1951 or 1982? And there’s a reremake coming out in 2010.
The original is a classic; the “thing” was played by James Arness, who is best known as Marshal Matt Dillon from the long running TV series, “Gunsmoke”, which ran from 1955-1975. Another great sci-fi from that same time period is the original “Invasion of the body snatchers”.
1982, haha i was going to put “with kurt russell”.
i’ve never seen the other
A couple of my favorite Kurt Russel movies: Tombstone and Breakdown. Speaking of the first, it was a crime that Val Kilmer didn’t win an oscar for his role as Doc Holliday.
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Not so rare. I liked MIB II better and Jurassic Park 3 the best and I like the 2nd Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, the best of the first three released.
Seconded. This is the only film I’ve seen in a long time that I’ve felt was worth paying for a ticket.
Ok, so now that I have some time, I’ll list a few of my all time favorites. I’m a HUGE movie nerd and before I coughdroppedoutofcollegecough I was studying film…
Taxi Driver, as mentioned earlier.
O Brother Where Art Thou?
They Live
Switchblade Sisters
Suicide Club
Sorority Babes and The Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama
The Gate
Frankenhooker
Ilsa: SheWolf of the SS
Sleepaway Camp
Now I probably wouldn’t recommend all those to just anyone ha but to the right crowd…they are gold.
I’m also a huge fan of 1970’s X-rated movies, the ones with the plots! Some of the stories are REALLY good. They tried to market them as hardcore art films in their day so sometimes, they really tried. heh Some of the best…
Deep Throat
The Opening of Misty Beethoven
Charli (love Jesse St James acting in this one, very real)
Devil in Mrs Jones (what a twist!)
The Resurrection of Eve
Alice in Wonderland The Musical
I’ll agree with you on Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back.
And I’ll give you the Godafther/Godfather II too.
But apart from the they’re pretty thin on the ground.
You’re not going to say you prefer Jaws:The Revenge to the original are you?
As good as Alien was, I thought Aliens was better.
ftfy
Whoa! Really? I thought Robocop 2 was piss-poor. You, sir, are cordially invited to stop fixing things for me.
It wasn’t that bad.
If I remember rightly Frank Miller had some input on the story.
I just revisited the Japanese monster classic, War of the Gargantuas and can’t recommend it highly enough. It is everything the genre should be. I think I was eight or nine the last time I saw it and I can honestly say I enjoyed it more now than I did then.
From the opening sequence attack to the damsels twisted ankle, from the close ups of terrified fleeing Japanese civilians to the elderly scientists bearded, bespectacled seriousness, from the destruction of Tokyo to the high tech laser beam weaponry, this film delivers.
I had a blast rewatching it and it’s available on Netflix.
I saw Superman II with a comic book collector, someone who was a real fan of Superman in his original form. He hated the second movie. He walked out of the theater steaming, saying “Superman would never go back for revenge on someone without his powers.” I know less about the character, but I agreed with his summation of the movie.
When comparing sequels to their “parents” I think it’s only fair to take into account the resources that were available for each. Terminator I was done on a pretty limited budget (from the look of it) while Terminator 2 seemed to have unlimited funds available. Also, most sequels owe their existence to the originals, so they should deserve some credit due to that as well.
Haven’t heard Breakdown mentioned in a long time! Did you know some of the chase scenes were filmed in the Auburn State Recreation Area? This is where the first three CA MUni Weekends took place. Specifically along the Quarry Trail and Old Foresthill Road. This includes the part where Russel drove his jeep into the river. The day I “invented” MUni Weekend, it was while riding through the “set” with some friends on bikes. We were looking at all the identical Jeep Grand Cherokees they had lined up, including the one that was lowered halfway down to the river attached to a big truck.
Both were great but I find them hard to compare. The first was a classic horror movie. Like a haunted house flick, it strands a small group of people in an isolated place, with some kind of monster. Every time someone goes off alone, they get snatched up. How come they never figure these things out? 
Aliens was a shoot-em-up adventure film. Different directors, different styles, both very well done. As films, I think Alien would get the higher rank from reviewers. My brother considered it the best science fiction movie of the 70s.
Me too. And the first one as well. Hard to like those movies if you’re from Detroit. Movies about Detroit should be filmed there, which the Robocop ones obviously weren’t. Neither was Bird on a Wire (Toronto).
If it hasn’t already been mentioned in this thread may I add Avatar?
best sci-fi of the seventies?: Phase IV !
(don’t be fooled by the stupid presentation this is NOT a scary movie)
edit: apparently the title was snatched by other pictures: this one is about ants! (released in 1973)
You should never go and see movies with comic book geeks.
They think it’s all real and no amount of argument will convince them otherwise.
I should know, being a comic book geek myself.
District 13, a French movie written by Luc Besson is wonderful. It’s got great action, righteous indignation, terrific villains, and a goodly dose of suspense. Highly recommended.
I was waiting for a flight in Bangkok with my family. We decided to go into town and see a movie and try to get something to eat. It was my first McDonald’s meal in 40 years because it was the only thing open in the mall at 11:00PM. We saw this film. It was great. David Belle, the man of Parkour in a co-starring role was interesting enough. The film was totally over the top so it was just what we were looking for.
Another must see, along entirely different lines, is Julie & Julia. Meryll Streep IS Julia Childs. The woman can do anything. Even better, the Dan Aykroyd SNL Julia Childs clip is in the movie. You have to wonder who did Julia Childs better, Aykroyd or Streep. I think it’s a toss up.
I enjoyed Julie & Julia very much. Streep was phenomenal and I always enjoy Stanley Tucci.
What I also enjoyed about it is that Amy Adam’s pulled off portraying Julie as fairly unsympathetic yet not detestable. Whereas Julia’s lack of direction prior to her finding her passion didn’t become an excuse for petty self-pity, Julie’s passion and drive after finding a purpose didn’t become an excuse to abandon petty self-pity. I thought the contrast was done nicely and that the movie offered a lesson in different approaches to life.
Just saw “Crazy Heart” starring Jeff Bridges. An amazing performance, and already he’s smart money for the oscar. 5 stars.