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Top Films by Year (1970-1974)

**—Won Academy Award for Best Picture.
*—Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

1970

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 The Conformist Bernardo Bertolucci 287
2 Patton** Franklin J. Schaffner 302
3 M*A*S*H* Robert Altman 344
4 Le Cercle rouge Jean-Pierre Melville 577
5 Performance Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg 791
6 Little Big Man Arthur Penn 810
7 Woodstock Michael Wadleigh 858
8 Gimme Shelter Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin 914
9 El Topo Alejandro Jodorowsky 946
10 Five Easy Pieces* Bob Rafelson 982
11 Seven Plus Seven Michael Apted 1394
12 Love Story* Arthur Hiller 1621
13 Le Boucher Claude Chabrol 1753
14 Claire's Knee Éric Rohmer 1756
15 Investigation of a Citizen above Suspicion Elio Petri 1829
16 The Boys in the Band William Friedkin 1873
17 The Railway Children Lionel Jeffries 1882
18 Wanda Barbara Loden 2006
19 Tristana Luis Buñuel 2040
20 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls Russ Meyer 2142
21 The Wild Child François Truffaut 2151
22 Catch-22 Mike Nichols 2152
23 Kelly's Heroes Brian G. Hutton 2396
24 The Bird with the Crystal Plumage Dario Argento 2531
25 The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Vittorio De Sica 2593
26 Husbands John Cassavetes 2757
27 The Aristocats Wolfgang Reitherman 2791
28 The Ballad of Cable Hogue Sam Peckinpah 2963

1971

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 A Clockwork Orange* Stanley Kubrick 36
2 The French Connection** William Friedkin 167
3 Harold and Maude Hal Ashby 185
4 The Last Picture Show* Peter Bogdanovich 294
5 Dirty Harry Don Siegel 300
6 McCabe & Mrs. Miller Robert Altman 337
7 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Mel Stuart 364
8 Get Carter Mike Hodges 789
9 THX-1138 George Lucas 854
10 Shaft Gordon Parks 866
11 Death in Venice Luchino Visconti 944
12 Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Melvin Van Peebles 956
13 Walkabout Nicolas Roeg 981
14 Two-Lane Blacktop Monte Hellman 984
15 The Devils Ken Russell 1010
16 Klute Alan J. Pakula 1035
17 Fiddler on the Roof* Norman Jewison 1067
18 Straw Dogs Sam Peckinpah 1239
19 A Touch of Zen King Hu 1293
20 Duel Steven Spielberg 1384
21 A New Leaf Elaine May 1796
22 Bananas Woody Allen 1838
23 The Andromeda Strain Robert Wise 2075
24 Duck, You Sucker Sergio Leone 2234
25 Brian's Song Buzz Kulik 2249
26 Out 1 Jacques Rivette 2279
27 Wake in Fright Ted Kotcheff 2376
28 Carnal Knowledge Mike Nichols 2438
29 The Omega Man Boris Sagal 2635
30 Sunday Bloody Sunday John Schlesinger 2736
31 Vanishing Point Richard C. Sarafian 2843
32 W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism Dusan Makavejev 2880
33 Johnny Got His Gun Dalton Trumbo 2881
34 A Bay of Blood Mario Bava 2964
35 Punishment Park Peter Watkins 2968

1972

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 The Godfather** Francis Ford Coppola 2
2 Solaris Andrei Tarkovsky 170
3 Aguirre: The Wrath of God Werner Herzog 178
4 Cabaret* Bob Fosse 257
5 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Luis Buñuel 368
6 Pink Flamingos John Waters 506
7 Deliverance* John Boorman 556
8 Last Tango in Paris Bernardo Bertolucci 607
9 Cries and Whispers* Ingmar Bergman 695
10 What's Up, Doc? Peter Bogdanovich 967
11 Silent Running Douglas Trumbull 1117
12 Jeremiah Johnson Sydney Pollack 1243
13 The Harder They Come Perry Henzell 1274
14 The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1314
15 The Last House on the Left Wes Craven 1408
16 Fat City John Huston 1413
17 Super Fly Gordon Parks Jr. 1714
18 Sleuth Joseph L. Mankiewicz 1747
19 Ulzana's Raid Robert Aldrich 1856
20 Sounder* Martin Ritt 1897
21 The Heartbreak Kid Elaine May 1998
22 Sisters Brian De Palma 2047
23 Frenzy Alfred Hitchcock 2254
24 Play It Again, Sam Herbert Ross 2490
25 The Poseidon Adventure Ronald Neame 2636
26 The Getaway Sam Peckinpah 2703
27 Slaughterhouse-Five George Roy Hill 2971

