The 1970s was an interesting period in Connery's career, and he did some fantastic work. He tried to shed the already iconic Bond image after 1967's
You Only Live Twice before being coaxed back for
Diamonds are Forever in 1971. Martin Ritt's coalmine drama
The Molly Maguires (1970) is excellent and decidedly un-Bond. Connery first worked with Sidney Lumet back in 1965 in
The Hill, but in the '70s he was in three more: the stylish heist flick
The Anderson Tapes (1970), the intense police interrogation piece
The Offence (1973), and aboard the all-star Agatha Christie whodunnit
Murder on the Orient Express (1975). John Boorman's outrageous Sci-Fi whatzit
Zardoz (1974) is more of a curio than a classic of the genre, but it definitely wasn't playing it safe and it definitely wasn't 007. He may be inherently miscast but does a terrific job all the same in John Milius'
The Wind and the Lion (1975), Dick Lester's
Robin & Marian (1976) is a character-driven understated take on the Robin Hood tale, and Michael Crichton's
The Great Train Robbery (1979) is a gritty and clever period caper.
By the 1980s when the aged Connery had that flourish that gave him an entire second career starting with supporting roles in things like
Time Bandits and
Highlander before winning the Oscar for
The Untouchables which made him a movie star all over again, I fear his '70s output was too easily forgotten by younger generations who knew him as Indiana Jones' father and the escape artist from
The Rock and maybe even as the first James Bond but a film like
The Man Who Would Be King would never be on their radar. Connery had a fantastic career, and the movies from the 1970s showcase some of his best work, even if the films are less iconic than the pop culture high points from the rest of his career.