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Top Films of the 1970s

Rank Title Year Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 The Godfather 1972 Francis Ford Coppola 1
2 Star Wars 1977 George Lucas 6
3 Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola 8
4 Taxi Driver 1976 Martin Scorsese 14
5 Alien 1979 Ridley Scott 16
6 The Godfather: Part II 1974 Francis Ford Coppola 18
7 Annie Hall 1977 Woody Allen 20
8 Chinatown 1974 Roman Polanski 21
9 Jaws 1975 Steven Spielberg 23
10 A Clockwork Orange 1971 Stanley Kubrick 24
11 One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 Milos Forman 38
12 The Exorcist 1973 William Friedkin 88
13 The Deer Hunter 1978 Michael Cimino 110
14 Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones 111
15 Manhattan 1979 Woody Allen 117
16 Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 Steven Spielberg 120
17 Nashville 1975 Robert Altman 121
18 Rocky 1976 John G. Avildsen 125
19 Halloween 1978 John Carpenter 150
20 Aguirre: The Wrath of God 1972 Werner Herzog 151
21 Life of Brian 1979 Terry Jones 156
22 The Conversation 1974 Francis Ford Coppola 162
23 Don't Look Now 1973 Nicolas Roeg 165
24 The French Connection 1971 William Friedkin 172
25 Network 1976 Sidney Lumet 182
26 Blazing Saddles 1974 Mel Brooks 192
27 Harold and Maude 1971 Hal Ashby 199
28 Dirty Harry 1971 Don Siegel 206
29 Dog Day Afternoon 1975 Sidney Lumet 208
30 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974 Tobe Hooper 216
31 Eraserhead 1977 David Lynch 220
32 Days of Heaven 1978 Terrence Malick 221
33 Stalker 1979 Andrei Tarkovsky 222
34 Cabaret 1972 Bob Fosse 224
35 Solaris 1972 Andrei Tarkovsky 227
36 Badlands 1973 Terrence Malick 228
37 The Conformist 1970 Bernardo Bertolucci 229
38 Barry Lyndon 1975 Stanley Kubrick 231
39 M*A*S*H 1970 Robert Altman 248
40 Mean Streets 1973 Martin Scorsese 249
41 The Wicker Man 1973 Robin Hardy 255
42 Young Frankenstein 1974 Mel Brooks 268
43 Superman 1978 Richard Donner 275
44 Carrie 1976 Brian De Palma 278
45 The Last Picture Show 1971 Peter Bogdanovich 287
46 McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971 Robert Altman 288
47 All the President's Men 1976 Alan J. Pakula 290
48 Patton 1970 Franklin J. Schaffner 291
49 The Sting 1973 George Roy Hill 294
50 Suspiria 1977 Dario Argento 302
51 Dawn of the Dead 1978 George A. Romero 307
52 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 1972 Luis Buñuel 316
53 The Spirit of the Beehive 1973 Víctor Erice 352
54 A Woman under the Influence 1974 John Cassavetes 356
55 Animal House 1978 John Landis 360
56 American Graffiti 1973 George Lucas 362
57 Grease 1978 Randal Kleiser 365
58 Amarcord 1973 Federico Fellini 367
59 Killer of Sheep 1978 Charles Burnett 370
60 The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975 Jim Sharman 386
61 Deliverance 1972 John Boorman 404
62 Jeanne Dielman 1975 Chantal Akerman 408
63 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory 1971 Mel Stuart 416
64 Ali: Fear Eats the Soul 1974 Rainer Werner Fassbinder 430
65 Last Tango in Paris 1972 Bernardo Bertolucci 451
66 Day for Night 1973 François Truffaut 467
67 Enter the Dragon 1973 Robert Clouse 481
68 Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978 Philip Kaufman 483
69 All That Jazz 1979 Bob Fosse 486
70 The Mirror 1975 Andrei Tarkovsky 498
71 Sleeper 1973 Woody Allen 499
72 The Long Goodbye 1973 Robert Altman 508
73 Pink Flamingos 1972 John Waters 520
74 Cries and Whispers 1972 Ingmar Bergman 550
75 Being There 1979 Hal Ashby 554
