The 1960s Sci-Fi Movies That Are Still Worth Watching

Written by Joshua Tyler and Drew Deitch | Updated 1 hour ago

The 1960s were a turning point in American culture and science fiction.

For science fiction fans, it is now remembered as the decade that brought us Stanley Kubrick’s groundbreaking film. 2001: A space journeyH.G. Wells’ beloved adaptation Time machineAnd one of the greatest twists ever Planet of the Apes.

Unfortunately, a lot of other great sci-fi films of the decade didn’t stick with modern audiences and are slowly being forgotten. Not if there’s anything we can do about it!

Let’s jump into a time machine and go back to an era when ideas were bigger and better than most special effects could accomplish but still left their mark on movie history. These are the sci-fi movies from the 1960s that are still worth watching.

Doctor Who and the Daleks (1965)

You know Doctor Who As a television show, but in 1965 the good doctor got a big screen feature film titled Doctor Who and the Daleks. This was the first time the Doctor had been seen in colour.

Best of all, the Doctor is played by Peter Cushing, Star Wars’ Grand Moff Tarkin.

The film is based on one of the oldest films Doctor Who “The Daleks” miniseries. It features Doctor Who and his three young companions traveling to the planet Skaro to confront the evil Daleks.

In this continuity – which is always intended to be separate from the show – the Doctor is called Doctor Who. He is not a Time Lord, but rather a human inventor who builds the TARDIS instead of stealing it. Most of the other changes are cosmetic in nature, but this is still a unique piece of sci-fi history that any fan will want to check out.

The Last Man on Earth (1964)

Before Richard Matheson’s historical novel I am a legend It was made into a Will Smith hit and Charlton Heston delight, with the legendary Vincent Price starring in the original, The last man on earth. After a plague turns the population into undead vampires, Robert Morgan goes into hiding and tries to survive as the world changes.

The last man on earth It’s a bleak little film that’s surprisingly effective in its bleak tone, thanks to solid performances from the always excellent Price. George Romero will continue to inspire game changers Night of the Living DeadSo, if you want to know where this movie came from, The last man on earth It is a must-see chiller.

Barbarella (1968)

Barbarella Not the steamy space babe movie its reputation would lead you to believe.

Sure, the film contains a moderate amount of nudity, but it’s shot in such a naive and innocent way that at times you almost don’t notice it.

Barbarella It stars Jane Fonda as a solo space pilot traveling through a universe in the distant future where Earth has advanced beyond needing barbaric things like violence and war. They also got rid of sex and replaced it with birth control pills.

In this context, Barbarella is sent to track down a villain in the galaxy who has plans to bring back violence and war. Early in her journey, she discovers that this sexual thing that humans don’t do anymore is actually a pretty good thing. It’s also beneficial, because the more you do it, the more likely the man you marry will end up going higher. Barbarella literally helps the angel get his wings by making love to him.

This sounds pretty sleazy, doesn’t it? But check out what one of these sex scenes looks like, completely uncensored, in the video at the top of the article.

All of this sex happens off-camera, and what you’re actually watching is a series of beautifully choreographed sci-fi scenes in which actors of varying abilities wear lovingly made and completely unusual costumes. Clearly, their goal here was to create something more than just a space movie. They were trying to create a kind of free-love visual art in the 1960s.

Do they succeed? It will be up to you but we can say with certainty that there is no other movie like it Barbarella It is an essential element of the contract for a reason.

Planet of the Vampires (1965)

Italian maestro Mario Bava has made one of the biggest influences on science fiction cinema Vampire planet. The story involves a spaceship crew responding to a distress signal on an unexplored planet where they end up finding the remains of a long-dead giant. Alien Classify.

This sure sounds like another sci-fi horror movie you might be familiar with, right? Vampire planet Definitely inspired Alien But it’s more of a space zombie movie than a vampire movie. Mario Bava’s usual colorful design and poppy tone make it an enjoyable and important piece of sci-fi cinema history.

First men on the moon (1964)

Shortly before humans landed on the moon and discovered what it was, Hollywood produced this HG Wells film adaptation that uses an elegant framing device to bring everything together.

Imagine if Neil Armstrong took his baby step and found a letter written by someone from 1899 telling him he wasn’t the first.

The first men on the moon It quickly flashes back to that original secret mission of 1899 and explores what it would have been like if man had gone to the moon during the Victorian era. The answer is that they probably ended up underground and encountered a secret inner moon filled with Ray Harryhausen’s fantastic stop-motion monsters. Oh, who doesn’t love some stop-motion Ray Harryhausen monsters?

