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When critics and historians of the cinema sit down to discuss uh, cinema, the conversation almost always turns to the great decades in movie history. And n nearly conversation I’ve been a part of, the 1970s reigns supreme as the single decade of brilliance.
It was a time of enormous artistic growth for film, as up-and-coming directors grabbed Hollywood and ran with it, merging their love for cinema and the works of John Ford, Billy Wilder, and Elia Kazan (among others) with their own fresh ideas. And the releases of “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The Graduate” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” had already announced the arrival of the new American cinema by the end of the 1960s.
But the next 10 years brought us Francis Ford Coppola, who exploded onto the scene wit four brilliant works and mentored many of the younger directors of the time. Steven Spielberg would earn the name “whiz kid” for his incredible visual storytelling gifts that would eventually make him one of the greats of all time.
Martin Scorsese was making unsettling character studies that alarmed the studios but thrilled critics and actors, who felt challenged by his work. Woody Allen evolved from comedy writer, to comedic actor-director, to world-class filmmaker by the end of the decade. And Oscar winning film editor Hal Ashby would make a name for himself behind the camera with a swath of works.
Sidney Lumet, William Friedkin, Peter Bogdonavich, Bob Fosse, Roman Polanski, Bernadro Bertolucci, Alan J. Pakula, Milos Forman, and Michael Cimino would all leave their mark in the 1970s and continue directing to varying degrees of success in the 1980s and beyond.
Society heavily impacted the work as films about the war in Vietnam dominated much of the 70s’ final years. Watergate raged mid-decade. Stories were plucked from the headlines and committed to celluloid. Movies were exciting, well made, and interesting. Films like John Frankenheimer’s “Black Sunday,” Milos Forman’s “Hair” and Don Siegel’s “The Shootist.”
Big budget disaster films enlivened the trade, along with movies about divorce, drug addiction, mental illness, organized crime, vigilantes, prostitution, and countless other topical issues that were explored with great courage on screen. I found narrowing it down to a 10 best list to be nearly impossible and enormously frustrating because some the films left off the list should really be here. But that’s just a testament to the era’s resilience.
10. “Cabaret” (Bob Fosse, 1972)
The greatest musical ever made, the darkest ever created, and a work of sublime art from the great Bob Fosse. “Cabaret,” Fosse’s study of the rise of Nazism in Berlin, is powerful yet subtle. Joel Grey is superb as Emcee, offering us a character that is a metaphor for evil, for Hitler, for Satan, or for the everyman. Liza Minelli was never better than she was here, finding in Sally the role she could do better than anyone else on the globe. Decadent and alarming, the film is a masterpiece of the musical genre and the first one I truly appreciated as art.
9. “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (Steven Spielberg, 1977)
“It was like seeing God,” the woman said as I exited the theater back in 1977 after seeing a matinee of Steven Spielberg’s newest picture. I felt the same, euphoric, stunned, emotionally galvanized in some way I did not yet understand. “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is an exploration of aliens contacting man for a meeting, not to kick our ass, just to let us know they are out there, an attempt at communication. When the little alien steps forward, his wise eyes as old as time itself, he offers those hand signs, and then a sweet smile – I don’t mind telling you, I wept along with hundreds around me.
8. “Chinatown” (Roman Polanski, 1974)
Roman Polanski brought his own dark, haunted soul to “Chinatown,” the greatest film noir ever made and a stark crime drama that will bring our hero, J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson), into a web of corruption, moral decay, lies, betrayals and most shocking: incest. In a brilliant stroke of casting, wily old John Huston (director of “The Maltese Falcon,” itself a masterpiece of the genre) is the villain of the piece, a cackling old gargoyle, too rich to be caught and too perverse to care. A masterpiece of acting, directing and certainly writing, Polanski did a superb job capturing the Los Angeles of the 1930s.
7. “All the President’s Men” (Alan J. Pakula, 1976)
The great accomplishment of screenwriter William Goldman was his success in adapting the Pulitzer Prize-winning work of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward for the screen. He made the story exciting by twisting it into a detective story. “All the President’s Men” is also the best work of director Alan J. Pakula’s career, a film that glides like a finely tuned noir. The film is eerie in its authenticity, dead-on in its study of journalism, brilliantly directed and acted. But the real star will always be Goldman’s adaptation, one of the finest scripts of the decade.
