in the 70s - Top Ten Movies of the Seventies

Top Ten Movies of the Seventies

What are your top ten favorite movies from the 70s?

We also have pages on this topic devoted to the 80s and 90s

By: Malinda Knowles

10. Mother, Jugs, And Speed
9. Superfly
8. Shaft
7. Cotton Comes To Harlem
6. Norman, Is That You?
5. A Piece Of The Action
4. Let's Do It Again
3. Uptown Saturday Night
2. The Gauntlet
1. Dirty Harry

Foxy Brown; Coffy; Dolemite Series; Penitentury; Fist of Fury;

By: Mark C.

10. Over The Edge
9. Slap Shot
8. Rocky
7. The Godfather I & II
6. National Lampoon's Animal House
5. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
4. Enter The Dragon
3. Taxi Driver
2. The Deer Hunter
1. Star Wars

By: Michael C.

10. Carrie
Stephen King's 1st & best. The oscar nominated (how often does that happen anymore)performances & 1st time seeing Amy Irving,P.J.Soles are plus'.
9. Paper Moon
One of the most stunningly visual films of the 70's.The black/white photography the camera work the costumes,autos,everything period Films should be.
8. Foul Play
One of the funniest Movies ever. Chevy chase's 1st role & his best!! When He & Goldie reteamed a few yrs. later the original spark was gone. The script really made the Film.VERY funny.
7. Dirty Harry/Magnum Force
I put them together because I saw them as a double feature together & 4 hrs. of Clint is always better than 2 !!!!
6. Mr. Majestyk
One of Bronson's best.
5. Macon County Line
A great story of 2 Brothers driving cross country who break down in the wrong place @ the wrong time.
4. Rollercoaster
From the creators of Columbo !!!! Not a big hit at the time but Columbo fans should check it out.
3. House Of Dark Shadows
Today movies made from TV Shows is common (yet never w/the original cast)in the 70's it was pretty wild to see one of Your fav TV Shows on the BIG (Back then they were)Screen.
2. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
This deserves a dvd release. Peter Fonda and Susan George in a 90 min. car chase.
1. The Godfather
Do I really have to say why???????????????

I could go on & on with other fav 70's films.I love Blaxploitation Films (Shaft,Superfly,Three The Hard Way,Mandingo,Bucktown,Black Belt Jones,Abby...I could go on & on !!!! Horror Films-The Omen,Food Of The Gods. Action Films-Any Bronson Film,Two Minute Warning,The Longest Yard, The French Connection,The Seven Ups,Billy Jack,The Walking Tall movies, Golden Needles etc. You couldn't get away with making a lot of Films made in the 70's today.

By: Jacob Steinbrook

10. Jaws (1975)
What's better than a killer shark on a blood-thirsty rampage? And having a young, ambitious Spielburg at the helm certainly helped.
9. The Exorcist (1973)
Horrified audiences like no film ever has. Extremely daring.
8. Barry Lyndon (1975)
I don't think there is a film on record more beautifully shot than this. Stanley Kubrick at his visual best.
7. Star Wars (1977)
What hasn't been said about this Sci-fi masterpiece?
6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Revolutionized the horror genre. Without a doubt the most realistic and horrific film ever made.
5. The Wicker Man (1973)
Possibly the greatest cult film ever, on more than one level. Also featuring Christopher Lee's greatest film performance.
4. Suspiria (1977)
The most beautiful horror film ever made, straight from the brilliant mind of Dario Argento.
3. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The most daring work Stanley Kubrick, the most prolific filmaker in history, ever created.
2. Chinatown (1974)
Captured the true grit of the underworld like no film before or since. Nicholson's finest performance, which is saying something special.
1. The Godfather Parts 1 & 2 (1972/1974)
The two greatest crime films ever made, both done within a two year span, both Best Picture winners at the Oscars. Brilliant films.

By: Tarjan

10. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
9. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
8. Apocalypse Now
7. Jaws
6. Alien
5. The Deer Hunter
4. Taxi Driver
3. Manhattan
2. Star Wars
1. Godfather 1 & 2

By: Andrew Squire

10. Serpico
9. Kramer Vs Kramer
8. Annie Hall
7. Star Wars
6. A Clockwork Orange
5. Godfather 2
4. Godfather
3. The Deer Hunter
2. Taxi Driver
1. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest

By: Patrick McMahon

10. Carrie
Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie are fantastick and I Heart Split-Screens
9. Fiddler On The Roof
Just an amazing movie
8. The Poseiden Adventure
Turned my world upside down--Hardy har-har
7. Alien
Scary!!!
6. The Last Waltz
Amazing performances by some of the best--Whis I could have been there.
5. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
Paranoia, paranoia everybody's comming to get me--Great remake
4. 2001: A Space Odessey
Great visuals mixed with awsome soundtrack--Perfection
3. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
One of my all time favs.
2. Jaws
Awesome story and real exciting
1. Star Wars
Great, Great, Great

By: Brandon

10. Rocky 2
9. Deer Hunter
8. The Exorcist
7. Jaws
6. Rocky
Everyones seen this...A timeless classic
5. Apacolypse Now
Very wierd but also very good storyline
4. Smokey And The Bandit
3. The Godfather Pt.2
Al pacino,Robert deniro,Robert Duvall,Dian Keaton,talia shire another absolute superstar filled movie.
2. Taxi Driver
Robert Deniro made this movie because he is Robert Deniro and who doesn't know "you talking to me?"
1. The Godfather
A timeless Classic,brilliant and makes you follow along,not to mention the superstar lineup.

