6 Essential Movies of 1982: The Greatest Summer for Sci-Fi & Genre Films

A few years before I was born, there was a summer of science fiction movies where it seemed like every film released was unforgettable. I don't have access to a time machine, but if I did, I'd grab $20 and spend the summer of 1982 at the theater.

Seriously, when I was researching this article, I found that some of the most important science fiction movies of all time came out within a few weeks of each other, and some debuted on the same day.

Today, I want to talk about the six major movies that dominated that summer and that changed the world after they were released.

Let's dive in.

1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

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• Released: June 11, 1982
• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Writer: Melissa Mathison
• Cast: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton

Why It’s Essential:

Steven Spielberg started developing E.T. as a horror movie, but the deeper he got into the story with the writer Melissa Mathison, the more he began to understand this was a movie about a family that needed healing after a messy divorce.

Cinematographer Allen Daviau kept the camera locked at a low, child-level perspective for the majority of the runtime, so we really got into Elliot's point of view. Adults are largely kept out of frame or obscured, and the adults chasing E.T. are shot from the waist down until the third act. All this is done to give us a movie that puts us front and center in the most wonderful moment of this kid's life.

2. Blade Runner

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• Released: June 25, 1982
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Writers: Hampton Fancher, David Peoples (Based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick)
• Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos

Why It’s Essential:

Combining noir with science fiction was a great idea. We got those lovely neo-noir colors and, depending on which version of this movie you watch, that eerie voiceover that pulls us into the story.

Blade Runner birthed the visual language of cyberpunk and kind of changed the way we think of science fiction movies in general. This was a big, adult mystery movie that took outside elements and a huge movie star and put them in the spotlight to ask serious questions about what it meant ot be human versus being a machine.

Ridley Scott gave us a "retrofitted" Los Angeles that still had congested streets, but now weathered and rain-slicked and neon-burned. There's so much atmosphere in this vision and worldbuilding through production design.

3. The Thing

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• Released: June 25, 1982
• Director: John Carpenter
• Writer: Bill Lancaster (Based on Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr.)
• Cast: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter, Keith David, David Clennon

Why It’s Essential:

Every time I see a dog out on the street, I do wonder if they're really a dog. That's what this movie does to you: it sort of breeds a healthy skepticism of information. And honestly, in the 80s, no wonder it lasted the test of time. Well, that and it's still terrifying, practical creature effects and freaky tension.

Rob Bottin’s shape-shifting creature designs were built entirely out of latex, hydraulics, food thickeners, and fiberglass. They could move and ooze and were so shocking to see in glimpses that they stuck with you.

The most terrifying thing about this movie is the end of The Thing, which poses that the threat may be around you forever.

4. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

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• Released: June 4, 1982
• Director: Nicholas Meyer
• Writers: Jack B. Sowards (Screenplay), Harve Bennett (Story)
• Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Ricardo Montalbán

Why It’s Essential:

We talked about some iconic lines from The Wrath of Khan, but the movie helped rekindle the public's interest in Star Trek and showed that, while this was an intellectual franchise, it could also deliver thrills, a battle, and a villain who took the characters to the limit.

The Wrath of Khan is a textbook study in efficient screenwriting and high-stakes conflict. This is a movie about facing the consequences of your actions and never accepting failure. The film also holds a special place in technical history, featuring the first entirely computer-generated, 3D rendered cinematic sequence in feature film history, courtesy of the team that would later become Pixar.

5. Tron

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• Released: July 9, 1982
• Director: Steven Lisberger
• Writers: Steven Lisberger (Screenplay/Story), Bonnie MacBird (Story)
• Cast: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes

Why It’s Essential:

We've covered a lot of movies on here that did things practically, but now we're getting into some revolutionary movies that used computers and set up the kinds of effects we see today. And most of them can trace their tech back to Tron.

This is a movie that used early CGI to bring the inside of a computer to life. Live-action scenes in this movie were shot on black-and-white film, printed as high-contrast graphic elements, and then hand-colored using animation techniques to achieve the glowing, neon circuit-board look.

I think we remember this one for its visuals more than its story, but it's now spawned so many sequels that you cannot deny its impact on both the tech and movie sides.

6. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

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• Released: May 21, 1982
• Director: George Miller
• Writers: Terry Hayes, George Miller, Brian Hannant
• Cast: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Emil Minty, Vernon Wells

Why It’s Essential:

The only sequel on this list, I feel like this was the movie that announced George Miller was a force to be reckoned with, and also thrust us into what life may look like after an apocalypse. It's science fiction, it's action, and it has some of the coolest practical stunts I have ever seen.

We have a lot of shorthand when it comes to the characters we meet. Everyone gets a label, like Feral Child and Warrior Woman, but they all kind of fit and enhance this word that has gotten fragmented and terrifying.

Summing It All Up

The summer of 1982 changed Hollywood as we know it. We may not be able to go back to see all these movies at once, but they'd make a great movie marathon to do now, or a retrospective.

These titles hold up because they had a lot to say and to showcase. and because they influenced people to go out and make their own dreams come true as well.

Let me know what you think in the comments.