Top 100 Movies of the Decade (1970-1979) - IMDb

Top 100 Movies of the Decade (1970-1979)

by CitizenKaneAAAAA | created - 15 Feb 2015 | updated - 14 Feb 2019 | Public

still a growing list, still need to watch a lot of 70s films

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1. The Godfather (1972)

R | 175 min | Crime, Drama

100 Metascore

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: 2,014,097 | Gross: $134.97M

there's no doubt about this one, a masterpiece that will stand for time to time ahead. one of my teacher said that this film claimed to be the best writing in film history and some people will say there's no argue to that. and to talk about this film is an endless night, but the thing that i remember from watching it the second time (as an adult) is that how i was really drawn by the story, how it can relate to my family and any other families wheteher gangster or not. when love and family mixed with business, respect, and gangster lifestyle, but that's the real gangster life not only what we seen in other gangster film where it's all about glamour, money, vengeance. here we see a person that is a family man with a principle and believe and love to his family and not only willing to do anything but smart enough to protect his family, The Godfather. now that's a gangster!

2. Apocalypse Now (1979)

R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War

94 Metascore

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: 710,765 | Gross: $83.47M

one of the best film ever made and made by Coppola himself, it's almost impossible to determine which film is better (The Godfather or Apocalypse Now) a lot of critics said The Godfather, i said it because it relate to me more than Apocalypse Now but i think this is could be the film of the decade, because just like ebert said it put shame to the modern films and i absolutely agree with him. every aspect in this film is flawless and the direction from Coppola was just superb, any director try to remake this one is digging their own grave, Coppola was born to make this.

3. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

90 Metascore

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: 1,450,648 | Gross: $322.74M

this is my favorite film of all time, everytime i watched this film seems like nothing changed. the charm, the magic, the coolness, the characters, the scoring, and the world of Star Wars is still give me the thrill and excitement same as before.

4. Taxi Driver (1976)

R | 114 min | Crime, Drama

94 Metascore

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: 921,420 | Gross: $28.26M

watched it the first time as a teenage i didn't understand a single thing about the film, seeing it again as an adult now i love it more than ever. i have never understand what and why is travis bickle but now i know and identified by him and also symphatized. Robert DeNiro is the perfect cast as Travis Bickle.

5. Mirror (1975)

Not Rated | 107 min | Biography, Drama

82 Metascore

A dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation.

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Margarita Terekhova, Filipp Yankovskiy, Ignat Daniltsev, Oleg Yankovskiy

Votes: 52,292 | Gross: $0.18M

6. The Godfather Part II (1974)

R | 202 min | Crime, Drama

90 Metascore

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: 1,365,119 | Gross: $57.30M

7. The Deer Hunter (1978)

R | 183 min | Drama, War

90 Metascore

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: 362,430 | Gross: $48.98M

8. Nashville (1975)

R | 160 min | Comedy, Drama, Music

96 Metascore

Over the course of a few hectic days, numerous interrelated people prepare for a political convention.

Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Keith Carradine, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley, Shelley Duvall

Votes: 28,576 | Gross: $14.82M

9. Last Tango in Paris (1972)

NC-17 | 129 min | Drama, Romance

77 Metascore

A young Parisian woman meets a middle-aged American businessman who demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex.

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Maria Michi, Giovanna Galletti

Votes: 58,392 | Gross: $36.14M

10. Cries & Whispers (1972)

R | 91 min | Drama

When a woman dying of cancer in early twentieth-century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.

Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Harriet Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin

Votes: 37,013 | Gross: $1.74M

11. Annie Hall (1977)

PG | 93 min | Comedy, Romance

92 Metascore

Alvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.

Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane

Votes: 278,537 | Gross: $39.20M

12. Chinatown (1974)

R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

92 Metascore

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: 350,069

13. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Biography

In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.

Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo, Del Negro

Votes: 62,337

14. Amarcord (1973)

R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama

A series of comedic and nostalgic vignettes set in a 1930s Italian coastal town.

Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Magali Noël, Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio, Armando Brancia

Votes: 46,849 | Gross: $0.58M

15. Stroszek (1977)

Not Rated | 115 min | Comedy, Drama

In Berlin, an alcoholic man, recently released from prison, joins his elderly friend and a prostitute in a determined dream to leave Germany and seek a better life in Wisconsin.

Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Bruno S., Eva Mattes, Clemens Scheitz, Wilhelm von Homburg

Votes: 15,332

16. The Conformist (1970)

R | 113 min | Drama

100 Metascore

A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Enzo Tarascio

Votes: 33,724 | Gross: $0.54M

17. 3 Women (1977)

PG | 124 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

82 Metascore

Two roommates/physical therapists, one a vain woman and the other an awkward teenager, share an increasingly bizarre relationship.

Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule, Robert Fortier

Votes: 17,304

18. An Unmarried Woman (1978)

R | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

79 Metascore

A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.

Director: Paul Mazursky | Stars: Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, Cliff Gorman

Votes: 6,054 | Gross: $24.00M

19. The Emigrants (1971)

PG | 151 min | Drama, History

Småland, Sweden, mid-19th century. A farming family struggle with their rocky, unyielding land, and decide to embark on the arduous journey to new hope in America.

Director: Jan Troell | Stars: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Sven-Olof Bern

Votes: 7,471 | Gross: $1.16M

20. M*A*S*H (1970)

R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, War

80 Metascore

The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.

Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman

Votes: 76,966 | Gross: $81.60M

21. Jaws (1975)

PG | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller

87 Metascore

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: 659,936 | Gross: $260.00M

22. Love in the Afternoon (1972)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Though he has an adoring wife, a bourgeois man is still tempted to pursue other women.

Director: Éric Rohmer | Stars: Bernard Verley, Zouzou, Françoise Verley, Daniel Ceccaldi

Votes: 9,352

23. Network (1976)

R | 121 min | Drama

83 Metascore

A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.

Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall

Votes: 170,737

24. Heart of Glass (1976)

Not Rated | 94 min | Drama

The foreman of a small village glassworks dies without revealing the secret to the famous "Ruby Glass".

Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Josef Bierbichler, Stefan Güttler, Clemens Scheitz, Volker Prechtel

Votes: 6,614

25. Claire's Knee (1970)

GP | 105 min | Drama, Romance

On lakeside summer holiday, a conflicted older man is dared to have a flirt with two beautiful teenage half-sisters despite his betrothal to a diplomat's daughter and the fact that the girls have boyfriends.

Director: Éric Rohmer | Stars: Jean-Claude Brialy, Aurora Cornu, Béatrice Romand, Laurence de Monaghan

Votes: 12,502 | Gross: $0.04M

26. The Last Picture Show (1971)

R | 118 min | Drama, Romance

93 Metascore

In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.

Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson

Votes: 52,421 | Gross: $29.13M

27. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)

PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

93 Metascore

A surreal, virtually plotless series of dreams centered around six middle-class people and their consistently interrupted attempts to have a meal together.

Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Paul Frankeur, Bulle Ogier

Votes: 46,863 | Gross: $0.20M

28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

R | 133 min | Drama

84 Metascore

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: 1,072,990 | Gross: $112.00M

29. The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)

R | 120 min | Drama

Maria marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. Alone, Maria puts to use her beauty and ambition in order to find prosperity during Germany's "economic miracle" of the 1950s.

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Stars: Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch, Ivan Desny, Gisela Uhlen

Votes: 14,934

30. The Butcher (1970)

Unrated | 93 min | Drama, Thriller

An unlikely friendship between a dour, working class butcher and a repressed schoolteacher coincides with a grisly series of Ripper-type murders in a provincial French town.

Director: Claude Chabrol | Stars: Stéphane Audran, Jean Yanne, Antonio Passalia, Pascal Ferone

Votes: 9,391 | Gross: $0.47M

31. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

R | 120 min | Drama, Western

93 Metascore

A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.

Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane

Votes: 27,666 | Gross: $8.20M

32. The Mother and the Whore (1973)

210 min | Drama, Romance

89 Metascore

The chauvinist Alexandre balances relationships with several women in the post-1968 intellectual scene of Paris.

Director: Jean Eustache | Stars: Bernadette Lafont, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Françoise Lebrun, Isabelle Weingarten

Votes: 6,707

33. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

R | 155 min | Drama, Romance

88 Metascore

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: 28,735 | Gross: $13.34M

34. Day for Night (1973)

PG | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.

Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Léaud, François Truffaut, Valentina Cortese

Votes: 24,795 | Gross: $0.02M

35. Barry Lyndon (1975)

PG | 185 min | Adventure, Drama, War

89 Metascore

An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger

Votes: 183,211

36. Days of Heaven (1978)

PG | 94 min | Drama, Romance

94 Metascore

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: 62,796

37. Mean Streets (1973)

R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

96 Metascore

In New York City's Little Italy, a devoutly Catholic mobster must reconcile his desire for power, his feelings for his epileptic lover, and his devotion to his troublesome friend.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, David Proval, Amy Robinson

Votes: 119,733 | Gross: $3.13M

38. Stalker (1979)

Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, Sci-Fi

85 Metascore

A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko

Votes: 144,865 | Gross: $0.23M

39. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970)

R | 94 min | Drama, History, War

The story of the Finzi-Continis, a noble family of Ferrara, during the Jewish persecution in Italy's 1930s.

Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Dominique Sanda, Lino Capolicchio, Helmut Berger, Fabio Testi

Votes: 7,679 | Gross: $0.60M

40. The Phantom of Liberty (1974)

R | 104 min | Comedy

A series of surreal sequences that critique morality and society in a stream of consciousness style.

Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Jean-Claude Brialy, Adolfo Celi, Michel Piccoli, Monica Vitti

Votes: 17,195 | Gross: $0.01M

41. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

PG | 112 min | Drama, Romance

78 Metascore

A recently widowed woman is on the road with her precocious young son, determined to make a new life for herself as a singer.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson, Mia Bendixsen, Alfred Lutter III

Votes: 27,489 | Gross: $18.60M

42. And Now My Love (1974)

PG | 150 min | Drama, Romance

The movie follows the lives of a woman and a man starting from several generations earlier. The story spans a whole century and several continents.

Director: Claude Lelouch | Stars: Marthe Keller, André Dussollier, Charles Denner, Carla Gravina

Votes: 791

43. Overlord (1975)

Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, History, War

88 Metascore

During World War 2, a young lad's called up and, with increasing sense of foreboding, undertakes his army training for D-day.

Director: Stuart Cooper | Stars: Brian Stirner, Davyd Harries, Nicholas Ball, Julie Neesam

Votes: 3,234

44. Solaris (1972)

PG | 167 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

8