Honorable mentions The shootist...John waynes last movie,The rest of the rocky's,halloween,and one flew over the cuckcoos nest

By: wendy

10. Grease
Just a fun movie and great music. The cast looked as if they were all having fun making it, too.
9. Jaws
The only reason the audiences didn't see a lot of the shark was because it wouldn't cooperate! No matter--it was enough to keep us away from the beaches! My aunt took me to see this in New Jersey in late 1975. She had read the book and was telling me how the movie was different. When my son was little he loved this movie but he'd never watch it alone. Robert Shaw gave a great performance even though he was drunk a lot of the time during filming.
8. M*A*S*H
I saw this at a drive-in along with The French Connection and loved them both. I had been watching the TV show (which had debuted a few months earlier) but after seeing the movie (and owning it) Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould will always be Hawkeye and Trapper John for me! They were not happy with Altman's directing but everything came together in the end. It takes place during the Korean War but it's more of an anti-Vietnam War movie. Lots of controversy due to the bloddy operating room scenes.
7. American Graffiti
Once again, didn't see it a few years later after it's original release. It's fun to watch just to see Ronny Howard, Cindy Williams, Richard Dreyfus and MacKenzie Phillips and Suzanne Somers (briefly) and Harrison Ford (briefly) before they were big stars (well, Ron Howard was already well-known). Paul LeMat was in a later movie called Aloha Bobby and Rose (anyone remember that?) and played the brutal husband in The Burning Bed (1984). Charles Martin Smith (Terry the Toad) was in Never Cry Wolf. Haven't seen Candy Clark (Debbie) in anything although she went with Jeff Bridges for a while. Can't hardly recognize Harrison Ford as Bob Falfa. The soundtrack is one of the best. Only complaint--some of the girls at the sockhop refused to style their hair circa 1962 and are wearing the 1973 shag haircuts!
6. Star Wars
I had sci-fi/fantasy stuff but everyone had said this was great so I had to see it (I was 5 days into bootcamp when it was released and I didn't catch it until late August of 77). I came away pleasantly surprised by the whole movie and couldn't wait for the sequel.
5. Godfather 1&2
Not many sequels are good but this was an exception. Both movies were great. The Godfather was my first R-rated movie and I couldn't believe the violency and nudity, which seems pretty tame today. I had read the book in the 8th grade but didn't understand it totally until I reread it 10 years later.
4. Saturday Night Fever
If Rebel Without a Cause defined the 50s and The Graduate the 60s, then this movie defined the 70s! I was stationed in Spain when this movie was released and I saw it off base in June of 1978. Then place was packed with youngersters and no adults--surprising, as the movie was rated R. My hubby and I went with another couple who had just arrived from the States and could tells us what was going on (the movie was dubbed, which I hate--give me subtitles any day!). The audience couldn't speak English but they knew the words to all the songs on the movie. A few weeks later the movie came on base and we were able to see it in English. John Travolta deserved the Academy Award he was nominated for--especially because he did such a great job while his fiance lay dying of breast cancer. There were two versions released, R and PG. The PG version has John dancing to Disco Duck, which is not in the R version for some reason. It's good to own both copies. And you can't beat the music.
3. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
A change for one of the best directors ever, Martin Scorsese. Ellen Burstyn deserved her Oscar. The kid who played her son, Alfred Lutter, was also excellent. He was in Bad News Bears a few years later. What ever happened to him--he was so good. The TV series a few years later was terrible--what a difference between that and the movie.
2. The Paper Chase
Edward G. Robinson and James Mason auditioned for the role of Professor Kingsfield but John Houseman--known as a producer--got the part and the rest is history. I saw this movie when I was 15 and made up my mind then in there never to go to any law school--Kingsfield was so intimidating! Great performances by Timothy Bottoms, Lindsey Wagner and John Houseman.
1. The Sting
Probably my favorite movie of all time. You just can't beat a Newman/Redford combo (I'd list Butch Cassidy here but it was made in 1969)

There are others I loved but didn't list: Smokey and the Bandit, The French Connection, Close Encounters, Young Frankenstein (the only Mel Brooks movie I can stand), Superman, The Bad News Bears, Deliverance, Patton, Midnight Express, Vanishing Point (it's never on TV for some reason), Coming Home, The Deer Hunter, Kramer vs. Kramer, Network, Chinatown. The ones I listed are the ones that come most readily to mind.

By: Steven

10. Rocky 1
Classic! Too many made tho, Stick with the original
9. Alien
Once again stick with the original. Every1 jumps at this film
8. Star Wars
Start of a good thing. Thats all i need to say!
7. Taxi Driver
Loved It!
6. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
Jack Nicholson is so brilliant in this film. One of his best!
5. The Godfather 2
Amazing movie!
4. The Godfather
Absolutly fab loved every minute
3. Jaws
What can i say! its brilliant and the script couldn't be any better!!
2. A Clockwork Orange
Fantastic for a movie from 1971! never get tierd of it! this will be a classic forever
1. The Exorcist
Seen it millions of times and it never gets old. I will watch this film on my death bed it is that BRILLIANT!!!