Recommend me some old sci-fi classics (Spoilers for old movies included)

[FelixSH]

After watching a few of the old Planet of the Apes movies, I want more. Other movies I want to watch are:

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)

Google isn't much help, when I ask for similar movies. For The Day the Earth Stood Still, it recommended me modern action movies, including Avengers. Come on.

So I hope you good people can recommend me movies that actually are similar to these here, in some way. I want them to be from before 2000, preferably even from before the 90s. Not a hard rule, but I want the movie to be slower than modern movies - I really enjoyed, how Planet of the Apes takes 30 minutes, to get to some actual people/apes. And that it has ten minutes or so of the astronauts just wandering the desert. Point is: It needs to be somewhat slow paced. Not too much action (some is ok, but it shouldn't be the focus), and more ideas driven. I was very surprised, by how heady Planet of the Apes actually was.

If there is action, it really shouldn't take itself too seriously. A movie like They Live is also fine, which has fun one-liners (at least if I remember correcly), and is mainly an action film. It's not primarily what I'm looking for, but also works. I guess I find old movies simply more charming.

Dunno, maybe just suggest me sci-fi classics. I obviously don't really know what I want, except that I seem not to want any newer movies, so just throw everything in that you can think of. Maybe include forgotten gems.

And, when I'm already at the topic: You remember the Beaver Brothers, that Nickelodeon cartoon? Sometimes, they would watch this old sci-fi show. Does anyone know what this is based on? I want to see something like that.

 

[Bongo]

Forbidden Planet is iconic.

 

[Lokii]

Stalker The slowest most idea driven of them all! You might also get a kick out of the OG Solaris too.

 

[Torzelbaum]

I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for but I'll throw out Explorers (1985).

 

[Beowulf]

Have you seen Soylent Green?

If you're willing to put in a little more time for some head-trip sci-fi, The Prisoner TV series has the pacing style I think you're looking for, and it's only a single season.

 

[Beta Metroid]

2001 is the very first thing that comes to mind after finishing your post.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is the Spielberg version of what you're describing.
Body Snatchers tells me you're willing to get creepy, and John Carpenter's The Thing hits a lot of the notes you describe (though it is quite gory. Not a ton of action, but some onscreen icks).
If you haven't seen Alien, it's also pretty much perfect slow-burn sci-fi horror. It has one scene that's pretty gross, and in terms of on-screen, visual gore, that's it.
I'll try to think of more to add later.

 

[Falselogic]

Before you watch the 1982 The Thing make sure you watch the classic it is adapted from 1951's The Thing From Another World. Also check out the 1956 original Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

 

[Purple]

The original Godzilla is something very very different from all its sequels, so watch that.

While you're at it, hey watch at least some sequels. Godzilla vs. Hedorah has a decidedly unique vibe to it.

The original Little Shop of Horrors is a very different movie than the musical everyone knows but it's not bad.

While it's mostly more horror than sci-fi, genre edges bleed, and basically the entire output of Hammer Film Productions holds up shockingly well. I would at least poke around at some of the Draculas and such to get a proper understanding of why all the various old British guys in Star Wars were Big Deals. Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is interesting as taking it as non-fiction is the best explanation I have for why England is Like That. Watch at least one of those various cave men vs. dinosaur movies.

What else is worth it from the 60s...
Barbarella

Then let's see, good (or at least notable) stuff from the 70s:
Dark Star
Silent Running
Logan's Run

Less than obvious picks from the 80s:
Explorers
The Last Starfighter
The Running Man
Enemy Mine
Lifeforce
The Hidden (kinda stretching it calling this sci-fi)
The Road Warrior
Robot Jox
Literally the entire filmography of John Carpenter but especially They Live
And there's like 30 clones each of Alien and Star Wars, some of which are pretty good. Really just watch as much Roger Coreman stuff as you can stomach.

And from the 90s:
Dark City
City of Lost Children
Johnny Menumonic
Gattaca
12 Monkeys

 

[Falselogic]

Oh it was a complete flop but the ending makes it all worth it. Disney's The Black Hole (1979)

 

[Johnny Unusual]

It's a annoyingly preachy in the first quarter but once it gets going, Silent Running is really good. A spaceship carrying one of the Earths last forests is told to abandon it and Bruce Dern isn't having it.