6. “Taxi Driver” (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
Martin Scorsese’s descent into the hellish mind of Travis Bickle left me stunned in the summer of 1976, unable to move, unable to breathe. Never before had I seen such a bloodbath in a film. Never before had I seen such destructive madness portrayed so brilliantly. Robert De Niro is seething in the title role of “Taxi Driver” as a Vietnam vet in New York, disgusted with the city, appalled by his surroundings, eventually seeing himself as the white avenging angel. De Niro is like a time bomb throughout, but the film is a dark, unsettling work that still has enormous impact.
5. “Apocalypse Now” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
The premiere of this film in Cannes 1979 was front-page news, as critics from around the world stood and applauded, stunned and mesmerized by what they had just experienced. I remember it like it was yesterday, reading those reports in the major papers, counting the days till the film opened here in Toronto. The lights went down and Coppola proceeded to plunge his audience into the madness that was Vietnam. Martin Sheen is quietly spooky, Marlon Brando is superb and Robert Duvall steals the movie. The film is a stunning achievement – and yet it only won two Oscars. A shame.
4. “A Clockwork Orange” (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
Probably the greatest tribute one can give Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” is that today, 37 years later, it still depicts a future that is not out of the question. Based on the book by Anthony Burgess, once it became a Kubrick film, it became something wildly original, wickedly funny, and darkly frightening. Malcolm McDowell is all jaunty menace and twisted evil as Alex, the leader of his gang of the Droogs, who rape, steal, pillage and finally murder, leading to that infamous “rehabilitation.” Still timely, still terrifying, and still all too possible, the film is Kubrick’s greatest and darkest achievement.
3. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (Milos Forman, 1975)
Milos Forman was the perfect choice to helm the adaptation of Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” because he brought to the film a sense of realism, almost documentary-like in its execution. Perhaps a Scorsese or Lumet might have done the same, but I shudder to think what a mainstream American director would have done to this work. Jack Nicholson does the finest work of his career as the Christ-figure Randall Patrick McMurphy. The film remains a glorious study of the abuse of authority and raises the often-asked question, who is really crazy, the keepers, or those kept?
2. “The Godfather” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
Francis Ford Coppola took a pulp novel written by Mario Puzo and created a work of art, forging a perverse study of the American dream. In “The Godfather,” the Corleone family, immigrants, have established themselves as powerful and wealthy, but their business happens to be crime. In a stroke of genius, Coppola made the film a study of two families, those connected by blood, and those that are part of a larger crime family, with loyalties to each of equal importance. Marlon Brando was superb with an Oscar-winning performance, but the real star of the film is Al Pacino as Michael Corleone.
1. “The Godfather Part II” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
Together with “The Godfather,” this film is the finest American achievement in cinema: period. Sequels are not supposed to surpass the original film, yet this one did by not being a standard sequel, deepening the narrative, allowing the characters to grow and become more complex. Coppola wove a superb narrative as Michael Corleone consolidates his far-reaching power as head of the family business. In flashbacks we see how Vito Corleone, brilliantly portrayed by Robert De Niro, rose to power after arriving here in poverty. It is remarkable how De Niro captures the essence of Brando, creating a younger version of the same character. Dark, complex and astounding on every level, this film has it all.
Have your say! What are the best films of the 1970s?
56 responses so far
1 11-18-2008 at 11:45 am
Kristopher Tapley said...
On the whole, I’d say it’s a pretty safe list. The Godfather films and Apocalypse Now would certainly be on my collective, joined by Network, no doubt. I’ve never understood the line of thinking that asserts “All the President’s Men” as “good” cinema, even if it is a compelling story. “Clockwork” might make my list. “Cucko’s Nest, too. But after that, I think we part ways considerably. I’ll have to think on it.
2 11-18-2008 at 11:57 am
Chad said...
Boring list. Not that they are bad films but only two films different from the list on IMDb (aka mass opinion). No foreign films. Nothing interesting to add to a discussion on 70′s cinema.
3 11-18-2008 at 12:08 pm
Dan said...
Your list is too generic for my tastes. Sure, they’re all pretty good films, but none that I will ever call my favorite.
1. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
2. Taxi Driver
3. Aguirre; The Wrath of God
4. Annie Hall
5. Days of Heaven
6. In a Year of 13 Moons
7. Prime Cut
8. Klute
9. That Obscure Object of Desire
10. Edvard Munch
4 11-18-2008 at 12:08 pm
Kokushi said...
Great list, i liked a little bit more The Godfather 2 than 1, both are awesome in my top 3, my list from the 70s are ( i havent seen Chinatown, All the President’s and Apocalypse Now, The Sting, Star Wars (parts but not entirely), dont care for Cabaret):
1. The Godfather Part II
2. The Godfather
3. Taxi Driver
4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
5. A Clockwork Orange
6. Jaws
7. Dog Day Afternoon
8. The Deer Hunter
9. Halloween
10. The French Connection
5 11-18-2008 at 12:10 pm
Dan said...
Except Taxi Driver, of course.
6 11-18-2008 at 12:17 pm
michael mckay said...
No foreign films?? I guess the new wave of German cinema never happened.
7 11-18-2008 at 12:20 pm
Chris said...
1. Annie Hall
2. Taxi Driver
3. Amarcord
4. A Clockwork Orange
5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
6. Manhattan
7. The Godfather
8. Chinatown
9. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
10. American Graffiti
8 11-18-2008 at 1:31 pm
Derek 8-Track said...
In no particular order
Star Wars
Cuckoo
Godfather
Godfather 2
Rocky
Jaws
The French Connection
Clockwork (not a film I want to watch often)
American Graffiti
Apocalypse Now
9 11-18-2008 at 1:47 pm
Joshua said...
10. The Last Picture Show
9. Dog Day Afternoon
8. All The President’s Men
7. Taxi Driver
6. Chinatown
5. The Exorcist
4. The Godfather
3. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
2. Network
1. The Godfather Part II
10 11-18-2008 at 1:48 pm
Seany P said...
Let me just say that to make this list is one of the boldest fuckin’ moves I have ever seen on this site. This was the decade for movies and some of the best reside in this decade and this is a very tough list to write. Gotta hand it to ya on guts alone, well done
11 11-18-2008 at 2:15 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
The film that stands out as sorely missing is, IMO, the best film of the decade: “Network.”
12 11-18-2008 at 2:43 pm
Jonathan Spuij said...
I’d add Jaws to the list but there’s scores of film’s that could also be added. I believe the 70′s were the most important decade for American film. Just look at all those classics and great filmmakers starting around that period.
13 11-18-2008 at 2:48 pm
Keith L. said...
Tapley is absolutely right about ‘Network’. I don’t know if its the best film of the decade, but it is definitely in the top ten. Other than that, I have no quips about the list. However, I like to look at the films made in the 70s together. I don’t like listing which one is better. They all speak (brilliantly) to a particular aspect of our culture, so the 70s cannon (in it of itself) is the best time for film. No need to rank the films. It’s hard for me to say why Godfather 2 is better than Network. They’re both perfect films in my book. And, how do you top perfection?
14 11-18-2008 at 3:01 pm
Dave B said...
All great films… mine are slightly different:
(What a decade that was)
1. Nashville
2. Chinatown
3. Cabaret
4. Day for Night
5. Seven Beauties
6. Manhattan
7. Amarcord
8. A Clockwork Orange
9. Annie Hall
10. Jaws
M*A*S*H, The Deer Hunter, The Godfather, All the President’s Men and The Sting could have easily been on there.
15 11-18-2008 at 3:01 pm
Bryan W. said...
10. Dog Day Afternoon
9. Dirty Harry
8. Rocky
7. Nashville
6. The Godfather 2
5. Taxi Driver
4. Chinatown
3. The Godfather
2. Star Wars
1. Jaws
16 11-18-2008 at 3:15 pm
Markku said...
Yep, the single greatest decade for movies.
1. Nashville
2. Picnic at Hanging Rock
3. The Conformist
4. Eight Deadly Shots
5. The Godfather Part II
6. The Long Goodbye
7. Taxi Driver
8. The Wicker Man
9. Jaws
10. The Day of the Jackal
It’s a brutal task, to narrow it down to ten.
17 11-18-2008 at 3:41 pm
altosax79 said...
Really good list. The classics. The ones that changed things. Or stood the test of time. Or both. My take is pretty close:
The Godfather
Chinatown
Cabaret
Network
The Godfather Part 2
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Jaws
All the President’s Men
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Apocalypse Now
18 11-18-2008 at 4:01 pm
Tim said...
