From the dawn of silent cinema to today, sci-fi movies have been a constant presence in pop culture, with mad scientists, terrifying monsters (giant and otherwise), UFOs, and invading aliens all bursting out from some of the most brilliantly designed posters ever printed, featuring art that was sometimes lurid, always eye-catching, and often simply beautiful.

Acknowledging the iconic, but with plenty of room for the rare and unfamiliar, The Art of Classic Sci-Fi Movies presents a stellar selection of imagery, charting the story of the genre from its origins in foundational works like Voyage to the Moon and Metropolis, through Cold War classics like Invasion of the Body-Snatchers and Godzilla, and on to visionary films such as 2001 and Solaris—as well as less celebrated but nonetheless infamous cultural artifacts like Barbarella and Zardoz, and genuine oddities such as Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders. The most extensive book of its type ever published, it includes ample selections from American movies as well as a range of films from Japan, Italy, Spain, France, Russia, and Eastern Europe.