Failsafe is less "sci-fi" and more a speculative thriller but all the same, it's worth your time. It had the misfortune of coming out very hot on the heels of Dr. Strangelove and is basically a non-comedy version of the film but it's a gripping tale of the world on the brink of nuclear war. Also Walter Matthau is in it. I have a hard time swallowing the last decision overall but it really is a smart, dark thriller.

Also, the 80s output of David Cronenberg is excellent mix of heady sci-fi and body horror. My favourite of a very strong crop is Videodrome, an examination of television as a weapon of war on the public psyche and despite being about TV, feels very much a story of the Internet and social media age as a man with no moral compass is forced into a philosophical war he has no idea of how to handle.

 

[Exposition Owl]

City of Lost Children

This is a good one. The director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, also directed “Amélie” and the not-very-good fourth Alien movie, and the wild thing is that you can really see how his personal style brings some common elements to those three extremely different movies.

12 Monkeys

If you don’t mind movies that are on the slow and philosophical side, it’s worth seeing the 28-minute short feature from 1962 that helped to inspire 12 Monkeys, La jétée. It’s a series of still images with a voiceover, but it’s really powerful. I’ve never seen anything else quite like it.

Also, I guess I’ll be the one to mention Blade Runner (1982). I think the version called “the Final Cut” is the one to go with, and probably also the easiest to find on streaming services. I’m not sure it entirely holds up as a narrative, its gender politics certainly deserve criticism, and there are probably good papers out there about the way it uses East Asian cultural imagery as a visual shorthand for “foreignness.” Still, as a pure visual experience I don’t think it’s possible to overstate how powerful and influential Blade Runner was. I think it’s pretty jaw-dropping to look at even today.

 

[Violentvixen]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is the Spielberg version of what you're describing.

I was just thinking the other day that this movie is great and I need to watch it again.

 

[Bongo]

Forbidden Planet is iconic.

I'm done with other distractions now and I can elaborate on this. Forbidden Planet (1956) is a major aesthetic inspiration to all the sci-fi that follows. It's the origin of the most cameoed prop in movie history, Robbie the Robot. It contributed to the popularity of the image of the flying saucer. Star Trek's ship interiors and costumes draw heavily from it. Star Wars quotes several of its shot compositions. It was the first feature film ever to have a soundtrack produced entirely electronically and I don't just mean spooky theremin music either (though there's plenty of that).

It's that cerebral kind of classic science fiction: not horror, not action, but the tense elaboration of an imaginative mystery based on the extrapolation of then-current science. Despite being a "slow burn" from the 50s, an era of filmmaking when even the thrillers were kind of sedate, it's very watchable by modern tastes (the social values expressed may rub you the wrong way, but since you're asking for classic sci-fi I assume you're prepared for that). And you get to see a young Leslie Nielsen in a dramatic role, playing straight same sort of steely-eyed no-nonsense captain he'd spend the rest of his career spoofing in comedies.

Alasdair Beckett-King parodies the film here:

 

[Torzelbaum]

Short Circuit
Short Circuit 2
(Some aspects of these movies were not a great look even back in the 80s and they have aged like fish left outside in milk. But I think the films are still pleasant enough to watch. However I haven't watched them in ages so nostalgia could be clouding my judgment.)

The Andromeda Strain (Has anyone seen this movie? I have not but I am aware of it just from reputation alone.)

I don't know if it's necessarily all that good but for some reason tiny bits of the movie Warning Sign have remained stuck in my brain since the 80s.

 

[Purple]

The Andromeda Strain (Has anyone seen this movie? I have not but I am aware of it just from reputation alone.)

Yeah. It's both mindnumbingly dull, and completely ignorant about its own premise in a way that I'd assume makes it extra infuriating to watch while we are presently trying to survive a pandemic people assume will completely blow over and become harmless without taking any action based on... this movie, so far as I can tell.

 

[YangusKhan]

I haven't actually seen this myself yet, but consider the original  Westworld film.

 

[FelixSH]

Thanks for all the recommendations, a lot of very interesting ones in there.

I guess I should have mentioned the ones that I had already seen. But can't hurt to have a threat with all kinds of great sci-fi in it.

