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The 1970s was an amazing time for sci-fi films. The subject of an apocalypse was heavy on the minds of filmmakers; The Vietnam War was going strong through half the decade and the Bay of Pigs was not quite a distant memory yet.

Those kids who spent their childhoods doing Duck-and-Cover drills in the ’50s grew up to let their wildest end-times fantasies play out on film, and we’ve all benefitted from it.

This list contains the very best post-apocalyptic and dystopian movies made between 1970 and 1979. I’m hoping that this list can remind you of some of the greats while possibly introducing you to a few films you’ve not yet seen.

My criteria for the list was fairly simple, yet specific: the movie must represent an apocalyptic future on Earth and most of the movie must take place in an apocalyptic setting, including a dystopia.

This means that Battlestar Galactica, which is technically post-apocalyptic, isn’t on the list because it’s mainly a space movie. Mad Max is often argued to not even be post-apocalyptic at all. And some of the ’70s Planet of the Apes movies are post-apocalyptic except for Escape from Planet of the Apes because it takes place on a modern Earth (in 1971). Yeah, that whole franchise is crazy.

So let’s take a look at my list of the top 30 post-apocalyptic and dystopian films of the ’70s in reverse order.

#30 Ravagers

#29 Black Moon

#28 The People Who Own the Dark

#27 Genesis II

#26 It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It (AKA Gas-s-s-s)

#25 Strange New World

#24 The Ultimate Warrior

#23 Glen and Randa

#22 Quintet

#21 Where Have All the People Gone?

#20 Idaho Transfer

#19 Rabid

#18 The Noah

#17 Deathsport

#16 Battle for the Planet of the Apes

#15 Rollerball

#14 Wizards

#13 THX 1138

#12 Damnation Alley

#11 Death Race 2000

#10 No Blade of Grass

#9 Zardoz

#8 A Boy and His Dog

#7 Beneath the Planet of the Apes

#6 Dawn of the Dead

#5 The Omega Man

#4 Logan’s Run

#3 Soylent Green

#2 A Clockwork Orange

#1 Mad Max

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Shawn

Shawn has been infatuated with the post-apocalyptic genre since he wore out his horribly American-dubbed VHS of the original Mad Max as a child. Shawn is the former Editor-in-Chief at Massively.com, creator of the Aftermath post-apocalyptic immersion event, and author of "AI For All," a guide to navigating this strange new world of artificial intelligence.
He currently resides on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere with his wife and four children.

Don't even think about sharing this article.