Best 100 Movies of '70s
by jzerenidis | created - 24 Nov 2016 | updated - 04 Apr 2021 | PublicBest Movies of the decade 1970-1979 that I've seen, ranked best to worst.
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1. The Godfather (1972)
R | 175 min | Crime, Drama
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
Votes: 2,010,364 | Gross: $134.97M
The Godfather I (1972) 10/10
2. The Godfather Part II (1974)
R | 202 min | Crime, Drama
The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton
Votes: 1,363,069 | Gross: $57.30M
The Godfather II (1974) 10/10
3. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 949,566 | Gross: $78.90M
Alien (1979) 10/10
4. The Conversation (1974)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 121,754 | Gross: $4.42M
The Conversation (1974) Classic – Drama – Crime – Mystery – Thriller – Espionage Mystery Thriller – Freelance Surveillance Expert Lonely Man – Privacy Obsessive – Past Job Guilty Conscience – Couple Surveillance New Case – Forbidden Extramarital Affair – Enigmatic Conversation – Crime Noir Conspiracy Thriller – Shadowy Conspiracy – Potential Murder – Paranoid Thriller – Moral Dilemmas – Psychological Stress – Suspicions – Insecurity – Betrayal – Distrust – Fear – Paranoia – Downward Spiral – Political Thriller – Mass Surveillance Politics – Psychological Drama – Moral Maze – Self-Deception – Repressed Emotions – Mental Disorder – Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) – Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD) – Childhood Trauma – Nihilism – Character Study – Neo-Noir – Cult Status – Influential Film – T o p – Best 70's – Re-Watch Value – F a v e – U.S.A. – 1001 Must-See Movies ★★★★★★★★★ (9/10)
5. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 709,553 | Gross: $83.47M
Apocalypse Now (1979) 9/10
6. Young Frankenstein (1974)
PG | 106 min | Comedy
An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle
Votes: 168,828 | Gross: $86.30M
Young Frankenstein (1974) 9/10
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
R | 133 min | Drama
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
Votes: 1,071,606 | Gross: $112.00M
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 9/10
8. The Deer Hunter (1978)
R | 183 min | Drama, War
An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage
Votes: 361,949 | Gross: $48.98M
The Deer Hunter (1978) 9/10
9. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 454,602 | Gross: $232.91M
The Exorcist (1973) 9/10
10. Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
PG | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In December 1935, when his transcontinental luxury train is stranded by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before, with a multitude of suspects.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery
Votes: 69,084 | Gross: $0.07M
Murder on the Orient Express (1974) 9/10
11. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness
Votes: 1,448,621 | Gross: $322.74M
Star Wars (1977) 8/10
12. Chinatown (1974)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez
Votes: 349,606
Chinatown (1974) 8/10
13. Straw Dogs (1971)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna
Votes: 64,469
Straw Dogs (1971) Drama – Crime – Thriller – Crime Drama – American Mathematician Passive Husband – English Young Glamorous Wife – British Countryside Village Relocation – Isolated Farmhouse Renovation – Local Handymen Gang – Hostility – Frustration – Harassment – Home Invasion – Sexual Abuse – Revenge Thriller – Vigilantism – Violence – Massacre – Psychological Thriller – Unsettling Atmosphere – Discomfort Sense – Claustrophobic Dread – Primal Masculinity – Animalistic Impulses – Alpha Male Syndrome – Complex Rape Scene – Sadistic Misogynistic Context – Indie Film – Classic Status – Cult Status – Best 70's – F a v e – Re-Watch Value – European – U.K. – 1001 Must-See Movies ★★★★★★★★ (8/10)
14. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Three amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar
Votes: 272,909 | Gross: $50.00M
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) 8/10
15. The Sting (1973)
PG | 129 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning
Votes: 279,684 | Gross: $159.60M
The Sting (1973) 8/10
16. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi
In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke
Votes: 880,791 | Gross: $6.21M
A Clockwork Orange (1971) 8/10
17. Jaws (1975)
PG | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Votes: 658,947 | Gross: $260.00M
Jaws (1975) 8/10
18. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
R | 155 min | Drama, Romance
Although wife and mother Mabel is loved by her husband Nick, her mental illness places a strain on the marriage.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands
Votes: 28,674 | Gross: $13.34M
A Woman Under the Influence (1974) 8/10
19. The French Connection (1971)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
Votes: 135,565 | Gross: $15.63M
The French Connection (1971) 8/10
20. Taxi Driver (1976)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks
Votes: 919,654 | Gross: $28.26M
Taxi Driver (1976) Classic – Drama – Crime – Thriller – Crime Noir Drama – Insomniac ex-Marine Taxi Driver – Unstable Mental State – Urban Loneness – Frustration – Desperation – Alienation – Saving-The-World Obsession – City Underworld – Moral Collapse – Distrust – Corruption – Vigilantism – Catharsis – Psychological Thriller – Mental Disorder – Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – Schizophrenia – Psychosis – Madness – Paranoia – Downward Spiral – Psychosexual Drama – Sexual Repression – Voyeurism – Madonna-Whore Complex – Castration Anxiety – Freudian Theory – Character Study – Existentialism – Symbolism – Cynicism – No-Exit Finale – Iconic Film – Cult Status – Neo-Noir – T o p – Best 70's – U.S.A. – 1001 Must-See Movies ★★★★★★★★ (8/10)
21. Duel (1971 TV Movie)
PG | 90 min | Action, Thriller
A business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell
Votes: 78,330