I liked 2001, up to the weird, trippy ending. Am I remembering that right? Trippy stuff bores me pretty soon.
Alien is excellent, as is Aliens (which surprised me, when watching it, as it would normally be too much of an action movie for me).
I did watch the original Godzilla years ago, after reading somewhere (probably TT) that it is completely different from its sequels. Very positive surprise.
Bladerunner didn't really work for me, when I watched...decades ago, I guess. Might be worth a rewatch.
I have seen 12 Monkeys, but didn't know about La jétée. Sounds very interesting.
Logans Run was one of those lucky catches, where I wanted to watch something in the middle of the night, found the name interesting (without knowing what it was), and then suddenly was watching a sci-fi classic. My German teacher once mentioned the idea, of "solving" a problem, by killing people with an age of 30 or something (he meant it in a sarcastic way) - it stuck with me, and I immediately realized that he talked about that movie. Also enjoyed the book, despite it being not that great, and somewhat disjointed, but worth a read.
I did watch Soylent Green at some point. Also have the book (Make Room, Make Room), which I really should read. Don't remember too many details about the movie, but I remember that everyone seemed accepting of how shitty everything was. And, of course, the ending. Though the way his partner dies was way more touching, but I also knew the twist. Still, felt more honest.

That's the ones I watched, plus 1984, Fahrenheit 451 (will never touch book or movie again) and Clockwork Orange (and probably more, I can't think of right now). Also, Class of '84, which isn't sci-fi anymore, not even a dystopia (which I count the others, including Clockword Orange, under), but which I keep thinking of, since making this thread. I think it feels, like there is some relation between something like the Body Snatcher movies, and that one.

Also, feel free to use this thread to talk about old sci-fi movies, in general, if you want. I don't really care about spoilers, it's more the mood that draws me to these movies, and the ideas, I don't care if I get surprised, or not.

Thanks, again.

 

[Violentvixen]

Fahrenheit 451 (will never touch book or movie again)

Curious what you disliked so much? I vaguely remember the movie having the weird trippy stuff you don't like (I don't either) but maybe there's more to dislike than I remember?

 

[Lokii]

It occurred to me Star Trek 1: Their Real First Motion Picture might be a good candidate. And it's a little too recent for the ask, but Moon has the vibes of a 70s sciflick.

 

[John]

I second Purple's recommendation of Enemy Mine. It's one of those sorta bad movies based on an interesting premise. Humans are in a war with aliens, and I think during a dogfight, Dennis Quaid gets shot down on an alien planet, along with the alien he was trying to kill. They need to learn to work and communicate together to survive, and then there's a Twist.

It feels like a repurposed Vietnam war script that was popular in the 80's, but it was a hugo award winning novella first. The author then went on to contribute to some books related to Alien Nation, the movie and tv series which also has similar themes. That series is probably not worth a watch, but it was a slightly interesting take on Aliens are Here, along with the V miniseries.

Last bad but entertaining movie I'll recommend is Saturn 3. This one had all sorts of script and actor problems, as Kirk Douglas was 63 but was forcing people to treat him like he was still Spartacus, so he can roll around with Farrah Fawcett in the buff. Harvey Keitel plays the villain, but the director apparently didn't like his voice, so had a British actor dubbed in. This one's on YouTube, so don't waste money or time tracking it down, but scroll through it while doing something else.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

How come no one said Zardoz yet?

We are getting out of old, maybe, based on personal definition but The Truman Show is easily my favorite Jim Carrey movie and hopefully will inspire you to check out Petet Weirs' "not Sci fi but feels sort of like it" movies The Cars That Ate Paris and Picnic at Hanging Rock (the original n9vel was going to have a Sci fi reveal before the author decided it worked better as ambiguous

 

[Lokii]

Picnic is a great movie but labeling it sci fi is a stretch.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Picnic is a great movie but labeling it sci fi is a stretch.

I know but I'm just saying Truman is a good inroad for Weir's other work, which is in a speculative zone. Technically nothing impossible happens but there's a sense unreality on both

 

[Purple]

How come no one said Zardoz yet?

Because there is love in my heart, and I understand that anyone going to the trouble to sit down with it is bound to try and suffer through the whole thing and not just the iconic opening scene?

