Top 100 Films of the 1970s

Here we are, so many months later, with my list for my favorite film decade—the 1970s. I love this decade because, to me, it’s the rawest and most explorative, even more than the 1990s. Films from this decade also provided me with my introduction to serious cinema. You can tell as you view many of the titles that this decade was a fresh breath of air for both the filmmakers AND the performers. Creativity soared and subject matters darkened as studio control began slipping. As a result, the 1970s feels like the most contemplative and creative decade as well.

The decade of revolution. Uprisings by labor movements were prevalent during this decade, Vietnam was deeply unpopular by all measurable standards, Richard Nixon was found to be a crook, the Women’s Liberation Movement was surging (and Roe v. Wade passed in this decade), and a loud Gay Rights movement began to gain prominence. All of this angst, disillusionment, and collective pain—worldwide—was reflected in the cinema of the time. In the late 60s, the studio power began to slip and the Hays Code was officially defunct and in the 1970s the fruits of those events emerged. Filmmakers gained new power that they had not experienced before, especially in Hollywood/American filmmaking, and they USED that power. Francis Ford Coppola changed the gangster and crime genre forever with the first two Godfather films, and Martin Scorsese muscled violence into the mainstream with Mean Streets and Taxi Driver. The Panic in Needle Park gave an unflinching view into the life of New York’s heroin addicts. Documentaries like Attica and Harlan County USA (both directed by women) brought corruption and authority into a negative spotlight and narrative films like All the President’s Men and Serpico were made from true stories. These films brought in a new generation of titanic talent—Coppola, Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas, De Niro, Pacino, Harrison Ford, and so many others.

With this newfound freedom, other voices began to peak out as well. The success of Blacksploitation and African American arthouse films like Shaft, Dolemite, and Ganja and Hess provided the African American community with an outlet to make films on their own terms with a wider variety of roles for black actors and actresses. Women began heading their own projects at slightly higher rates as well, like Barbara Loden’s Wanda and the plethora of films from Agnes Varda and Chantal Akerman on the narrative side, as well as a blazing introduction to documentarian Barbara Kopple with Harlan County USA. On the acting side Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Carrie Fischer, and Lily Tomlin went toe to toe with their male co-stars. John Waters opened doors for the LGBT+ community with works like Pink Flamingos and Multiple Maniacs while people fought back against the ideas of political figures like Phyllis Schlafly. Conspiracy and disillusionment with authority, tradition, and systems reigned supreme during this time and energized creativity that changed Hollywood and cinema at large forever—for the better.

Like all of these lists, I compiled this with a mixture of prestige, critical reception, artistic merit, historical and cultural significance, and personal preference. Some of the movies that I have included, such as The Deer Hunter, Fritz the Cat, Annie Hall, Eraserhead, and Salo are not on this list because I like them, but because they carry the significance of some sort. Others, like The Panic in Needle Park, I love so much that it trumps all of the other categories. Personally, I find the actual ranking outside of the top 10 and bottom 5 to be so subjective and can change any minute.

Also, as usual, click here to view this list on Letterboxd with all the pretty posters.

100. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

99. The Deer Hunter

98. Eraserhead

97. Annie Hall

96. Fritz the Cat

95. 17th Parallel, Nights and Days

94. Zombi 2

93. Superman

92. Multiple Maniacs

91. The Black Stallion

90. All the Colors of the Dark

89. The Rescuers

88. The Aristocats

87. Harold and Maude

86. World on a Wire

85. Long Weekend

84. The French Connection

83. Nashville

82. Every Which Way But Loose

81. Midnight Express

80. Animal House

79. Pete’s Dragon

78. Paper Moon

77. Fiddler on the Roof

76. Escape From Alcatraz

75. Kramer vs Kramer

74. The Ascent

73. The Outlaw Josey Wales

72. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

71. Foxy Brown

70. Deliverance

69. Fat City

68. Dirty Harry

67. Klute

66. MASH

65. Being There

64. 3 Women

63. Night Moves

62. The Long Goodbye

61. Pink Flamingos

60. Walkabout

59. The Exorcist

58. Kings of the Road

57. Autumn Sonata

56. Céline and Julie Go Boating

55. Days of Heaven

54. The Spirit of the Beehive

53. The Mother and the Whore

52. Don’t Look Now

51. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

50. The Conformist

49. Scenes from a Marriage

48. The Sting

47. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

46. Dolemite

45. Apocalypse Now

44. Grey Gardens

43. Marathon Man

42. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

41. A Woman Under the Influence

40. Star Wars

39. The Omen

38. Ganja and Hess

37. Dog Day Afternoon

36. All That Jazz

35. The Wicker Man

34. Norma Rae

33. Alien

32. Smokey and the Bandit

31. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

30. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

29. Solaris

28. The Last Picture Show

27. El Topo

26. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

25. Cabaret

24. Don’t Torture a Duckling

23. Five Easy Pieces

22. Halloween

21. Taxi Driver

20. Jaws

19. Carrie

18. Rocky

17. Chinatown

16. Shaft

15. The Travelling Players

14. Stalker

13. Wanda

12. Scarecrow

11. Attica

10. The Conversation

9. Mean Streets

8. The Godfather

7. One Sings, the Other Doesn’t

6. Serpico

5. All the President’s Men

4. The Panic in Needle Park

3. Badlands

2. The Godfather Part II

1. Harlan County USA