Six Forgotten Science Fiction Films of the 1970s
The future was a lot closer in the 1970s than it seems here in the cold comfort of the actual 21st Century. Social problems such as overpopulation, environmental cataclysm and nuclear proliferation (Thank Christ those things are fixed now) left plenty of people jumpy, including the younger demographics that are always science fiction’s core audience.
Until and even after Star Wars in 1977, sci-fi cinema regularly confronted the social issues of the era, often depicting dystopian – which is fancy scholar talk for “fucked up” – societies where the worst case scenario had already come to pass. If you don’t think we’re living in a dark time ourselves, consider that I don’t have to explain the term “worst case scenario.”
1. Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) A supercomputer that looks laughably primitive by modern standards is charged with managing NATO’s nuclear arsenals. Except it becomes sentient and starts communicating with its Soviet counterpart. Oh, shit. After repeated attempts by foolish humans to disarm the computers fail, Colossus names himself ruler of the planet and promises to cure society’s ills. “In time,” he tells the nations of the world, “You will come to regard me not only with respect and awe, but with love.” Crazy, totalitarian robot overlord love. Crazy Poster? Hell yes. That one on the right must’ve inspired half a dozen Rush album covers. Remake? Yep, in 2010 and directed by Ron Howard.
2. The Andromeda Strain (1971): A military satellite returns to Earth carrying an extraterrestrial pathogen that can kill pretty much anybody in seconds. A team of military scientists works in an awesome underground base with color-coded levels to contain and cure the disease. The pathogen is eventually killed with salt water from the Pacific Ocean. The film is adapted from a novel by Michael Crichton, the same stickler for scientific authenticity that wrote Jurassic Park. Crazy poster? Depends on how you feel about hexagons. Remake? A TV miniseries debuting Memorial Day weekend with Benjamin Bratt and Eric McCormack. Hooray.
3. Z.P.G. (1972): The title is short for “zero population growth,” a common term in the decade’s discussion about overpopulation. In a future where all births are banned for twenty years, a married couple has a child and must face the wrath of an authoritarian regime. Like 2006’s horrid Children of Men, the film depicts the possibility of a childless society without really exploring its ramifications, and the preponderance of gas masks and home abortion machines is just creepy. Overall, it’s overshadowed by the flashier Logan’s Run (1976), which made the aftermath of overpopulation look like a sexy Epcot Center. Crazy Poster? My eyes throb just looking at that motherfucker. Remake? Let’s hope not.
4. Silent Running (1972): Centuries from now the last of Earth’s forests are kept aboard starships circling the planet Saturn. When botanist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) is ordered to jettison his ship’s cargo and return home, he kills his crewmates and pilots the ship into deep space. Confronted with a lifetime of isolation, he destroys himself after saving the last remaining forest. The special effects by legendary SFX master Douglas Trumbull still command respect among sci-fi audiences. Crazy Poster? Not crazy so much as simultaneously literal yet hyperbolic. Remake? With eco-consciousness at all time highs, it’s only a matter of time.
5. Westworld (1973): In the near future, wealthy citizens spend $1,000 a day to fight and have sex with lifelike androids in a vast amusement park. Eventually, the robots turn on their human masters and all Hell breaks loose. Though the film accurately predicted that 21st Century theme parks would cost a grand a day, it’s hard not to like Yul Brynner as a killer robot gunslinger. Crazy Poster? Even the robot is sort of in character face, despite having only half a face. Remake? Seems inevitable as a project for Jason Statham or Karl Urban.
6. Damnation Alley (1977): The A-Team’s George Peppard and Airwolf’s Jan Michael Vincent drive a heavily armored SUV across post-World War III America. Crazy-assed special effects abound, including psychedelic skies and giant scorpions. I am not making this shit up. A huge budget nevertheless produced B-grade special effects, and postproduction delays forced 20th Century Fox to instead release another science fiction film it had little confidence in – Star Wars. Crazy Poster? Only because the large-print copy above the image seems more like a threat than a promise. Remake? Not yet, but Clint Eastwood and Brad Pitt in the lead roles with special effects from Weta sounds like box office gold.
-Michael Kabel
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
March 29, 2008 at 1:39 pm |
What about Soylent Green?
Dave Gardner
Producer/Director
Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity
http://www.growthbusters.com
March 30, 2008 at 8:28 am |
That’s a great film! But in writing the article I wanted to focus only on little-known films of the period. Soylent Green has been so well-remembered, especially of course its notorious final scene, that I didn’t feel it was a “forgotten” film.
Thanks for reading SBR.
-mk
April 20, 2008 at 6:10 pm |
I´d like a “remake” of the film ZPG because I read the book by Max Ehrlich a few years ago and it´s very good in my personal opinion.
I think that could to make a big “remake” movie with a good director , good screenwriters, and actors to obtain most that the original movie.
April 24, 2008 at 6:09 pm |
I haven’t read the book so I won’t try to comment on its contents. Some of the details in the movie – for example the abortion machines – almost certainly need a rethink for modern audiences, however.
May 30, 2008 at 2:28 pm |
I took a friend to see Colossus at the now-long-gone Regency theaters on Indianapolis’ south side. We were 14 years old. “What is it, some Japanese monster like Godzilla?” he asked. I had actually heard promotions for the film on radio that used samples of Colossus’ synthesized voice, but I wasn’t expecting such a first-class science fiction/Cold War thriller. The film is available on DVD, but damn the moronic Universal Studios executives who released it only in chopped pan-and-scan format. Colossus (and the Russians’ Guardian) would order them to be shot, if not nuked! The cool opening special effects sequence of Dr. Forbin “booting up” the miles-long Colossus cpu complex is chopped. I can only hope the retards at Universal will release a full-frame version of the original Colossus when Ron Howard’s remake comes out.
May 31, 2008 at 3:02 am |
Thank you for a great recollection. As for a new DVD release, I would bet money that happens, if not sooner as a way to promote the remake. Incidentally, ZPG actually comes out on DVD next week. -mk