The film was not a huge success at the box office, but it quickly became a hit. It is now viewed as one of the best adaptations of HG Wells’ works. George Pal Time machine He gets a lot of love and well-deserved attention, however The first men on the moon is another adaptation of classic 1960s sci-fi that you won’t want to skip.

Wonderful Journey (1966)

Long before Ms. Frizzle rides the Magic School Bus to one of her students and Futurama The crew traveled to Fry’s bowels, Great trip Explore the inside of a Soviet dissident. The film won numerous awards, featured a star-studded cast, and provided the visual language of every movie or TV show you’ve ever seen put into circulation.

Issued in 1966, Great trip It is a technical marvel of its time. The film’s original trailer advertised “a new kind of movie-going experience,” and for once, that wasn’t an exaggeration. It was real.

Isaac Asimov, one of Greatest science fiction authors Of all times, he wrote the film’s novelization that came out before the film.

today, Great trip It stands out as a turning point in Science fiction films by exploring a completely new environment that has never been done on this scale before. It is still considered a technical advance and a great adventure.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

Imagine Matt Damon Martian Had it been filmed in the 1960s and combined it with a monkey wearing a space suit. You will have Robinson Crusoe on Mars.

The film’s main character isn’t named Robinson Crusoe, but other than that, it’s an exact adaptation of Daniel Dafoe’s classic novel, If It Takes Place in Space.

most Robinson Crusoe on Mars It was filmed in Death Valley, but you’d never know it. The production design is excellent for the era, and does its best to find a level of realism that matches the very limited scientific knowledge of what it might be like on Mars. Even the unrealistic parts are actually fun.

Watch the strange way these spacecraft move in the video. I love him.

As a bonus, Adam West appears briefly in the film as a cocky astronaut. He’s been there long enough to make you wonder why he wasn’t cast as the film’s lead. still, Robinson Crusoe on Mars It was notable enough to be restored and released by the Criterion Collection. That should tell you it’s a worthy watch.

Seconds (1966)

in SecondsScreen icon Rock Hudson gives one of the best performances of his career as an elderly stoic who is lured by a secret company that can change his identity and make him younger, as a way to find happiness without responsibilities.

In his new identity, he soon falls in with a group of nudist hippies and finds himself involved with a disturbing woman who has also escaped her boring life. And he’s still not happy.

Seconds Adapted from the novel by David Ealy and directed by legendary Hollywood star John Frankenheimer, who set out to use irregular compositions to give his film an unsettling feel and it certainly worked.

Seconds It plays out as a particularly good episode of The twilight zoneAnd it’s always worth watching The twilight zone. Seconds No different.

X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

Roger Corman is responsible for many science fiction films over the years, and one of his best works of all time is… X: The man with the x-ray eyes. Ray Milland plays a scientist who wants to experiment with expanding the capabilities of human vision. He develops eye drops that give him x-ray vision and is initially able to control it. But soon he can’t sleep because he can see through his eyelids and things get worse from there.

Thanks to Milland’s total commitment and the film’s nightmarish descent into action, X: The man with the x-ray eyes It takes what could have been a terrible gag premise and treats it with serious sci-fi scrutiny and horror.

Professor Josie (1963)

Steve Urkel tried to imitate him.

Eddie Murphy I tried to top that.

But Jerry Lewis’s original 1963 version of the classic nerd science tale turned fantastic mad science tale is still the best version.

Lewis plays a geek who does everything he can to stop being a geek. He even tries to exercise. Things are going so badly that his doctor tells him to give it up.

But the man of science never gives up. He finds a chemical formula that turns him into the confident person he always wanted to be. Unfortunately, all this confidence soon turns him into a complete idiot.

Jerry Lewis co-wrote and directed the film. He used the video playback after each scene to accurately evaluate what he had done. This is commonly used now, but he was one of the first to do this in 1963.

The result was an instant hit. Professor Al-Jawzi It is now considered one of Lewis’s best films and one of the greatest comedies of the decade. Not a bad way to spend less than two hours.

Quatermass and the hole (1967)

Issued in the name of Five million years on Earth In the United States, Quatermass and the hole It’s actually part of a series of sci-fi and horror classics surrounding the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass, but this is the best of the bunch.

An ancient Martian spaceship has been discovered in London with insect-like corpses inside Aliens. Discoveries are made about the history of human evolution, and ultimately, the specter of Martian psychic energy drives civilization into apocalyptic madness. It’s one of the most fascinating and moving science fiction stories ever put to screen, and if it’s more tense than you might be used to, just wait until that stunning ending. You won’t regret it.

Do you have any favorite sci-fi movies from the 1960s? Leave your picks in the comments and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos from us here at Giant Freakin Robot.