Top 10 Favourite Films of the 1970s
The 1970s were a decade of change in world history. As the social progressive values that emerged in the 1960s continued to grow, the golden age of capitalism came to an end. U.S. President Richard Nixon resigned from office following the Watergate scandal, Margaret Thatcher became the first female British Prime Minister, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty as a result of the Yom Kippur War, a military coup d'état restored democracy in Portugal after 48 years of dictatorship, and the Fall of Saigon finally brought an end to the Vietnam War.
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| (from left to right) Richard Nixon delivers his farewell speech to cabinet and to White House staff following his resignation (August 9, 1974); Margaret Thatcher arriving at Conservative Party headquarters the day after being elected Prime Minister (May 4, 1979); soldiers during the «Carnation Revolution» in Portugal (April 25, 1974); North Vietnamese troops enter Saigon on tanks and trucks, ending the Vietnam War (April 30, 1975). |
There were also major changes in cinema. The end of the infamous Production Code allowed filmmakers to depict explicit sexual content and graphic images of violence. Directors such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola became known for their auteur style of filmmaking, which gave them greater control over their projects. Studios increasingly focused on producing a smaller number of high-budget films with massive marketing and promotional campaigns, thus originating the concept of the modern «blockbuster.» From gritty crime dramas and disaster epics to disturbing psychological thrillers and «chic» adult films, the 1970s were definitely a turning point in cinema history. These are my top 10 favorite films of the 1970s.
10. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Directed by Miloš Forman | Starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher
Jack
Nicholson is a new patient at a mental hospital and he's assigned to a
ward ruled over by a cold, passive-aggressive, tyrannical nurse. Jack
tries to kill the nurse and gets a lobotomy for it. Then the big mute
guy kills Jack out of mercy and flies off the window. The end.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola | Starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro
Al Pacino becomes the new Don of the Corleone family and kills his brother. At the same time, Robert De Niro becomes Don Vito Corleone, before he became Marlon Brando. The fact that Al Pacino didn't win the Oscar for this film remains one of the greatest mysteries in world history.
Al Pacino becomes the new Don of the Corleone family and kills his brother. At the same time, Robert De Niro becomes Don Vito Corleone, before he became Marlon Brando. The fact that Al Pacino didn't win the Oscar for this film remains one of the greatest mysteries in world history.
8. Papillon (1973)
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner | Starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman
Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman are two prisoners at a penal colony in French Guiana in the 1930s. One is a safecracker wrongly convicted of murder, the other is an infamous forger and embezzler. Together they devise a plan to escape. Only one of them gets out. On a float. Made of coconuts. The film is based on a true story. Probably. Probably not. Who knows.
Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman are two prisoners at a penal colony in French Guiana in the 1930s. One is a safecracker wrongly convicted of murder, the other is an infamous forger and embezzler. Together they devise a plan to escape. Only one of them gets out. On a float. Made of coconuts. The film is based on a true story. Probably. Probably not. Who knows.
7. Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry | Starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie
Warren Beatty is mistakenly taken to heaven by his guardian angel, but cannot return to his earthly body because it has been cremated. So the angel gets him a new body. Obviously.
Warren Beatty is mistakenly taken to heaven by his guardian angel, but cannot return to his earthly body because it has been cremated. So the angel gets him a new body. Obviously.
6. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Directed by Sidney Lumet | Starring Al Pacino, John Cazale and Chris Sarandon
Al Pacino and John Cazale rob a bank in order to pay for Chris Sarandon's sex reassignment surgery. This is also based on a true story. For real this time. The fact that Al Pacino did not win an Oscar for this film too remains another great mystery in world history.
Al Pacino and John Cazale rob a bank in order to pay for Chris Sarandon's sex reassignment surgery. This is also based on a true story. For real this time. The fact that Al Pacino did not win an Oscar for this film too remains another great mystery in world history.
5. The Goodbye Girl (1977)
Directed by Herbert Ross | Starring Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason
Marsha Mason is an unemployed dancer with a precocious 10-year-daughter. Richard Dreyfuss is a stuggling off-Broadway actor who sublets their apartment. They can't stand each other at first, but end up falling in love. Because of course they do. I love a good enemies-to-lovers kind of romance.
4. Love Story (1970)
Directed by Arthur Hiller | Starring Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw
Preppy Ryan O'Neal and free-spirited Ali MacGraw fall madly in love with each other. They get married, but their happiness is marred by the fact that she's terminally ill. But they're not sorry for what happened to them. Because love means never having to say you're sorry. I mean, it doesn't. But let's go with it.
Preppy Ryan O'Neal and free-spirited Ali MacGraw fall madly in love with each other. They get married, but their happiness is marred by the fact that she's terminally ill. But they're not sorry for what happened to them. Because love means never having to say you're sorry. I mean, it doesn't. But let's go with it.
3. What's Up, Doc? (1972)
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich | Starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal
Four individuals are staying at the same hotel in San Francisco. All four of them carry identical overnight bags. One bag has top-secret government papers, another has expensive jewels, another has igneous rocks, and the fourth just has clothes and a large dictionary. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is the plot of a 1930s screwball comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.
Four individuals are staying at the same hotel in San Francisco. All four of them carry identical overnight bags. One bag has top-secret government papers, another has expensive jewels, another has igneous rocks, and the fourth just has clothes and a large dictionary. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is the plot of a 1930s screwball comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.
2. The Way We Were (1973)
Directed by Sydney Pollack | Starring Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand
Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand are desperately in love with each other, but soon realize that their genuine love and physical attraction is not enough to overcome their fundamentally different societal beliefs. Why is it that Robert Redford never gets the girl in Sydney Pollack films?
1. Coming Home (1978)
Directed by Hal Ashby | Starring Jane Fonda, Jon Voight and Bruce Dern
Jane Fonda is a volunteer at a veterans' hospital who must choose between Jon Voight, a paraplegic Vietnam War veteran who changes her outlook on life, and Bruce Dern, her Marine husband who tries to kill her and Jon Voight after he finds out they're having an affair. I think you can guess who she's going to choose.
And this is it. These are, as of now, my top 10 favourite films of the 1970s. Did I mention any of your favourites? Were you surprised by some of my choices?
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