No Altman=no seal of approval.
19 11-18-2008 at 4:04 pm
Speaking English said...
“A Clockwork Orange” came out in 71, not 73.
Anyway, I like your list. I would have added some foreign cinema for sure (Bergman’s “Cries and Whispers” being the main one) and I would have combined the two “Godfather”s to leave room for another film. :)
20 11-18-2008 at 4:37 pm
David said...
ten in no particular order
1. NASHVILLE
2. GODFATHER 1/2
3. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
4. HAROLD AND MAUDE
5. CRIES AND WHISPERS
6. DOG DAY AFTERNOON
7. DONT LOOK NOW
8. THE DEER HUNTER
9. COMING HOME
10. THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
21 11-18-2008 at 5:23 pm
Patrick F said...
You accidentaly left “Annie Hall” off your list.
1.Annie Hall.
2. All The President’s Men
3. Chinatown
4. Day For Night
5. Network
6. Serpico
7. Dog Day Afternoon
8. Badlands
9. The Conversation
10. Apocolypse Now
22 11-18-2008 at 5:27 pm
Mark Kratina said...
The Conversation, Superman, The Towering Inferno(!), and Three Days of the Condor
If any of you have seen Gene Hackman in Night Moves, it is great, too.
23 11-18-2008 at 5:42 pm
N8 said...
Pretty standard list, but awfully hard to disagree with.
Still I can’t possibly fathom anyone excluding “Star Wars” from this list. And I would personally also make room for “Annie Hall”, “Dog Day Afternoon”, “Jaws”, “Kramer vs. Kramer”, “The Sting”, “Alien”, and (don’t hate me for this) “Love Story”.
But yours is a respectable list all the same.
24 11-18-2008 at 5:51 pm
Ryan said...
There’s a reason these are safe choices. They’re all wonderful films.
1. Annie Hall
2. The Godfather
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
5. Scenes from a Marriage
6. Taxi Driver
7. Star Wars
8. Dog Day Afternoon
9. Network
10. Amacord
25 11-18-2008 at 6:13 pm
red_wine said...
You absolutely gotta have Woody Allen’s either of the 2 masterpieces in any 70′s list. Preferably both.
That said, like someone said above, there were about 25 really great movies in English alone so pretty difficult to make a top 10.
I would also add
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
The Mirror
Barry Lyndon
Star Wars
Stalker
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
A Woman Under The Influence
Mean Streets
Don’t Look Now
Days of Heaven
The Exorcist
Last Tango in Paris
Death In Venice
The Deer Hunter
Solaris
The Passenger
Salo
Alien
26 11-18-2008 at 6:27 pm
Andre said...
how on earth is Network not on this list?!?!?
27 11-18-2008 at 6:43 pm
Isaac Richter said...
I’d like to add one more film no one has discussed, and that is The Last Picture Show. I took a class on Narrative Cinema, and this was my teacher’s favorite film. I can see why. It’s a beautiful meditation on how people grow and things change in a town that refuses to change. I also loved Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon. Not a very important film, but a fun road trip movie with two outstandin lead performances.
I’m also a big fan of Chinatown, Network, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Annie Hall. I also just saw Taxi Driver again, and was once again mesmerized.
I’ll have to see Cabaret again, since I don’t remember it that well (I just saw Joel Grey performing the opening number with th Muppets, and that made me want to watch it again).
28 11-18-2008 at 6:46 pm
Bing147 said...
The weakest on your list is All the Presidents Men, good certainly, interesting, but top 10 of one of the best decades?
And wait, the best musical ever made is only the 10th best film of its decade? I don’t consider Cabaret the best musical ever made, or even one of the top 10 of the 70s, though its great and in my top 5 of one of the best years ever. But really?
Anyway, I’d go:
Sleuth
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Chinatown
Network
Star Wars
Manhattan
Apocalypse Now
Badlands
With:
Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Fiddler on the Roof, Garden of the Finzi Continis, Five Easy Pieces, Last Tango in Paris, Cabaret, Aguirre, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver, Face to Face, Annie Hall, Barry Lyndon, The Jerk, all coming close.
29 11-18-2008 at 6:57 pm
John Foote said...
