Do They Hold Up?: 70s Sci-Fi Movies
Are these “classics” still worth a watch today? Image: Aaliya Khan
By KEXIN LIN and AALIYA KHAN
A good sci-fi movie leaves the viewer pondering what they would do if they found themself in the characters’ situation. This genre of movies often features tropes such as apocalypses, time travel, parallel universes, and aliens. When you think of the 1970s, you might imagine bell bottoms, bold fashion, and bright pops of color, but this was also a golden age for sci-fi. We watched a handful of these classics to see if they can still compete against modern films.
WESTWORLD (★★★★☆)
WestWorld (1973) offers an original plot that submerges the viewer in a thoroughly thought-out fantasy world. This, paired with convincing acting from the cast, makes it a worthwhile watch.
In the future, a company called Delos offers vacation services to anyone willing to pay a thousand dollars a day. The services include being transported into an amusement park with androids to simulate people in different time periods.
Intrigued by the idea of living like cowboys, Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) find themselves at Westworld, Delos’s wild west-themed amusement park. The two men are enjoying the cowboy lifestyle until there appears to be a malfunction in the programming of the androids, making their wild west fantasy a dangerous reality.
Even though the special effects look like something you would find at a Party City, the movie is still really entertaining and funny in some parts, like in the bar fight scene. It’s also interesting to see what people in the 70s thought about technology in the future.
The action scenes when the plot starts getting more serious still achieve their intended effect today, keeping the audience amused and on edge. Also, the ending isn’t predictable, unlike some other older films.
We give this one a solid recommendation, but if you’re interested in checking out a modernized version instead, it was adapted into a series on HBO in 2016 that has higher online ratings than the original film.
SOYLENT GREEN (★☆☆☆☆)
Soylent Green (1973) puts the viewer through an hour and a half of filler and dry dialogue. The movie introduces the conflict early on and then stretches the events leading to the conclusion for an unnecessary amount of time.
The film starts with visuals that show humanity’s progression until it reaches a “future” set in what people of the 70s thought 2022 would be like: exaggerated pollution, poverty, and severe overpopulation.
The viewer witnesses the murder of a rich man (Joseph Cotton) who has ties with Soylent, a company that mass produces tasteless bricks of nutrients that the public eats as a food substitute. Detective Thorn (Charlton Heston) is tasked with finding out what happened to the victim. His investigation leads him back to the factory where Soylent Green is produced. Here, he makes a grim discovery and almost gets killed for it.
Most of the movie is just the detective interrogating people and flirting with women, which doesn’t even end up being entertaining. The ending feels rushed since the detective shares his discovery in the last seconds of the film before the credits roll, and the revelation doesn’t even cause a significant reaction amongst the public.
All this plus the poor special effects make the movie pretty outdated. Even the action scenes feel awkward and empty. The punches look delayed and the sound effects don’t make up for anything.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (★★★☆☆)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), directed by Steven Spielberg, elevates the extraterrestrial sci-fi trope in a mysterious and uplifting manner, but it also has its flaws.
This film is a perfect watch for anyone obsessed with the idea of discovering alien life. It includes groundbreaking (for the time) special effects, such as changes in lighting to convey the presence of aliens, part of what makes it compelling storytelling.
Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), an electrical lineman, encounters unidentified flying objects while on his drive home late at night. He soon becomes obsessed with what he witnessed and gives up everything he has to pursue it and learn more. Meanwhile, Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) also encounters the UFOs, which abduct her young son Barry, causing her to begin a search for her son. Her path eventually crosses with Neary’s.
One of the movie's flaws is that there isn’t much of a solid plot for Neary. It seems silly for him to abandon his family just to pursue his obsession. His wife and children ultimately leave him because they can no longer handle his fixation, something that makes it hard for us to identify with him.
Even though the mystery and special effects still impress, the choices of the characters in the film can sometimes put the viewer off.
ALIEN (★★★★★)
Alien (1979) is a great example of an older movie that still lives up to today’s expectations.
A team of seven on the Nostromo starship, led by Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), is on their way back to Earth when they are ordered to investigate an unusual signal they receive from a nearby planet.
Once they land on the planet, Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), and Kane (John Hurt) exit the ship and search for the source of the signal. During their expedition, they follow signs of alien life and eventually find a nest of eggs. Dallas gets too close, and one of the aliens jumps out of the egg and latches onto his face. Lambert and Kane bring Dallas back to the ship with the alien still attached, not knowing the danger this will cause later on.
The characters are incredibly well written, and each of their reactions to the situation is reasonable and understandable. The space suits and uniforms they wear in the ship aren’t tacky or overwhelmingly old fashioned. And the special effects surprisingly still look up-to-date. The xenomorph’s appearance is very realistic, especially considering that it was made only using puppets and prosthetics. During the close-ups of the alien and eggs, you can see moisture and movement, making it all the more convincing that these creatures were actually real and alive.
The movie has a strong horror element to it after the alien comes on board, which makes it even more intriguing. Overall, Alien was ahead of its time and is still a good watch, even by today’s standards.