Oh yeah, and some other films like West Side Story and The Sound of Music.

Sadly, he passed away on September 14, 2005.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wise

The first Star Trek film, especially in comparison to the rest of the series, was very underrated. Most fans were still heavily under the influence of the first Star Wars film when ST:TMP premiered in 1979.

The Andromeda Strain has to be one of the most scientific SF films ever made, and TDTESS stands out among the usual depictions of ETI, especially in the 1950s.

It is not difficult to say that Wise's films were among the more realistic portrayls of alien life shown in "mainstream" Hollywood cinema. Or at least far less typical.