This article is part of a directory: Game Rant's Ultimate Sci-Fi Guide
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When it comes to the sci-fi movie genre, it's not out of the realm of possibility to say that the 1970s was the absolute best decade. Certainly these days, the special effects are better than they were back in the day, but it's hard to argue the movies that come out these days are leaving bigger footprints. Films like the Star Wars movie that started it all and Mad Max, Alien and A Clockwork Orange were all released in the 1970s.

While those big sci-fi films were all launched in the same decade, there are some other ones that obviously didn't make the kind of money they did or didn't get the same kind of audience, but they were still very, very good. Some of them told stories that have resonated for decades. Some were so good that Hollywood felt the need to tell their stories again with updated stars and special effects. Whatever the reason, there are some science-fiction films from the 1970s that are definitely underappreciated.

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The Omega Man

the omega man

The Omega Man is actually the second movie based on Richard Matheson's novel, I Am Legend to hit theaters. This particular version of the story starred Charlton Heston as Dr. Robert Neville. In this version of the story, the year is 1975 and the United States and Russian armies are facing off in a full-scale war. At some point, one of the armies released a biological weapon that turned into a plague that wiped out most of the world. Those that survived the plague were transformed into albino mutants who were sensitive to sunlight.

After Neville injected himself with a vaccine that allowed him to avoid catching the disease, he was chased by a group of the mutants, who also happened to be Luddites. The movie told several morality tales about that era and it still stands out from the pack. For those who think this plot sounds vaguely familiar, the original Matheson story was leaned on heavily for the Will Smith-starring I Am Legend that featured vampiric creatures that were quite a bit close to the description in the book.

Rollerball

Rollerball

Rollerball is a movie that is set in 2018, which of course was decades in the future when the film was released. The world in this film has seen corporations run everything in the place of countries. In order to keep people entertained and as a way to control populations, there is a sport where the contestants fight to the death. In this particular "future" sport, it's not just a matter of scoring points, it's a matter of surviving the match.

This is one of those science-fiction films that was all about trying to warn society about the evils of corporate overlords. Four years after the movie was set, it feels like society would still be wise to keep that lesson in mind. One reason the lesson caught on the way it did is because it had a very good cast led by none other than a young James Caan as the main protagonist that was at odds with one of the most powerful companies on earth.

The Black Hole

the black hole

Disney's entry on this list is actually quite a bit better than the film had any reason to be, mostly because the Mouse House was hoping to make The Black Hole its answer to Star Wars, so it took a few more risks than anyone might have expected at first blush.

The plot is relatively self-explanatory thanks to the title. A group of explorers in the near future wanted to be the first to actually go into and then come out of a black hole. The film has some truly trippy special effects as well as an original score to go with them. While Disney was behind this movie during a period of time when they were still mostly putting out family movies, The Black Hole was definitely one that could be enjoyed by adults and kids.

Death Race 2000

death race 2000

Death Race 2000 is set in a futuristic America on the brink of collapse. In a similar vein to Rollerball, the only joy citizens get is from the absolutely brutal Transcontinental Road Race. In this particular road race, teams compete to score the fastest recorded time to finish. In order to win the top spot, there aren't all that many rules, and that means that if the racers need to run down bystanders, they're not just allowed to but are actually encouraged to do so.

This campy sci-fi film was popular enough thanks to the over-the-top personalities of the drivers that it actually spawned a prequel as well. A couple of those memorable drivers were played by actors that went on to have long and successful careers such as Sylvester Stallone (pre-Rocky) and David Carradine when he was at the height of his popularity thanks to the Kung-Fu series.

Wizards

wizards movie

In an era when science-fiction movies where testing the boundaries when it came to trippy and psychedelic settings, there were few movies that could touch Wizards in that regard. Despite this being an animated film, this wasn't really a kid's movie as there was plenty of adult themes like sex, drugs, rock and roll and plenty of blood and death. The movie was a post-apocalyptic setting where two wizards were doing battle. One wizard represented the might of magic and the other wizard represented the might of technology.

Of course, while they were the main antagonists, they're hardly the only characters that surface in the film. While man has almost completely faded off the face of the earth, there's been a rise of other entities that had definitely left the face of the earth. This post-nuclear world started to see creatures like trolls and elves start to come back. This was another part of the fight between magic and technology as the two forces tried to establish dominance over a planet that was trying to heal itself.

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