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Science Fiction

Science fiction as a genre of film making has been an element of the cinema experience since the earliest days of the motion picture industry. These films have explored a great range of unique topics, including many that cannot be readily presented in other genre. Science fiction films have been used to explore sensitive social and political issues, while often providing an entertaining story for the more casual viewer. Today, science fiction films are in the forefront of new special effects technology, and the audience has become accustomed to displays of realistic aliens, space battles, energy weapons, faster than light travel, and distant worlds. This genre has produced many memorable films, as well as a number that can be considered mediocre or even among the worst examples of film production. It took many decades, and the efforts of talented teams of film producers, for the science fiction film genre to be taken seriously as an art form by many critics. The very best of these films may be scrolled below, or for Sci-Fi TV Series, select the green 'Televison Shows' heading on left, and then the 'TV Sci-Fi' option.

Contamination (1980)

5.3/10
Director: Luigi Cozzi
Starring: Ian McCulloch, Louise Marleau

AKA 'Toxic Spawn'. An 'Alien'-like space shocker from Italy , this gory thriller tells of a spaceship that lands in a New York harbour carrying a myst... Read more

The Final Countdown (1980)

6.7/10
Director: Don Taylor
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino, Ron O'Neal, Charles...

The crew of the U.S.S. Nimitz, a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier, encounter a mysterious electrical storm off the coast of Hawaii sending them back... Read more

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

8.8/10
Director: Irvin Kershner
Starring: Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Alec Guinness, Vo...

The sequel to the original 'Star Wars' (Episode IV) finds our heroes under attack by the Evil Empire. Luke is taking advanced Jedi training from Yoda... Read more

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Blu-ray) (1980)

8.7/10
Director: Irvin Kershner
Starring: Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Alec Guinness, Vo...

The sequel to the original 'Star Wars' (Episode IV) finds our heroes under attack by the Evil Empire. Luke is taking advanced Jedi training from Yoda... Read more

Scanners (1980)

6.8/10
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan

David Cronenberg directs this explosive tale of mind control and the powers that exist to govern and observe its application. Patrick McGoohan ('The P... Read more

Altered States (1980)

6.9/10
Director: Ken Russell
Starring: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid

William Hurt stars in a dazzling debut as a research scientist on an incredible journey into the inner space of the mind. He tries everything from ps... Read more

Saturn 3 (1980)

5.1/10
Director: Stanley Donen
Starring: Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel

Space-aged, hydroponic gardeners Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett find their little astro-Eden no longer a lovely, verdant garden after that snake Harv... Read more

The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan (Blu-ray) (1979)

6.9/10
Starring: Lindsay Wagner, Marc Singer, Linda Gray, Henry Wilcoxon

Jennie Logan discovers an antique dress in her attic that allows her to travel back in time. Soon she's torn between life with her philandering husban... Read more

Star Trek: The Motion Picture ( Blu-ray ) (1979)

6.4/10
Director: Robert Wise
Starring: DeForest Kelley, George Takei, James Doohan, Leonard Nimoy, Majel Barrett, Willi...

The crew of the Enterprise are reunited to combat a lethal force field headed toward Earth. This was the first big screen outing for the Trek franchis... Read more

Captain America ( TV ) (1979)

3.3/10
Director: Rod Holcomb
Starring: Reb Brown, Len Birman

When a commercial artist is almost murdered by spies looking for his late father's secrets, he is saved in surgery when the FLAG formula is injected i... Read more