the original, The Day The Earth Stood Still, the original The Thing, Rocketship X-M, the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the original The Fly, Forbidden Planet, the original War of the Worlds, Invaders From Mars, Them, The Incredible Shrinking Man. All these movies are from the 1950s, which some consider the golden age of science fiction movies. There were some science fiction movies before that date, such as the 1936 movie spectacular, Things to Come. It was about rebuilding the earth after there was a second world war. Remember this was before we suspected there would be. The movie was based on the novel The Shape of Things to Come by H.G. Wells. No expense was spared at the time and the movie was incredible for its time. The Thing had two titles, the other one was The Thing from Another World. It took place on a base in the arctic and was about first contact with a being who was very dangerous and hard to kill. The atmosphere in the film was great as was the story. The Day the Earth Stood Still really showed the weakness in humans who shot first and asked questions later when a being was trying to make first contact. Forbidden Planet is remembered by those who are Star Trek fans as the bases for the Star Trek movies and it looks a lot more modern than its age implies. The 1960s saw some really good science fiction movies such as Mysterious Island, The Time Machine, Invasion of the Triffids, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Fantastic Voyage, Barbarella, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man, The Last Man on Earth, Marooned, Children of the Damned, Dr. Who and the Daleks. The greatest of these movies has been debated, but I have to say my choice is the Time Machine which I feel was an incredible science fiction movie which still holds up well today. Robinson Crusoe on Mars was also a classic even though it has a cheesy title. One of the movies I selected from this period is either loved or hated by many and that is 2001: A Space Odyssey. As you can see, I am a fan. The film was beautiful, the effects for the time fantastic and the only criticism was the story was on the strange side without a real ending. Every decade has its memorable science fiction movies, and the 1970s is no exception. Some of the movies were remakes of older ones or were based on similar stories of older movies. The movies I liked were the Omega Man, Time After Time, Star Wars, Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, A Clockwork Orange, Westworld, Silent Running, Logan’s Run, Capricorn One, Superman, Damnation Alley, Soylent Green, Colossus: The Forbin Project, The Andromeda Strain, Moonraker, Rollerball, The Black Hole, Escape to Witch Mountain, Future World, Chariots of the Gods, The Boys from Brazil. The Omega Man is a remake of the Last Man on Earth but even better. Time After Time is based in some ways on the Time Machine. What can one say about Alien, except it was one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made. Silent Running while not as popular was a great movie and relevant today. The 1980s had their share of some very good science fiction movies such as the ones I am going to mention. Aliens, The Terminator, Predator, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Cocoon, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Flash Gordon, The Fly, Scanners, Lifeforce, Robocop, Alien Nation, Weird Science, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Blade Runner, The Philadelphia Experiment, Escape from New York, The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Outland, The Thing, Dreamscape, Dune, The Last Starfighter, Enemy Mine, Back to the Future, Innerspace, Project X, The Abyss, The Running Man, Steel Dawn, Cyborg, Leviathan, DeepStar Six, 1984, 2010: The Year We Made Contact, Saturn 3, Starman. In the 1980s there are some remakes, cult movies and some that are similar to each other on the list. Also, there are sequels that turned out to be very good. Aliens was as good as Alien. The Terminator was so good it led to several other Terminator movies. Killer Klowns from Outer Space became a cult classic and is still shown on some streaming services and I presume some tv channels. The Last Star Fighter is one of my all time favorites. The Philadelphia Experiment might have been based on real life, there is an ongoing debate about this story. The Abyss is another of my very favorite movies. It was well made and had a great story and effects. 1984, 2010: The Year We Made Contact was a sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey and was very well made and interesting. Some people I know think I am too easily pleased with some of my choices and maybe it is true and I don’t realize it, but maybe not. I do have a lot of people who agree with my choices.
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