76 The Outlaw Josey Wales 1976 Clint Eastwood 558
77 Get Carter 1971 Mike Hodges 564
78 Performance 1970 Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg 576
79 Five Easy Pieces 1970 Bob Rafelson 581
80 Saturday Night Fever 1977 John Badham 587
81 In the Realm of the Senses 1976 Nagisa Ôshima 589
82 Harlan County, U.S.A. 1976 Barbara Kopple 598
83 Little Big Man 1970 Arthur Penn 620
84 Breaking Away 1979 Peter Yates 622
85 Celine & Julie Go Boating 1974 Jacques Rivette 631
86 The Omen 1976 Richard Donner 637
87 F for Fake 1973 Orson Welles 640
88 Le Cercle rouge 1970 Jean-Pierre Melville 656
89 Grey Gardens 1975 Ellen Hovde, Albert and David Maysles, and Muffie Meyer 670
90 Mad Max 1979 George Miller 671
91 The Mother and the Whore 1973 Jean Eustache 692
92 The Jerk 1979 Carl Reiner 704
93 Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid 1973 Sam Peckinpah 712
94 Kramer vs. Kramer 1979 Robert Benton 714
95 Two-Lane Blacktop 1971 Monte Hellman 716
96 Picnic at Hanging Rock 1975 Peter Weir 718
97 The Warriors 1979 Walter Hill 720
98 The Muppet Movie 1979 James Frawley 723
99 Fantastic Planet 1973 René Laloux 728
100 Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song 1971 Melvin Van Peebles 730
101 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 1974 Joseph Sargent 761
102 The Man Who Would be King 1975 John Huston 764
103 The Man Who Fell to Earth 1976 Nicolas Roeg 765
104 Serpico 1973 Sidney Lumet 767
105 Death in Venice 1971 Luchino Visconti 778
106 El Topo 1970 Alejandro Jodorowsky 780
107 Slap Shot 1977 George Roy Hill 801
108 Woodstock 1970 Michael Wadleigh 805
109 The Marriage of Maria Braun 1979 Rainer Werner Fassbinder 819
110 Gimme Shelter 1970 Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin 830
111 The Passenger 1975 Michelangelo Antonioni 833
112 Walkabout 1971 Nicolas Roeg 853
113 Klute 1971 Alan J. Pakula 880
114 The Last Waltz 1978 Martin Scorsese 896
115 Dark Star 1974 John Carpenter 897
116 Westworld 1973 Michael Crichton 909
117 Straw Dogs 1971 Sam Peckinpah 915
118 Salò 1975 Pier Paolo Pasolini 928
119 THX-1138 1971 George Lucas 944
120 Papillon 1973 Franklin J. Schaffner 948
121 Scenes from a Marriage 1974 Ingmar Bergman 950
122 Duel 1971 Steven Spielberg 953
123 Fat City 1972 John Huston 964
124 Nosferatu the Vampyre 1979 Werner Herzog 966
125 The Bad News Bears 1976 Michael Ritchie 976
126 The Tin Drum 1979 Volker Schlöndorff 980
127 Assault on Precinct 13 1976 John Carpenter 989
128 Shaft 1971 Gordon Parks 993
129 High Plains Drifter 1973 Clint Eastwood 1017
130 The Travelling Players 1975 Theodoros Angelopoulos 1024
131 The Tenant 1976 Roman Polanski 1034
132 What's Up, Doc? 1972 Peter Bogdanovich 1038
133 Soylent Green 1973 Richard Fleischer 1040
134 Deep Red 1975 Dario Argento 1049
135 Silent Running 1972 Douglas Trumbull 1056
136 Rollerball 1975 Norman Jewison 1079
137 The Devils 1971 Ken Russell 1082
138 Love and Death 1975 Woody Allen 1088
139 The Tree of Wooden Clogs 1978 Ermanno Olmi 1096
140 Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia 1974 Sam Peckinpah 1097
141 The Shootist 1976 Don Siegel 1110
142 The Brood 1979 David Cronenberg 1132
143 The Mystery of Kaspar Hausar 1974 Werner Herzog 1141
144 Jeremiah Johnson 1972 Sydney Pollack 1155
145 Paper Moon 1973 Peter Bogdanovich 1200
146 The Holy Mountain 1973 Alejandro Jodorowsky 1202
147 Love Story 1970 Arthur Hiller 1209
148 The Longest Yard 1974 Robert Aldrich 1214
149 Le Boucher 1970 Claude Chabrol 1218
150 Dersu Uzala 1975 Akira Kurosawa 1224
151 Gates of Heaven 1978 Errol Morris 1236
