20 Cult Classics from the 1970s We’re Still Talking About Today

Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, and Jo Ann Harris star in this tense Civil War drama and thriller. Eastwood plays a wounded Union soldier who is taken in by the women at a Confederate girls’ boarding school. At first, he uses charm and vulnerability to win their sympathy, but his presence quickly unsettles the fragile order inside the school.

As jealousy and suspicion build, the story grows darker. What begins as a tale of seduction and survival turns into something much more dangerous, with the women’s anger eventually shifting toward the soldier who has manipulated them.

The 1970s were one of the boldest decades in movie history, giving filmmakers more room to experiment with story, style, tone, and character. While the era produced plenty of major hits, some of its most memorable films built their reputations slowly through late-night screenings, word of mouth, home video, and devoted fan followings.

Today, many of those movies are considered cult classics. They range from offbeat comedies and gritty horror films to strange science fiction, revenge thrillers, and genre-bending oddities. What they share is a willingness to be different, even if audiences did not fully appreciate them at first.

To build this list of the best cult classics of the 1970s, 24/7 Tempo reviewed IMDb data and film history sources, focusing on movies that developed passionate followings and lasting cultural influence.

This horror comedy grossed $0.55M and stars Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Virginia North, and Terry-Thomas. Dr. Anton Phibes is the main character who takes on a vengeful streak when he sets out to murder nine doctors he believes are culpable for his wife’s death. His murders are creative, involving biblical plagues. Considering Dr. Phibes is a biblical scholar as well as an organist, scientist, and doctor, he manages to orchestrate the murders expertly, stumping detectives on the case.

The primary cast of this comedy/romance drama comprises Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, and Cyrus Cusack. Harold Chasen is fascinated by Maude Chardin, a woman in her late 70s who’s full of life. Chasen has an obsession with death and encounters Chardin at a funeral (occasions he frequents whether he knows the deceased or not). Interestingly, Chardin also attends strangers’ funerals but she’s Chasen’s opposite. Her obsession is living. She teaches Chasen how to enjoy life and eventually, how to die having lived well.

The stars in this action/crime thriller include Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, and Ahna Capri. This is one example of a cult classic that actually did quite well at the time of its release, grossing $90M globally, making it one of the most successful martial arts films ever. It follows a Shaolin martial artist who is recruited to pretend he’s attending a fighting tournament on an island. However, his primary task is spying on an opium lord. He meets two other fighters along the way, and the movie remains action-packed throughout as the tournament turns deadly.

This cult classic is a horror film that stars Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, and Paul A. Partain. It grossed $30.86M. The film follows five friends who set out to visit a grave in a remote part of Texas. The sequence of events that follow is terrifying and quickly turns deadly. First, they encounter a demented hitchhiker and then the five friends stumble into a family of cannibals, led by Leatherface, a sadistic killer with a chainsaw in hand. Only one friend, Sally, is left standing in the end. But can she make it out alive?

This film grossed $22.49M and is an action/crime thriller that stars Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright, and Brian Tyler. “The Warriors” are a street gang who face false accusations. An esteemed gang leader has been murdered but they’re not the culprits. They have to make it back to their own territory but in order to get there, they have to cross through their rival’s territory. The film follows them as they carefully make their way across the dangerous territories, barely getting out of the grasp of other gangs as well as the authorities.

James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, and Dennis Wilson are the stars in this drama. Two car enthusiasts, a driver and a mechanic, go out to drag race in a 1955 Chevy. They’re in the Southwest region of the U.S. when they encounter G.T.O., a fella with a penchant for telling tall tales. They all agree to race up to Washington, D.C. The winner of the race gets to keep the other’s car.

This is a comedy/horror musical that stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, and Richard O’Brien. It’s late November when a young couple gets stranded on a quiet, empty road. Their trip was meant to visit an ex-tutor but instead, they find themselves swept up in the odd world of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, who’s just about to unveil his latest creative project.

This Western drama grossed $0.04M and stars Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, José Legarreta, and Alfonso Arau. It follows “El Topo,” who is on a quest for confrontation and transformation. He rides a black horse and calls himself God as he sets out on a mystical desert journey that incorporates religious symbology and a surreal feel.

Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, and Miyoko Akaza star in this action/crime drama. It follows Yuki, a girl who is born specifically to become a trained assassin who will avenge the death of her family. She ruthlessly wields an umbrella equipped with a sword as she goes out to leave carnage in her wake.

This film is a drama/thriller that stars Roman Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, and Jo Van Fleet. It’s about the experiences of Trelkovsky, a bureaucrat who moves into an apartment where the previous tenant committed suicide. He’s plagued by paranoia and starts believing that the people in his apartment building are trying to get him to die in the same way as the previous tenant. The film grossed $1.92M.

Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, and Gerrit Graham star in this comedic drama/fantasy. Swan is a satanic record tycoon who gives up his soul to acquire success. He is a scheming, wicked man whose next quest focuses on forcibly taking the music of a composer named Winslow Leach so he can open a new concert hall called “The Paradise.” Leach attempts to stop Swan but fails and ends up mutilated. Leach is committed to vengeance but has to sign a deal with Swan so that the woman he loves can perform the music he composes.

This comedy/horror musical stars Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, and Jeanne Bates. Henry Spencer, the main character, comes to find that he has fathered a mutant child that wails nonstop. He moves in with his girlfriend, who is just as discontent as the child, and together they try to hold on to what little sanity they have left. Told against a barren environment, this story is quite bizarre.

This action/crime thriller stars Shin’ichi Chiba, Goichi Yamada, Yutaka Nakajima, and Chiyoko Kazama. After a prominent business magnate passes, his daughter inherits his billions. She’s nearly kidnapped by Terry, the ultimate mercenary, but the ones who want her can’t afford his services. They try to murder him so he doesn’t speak of their plans and that’s when he jumps ship and instead offers to protect the daughter.

The stars in this Western war drama include Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, and Maria Monti. John H. Mallory, an explosives expert, is on the run in Mexico, where he comes across a Mexican bandit who’s interested in exploiting Mallory’s expertise. They’re not a likely pair, but they’re forced to work together to fight the villain.

Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, and Amidou star in this adventure/drama thriller. Four men, including a terrorist, a banker, a hitman, and a gangster are forced to work together under potentially deadly circumstances. They’re stranded in a small village and decide to escape in two trucks — but there’s a problem. Those two trucks are loaded with unstable dynamite.

This crime/drama thriller stars Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Yukie Kagawa, and Kayoko Shiraishi. The story follows Matsu who is in prison and has made enemies with the warden. When she has the next opportunity, she attacks the warden again, which leads to punishment. Matsu manages to escape the prison with six other prisoners, but the warden and guards are in close pursuit.

Matt Dillon, Michael Eric Kramer, Pamela Ludwig, and Vincent Spano star in this crime drama. After a death in New Grenada, a quiet town away from city life, rebellious teens stand up against authority, resulting in a set of explosive events. As the official trailer states, “They were old enough to know better but too young to care.”

This crime/sports drama stars Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Jill Ireland, and Strother Martin. The film is set during the Great Depression. Chaney is a drifter who manages to win over an illegal street fight promoter named Speed. Speed has some serious debts to pay and Chaney needs to fight another promoter’s champion so they can recoup lost funds.

Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, and Jo Ann Harris all star in this war drama/thriller. A Union soldier who knows how to execute a good con manages to capture the hearts of the women in a Confederate girls’ boarding school. When the women find out about each other, they get angry with one another. Eventually, their feelings of betrayal cause them to direct their anger toward the soldier.