Favourite 10 films of the 1970s

In no particular order (save for number 1)

Taxi Driver
Dawn of the Dead
Blazing Saddles
Dirty Harry
Jaws
Logan's Run
Dog Day Afternoon
The Godfather
Soylent Green
The Omega Man

Hell, I'll give you a top 25. My favorite decade.

1) Nashville - Robert Altman
2) Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese
3) The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola
4) The Godfather Part II - Francis Ford Coppola
5) Chinatown - Roman Polanski
6) McCabe & Mrs. Miller - Robert Altman
7) Cries and Whispers - Ingmar Bergman
8) Opening Night - John Cassavetes
9) A Clockwork Orange - Stanley Kubrick
10) Jaws - Steven Spielberg
11) A Woman Under the Influence - John Cassavetes
12) 3 Women - Robert Altman
13) Alien - Ridley Scott
14) Scenes From a Marriage - Ingmar Bergman
15) Badlands - Terrence Malick
16) Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Steven Spielberg
17) Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola
18) Dirty Harry - Don Siegel
19) Suspiria - Dario Argento
20) Five Easy Pieces - Bob Raefelson
21) Play Misty for Me - Clint Eastwood
22) Halloween - John Carpenter
23) The Long Goodbye - Robert Altman
24) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Milos Forman
25) Deep Red - Dario Argento

All or higher from me. I still say this is the decade we should have done for the MoFo Top 100

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

Nice to see lots of Altman movies, especially Nashville.

^Nashville is the greatest American film by the greatest American filmmaker, IMO. I personally think Altman owned the 70s, which is no small feat, considering how many maverick filmmakers were really tearing it up at the same time.

I agree about the 70s in terms of Hollywood. It was that bright, shining moment when studios were willing to take offbeat risks with their big bucks.

And those days will never return.

Actually, in the 1970's the film industry was in deep crisis, since TV had stolen the audience and there wasn't a developed home video market yet, so movies could make more money on dvd sales.

Can you please detail the crisis? I accept a decade without Miyazaki for you is a crisis, but imo the 70's is my 2nd favourite decade after the 60's.

The economic crisis to which you refer began in the 1950s, and was caused not only be television but also, and many argue more importantly, due to the major studios having to divest of their big movie palaces as a result of a Supreme Court decision. This broke up the oligarchical system of production, distribution and exhibition of Hollywood films.

In any case, there was a convergence of many factors in the 70s that led to the so-called Hollywood renaissance (which began with a handful of films in the 60s), including: the sociopolitical shakeup in American society as a whole; the retirement of most of the old guard of previously studio-contracted directors and the influx of a new generation of 'independent' directors; and the replacement of the old Production Code with the new MPAA ratings system in 1968.

In terms of finance, it could well be argued that the studios' willingness to take risks with the offbeat, counter-cultural and experimental films that the 1970s is known for is what kept them solvent until they began to increasingly rely on the 'calculated blockbusters' with franchises like Star Wars, Raiders, etc, etc.

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Do you mean a decade without The castle of Cagliostro and Future boy Conan ?

But seriously, I do have an issue with this decade. I don't know why, if it is because I don't find its main themes appealing or not, but don't seem to get really into it. The funny fact is that on the other hand, my top favorites are quite solidly placed (two of them being at my overall top10), but I have a reasonably wide record of disappointments in here...

Anyway, the top:

1. One flew over the cuckoo's nest (1975)
2. Life of Brian (1979)
3. A clockwork orange (1971)
4. Alien (1979)
5. The godfather (1972)
6. Apocalypse now (1979)
7. The man who would be king (1975)
8. The chess players (1977)
9. Mirror (1975)
10. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

It's also weird how 7/10 of my list are either from 75 or 79.

What a great decade:

1.) The Godfather: Parts I and II
2.) The Friends of Eddie Coyle
3.) The Day of the Jackal
4.) Barry Lyndon
5.) The Long Goodbye
6.) Alien
7.) The Conversation
8.) The Sting
9.) Jaws
10.) The Getaway

1. Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby)
2. Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir)
3. Carrie (Brian De Palma)
4. Network (Sidney Lumet)
5. Annie Hall (Woody Allen)
6. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese)
7. American Graffiti (George Lucas)
8. Chinatown (Roman Polanski)
9. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Bunuel)
10. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Werner Herzog)

Miyazaki made a movie in 1979. I just don't think it is good enough to be one of the best of the decade (though it might be one of the best of the year):

, he also directed a few TV series. In fact, his 1978 TV series is regarded by some anime fans as his best work.

And yes, in the 1970's the film industry was in crisis. In fact, revenues began to decline in the 1960's and continued to decline in the 1970's, only after Star Wars that hollywood reinvented itself and revenues began to rise again. Also, I am talking about the global film industry besides the US film industry.

Of course, bad economic moment for the industry doesn't mean that artists ceased to be creative.

To make this more interesting, my top ten of the 70s using only movies not already mentioned in the thread:

1. Amarcord - Fellini
2. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three - Sargent
3. The Conformist - Bertolucci
4. Enter the Dragon - Clouse
5. The Last House on the Left - Craven
6. The Wicker Man - Hardy
7. Torso - Martino
8. Marathon Man - Schlesinger
9. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry - Hough
10. Equinox - Woods

Taxi driver
Chinatown
The Deer Hunter
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
A Clockwork Orange
Apocalypse Now
Little Big Man
Profondo rosso

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http://filmmakerblogitalia.wordpress.com/

The 70's was such an amazing decade for film that picking the top 10 films is probably no easy feat.

My personal top 10 of the 1970s:



1. Chinatown (1974)
2. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
3. Taxi Driver (1976)
4. Apocalypse Now (1979)
5. The Godfather (1972)
6. The Long Goodbye (1973)
7. Five Easy Pieces (1970)
8. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
9. Manhattan (1979)
10. Nashville (1975)

There are plenty of other great films that I love from the 1970s, but these are the 10 best from what I've seen so far, in my opinion.

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019