Great as the gun-barfing stone head is, I don't think it's a movie anyone would watch if not for Sean Connery in a weird red harness, and he's only in it because he was specifically looking for something so weird and awful people wouldn't just call him "James Bond" forever.

 

[Bongo]

Zardoz is amazing but you gotta be in the right frame of mind for it, and I do not know how to describe that frame of mind. It's unrelentingly high-concept, and it's not in any particular hurry. If you're in a mood where you might say, "I get it already, now what's your point?" then you should watch Zardoz on some other day. The less you know about it, the better.

 

[lincolnic]

Curious what you disliked so much? I vaguely remember the movie having the weird trippy stuff you don't like (I don't either) but maybe there's more to dislike than I remember?

I'd also be very curious to hear about this. I reread it for the first time in decades early in the pandemic and I don't remember anything particularly icky (I've never seen the movie, though).

 

[FelixSH]

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone. I'll post here, when I have watched any of these movies.

Regarding Fahrenheit 451 (sorry, this got long again):

Curious what you disliked so much? I vaguely remember the movie having the weird trippy stuff you don't like (I don't either) but maybe there's more to dislike than I remember?

I'd also be very curious to hear about this. I reread it for the first time in decades early in the pandemic and I don't remember anything particularly icky (I've never seen the movie, though).

This is more about the book, and more specifically about the author, Ray Bradbury, himself. Over the years, he had made it more clear what Fahrenheit 451 is actually about - not a totalitarian government, that tries to prohibit art and knowledge, but about the people demanding that things they don't like be banned. And the government complied.

Which is an interesting point to make, and in itself, this seems pretty interesting to me. I despise, how people try to ban books from libraries and schools.

But it feels like Bradbury throws all the blame at minorities. I mean, he explicitely does. There is a coda to the book (no idea how copyright for that works, if having it just on the internet is illegal, but you can read it here). He starts by complaining, that some people ask him to rewrite some of his books, to include more women, or to make the black people less like Uncle Toms.

I'll just quote this part from the coda:

Fire-Captain Beatty, in my novel Fahrenheit 451, described how the books were burned first by minorities, each ripping a page or a paragraph from this book, then that, until the day came when the books were empty and the minds shut and the libraries closed forever.

He blames minorities for censorship. I get that censorship is the worst, but he seems to act like it comes from the evil minorities, who dare demand sensible representation. Reads to me like today, he would complain about those damn SJWs.

Together with him being kind of a technophobe, and whining about how people these days only watch tv, which make their brains all mushy. They should read good, old books instead, because books are totally superior art. This alone wouldn't be that bad, but together with the other stuff, it really doesn't help.

As I understand it, Fahrenheit 451 is, from his point of view, about inferior, more modern artforms turning the brains of people to mush, who can't deal with complicated thoughts anymore. And about those damn minorities, whose complaints will lead to total cencorship of all books.

I'm open to the suggestion that I'm wrong. But specifically this book is based on ideas that I find plain awful (if I don't misunderstand them). With so many other books, there is no point in rereading this one again.

 

[lincolnic]

But it feels like Bradbury throws all the blame at minorities. I mean, he explicitely does. There is a coda to the book (no idea how copyright for that works, if having it just on the internet is illegal, but you can read it here). He starts by complaining, that some people ask him to rewrite some of his books, to include more women, or to make the black people less like Uncle Toms.

I knew that he often claimed the book wasn't about censorship, but I'd never seen this coda before and yeah, it's extremely gross and upsetting. Thanks for sharing it here and making us aware.

 

[Violentvixen]

Never seen that either and boy does that devolve into madness over the course of two pages.

As I understand it, Fahrenheit 451 is, from his point of view, about inferior, more modern artforms turning the brains of people to mush, who can't deal with complicated thoughts anymore. And about those damn minorities, whose complaints will lead to total cencorship of all books.

That's not how I'd read or heard the book described, it's always been described as a discussion of censorship to further the government's shutdown of free speech. Absolutely understand that this coda changes the tone and interpretation a lot.

 

[ThricebornPhoenix]

The only thing that comes to mind that hasn't been listed is Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959).

Maybe Metropolis (1927)?