152 Opening Night 1977 John Cassavetes 1242
153 Heaven Can Wait 1978 Warren Beatty and Buck Henry 1262
154 A Touch of Zen 1971 King Hu 1265
155 That Obscure Object of Desire 1977 Luis Buñuel 1273
156 Fiddler on the Roof 1971 Norman Jewison 1277
157 21 Up 1977 Michael Apted 1290
158 Watership Down 1978 Martin Rosen 1316
159 The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant 1972 Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1344
160 Hearts and Minds 1974 Peter Davis 1346
161 Claire's Knee 1970 Eric Rohmer 1367
162 Alice in the Cities 1974 Wim Wenders 1375
163 Three Days of the Condor 1975 Sydney Pollack 1378
164 The Killing of a Chinese Bookie 1976 John Cassavetes 1402
165 Marathon Man 1976 John Schlesinger 1403
166 Autumn Sonata 1978 Ingmar Bergman 1409
167 The Parallax View 1974 Alan J. Pakula 1411
168 Sleuth 1972 Joseph L. Mankiewicz 1430
169 Seven Plus Seven 1970 Michael Apted 1431
170 The Harder They Come 1972 Perry Henzell 1460
171 Bananas 1971 Woody Allen 1477
172 The Last House on the Left 1972 Wes Craven 1483
173 The Way We Were 1973 Sydney Pollack 1502
174 Xala 1975 Ousmane Sembene 1514
175 The Ascent 1977 Larisa Shepitko 1531
176 Kings of the Road 1976 Wim Wenders 1545
177 The Railway Children 1970 Lionel Jeffries 1546
178 The Last Detail 1973 Hal Ashby 1553
179 Bang the Drum Slowly 1973 John D. Hancock 1554
180 Phantom of the Paradise 1974 Brian De Palma 1565
181 North Dallas Forty 1979 Ted Kotcheff 1570
182 The Day of the Jackal 1973 Fred Zinnemann 1573
183 Norma Rae 1979 Martin Ritt 1578
184 Logan's Run 1976 Michael Anderson 1580
185 1900 1976 Bernardo Bertolucci 1600
186 Cross of Iron 1977 Sam Peckinpah 1606
187 Pumping Iron 1977 George Butler and Robert Fiore 1617
188 Bugsy Malone 1976 Alan Parker 1649
189 Night Moves 1975 Arthur Penn 1666
190 Duck, You Sucker 1971 Sergio Leone 1676
191 Rocky II 1979 Sylvester Stallone 1686
192 The American Friend 1977 Wim Wenders 1688
193 Brian's Song 1971 Buzz Kulik 1693
194 Midnight Express 1978 Alan Parker 1703
195 3 Women 1977 Robert Altman 1706
196 Cría Cuervos 1976 Carlos Saura 1710
197 Seven Beauties 1975 Lina Wertmüller 1721
198 Hair 1979 Milos Forman 1746
199 Sorcerer 1977 William Friedkin 1747
200 Play It Again, Sam 1972 Herbert Ross 1754
201 Female Trouble 1974 John Waters 1759
202 Ulzana's Raid 1972 Robert Aldrich 1760
203 The Black Stallion 1979 Carroll Ballard 1763
204 Fritz the Cat 1972 Ralph Bakshi 1782
205 Edvard Munch 1974 Peter Watkins 1787
206 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 1974 Martin Scorsese 1792
207 Catch-22 1970 Mike Nichols 1796
208 The Phantom of Liberty 1974 Luis Buñuel 1799
209 The Battle of Chile: Part 1 1975 Patricio Guzmán 1808
210 Super Fly 1972 Gordon Parks Jr. 1830
211 A Special Day 1977 Ettore Scola 1835
212 Ceddo 1977 Ousmane Sembene 1866
213 Shampoo 1975 Hal Ashby 1871
214 Wanda 1970 Barbara Loden 1881
215 The Battle of Chile: Part 2 1976 Patricio Guzmán 1884
216 Quadrophenia 1979 Franc Roddam 1907
217 The Getaway 1972 Sam Peckinpah 1920
218 O Lucky Man! 1973 Lindsay Anderson 1942
219 The Driver 1978 Walter Hill 1959
220 Black Christmas 1974 Bob Clark 1968
221 We All Loved Each Other So Much 1974 Ettore Scola 1985
222 Death Wish 1974 Michael Winner 1991
223 The Andromeda Strain 1971 Robert Wise 2011
224 The Battle of Chile: Part 3 1979 Patricio Guzmán 2015
225 The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Lewis Gilbert 2017
226 Phantasm 1979 Don Coscarelli 2039
227 The Garden of the Finzi-Continis 1970 Vittorio De Sica 2042
