Readers' Picks:
Your Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks, From Metropolis Through the '50s
Wired's Picks:
Wired’s Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks of All Time — Pre–Star Wars
Wired's Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks of All Time — Star Wars and AfterThe '70s brought bigger budgets and critical acclaim, with blockbusters like Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind wowing audiences with amazing special effects and stories that thrilled young and old alike.
That decadent decade ended with sci-fi showing an increasingly hard edge: In 1979's Alien, director Ridley Scott updated the classic extraterrestrial flick with dark, disturbing imagery based on the horrifying artwork of H.R. Giger and others. The result was a gritty and truly frightening film that left its stamp on the genre.
All these movies and more made Wired's list of favorite sci-fi flicks, published last summer and devoured by some of the genre's geekiest fans (that would be you). But we left out plenty of other standout films that have earned a special spot in the chest cavities of sci-fi fans throughout the years.
So, here they are: The favorite sci-fi flicks of the '60s and '70s, as picked by some of the genre's fiercest defenders: Wired.com readers.
Where is La Jétee? You people need to have a word with yourselves. —DittoAgain
What about Santa Claus Conquers the Martians? Pure magic, right there! —Shinzakura
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians should have been on the list, and how could they leave off Star Crash? Where was Lost Continent? —widget16
How about the movie Robin Crusoe on Mars? Loved this movie when I saw it as a young person. —jjs
My personal favorite is the 1967 Hammer production, Quatermass and the Pit — spooky Martians, oddball scientists, genetic manipulation, psychic powers, crazy military types, great soundtrack — epic! (It was retitled as Five Million Years to Earth in the United States.) —TribalTalker
Five Million Years to Earth (aka Quatermass and the Pit) scared the heck out of me as a young teenager. —OnlyModerately
A great spy-spoof with enough intrigue, political commentary, high-tech gadgets and a vision of the future. It was terrific. Even more science fiction in the Our Man Flint series of spy spoofs. —mikelinpa
Where is Barbarella? —jlaneyjr
Jane Fonda in the title role. It's about as campy as it gets. —NoCaDrummer
My husband's personal favorite is Colossus: The Forbin Project. —OnlyModerately
A Clockwork Orange? —dougstroyer
Just because Kubrick made three of the greatest SF movies of all time is no reason to short him on this. —careysub
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned The Andromeda Strain. —star_d
You took up two slots for non-sci-fi like Lassie Come Home and Dr. Strangelove, but left off The Andromeda Strain? What's wrong with you? —BicycleBill
Interesting list. I know it's already Heston-heavy, but I'd add The Omega Man. I liked it better than the new version, I Am Legend, although none of the movies have been as good as the short story by Richard Matheson. —jenna70
Where the hell is THX 1138? You've got to be off your collective tits! —boofa
THX 1138, the original. The best of television (three channels: 1. propaganda, 2. sex and 3. violence), an android beating a citizen with a rubber hose. George Lucas had a vision and a great movie. Lucas' first film, not bad for a '71 student assignment. —otispdriftwood
I must agree with THX 1138 as my second (barely) favorite movie. I feel that it was Lucas' best and he'll never top that. Love to see a sequel. —macman1138
Where is THX 1138? I am not a huge Lucas fan, not by a mile, but you included Silent Running, one I thought you would ignore considering the "after Star Wars" list. At this point, I hate all things Star Wars, but THX 1138 still shines in its own right, minus the George Lucas "update." Which made zero improvements to the original. —dalevi1
Giant bunnies wreaking havoc. Not the best of films, but still a howler. —chrisbachmann
Seems like Westworld would fit into this list nicely. I'm surprised it was omitted. —eyesglazedover
Awesome and classic movie about robots gone mad. Couldn't get more classic sci-fi than that. —ptolemy21
I'm disappointed that Westworld didn't make the list! If only because of the awesome Simpsons parodies (and there were several of them). —nsr
Where oh where is The Fantastic Planet? —queenofthejungle
I'd add Sleeper to the list, as well as Barbarella, a couple of the [Planet of the Apes] sequels, specifically Escape (wonderful pathos) and Conquest. —surfsimply
Satire meets science fiction, and the "orgasmatron" makes its appearance. —Coastie716
Honestly, the omission of Dark Star invalidates this post entirely. Apart from being a John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon co-production, the film's signature starship was designed by Ron Cobb. Its enduring theme, "Benson, Arizona," has even spawned a minor tourist destination. Lastly, how many movies since have played on the theme of quasi-helpful talking weapons? —Vexxarr
Dark Star by John Carpenter: Freaks' answer to HAL-9000. —enrIK0
Hippies in space. —DashBoulder
How about Dark Star 1974? Surely a classic. —bru4213
Dark Star should indeed be on there. The philosophical discussion between bomb and astronaut is movie history. —Lope
If you want to put some spoofs in there, why not Flesh Gordon? —kenbo0422
Killdozer, aka Lassie is not coming home. Killdozer was one of Clifford Simak's little jewels. —icecycle
Hey, someone forgot one of the best ever: The Stepford Wives. Not only was this spooky science fantasy, it is a fantasy that mad scientists are striving to achieve today. It was very sexy. —peekaboomoe
Where is the Death Race 2000? —corneelb
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