First of all let me address the foreign isue, I clearly state the New American Cinema —
why no Network? Great film, but not among the ten best, IN MY OPINION — and ‘Annie Hall” is a wonderful film, but “Manhattan” is better and even that did not make the list — and for those saying this is a safe list, there is no such thing as a safe list on this site — the moment you state an opinion, there are those who agree and those who do not — safe does not exist on this site. Proof? Where oh where is Woody Allen? Which would have been safe. Where is Robert Altman? Which would have been safe? And where is that over rated mess “The Deer Hunter”? Safe if there.
30 11-18-2008 at 7:14 pm
Keith L. said...
Yeah, I don’t quite get the “safe” pick criticism. The films listed are among the best films ever made. It’s like if someone asked me, “who are some of the best professional basketball teams of the 1990s”. I would invariably say the Bulls and the Rockets. What’s the point in being obscure, when the answer to the question is obvious (and “safe”). The ten listed are among the best. There are a few more worth mentioning, but I reckon all could be considered safe picks.
What’s an unsafe pick????
31 11-18-2008 at 7:32 pm
Patrick said...
Wow. The greatest decade for American film.
1. The Godfather Part II
2. The Godfather
3. Taxi Driver
4. Manhattan
5. Cries and Whispers
6. Annie Hall
7. Chinatown
8. The French Connection
9. Nashville
10 The Honeymoon Killers
32 11-18-2008 at 7:35 pm
Lev Lewis said...
1.
Scenes From A Marriage
2.
Days Of Heaven
3.
Manhattan
4.
Straw Dogs
5.
The Godfather Part II
6.
Mean Streets
7.
All The President’s Men
8.
Shampoo
9.
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
10.
Cries And Whispers
33 11-18-2008 at 8:33 pm
Scott Ward said...
The original list was very good, just personally I would place Network and Annie Hall in there instead of Cabaret and Close Encounters.
34 11-18-2008 at 10:15 pm
BurmaShave said...
10. The Conformist
9. The Taking of Pelham 123
8. All That Jazz
7. The Candidate
6. Being There
5. Mean Streets
4. The Conversation
3. Jaws
2. The Godfather
1. Manhattan
35 11-18-2008 at 10:16 pm
BurmaShave said...
oh god I forgot Barry Lyndon. #1. Bump everything else up.
36 11-19-2008 at 2:56 am
Chris said...
Most underrated film of the 1970s: John Huston’s THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
37 11-19-2008 at 4:58 am
slayton said...
where the HELL is Nashville?
38 11-19-2008 at 5:25 am
John Foote said...
Right you are Chris — The Man Who Would Be King is a masterpiece — mighty be his greatest film as a director.
39 11-19-2008 at 5:53 am
Guy Lodge said...
Wow. An impossible task, this… but after some thinking, these are the films that came most forcefully to mind. But seriously, a lot of these titles could be substituted with others on any given day — what a rich decade.
Finally, to discipline my list a little, I decided to include only one film per director. Apologies to Scorsese, Coppola, et al.
1. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
2. The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice, 1973)
3. Scenes From a Marriage (Ingmar Bergman, 1973)
4. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)
5. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
6. Cria Cuervos (Carlos Saura, 1976)
7. Paper Moon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1973)
8. Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979)
9. Sunday, Bloody Sunday (John Schlesinger, 1971)
10. Celine and Julie Go Boating (Jacques Rivette, 1974)
If anybody hasn’t seen the last film, by the way, I recommend you track it down.
40 11-19-2008 at 5:54 am
Guy Lodge said...
Ahem… “Mean Streets” was in my list too. I obviously can’t count.
41 11-19-2008 at 8:39 am
Zac said...
10. The Conversation
9. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
8. All the President’s Men
7. Apocalypse Now
6. Taxi Driver
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
4. Jaws
3. Star Wars
2. The Godfather Part II
1. The Godfather
Yes, you read that right: 4 FFC films in the top 10.
Has anyone ever attempted an essay/book on why and how FFC hasn’t really done anything of note since the brilliant 7 year run of Godfather, Godfather II, Conversation and Apocalypse Now?
42 11-19-2008 at 9:12 am
Adam Smith said...
Glad to see some love for The Conversation in the comments section.