228 In a Year of 13 Moons 1978 Rainer Werner Fassbinder 2043
229 Investigation of a Citizen above Suspicion 1970 Elio Petri 2048
230 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls 1970 Russ Meyer 2055
231 Frenzy 1972 Alfred Hitchcock 2062
232 Tommy 1975 Ken Russell 2098
233 A Bridge Too Far 1977 Richard Attenborough 2099
234 Escape from Alcatraz 1979 Don Siegel 2107
235 La Cage aux Folles 1978 Edouard Molinaro 2111
236 Lenny 1974 Bob Fosse 2114
237 Lacombe Lucien 1974 Louis Malle 2116
238 Robin Hood 1973 Wolfgang Reitherman 2117
239 The Boys in the Band 1970 William Friedkin 2124
240 Touki Bouki 1973 Djibril Diop Mambéty 2134
241 Kelly's Heroes 1970 Brian G. Hutton 2135
242 Stroszek 1977 Werner Herzog 2138
243 The Wild Child 1970 François Truffaut 2141
244 India song 1975 Marguerite Duras 2151
245 Sounder 1972 Martin Ritt 2154
246 Coming Home 1978 Hal Ashby 2194
247 Sunday Bloody Sunday 1971 John Schlesinger 2211
248 Tristana 1970 Luis Buñuel 2224
249 W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism 1971 Dusan Makavejev 2236
250 World on a Wire 1973 Rainer Werner Fassbinder 2240
251 Deep End 1970 Jerzy Skolimowski 2247
252 My Brilliant Career 1979 Gillian Armstrong 2251
253 Sholay 1975 Ramesh Sippy 2266
254 Fox and His Friends 1975 Rainer Werner Fassbinder 2282
255 Slaughterhouse-Five 1972 George Roy Hill 2286
256 Vanishing Point 1971 Richard C. Sarafian 2305
257 The Towering Inferno 1974 John Guillermin and Irwin Allen 2306
258 Blue Collar 1978 Paul Schrader 2314
259 Out 1 1971 Jacques Rivette 2336
260 Martin 1977 George A. Romero 2358
261 Shivers 1975 David Cronenberg 2366
262 The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings 1976 John Badham 2373
263 Play Misty for Me 1971 Clint Eastwood 2387
264 The Poseidon Adventure 1972 Ronald Neame 2402
265 Carnal Knowledge 1971 Mike Nichols 2423
266 Deep Throat 1972 Gerard Damiano 2424
267 The Goodbye Girl 1977 Herbert Ross 2426
268 Man of Marble 1977 Andrzej Wajda 2432
269 Foxy Brown 1974 Jack Hill 2512
270 Charley Varrick 1973 Don Siegel 2515
271 Chloe in the Afternoon 1972 Eric Rohmer 2529
272 Wake in Fright 1971 Ted Kotcheff 2561
273 The Castle of Cagliostro 1979 Hayao Miyazaki 2576
274 The In-Laws 1979 Arthur Hiller 2584
275 The Rescuers 1977 John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Art Stevens 2586
276 Sisters 1972 Brian De Palma 2587
277 The China Syndrome 1979 James Bridges 2588
278 The Heartbreak Kid 1972 Elaine May 2592
279 Murder on the Orient Express 1974 Sidney Lumet 2597
280 The Lord of the Rings 1978 Ralph Bakshi 2599
281 The Friends of Eddie Coyle 1973 Peter Yates 2606
282 Husbands 1970 John Cassavetes 2615
283 Jesus Christ Superstar 1973 Norman Jewison 2622
284 Zabriskie Point 1970 Michelangelo Antonioni 2624
285 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 1977 John Lounsbery and Wolfgang Reitherman 2625
286 Swept Away ... by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August 1974 Lina Wertmüller 2700
287 Julia 1977 Fred Zinnemann 2713
288 A Boy and His Dog 1975 L.Q. Jones 2722
289 Thunderbolt and Lightfoot 1974 Michael Cimino 2734
290 Punishment Park 1971 Peter Watkins 2756
291 Return of the Dragon 1972 Bruce Lee 2761
292 A New Leaf 1971 Elaine May 2772
293 Murmur of the Heart 1971 Louis Malle 2777
294 The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 1970 Dario Argento 2783
295 Silver Streak 1976 Arthur Hiller 2791
296 Smokey and the Bandit 1977 Hal Needham 2792
297 The Promised Land 1975 Andrzej Wajda 2793
This page was last modified on April 21, 2020