7 Forgotten '70s Sci-Fi Movies That Have Aged Like Fine Wine

Image via Universal Pictures Published Aug 22, 2026, 3:17 PM EDT Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel. A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated. Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point. Sign in to your Collider account From major Hollywood blockbusters like George Lucas' Star Wars to European arthouse masterpieces like Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker, the 1970s saw the release of several of the greatest science fiction movies ever made. This has been one of the art form's most popular and prolific genres since its very inception as a storytelling medium, one capable of holding up a mirror to audiences and reflecting on contemporary societal issues through these absolutely fascinating, hugely creative stories. Whether it was a space opera, a futuristic dystopia, or any other sort of sci-fi gem, the best sci-fi films of the '70s all helped revolutionize what the genre could do on the big screen. But while many of the decade's best sci-fi movies have gone straight into the annals of history the way they deserve, others eventually fell into oblivion and have since joined the ranks of the most underappreciated cinematic gems of the '70s. Of course, calling these kinds of films "forgotten" is a bit of an exaggeration for dramatic effect, seeing as there have to be at least a few hundred people out there who remember them well. The fact of the matter, however, is that these movies don't receive nearly as much praise as they deserve. 'Dark Star' (1974) Image via Bryanston Distributing Company If a hypothetical Mount Rushmore of horror filmmakers were to be built, then John Carpenter would undoubtedly have to be right up there as one of the greatest, most groundbreaking, and most influential directors in the history of horror. Even cinema's biggest giants had to start somewhere, however, and in Carpenter's case, that was Dark Star. Directed, produced, scored, and co-written (with Dan O'Bannon) by Carpenter, this indie flick isn't actually horror at all, but a sci-fi satire. Set on the outskirts of space, it follows a small crew who, 20 years into their mission, find things starting to go hilariously wrong. It's one of the best science fiction movie debuts the big screen has ever seen, establishing several distinct traits and tropes that would go on to become Carpenter's signature. Granted, by no means is it a perfect film. Its low-budget visual effects looked crude even back then, and even more so nowadays. What has allowed it to age like fine wine, however, is how downright brilliant its countercultural satire and its shoestring-budget ingenuity are. Carpenter would go on to become one of the most transgressive directors of his generation in Hollywood, and Dark Star is still a phenomenal introduction to his work. 'Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea' (1977) Image via Barrandov Studios Many of history's most criminally underrated genre movies came from countries that no longer exist, and Czechoslovakia was a nation that produced particularly strong work. Case in point: Jindřich Polák's Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea, which is far more than just a comedy with one of the coolest titles in the history of cinema. Adapted from Josef Nesvadba's eponymous short story, it follows a man (Petr Kostka) who lives a boring life as a rocket scientist. When his twin brother dies in an accident, he decides to impersonate him, unwittingly finding himself in the middle of a Nazi time travel conspiracy. Czechoslovakia produced a particularly strong and noteworthy body of anti-fascist art, particularly cinema, and this has aged as one of the cleverest and funniest anti-fascist satires of the 20th century. Aside from its themes still being terrifyingly timely today, Tomorrow I'll Wake Up has also aged wonderfully thanks to its exceptionally-crafted script, its creative use of time travel elements, and its timeless absurdist comedy. It's a quintessentially '70s gem that more people should know about. 'The Medusa Touch' (1978) Image via ITC Entertainment Directed by Jack Gold and based on the 1973 novel by Peter Van Greenaway, The Medusa Touch blends elements of sci-fi, mystery, and supernatural horror in all sorts of genius ways. Indeed, this British-French co-production is one of the most enrapturing genre-bending gems of its time, as well as one of those forgotten sci-fi movies that are still a perfect watch in 2026. It's about John Morlar (Richard Burton), a telekinetic novelist who causes disasters simply by thinking about them, and the police detective (Lino Ventura) investigating the attempt on his life. Despite a star-studded that also included Lee Remick, the movie went on to flop at the box office, and it was soon forgotten by the years' passage. Almost half a century after its release, however, it's still fully worth checking out. Its fiercely anti-establishment themes, political nihilism, and punk tone all feel far ahead of their time nowadays, making The Medusa Touch one of those sci-fi gems that genuinely get infinitely better with age. Full of creative sequences and anchored by Burton at his very best, it's a must-see underrated classic for all those who love genre-blending science fiction. 'Phase IV' (1974) Image via Paramount Pictures Directed by graphic designer and filmmaker Saul Bass, best known for his posters for films like Vertigo and The Shining, as well as for his stop-motion title sequences for films like North by Northwest and Casino, directed a single movie throughout his career: Phase IV. Sci-fi horror at its most awfully underrated, this cult classic is about desert ants who get together to wage war on humanity, leaving up to a select group of people to stop them. Inspired by H. G. Wells' short story Empire of the Ants, the film was a flop upon release, prompting Bass to never sit in the director's chair again. With the film's airing on the legendary Mystery Science Theater 3000, however, Phase IV was able to garner the cult following that it always deserved. With the rise of television and the film's airing on the legendary Mystery Science Theater 3000, however, Phase IV was able to garner the cult following that it always deserved. Back then, audiences and critics looked down on it as a low-brow B-movie. Today, people see it for what it truly is: a delectably avant-garde creature feature whose stunning visuals benefit greatly from Bass' detail-oriented direction. The pacing is a bit slow and the acting does show its age, but when you watch a '70s creature feature, you're inevitably in it for the creatures; and in that sense, Phase IV should be perfectly satisfying. Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive. 💊The Matrix 🔥Mad Max 🌧️Blade Runner 🏜️Dune 🚀Star Wars TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → 01 You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one. APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone. NEXT QUESTION → 02 In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires. AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of. AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything. ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are. AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are. AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of. AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another. AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot. REVEAL MY WORLD → Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for. The MatrixYou took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things. You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it. You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare. You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it. The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door. Mad MaxThe wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you. You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon. You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three. You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider. In the wasteland, that distinction is everything. Blade RunnerYou'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer. In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional. You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either. In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything. DuneArrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools. You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory. Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect. In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it. Star WarsThe galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way. You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion. You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken. You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of. In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 'Time After Time' (1979) Image via Warner Bros. Written and directed by Nicholas Meyer, adapted from Karl Alexander's novel of the same time (which was unfinished at the time of the movie's production and release), Time After Time follows H. G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) as he uses his time machine to go back into the 20th century and go after Jack the Ripper (David Warner). That's just about as wild as movie premises go, but thanks to Meyer's lighthearted approach and exquisitely entertaining creativity, Time After Time ended up being a huge success back in 1979. And yet, even in spite of that success and of its incredible cast, it still was forgotten by time. In 2026, however, it seems to be as good a time as any to bring Time After Time right back into the mainstream, where it always belonged. It's one of the most nearly-perfect sci-fi movies of the '70s, the sort of film that has something in it for everyone. Charming, romantic, sharply humorous, and perfectly genre-bending, it has aged as one of the most awfully underrated time travel movies of the entire 20th century. It's not a particularly sophisticated film, but it never needs or pretends to be. Done in the style of the pulpy serials of decades past, with a wittier and more romantic edge, it's a fantastic sci-fi classic in desperate need of more love. 'Silent Running' (1972) Image via Universal Pictures Douglas Trumbull was nothing short of a visual effects wizard, having defined and revolutionized cinema with his pioneering use of practical effects. Simply put, thanks to his work in classics of the caliber of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, science fiction cinema wouldn't be the same without him. He only ever directed two films, the first—and almost inarguably superior—of which was the dystopian sci-fi drama Silent Running. It stars Bruce Dern as Freeman Lowell, an astronaut who is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's plant samples in a future where all flora on the planet has gone extinct. One of the best forgotten sci-fi movies that have aged like fine wine, Silent Running is one of the best sci-fi gems of '70s cinema, even if it isn't often recognized as such. Though it was commercially underwhelming initially, time has only been kind to it, allowing it to become a cult classic whose environmental and technological themes and predictions have proven horrifyingly prescient with the years' passage. Narratively profound and full of exactly the kind of jaw-dropping visuals you'd expect from a Trumbull-directed movie, it's essential viewing for all those who love space sci-fi from this New Hollywood era. 'Colossus: The Forbin Project' (1970) Image via Universal Pictures Directed by Joseph Sargent, the AI conspiracy thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project is one of the most quietly brilliant sci-fi movies ever. In it, the U.S. government gives a supercomputer total control over the nuclear launch codes, thinking that this will prevent war. However, what the computer ends up doing with its newfound powers ends up going far beyond what its creators could have imagined. Needless to say, Colossus' themes and story have become even more terrifyingly timely today than they were even back during the Cold War era, making it even more of a must-see in 2026 than it was back when it bombed at the box office in 1970. It isn't just thematically or in terms of chilling prescience, however, that The Forbin Project has aged like fine wine. Avoiding the pitfalls of other high-concept sci-fi films from the '70s, the film is impeccably paced, visually sharp, and powerfully subtle in its narrative. Exceptionally well-directed by Sargent at the top of his game, with some of the most striking visuals of any sci-fi movie from the era, it's a criminally underappreciated classic that every sci-fi fan should watch at least once. Colossus: The Forbin Project Release Date April 8, 1970 Runtime 100 minutes Cast Eric Braeden Dr Charles Forbin Susan Clark Dr. Cleo Markham Gordon Pinsent The President William Schallert CIA Director Grauber Director Joseph Sargent Writers James Bridges Producers Stanley Chase