The 40 most popular 1970s science fiction movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Star Wars
1977 · 2h 1m
country: United States
Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.


Alien
1979 · 1h 57m
country: United States
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.


A Clockwork Orange
1971 · 2h 17m
country: United Kingdom
In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?


Superman
1978 · 2h 24m
country: United Kingdom
Mild-mannered Clark Kent works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane. Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor launches a plan to take over the world.


Mad Max
1979 · 1h 31m
country: Australia
In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them.


Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977 · 2h 17m
country: United Kingdom
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.


The Rocky Horror Picture Show
1975 · 1h 40m
country: United Kingdom
After getting a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, newly engaged couple Brad and Janet encounter the eerie mansion of the flamboyant, seductive Dr Frank-N-Furter and a variety of eccentric characters. Through elaborate dance and rock music, the mad scientist unveils his latest creation: a perfect, muscular man.


Star Trek: The Motion Picture
1979 · 2h 11m
country: United States
When an unidentified alien destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers, Captain James T. Kirk returns to the newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise to take command.


Moonraker
1979 · 2h 6m
country: France
After Drax Industries' Moonraker space shuttle is hijacked, secret agent James Bond is assigned to investigate, traveling to California to meet the company's owner, the mysterious Hugo Drax. With the help of scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond soon uncovers Drax's nefarious plans for humanity, all the while fending off an old nemesis, Jaws, and venturing to Venice, Rio, the Amazon...and even outer space.


Dawn of the Dead
1978 · 2h 7m
country: Italy
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.


Stalker
1979 · 2h 42m
country: Soviet Union
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.


Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1978 · 1h 56m
country: United States
The residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves, and as the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers uncover the horrifying truth.


Beneath the Planet of the Apes
1970 · 1h 35m
country: United States
The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission lands on the planet of the apes, and uncovers a horrible secret beneath the surface.


Eraserhead
1977 · 1h 29m
country: United States
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.


Battle for the Planet of the Apes
1973 · 1h 33m
country: United States
The fifth and final episode in the Planet of the Apes series. After the collapse of human civilization, a community of intelligent apes led by Caesar lives in harmony with a group of humans. Gorilla General Aldo tries to cause an ape civil war and a community of human mutants who live beneath a destroyed city try to conquer those whom they perceive as enemies. All leading to the finale.


Logan's Run
1976 · 1h 58m
country: United States
In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life's pleasures — but no one is allowed to live past 30. Citizens can try for a chance at being "renewed" in a civic ceremony on their 30th birthday. Escape is the only other option.


Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
1972 · 1h 28m
country: United States
In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, a chimpanzee named Caesar resurfaces after almost twenty years of hiding from the authorities, and prepares for a revolt against humanity.


Capricorn One
1977 · 2h 3m
country: United Kingdom
In order to protect the reputation of the American space program, a team of NASA administrators turn the first Mars mission into a phony Mars landing. Under threat of harm to their families the astronauts play their part in the deception on a staged set in a deserted military base. But once the real ship returns to Earth and burns up on re-entry, the astronauts become liabilities. Now, with the help of a crusading reporter, they must battle a sinister conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden.


The Man Who Fell to Earth
1976 · 2h 19m
country: United Kingdom
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.


Westworld
1973 · 1h 29m
country: United States
Delos is a futuristic amusement park that features themed worlds populated by human-like androids. After two patrons have a run-in with a menacing gunslinger in West World, the androids at Delos all begin to malfunction, causing havoc throughout the park.


Escape from the Planet of the Apes
1971 · 1h 38m
country: United States
The world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a spacecraft. Intrigued by their intelligence, humans use them for research - until the apes attempt to escape.


Lady Momoko's Adventure
1979 · 1h 8m
country: Japan
Momoko wakes up from a 17-year slumber and returns to her husband. However, during the day, Momoko is a free-spirited woman who pursues the man of her dreams and leads him to ruin, and at night, she is a chaste young wife. Her young body and double sex life hide a serious secret...


The Andromeda Strain
1971 · 2h 11m
country: United States
When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scrambles to a secure laboratory and tries first to isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form, unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.