Duel (1971) Action – Thriller – TV-Movie – Paranoid Revenge-Chase Action Thriller – Middle-Aged Salesman – Business Car-Trip – Desert Road Movie – Unseen-Maniac-Trucker’s Target – Malevolent Force – Unmotivated Road Rage – Nerve-Wracking Chases – Uncertainty Stress – Anxiety Disorder – Suspense – Tension – Fear – Terror – Paranoia – Downward Spiral – Cat-Mouse Theory – Man Pursue – Power Games – Chicken Game – Manipulation – Survival Thriller – Machine-Made Danger – Escape Thriller – Psychological Thriller – Simmering Danger – Nightmarish Dread – Psychological Stress – Toxic Masculinity – Alpha Male Syndrome – Castration Anxiety – Emasculation – Psychopath Antagonist – Complex Trauma – Psychosis – Symbolism – Minimalism – Extravagant – Allegorical – Hitchcockian Aura – Classic Status – Cult Status – Best 70's – F a v e – Re-Watch Value – U.S.A. ★★★★★★★★ (8/10)
22. Deliverance (1972)
R | 109 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's dammed and turned into a lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a canoeing trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox
Votes: 119,173 | Gross: $7.06M
Deliverance (1972) 8/10
23. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
R | 83 min | Horror
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain
Votes: 183,401 | Gross: $30.86M
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) 8/10
24. Life of Brian (1979)
R | 94 min | Comedy
Born on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
Director: Terry Jones | Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam
Votes: 421,707 | Gross: $20.05M
Life of Brian (1979) 8/10
25. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
PG | 105 min | Drama
After his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry
Votes: 154,595 | Gross: $106.26M
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) 8/10
26. A Bridge Too Far (1977)
PG | 175 min | Drama, History, War
Operation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Sean Connery, Ryan O'Neal, Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier
Votes: 61,484 | Gross: $50.80M
A Bridge Too Far (1977) 8/10
27. Sleuth (1972)
PG | 138 min | Mystery, Thriller
A man who loves games and theater invites his wife's lover to meet him, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Alec Cawthorne, John Matthews
Votes: 50,144 | Gross: $4.08M
Sleuth (1972) 8/10
28. Papillon (1973)
R | 151 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon
Votes: 138,309 | Gross: $53.27M
Papillon (1973) 8/10
29. The Omen (1976)
R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery
Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens, David Warner
Votes: 132,218 | Gross: $4.27M
The Omen (1976) 8/10
30. Dirty Harry (1971)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.
Directors: Don Siegel, Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni
Votes: 168,196 | Gross: $35.90M
Dirty Harry (1971) 7/10
31. Three Days of the Condor (1975)
R | 117 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow
Votes: 62,475 | Gross: $41.51M
Three Days of The Condor (1975) 7/10
32. Days of Heaven (1978)
PG | 94 min | Drama, Romance
A hot-tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz
Votes: 62,700
Days of Heaven (1978) 7/10
33. All the President's Men (1976)
PG | 138 min | Drama, History, Thriller
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam
Votes: 125,943 | Gross: $70.60M
All the President's Men (1976) 7/10
34. Klute (1971)
R | 114 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A small-town detective searching for a missing man has only one lead: a connection with a New York prostitute.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider
Votes: 29,589 | Gross: $17.44M
Klute (1971) 7/10
35. Being There (1979)
PG | 130 min | Comedy, Drama
After the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden
Votes: 77,606 | Gross: $30.18M
Being There (1979) 7/10
36. Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
PG | 112 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Alcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom, Jack Thibeau
Votes: 147,350 | Gross: $43.00M
Escape From Alcatraz (1979) 7/10
37. Marathon Man (1976)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After the shocking murder of his older brother, a New York history student finds himself inexplicably hounded by shadowy government agents on the trail of a Nazi war criminal who is trying to retrieve smuggled diamonds.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane
Votes: 70,184 | Gross: $21.71M
Marathon Man (1976) 7/10
38. The Red Circle (1970)
Not Rated | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè, Yves Montand
Votes: 28,127 | Gross: $0.37M
Le Cercle Rouge (1970) 7/10
39. The China Syndrome (1979)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Thriller
A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
Director: James Bridges | Stars: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady
Votes: 33,006 | Gross: $51.72M
The China Syndrome (1979) 7/10
40. The Fifth Seal (1976)
116 min | Drama, War
In Budapest in 1944, a watchmaker, a book seller and a carpenter are drinking in a bar with the owner, when they are joined by a stranger. The watchmaker asks a hypothetical question that will change their lives.
Director: Zoltán Fábri | Stars: Lajos Öze, László Márkus, Ferenc Bencze, Sándor Horváth
Votes: 5,897
The Fifth Seal (Az Otödik Pecsét) (1976) 7/10
41. Rocky (1976)
PG | 120 min | Drama, Sport
A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 627,973 | Gross: $117.24M
Rocky (1976) 7/10
42. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
PG | 138 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
Roy Neary, an Indiana electric lineman, finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon
Votes: 216,729 | Gross: $132.09M
Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977) 7/10
43. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,598 | Gross: $47.00M
Halloween (1978) 7/10
44. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
PG | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy