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Love Story (1970, Arthur Hiller)
Probably one of the most famous romantic dramas to date starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal as a couple who fall in love and get married, however their parents are less enthused about their pairing. The film won an Oscar for Best Original Score and delivered one of the best movie quotes of all time: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” An absolute classic of the 70s era.
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Shaft (1971, Gordon Parks)
The coolest cop on the streets of New York! He’s the cat that won’t cop out… He’s Shaft! With an incredibly catchy theme by Isaac Hayes. This film epitomised what it was to be cool with the part of John Shaft being slickly portrayed by the equally cool Richard Roundtree. Again, the film won an Academy Award for best original song… And what a song!
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Saturday Night Fever (1977, John Badham)
If there is any defining characteristic of the 1970s it’s the disco fever that struck the western world in the height of The Bee Gees fame, and this film defines that very moment. With the memorable dancing sequence and fantastic score by The Bee Gees themselves this film captures the very essence of disco fever that will take you back in time to the 70s! The film is also well known for its affecting dramatic turns near the end of the movie and John Travolta was even nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his brilliant performance.
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Marathon Man (1976, Joel Schlesinger)
Is it safe? Other than delivering a brilliant line that is still parodied to this day, this film also delivered some brilliant performances from Dustin Hoffman as Thomas Levy, AKA Babe, and the legendary Laurence Olivier as Dr Christian Szell, the Nazi dentist! The quotes in the movie are iconic of the 70s, as are the actors, despite them going on to achieve impressive highs in the 80s and 90s too, this film is truly worthy of appearing in this list and in any countdown of the best movies!
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All The President’s Men (1976, Alan J. Pakula)
From one Dustin Hoffman film to the next! Doesn’t that just prove his iconic status in the 1970s? As a Film and Journalism student I can really appreciate this film to the highest standard that it is by acknowledging the brilliant filming techniques and cinematography as well as being able to appreciate the importance of the story being told and the characters (based on real people of course) struggle to let the public know the truth about the Watergate scandal. A brilliant movie which tells the story of the scandal of the 70s, therefore, why shouldn’t it be in this list?
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A Clockwork Orange (1971, Stanley Kubrick)
A cult classic that made film history with its gratuitous violence and sexual scenes. It coined many copycats and along with that, many complaints as Stanley Kubrick was called a criminal and the devil by many, but to most he was, and is, simply a brilliant filmmaker. The use of Alex (Malcolm McDowell) as a narrator draws the audience in creating a bond between them and the criminal which made this film bearable to watch despite its unflinching camerawork. The film is known for communicating with its audience making them feel more than uncomfortable with the thought of communicating with such a sick individual (Alex) which to me means that this is brilliant filmmaking!
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Taxi Driver (1976, Martin Scorsese)
This is another film in the same vein as ‘A Clockwork Orange’ with its use of gratuitous violence and sexual references, especially with the controversial use of Jodie Foster playing an 11-year-old prostitute. Many audiences were outraged at the suggestion of child prostitution which meant the film was incredibly famous and infamous too. Another brilliant partnership with De Niro and Scorsese and the two main performers, Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster, were both nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting role, respectively, at the Academy Awards.
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Annie Hall (1977, Woody Allen)
Probably Woody Allen’s greatest work and to some, the very definition of a romantic comedy. This film is both laugh out loud funny and heart wrenchingly romantic for a perfect description of Woody Allen’s brilliance. At the height of his fame in the 70s and 80s, Woody Allen came out with many brilliant movies but this is probably the most memorable and also illustrates his superb chemistry with Diane Keaton.
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Superman: The Movie (1978, Richard Donner)
This is probably the film that started a chain of superhero movies that continue to this day with films like ‘Iron Man’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’ and although the special effects may look a bit ropey today, it still stands up to anyone with an imagination! The casting of Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent, AKA Superman, is utter brilliance as he brings to the role what no other actor could at the time; he was swarve as Superman but a nervous and fumbling idiot as Clark and he seamlessly portrayed both personalities beautifully.
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The Deer Hunter (1978, Michael Cimino)
This is a personal favourite of mine which had to be included in this list as it perfectly documents the trauma suffered by many veterans of the Vietnam war. With stunning performances by Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken to name a few, this film is truly one of the greatest ever made, not just one of the greatest of the 70s. It was a concern very relevant to the time as the movie was released only three years after the war had ended and it remains a film that’s very important to a lot of people, not only because of the labyrinthine storytelling techniques that make this film a classic, but because of those affected directly or indirectly by the Vietnam war and for those who suffered the aftermath.
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Rocky (1976, John G. Avildsen)
A justly iconic movie of the 70s and 80s as the franchise continued and then continued even further to recently when ‘Rocky Balboa’ came out, which I haven’t seen yet but I am told that it’s good! The superb score by Bill Conti is still iconic today and easily defining of the movie it accompanied and the movie itself it beautifully written by none other than Sylvester Stallone himself. Another film that deserves to be in everybody’s collection and a must have for all fans of 70s cinema.
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Dirty Harry (1971, Don Siegel)
One of the best cop action thrillers of all time as Clint Eastwood slips into a role tailor made for him: Inspector Harry Callahan. And if you thought Shaft was cool, just take a look at Dirty Harry and how Clint Eastwood is working that sweater! This is another film which delivered an iconic movie quote that’s still used today. In fact I recently bought a birthday card for a friend which had that very quote across the front of the card. “Do ya feel lucky… punk?”
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, Jim Sharman)
In this musical salute to horror and B-movies, Richard O’Brien writes the play and original music for this cult classic that is technically the longest running movie at theatres since cinemas everywhere cannot seem to stop screening it. Screenings attract enthusiasts who dress up like the characters and quote the movie along with the characters in one of the most followed by musicals ever made.
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Apocalypse Now (1979, Francis Ford Coppola)
This is another Vietnam movie which wowed critics in the 1970s with stunning portrayals of brilliantly written characters by the entire cast. It also featured a famous performance by Marlon Brando who was allegedly, at the time, at the height of his eccentricities. An exceptional movie which well deserves a place in this countdown of the greatest 70s movies and another example of the luminosity of Francis Ford Coppola’s work.
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Jaws (1975, Stephen Spielberg)
This film is often credited as being the first blockbuster movie with an astounding $7 million in the opening weekend alone. The films also won three Academy Awards for Best Sound, Best Editing and Best Original Score for a song that still stands up today as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, movie scores of all time by the great John Williams which quickly became synonymous with terror lurking just around the corner. A brilliant movie and another favourite of mine which is easily one of Spielberg’s best work and one of the best movies of all time!
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977, Stephen Spielberg)
This is another astounding piece of work by Mr Spielberg and just goes to show how his career really kicked off in the 1970s and some would even say he’s the best director of all time. Richard Dreyfus seemed a favourite for Spielberg as he used him in Jaws too, but neither of those films would have been the same without him. Dreyfus brings a delightful comedic charm to the movies, especially this one in which he takes the leading role as Roy Neary, an outwardly normal family man who one day turns into a UFO enthusiast after several events lead him to believe that beings from other planets are trying to communicate with him. I think it’s safe to say that this is the only film to make mashed potato an iconic element of the movie and the film is a brilliant example of the enthusiasm surrounding UFO encounters at the time and even still to this day.
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Cabaret (1972, Bob Fosse)
Personally, I love the work of Bob Fosse, I love Liza Minnelli and I love musicals. So it’s no surprise that this is one of my favourite movies of all time as the director, Fosse, giftedly weaves in the vibrant essence of cabarets and jazz with the grave nature of the movie being set in Berlin in 1931. The film won a total of 8 Academy Awards, including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Joel Grey), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Liza Minnelli), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Original Song, and also won Bob Fosse his Oscar for Best Direction. And doesn’t that alone give it the right to appear in this chart?
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975, Milos Forman)
Another film which deserves to be in the list of the greatest movies of all time, not only one of the greatest of the 70s. This is probably one of the most famous performances by Jack Nicholson and all other actors involved for that matter. The film won 5 Oscars including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Louis Fletcher) and Best Direction by Milos Forman. An absolute classic!
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The Godfather (1972, Francis Ford Coppola)
Another appearance by Francis Ford Coppola and Marlon Brando in a film that was recently voted the best movie of all time in Empire magazine (UK). This is an astounding performance by Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in possibly the most brilliantly directed movie ever. The film follows the story of gangsters in New York in a movie which is famously referred to in many other films and television shows and is often a stereotypical favourite to men, but it’s one of my favourites too!
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Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977, George Lucas)
This movie was the highest grossing movie of all time, beating ‘Jaws’ off the top spot, until 1993 when ‘Jurassic Park’ beat it. However, upon its re-release in 1997 it was again crowned the top spot until ‘Titanic’ was released later that same year. This was the movie that created, probably, the first ever movie ‘franchise’. Before this movies were only movies, there to be watched and enjoyed, but with the creation of movie merchandise it became a part of people’s lives, and people are still devoted to the series today. I, myself, have around five lightsabers and a Chewbacca action figure, which is proof enough of how influential the movies still are to young people as well as big kids like myself!
3 Comments
Great list…have not seen most of it though.
thx so much!!!!!
omg i remenber these days!!!!!!!! Thanks for bringing back the good times!!!!!!!!!