The Black Hole
1979 · 1h 38m
country: United States
The explorer craft USS Palomino is returning to Earth after a fruitless 18-month search for extra-terrestrial life when the crew comes upon a supposedly lost ship, the USS Cygnus, hovering near a black hole. The ship is controlled by Dr. Hans Reinhardt and his monstrous robot companion, but the initial wonderment and awe the Palomino crew feel for the ship and its resistance to the power of the black hole turn to horror as they uncover Reinhardt's plans.


The Cars That Ate Paris
1974 · 1h 31m
country: Australia
After surviving a car accident, a young man finds himself trapped in the isolated town of Paris, where the local economy depends on deliberately causing crashes and salvaging the wreckage. As he becomes entangled in the town’s routines, tensions between its residents and a rebellious group of youths begin to surface.


Solaris
1972 · 2h 47m
country: Soviet Union
A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions.


Soylent Green
1973 · 1h 37m
country: United States
In the year 2022, overcrowding, pollution, and resource depletion have reduced society’s leaders to finding food for the teeming masses. The answer is Soylent Green.


Sssssss
1973 · 1h 39m
country: United States
David, a college student, is looking for a job. He is hired by Dr. Stoner as a lab assistant for his research and experiments on snakes. David also begins to fall for Stoner's young daughter, Kristina. However, the good doctor has secretly brewed up a serum that can transform any man into a King Cobra snake-and he plans to use it on David.


Piranha
1978 · 1h 34m
country: United States
When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.


Rollerball
1975 · 2h 5m
country: United States
In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.


The Brood
1979 · 1h 32m
country: Canada
A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalised wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.


The Omega Man
1971 · 1h 38m
country: United States
Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain; sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.


Godzilla vs. Megalon
1973 · 1h 18m
country: Japan
Inventor Goro Ibuki creates a humanoid robot named Jet Jaguar. It is soon seized by an undersea race of people called the Seatopians. Using Jet Jaguar as a guide, the Seatopians send Megalon as vengeance for the nuclear tests that have devastated their society.


One Million-Year Trip: Bander Book
1978 · 1h 32m
country: Japan
Bander is a 17-year-old boy from Earth who lives on a distant planet, which is populated by human shape-shifters who feed off of vegetables and animal tails. Violence soon breaks out, as invaders launch an attack on Bander's new planet. This was Japan's first 2-hour animated film for television. The program received high ratings when broadcast as part of a set of 24-hour TV programs called "Ai wa Chikyu wo Sukuu" on Nippon Television. After a long gap since his last animated film for television, this work fully reflects Osamu Tezuka's desire to achieve theatrical quality with this production.


The Boys from Brazil
1978 · 2h 5m
country: United Kingdom
Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman discovers a sinister and bizarre plot, masterminded by Dr. Josef Mengele, to rekindle the Third Reich.


Phantasm
1979 · 1h 29m
country: United States
A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.


Silent Running
1972 · 1h 29m
country: United States
After the entire flora goes extinct, ecologist Lowell maintains a greenhouse aboard a space station for the future with his android companions. However, he rebels after being ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions.


Return from Witch Mountain
1978 · 1h 35m
country: United States
Tony and Tia are other-worldly twins endowed with telekinesis. When their Uncle Bene drops them off in Los Angeles for an earthbound vacation, a display of their supernatural skill catches the eye of the nefarious Dr. Gannon and his partner in crime, Letha, who see rich possibilities in harnessing the children's gifts. They kidnap Tony, and Tia gives chase only to find Gannon is using her brother's powers against her.


The Gendarme and the Creatures from Outer Space
1979 · 1h 36m
country: France
The bungling inspector Cruchot finds himself trying to save the residents of St. Tropez from some oil-drinking humanoid aliens. The only way to tell the aliens from the real people, besides their constant thirst for oil-products, is that they sound like empty garbage cans when you touch them. Chaos is ahead.


Battlestar Galactica
1978 · 2h 2m
country: United States
After the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Mankind, the last major fighter carrier leads a makeshift fugitive fleet in a desperate search for the legendary planet Earth.
The 1970s are widely considered American cinema's strongest decade, when the studio system's collapse handed a generation of young directors unusual freedom. It ended with Jaws and Star Wars inventing the modern blockbuster.
Science fiction uses the future — or a plausible alternative present — to think through the current moment. It's produced some of cinema's most influential images, and the genre's biggest leaps have usually followed leaps in effects technology.