43 11-19-2008 at 11:22 am
Agent69 said...
1. Alien
2. The Godfather
3. Cabaret
4. A Clockwork Orange
5. Tko pjeva zlo ne misli
6. The Warriors
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
8. Jaws
9. Chinatown
10. Amarcord
44 11-19-2008 at 4:00 pm
Gustavo said...
A very respectable list, John. I still need to see Chinatown and Taxi Driver, btw.
My alphabetical Top 10, without having seen so many movies from the period:
. Alien
. All that Jazz
. All the President’s Men (to a guy above – this isn’t “good” cinema? I’d like to know why)
. Apocalypse Now
. Autumn Sonata
. A Clockwork Orange
. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
. Fiddler on the Roof
. The Godfather
. Jaws
45 11-19-2008 at 4:33 pm
Mantas said...
No foreign films? Really?
46 11-19-2008 at 5:10 pm
Chris said...
Well, John explained above, that he focused on American cinema.
But John, I’d be interested in when you’re planning to publish your list of the ten best working European directors?
47 11-19-2008 at 7:40 pm
Patrick said...
10 more
The Beguiled
Don’t Look Now
I Never Sang for My Father
Harold and Maude
Carnal Knowledge
Deliverance
Last Tango In Paris
Payday
Boys in the Band
Frenzy
48 11-19-2008 at 9:20 pm
Andrew said...
1. Apocalypse Now
2. Taxi Driver
3. Nashville
4. A Clockwork Orange
5. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
6. The Tin Drum
7. Chinatown
8. Annie Hall
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
10. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
No one else named “Discreet Charm” or “The Tin Drum”? Really? No one? Not exactly the most well known of films, but they’re absolute masterpieces. I was expecting at least a mention!
49 11-20-2008 at 3:51 pm
Krish Dhanam said...
A fairly safe list. No disagreement. Would have liked Rocky to be on there somewhere.
50 11-20-2008 at 3:54 pm
Manuel Macaya said...
1. Annie Hall
2. Taxi Driver
3. The Godfather, Part II
4. The Deer Hunter
5. Dog Day Afternoon
6. Apocalypse Now
7. The Godfather
8. Straw Dogs
9. A Clockwork Orange
10. Mean Streets
51 11-22-2008 at 5:29 pm
Holden said...
Here’s my list
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
2.Star Wars
3.Annie Hall
4.Taxi Driver
5.The Godfather
6.The Godfather Part II
7.All the Presidents Men
8.Close Encounters of the Third Kin
9,Chinatown
10.A Clockwork Orange (I haven’t seen this one, but appearently it’s really good)
52 11-30-2008 at 10:41 am
Harry said...
My Favorite Films from the 70s:
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Annie Hall
Chinatown
A Clockwork Orange
Cries and Whispers
Day for Night
The Godfather
The Godfather: Part II
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Paper Moon
Stalker
53 11-30-2008 at 10:42 am
Harry said...
Count The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II as one film and you have ten choices.
54 12-23-2008 at 5:34 am
Dean Treadway said...
I’ll do two lists:
MY FAVORITE AMERICAN FILMS OF THE 1970s:
10. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
9. Eraserhead
8. Nashville
7. Taxi Driver
6. Breaking Away
5. Deliverance
4. Network
3. A Little Romance
2. Annie Hall
1. The Godfather AND The Godfather Part II
BEST NON-AMERICAN FILMS OF THE 1970s:
10. The Silent Partner
9. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgosie
8. Small Change
7. Oblomov
6. Scenes from a Marriage
5. The Tin Drum
4. The Conformist
3. Aguirre, The Wrath of God
2. Seven Beauties
1. O Lucky Man!
55 6-03-2009 at 7:47 pm
Alicy said...
I think Annie Hall and Dog Day Afternoon should be on there. but its a great list. Except for that The Godfather is infinitly better that II. An something by Hal Ashby would round it out nicely.
56 7-24-2011 at 1:14 pm
Andy O said...
Glad to finally see A Clockwork Orange on one of these lists.
Keith has said it: . What’s the point in being obscure, when the answer to the question is obvious?
Why search for something no one’s even seen? You should be glad you don’t have to dig deep at all to find diamonds in an already glittering decade of cinema. So I’m a little late on reading this list, or indeed knowing at all about this site. But well done, John. =)