1973

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 The Exorcist* William Friedkin 62
2 Don't Look Now Nicolas Roeg 160
3 The Wicker Man Robin Hardy 267
4 Badlands Terrence Malick 272
5 Mean Streets Martin Scorsese 283
6 The Sting** George Roy Hill 343
7 The Spirit of the Beehive Víctor Erice 390
8 American Graffiti* George Lucas 395
9 Enter the Dragon Robert Clouse 520
10 The Long Goodbye Robert Altman 538
11 Amarcord Federico Fellini 554
12 Sleeper Woody Allen 628
13 Day for Night François Truffaut 662
14 Fantastic Planet René Laloux 696
15 Serpico Sidney Lumet 825
16 The Mother and the Whore Jean Eustache 922
17 F for Fake Orson Welles 951
18 Westworld Michael Crichton 971
19 Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid Sam Peckinpah 988
20 Soylent Green Richard Fleischer 1061
21 The Way We Were Sydney Pollack 1180
22 Paper Moon Peter Bogdanovich 1192
23 High Plains Drifter Clint Eastwood 1231
24 Papillon Franklin J. Schaffner 1261
25 The Holy Mountain Alejandro Jodorowsky 1352
26 Touki Bouki Djibril Diop Mambéty 1650
27 Bang the Drum Slowly John D. Hancock 1703
28 The Day of the Jackal Fred Zinnemann 1727
29 World on a Wire Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1917
30 The Last Detail Hal Ashby 2004
31 Theatre of Blood Douglas Hickox 2569
32 O Lucky Man! Lindsay Anderson 2670
33 Robin Hood Wolfgang Reitherman 2672
34 The Friends of Eddie Coyle Peter Yates 2716
35 Charley Varrick Don Siegel 2780
36 The Legend of Hell House John Hough 2786
37 Jesus Christ Superstar Norman Jewison 2907
38 Ganja & Hess Bill Gunn 3009

1974

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 The Godfather: Part II** Francis Ford Coppola 23
2 Chinatown* Roman Polanski 34
3 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Tobe Hooper 179
4 The Conversation* Francis Ford Coppola 207
5 Blazing Saddles Mel Brooks 232
6 Young Frankenstein Mel Brooks 279
7 A Woman under the Influence John Cassavetes 449
8 Ali: Fear Eats the Soul Rainer Werner Fassbinder 471
9 Celine & Julie Go Boating Jacques Rivette 764
10 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three Joseph Sargent 912
11 Scenes from a Marriage Ingmar Bergman 1018
12 Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia Sam Peckinpah 1128
13 Phantom of the Paradise Brian De Palma 1210
14 Dark Star John Carpenter 1286
15 The Longest Yard Robert Aldrich 1490
16 Black Christmas Bob Clark 1496
17 The Parallax View Alan J. Pakula 1587
18 Hearts and Minds Peter Davis 1659
19 The Mystery of Kaspar Hausar Werner Herzog 1763
20 Alice in the Cities Wim Wenders 1943
21 Female Trouble John Waters 1978
22 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Martin Scorsese 2182
23 Lenny* Bob Fosse 2270
24 The Towering Inferno* John Guillermin 2336
25 Lacombe Lucien Louis Malle 2348
26 Edvard Munch Peter Watkins 2468
27 Thunderbolt and Lightfoot Michael Cimino 2486
28 Foxy Brown Jack Hill 2520
29 The Phantom of Liberty Luis Buñuel 2571
30 We All Loved Each Other So Much Ettore Scola 2753
31 Death Wish Michael Winner 2926
32 Murder on the Orient Express Sidney Lumet 3003

**—Won Academy Award for Best Picture.
*—Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

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