forgoton classics - Sci Fi movies

"Dark Star"...one of my all-time favourites! But I'm surprised no-one's mentioned "This Island Earth"
 
Fiend without a Face.
Invisible creatures steal people's brains and spinal cords. Rather graphic for the time and much less cheesy than you might think.

Denver said:
Colossus: The Forbin Project (just watched it via Netflix and I still love it)
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I've seen this one mentioned often on this forum (including by me). Seems to be something of a favorite.
 
MG1962 said:
Its funny. I just finished watching Illustrated Man before I clicked on this thread. Rod Steiger, all I could see was Napoleon......
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I just watched that one too, though it seemed more like an extended Twilight Zone episode than a scifi classic to me.

Another one I haven't seen in a long time is: Kronos

That morning view of Kronos on the shore still sticks in my mind.
 
I've seen Dark Star...

I'd add;

Life Force; Based on the book Space Vampires by Colin Wilson which I haven't read but my friend says is nothing like as good as the film. Boys, when you watch this film you will exclaim 'my god, they're almost perfect' at least once. The film also suggested to us the band names 'Malevolent Umbrella' and 'Don't Kiss Patrick Stewart.'

They Live; I've yet to meet a single other human who's seen this film except the guy who lent it me on VHS many years ago. If you're aware of the british paranoid/woo merchant/soccer goalkeeper David Icke, then the plot of this movie will be familiar, and actually pre-dates the begginning of Ickes assertions that alien lizards disguised as humans hold real humanity in bondage. It also includes the most ludicrously drawn out fight scene in cinema.

Zardoz; Hippy british ( I think, all the actors are brits anyway) seventies sci-fi starring Sean Connery, would you believe. The plot revolves around an enclave of technological survival in a post-apocalypse world. The inhabitants of the enclave extract tribute from the barbarians beyond their walls via a giant floating head, Zardoz, and brutal enforcers. Connery plays one of these enforcers who finds a way into the enclave and discovers the truth of Zardoz. Lots of gratuitous nudity and sex to demonstrate, a bit self-consciously, how liberated everyone is.

I also thought about Fahrenheit 451, and The Handmaids Tale, but while the films are relatively little known the books aren't, so I'm not sure they count.
 
commandlinegamer said:
I've only seen it once, at least 25 years ago, possibly more. Surprised it hasn't been shown more often, compared to some of the dreck that passes for SFF.
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Is that the one about the super intelligent computer that they build inside of a mountain because the russians built one and they need to keep up with them, but then the computer decides to take over?

If so, that movie was awesome: I saw it maybe ten or fifteen years ago on TV, and never since, but thought it was great. If not, then add this unnamed film to the list.
 
Roboramma said:
Is that the one about the super intelligent computer that they build inside of a mountain because the russians built one and they need to keep up with them, but then the computer decides to take over?

If so, that movie was awesome: I saw it maybe ten or fifteen years ago on TV, and never since, but thought it was great. If not, then add this unnamed film to the list.
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That's the one (though the plot didn't proceed exactly in that order...)
 
Naddig74 said:
They Live; I've yet to meet a single other human who's seen this film except the guy who lent it me on VHS many years ago.
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Really? Most of my friends have seen it. I'd put it in the "Cult Classic" category. "I have come her to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum."

It also includes the most ludicrously drawn out fight scene in cinema.
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All just to get the guy to put on a pair of sunglasses!
 
Naddig74 said:
Life Force; Based on the book Space Vampires by Colin Wilson which I haven't read but my friend says is nothing like as good as the film. Boys, when you watch this film you will exclaim 'my god, they're almost perfect' at least once. The film also suggested to us the band names 'Malevolent Umbrella' and 'Don't Kiss Patrick Stewart.'
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I hadn't heard of this but good old youtube turned this up
NSFW
 
I love They Live. That is still one of my favorite fight scenes ever. I believe they redid it with the two handicapped kids on Southpark once. I really wish Roddy Piper could have had a bigger movie career.

I barely remember Lathe of Heaven from my childhood, but it still sticks with me today. Great film. Supposedly there was a remake, but i haven't seen it yet.

I saw a reissue of Fantastic Planet about 10 years ago. I must have seen that when i was younger, because some parts were very familiar.
 
Brainster said:
I would never call it a classic, but I enjoyed the heck out of the animated movie Wizards back in the 1970s. It doesn't hold up that well, I'll admit, but it was one of the very first real "fantasy" movies.

Somewhat more for the kiddies but with some real charm as well was The Phantom Tollbooth, which starred the kid from the Munsters.
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I was going to mention "Wizards" and I remember going to the movies with a bunch of kids from the neighborhood to see "The Phantom Tollbooth" Starring Butch "Eddie Munster" Patrick. I'm guessing that's the last paycheck he got out of Hollywood too. It was one of those starts with live action, then slipping into a cartoon universe shortly there after. I remember two things about it, the Watchdog, a dog with a clock in his gut (Flavor-flav prequel?) and the "Fully Galvanized Car". I guess rust was a bit of a problem in the cartoon universe...
 
Someone just mentioned Kronos...I recently rented it...Still good.

Quatermass made me think of "Five Million Years to Earth" with the estimable professor...
A really good film and quite spooky.
 
I second "Life Force", and yes, they are nearly perfect! :D

One of my favorites is "A Boy and His Dog".
 
SumDood said:
I love They Live. That is still one of my favorite fight scenes ever. I believe they redid it with the two handicapped kids on Southpark once. I really wish Roddy Piper could have had a bigger movie career.

I barely remember Lathe of Heaven from my childhood, but it still sticks with me today. Great film. Supposedly there was a remake, but i haven't seen it yet.

I saw a reissue of Fantastic Planet about 10 years ago. I must have seen that when i was younger, because some parts were very familiar.
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I was going to mention The Lathe of Heaven. IMHO the only SF movie that is actually better than the original story. PBS had a lot of problems with the rights and cannot afford to re-broadcast it much (they last did so in 2000). The remake in 2002 reverts to the crap translation to the screen that the is usual Hollywood SciFi poop.

See the Wikipedia entries for The_Lathe_of_HeavenWP and
The_Lathe_of_Heaven_(film)WP
 
MG1962 said:
I always thought it was dying for a remake, great science fiction, great spook story, and horribly logical in its plot
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X-Files, the TV show that is, was a remake of this stretched out over many seasons.
 
I own Lifeforce, it's somewhat cheesy, but WAY under appreciated (hot French bodies aside).

Here's another fool who's seen Roddy Piper beat up his friend for 20 minutes to make him wear some 3-d glasses :)

If we're mentioning Wizards I have to shout out for Fire and Ice!

It's not reeaalllyyy Sci-Fi, more sword and sorcery, but it has a guy who's a cross between Batman and Conan, who goes ape-s&%t on EVERYTHING!

'Nuff said.
 
I've seen almost everything from these lists, but I am a huge Sci-Fi fantasy nerd, so results may vary :D
 
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