The '60s was a time of socio-political change, and cinema began to reflect that change with buoyant films like Barbarella and ground-breaking films like 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was an era of true space exploration, and the sci-fi genre began to strive for authentic investigation of the cosmos. The Apollo 11 mission occurring in 1969 sent sci-fi into uncharted territories of imagination.
While films like Planet of the Apes dominated the box office with big stars and big budgets, there were no shortage of films that explored similar moral and ethical quandaries like The Time Machine. Cinema magic was being created using better visual effects and better camera maneuvers - creators had come a long way since using lizards to represent aliens. These 10 sci-fi adventure films of the era may have been forgotten, but there's still as exciting as they were in the '60s.
FANTASTIC VOYAGE (1966)
When scientist Jan Benes discovers a way to shrink humans and objects, he's placed in the middle of a power struggle between communist Russia and the United States. Benes is smuggled out of Russia by the CIA, but he's attacked before he can complete the journey.
With a blood clot attacking his brain, time is running out, resulting in a nuclear sub with an American team on board being shrunk down to the atomic level and injected into his body. They have to fix the clot and exit his body before their shrunken state wears off. It inspired the 1987 movie Innerspace.
THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO (1966)
Based on the popular British "Supermarionation" series Thunderbirds, Thunderbirds Are Go features Captain Travers and the crew of the Zero-X as they attempt many missions to Mars, thwarted by technical problems, bureaucratic policies, and the infamous mastermind Hood.
When they eventually reach Mars, they're attacked by one-eyed snakes and all manner of alien creatures. The film was a hit, and succeeded by Thunderbird 6. The 2004 American film Team America: World Police by the creators of South Park was inspired by the film.
THE TIME MACHINE (1960)
Boasting some impressive visual effects for its day, The Time Machine (based on the 1895 novel of the same name) follows temporal scientist H. George Wells as he attempts to crack the challenge of time travel. He manages 3 successful jumps - first 14 years into the future, then 40 years into the future, and finally thousands of years into the future.
When he arrives, he finds Earth in a state of post-apocalyptic collapse, inhabited by two post-human species - the human-like Eloi, and the Morlocks who enslave and feed on them. Wells attempts to help start a revolution on the planet before he returns home to his timeline.
ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS (1964)
Director Bryan Haskin takes the classic piece of literature "Robinson Crusoe" and blasts it into Outer Space in this exciting sci-fi adventure, different from his earlier work The War of the Worlds.
When Commander Kit Draper has to crash-land his ship on Mars after a difficult mission, he finds he must discern how to survive on the inhospitable planet. The film showcases beautiful cinematography of California's Death Valley, looking somehow alien and familiar.
THE PHANTOM PLANET (1961)
Though made in 1961, The Phantom Planet takes place in 1980, when a wing of the United States Air Force known as the Space Exploration Wing has lunar bases, and intends to transport to Mars. After the disappearance of one of the Pegasus spacecrafts, rumors circulate among the officers of phantom planets.
Captain Frank Chapman and navigator Lt. Ray Makonnen take another vessel and head off to investigate. They crash land on the planet Rheton, where they are shrunk to the size of the inhabitants and become involved in their war, and Chapman becomes the focus of a love triangle.
VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET (1965)
Though he was well-known for playing Sherlock Holmes the in the '40s, by the '60s Basil Rathbone was starring in sci-fi films. In Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, he plays Professor Hartman, who leads teams of astronauts and scientists to explore Venus.
When one of the convoy's ships is attacked, the team can no longer communicate, resulting in the lead ship Vega sending John the Robot to investigate the planet. When the team finally lands they make a startling discovery. From the era when reptiles were used as aliens, but not just any reptiles - dinosaurs!
SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (1964)
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians is a unique and entertaining mash up of fantasy, sci-fi, and adventure. It focuses on the Martian ruler's kidnapping of Santa Claus and, unexpectedly, two Earth children.
The plot ends up being something like The Nightmare Before Christmas, and viewers will end up cheering for jolly old St. Nicolas kicking some green Martian butt. They'll want to place this film lovingly next to Gremlins and Die Hard as an unlikely inclusion on their essential Christmas movie list.
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (1964)
Based on a story by acclaimed sci-fi writer H.G. Wells, First Men In The Moon follows an early 20th century British scientist as he creates a spacecraft and takes a jaunt to the moon. He's accompanied by two explorers, anxious to study the lunar surface.
The trio encounter a strange insect race of aliens that live beneath the surface of the moon, which can surprisingly support oxygen. The humans explore the extraterrestrial world, before being discovered and trying to escape back to their home planet. It features brilliant stop-motion visual effects from the late great Ray Harryhausen.
QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1967)
There's an element of horror in this sci-fi adventure when prehistoric skeletons are found during a routine expansion of the London Underground. A paleontologist believes they're early man, but they're found with a strange metal object, which makes Professor Bernard Quatermass believe them to be from outer space.
As the expansion continues and crews dig deeper, more corpses are revealed of actual Martians, and a disturbing energy field begins to surround London sending its citizens into a panic. It's also known by the American-title Five Million Years To Earth.
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961)
Based on the 1874 novel by Jules Verne, Mysterious Island follows several Union prisoners of the American Civil War who manage to escape their confinement in a Confederate prison in a hot air balloon, only to be deposited on a remote island with mysterious inhabitants.
The former soldiers encounter giant beasts of all kinds, from king crabs to flightless birds, as well as two shipwrecked English ladies. As they battle the creatures (created by Ray Harryhausen), they meet the famous Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, whose ship the Nautilus ran aground of the island.