Some people say that the 70s was the golden age of cinema. Writers and directors were trying a lot of new things during this time. As tech and cameras advanced from decades past, filmmakers could be more ambitious than they ever were before. That means they could travel to more locations, try increasingly advanced stunts, and create movies with larger casts. Many people will tell you that one of their favorite movies came from this decade. So, to show you what you’ve been missing, we will break down the best movies of the 1970s.
There was something for everyone during this exciting decade. If you enjoyed wacky comedies, you had many from which to choose, including “Young Frankenstein” and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” There were also many serious dramas at the time that made audiences think about various subjects. Movies like “Taxi Driver” and “The Godfather” films come to mind. There are also many films that are still considered among the best to ever be produced, such as “Chinatown,” “Rocky,” and the instant classic, “Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope.” This was also a big decade for foreign language and independent films, including the unforgettable “La nuit américaine” (Day for Night).
Quality was the name of the game during the 70s, and in addition to great directing and cinematography, we also received some of the best acting performances in the history of cinema. If you haven’t seen many of these movies or you were born after the 1970s, we recommend watching at least a handful of these incredible films. (For a deeper dive into the films of this era, check out our list of the best cult classics of the 1970s.)
44. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)
Source: Courtesy of CBS
- Avg. IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
- Starring: Cicely Tyson, Eric Brown, Richard Dysart
43. Being There (1979)
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Avg. IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
- Starring: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas
42. Harold and Maude (1971)
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
- Starring: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles
41. Le cercle rouge (The Red Circle) (1970)
Source: Courtesy of Rialto Pictures
N/A
- Avg. IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
- Starring: Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè
40. Young Frankenstein (1974)
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman
39. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey
38. Zerkalo (Mirror) (1975)
Source: Courtesy of Kino Video
N/A
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Margarita Terekhova, Filipp Yankovskiy, Ignat Daniltsev
37. The Last Picture Show (1971)
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd
36. Life of Brian (1979)
Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin
35. Solyaris (Solaris) (1972)
Source: Courtesy of Magna
N/A
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet
34. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen
33. Annie Hall (1977)
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts
32. Papillon (1973)
Source: Courtesy of Allied Artists Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory
31. La Nuit Américaine (Day for Night) (1973)
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Léaud, François Truffaut
30. Viskningar och rop (Cries & Whispers) (1972)
Source: Courtesy of New World Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Harriet Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Kari Sylwan
29. Angst essen Seele auf (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul) (1974)
Source: Courtesy of New Yorker Films
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Brigitte Mira, El Hedi ben Salem, Barbara Valentin
28. The Deer Hunter (1978)
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale
27. Stalker (1979)
Source: Courtesy of Janus Films
N/A
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn
26. Paper Moon (1973)
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, Madeline Kahn
25. Jaws (1975)
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
24. Chinatown (1974)
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston
23. The Last Waltz (1978)
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Robbie Robertson, Muddy Waters, Neil Young
22. Rocky (1976)
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young
21. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Source: Courtesy of Faces International
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper
20. Barry Lyndon (1975)
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee
19. Network (1976)
Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch
18. Hostsonaten (Autumn Sonata) (1978)
Source: Courtesy of New World Pictures
N/A
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Lena Nyman
17. The Exorcist (1973)
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair
16. Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977)
Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.2 out of 10
- Starring: Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, Marilyn Sokol
15. Taxi Driver (1976)
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.2 out of 10
- Starring: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
14. Edvard Munch (1974)
Source: Courtesy of Public Broadcasting Service
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.2 out of 10
- Starring: Geir Westby, Gro Fraas, Kerstii Allum
13. Dersu Uzala (1975)
Source: Courtesy of Satra Films
N/A
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.2 out of 10
- Starring: Maksim Munzuk, Yuriy Solomin, Mikhail Bychkov
12. Voskhozhdenie (The Ascent) (1977)
Source: Courtesy of International Film Circuit
N/A
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.2 out of 10
- Starring: Boris Plotnikov, Vladimir Gostyukhin, Sergey Yakovlev
11. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Source: Courtesy of Cinema 5 Distributing
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.2 out of 10
- Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle
10. Scener ur ett äktenskap (Scenes from a Marriage) (1974)
Source: Courtesy of Cinema 5 Distributing
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.3 out of 10
- Starring: Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Bibi Andersson
9. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.3 out of 10
- Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
8. Five Summer Stories (1972)
Source: Waka moana / Wikimedia Commons
SONY DSC
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.3 out of 10
- Starring: Eddie Aikau, Dru Harrison, Sam Hawk
7. The Sting (1973)
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.3 out of 10
- Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw
6. Apocalypse Now (1979)
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.4 out of 10
- Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall
5. Alien (1979)
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.5 out of 10
- Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
4. Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope (1977)
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.6 out of 10
- Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Avg. IMDb rating: 8.7 out of 10
- Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman
2. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 9 out of 10
- Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall
1. The Godfather (1972)
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Avg. IMDb rating: 9.2 out of 10
- Starring: Marlon Brando. Al Pacino, James Caan