The 1970s is credited as ‘The Last Golden Age of Cinema’ and ‘The American New Wave‘ in film history. Despite the seemingly dooming presence of financial and artistic depression, the medium flourished with a burst of creativity in America and other places. Changes were made in rating criteria and content, allowing filmmakers to experiment and reach new boundaries with their visual storytelling.
Genres received some of their greatest contributions during this decade, as this new experimentation blended distinctive styles. Horror went to space. Crime organisation was explored using family. The psychology and effects of war were explored in isolated character studies.
Societal issues inspired cinematic subjects, such as the Civil Rights movement and changing attitudes towards gender roles. Filmmakers aimed to tell stories in which audiences could find these cultural shifts, regardless of genre or overall context. Some of the most beloved directors found their artistic voices during the 70s, offering some of their most acclaimed work.
Picking the top film from each year of this decade is challenging. With so many crossings in genre and breaking down walls with each release, it feels impossible to ask a film fan to place only one film per year on such a pedestal. However, I managed to construct a list I believe represents the decade for the creative, insightful, and irreplaceable time it was for cinema.
The 10 best films of the 1970s:
Il Conformista/The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)
Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci tackles themes of fascism and psychology in this political drama. The film is about an irresolute Italian man who becomes a fascist. He goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
The political philosopher Takis Fotopoulos cited Bertolucci’s film as “a beautiful portrait of this psychological need to conform and be normal at the social level, in general, and the political level, in particular”. Its classification as a ‘visual masterpiece’ stems from its use of setting and cinematography to explore its subject matter, rather than just characters and plot events. The story blends history with art to illustrate film’s potential in our culture, and its release set a new standard for the Hollywood picture.
修羅’/Demons (Yoshio Matsumoto, 1971)
Yoshio Matsumoto explores portrayals of evil in this avant-garde horror, a darker take on the samurai traditions. An exiled samurai is given a second chance to join his brothers in arms to become the 48th Ronin against the Shogunate. He soon falls deeply in love with a geisha named Koman, who comes with a heavy debt.
Matsumoto’s work in video artistry blends into this picture. Its style is centred on abstractness and has a pessimistic tone, with consecutive black and white shots with only one colour break. Both style and content challenge the boundaries of representing hell itself on film. It leaves audiences with a heavy and unfamiliar feeling. However, its layered artistry will bring them back for another viewing.
The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is one of the greatest of its decade, genre, and overall medium. Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life. His youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), takes it upon himself to find vengeance, creating a blood bath.
The highest-grossing movie of the year, The Godfather continues to receive universal acclaim from critics and audiences. All its elements are praised – the performances, directing, screenplay, cinematography, editing, score, and portrayal of the mafia. Coppola experimented with the genre and content by having the perspective come from inside the mafia, demonstrating the community’s intimate bonds rather than the flashy acts.
The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)
This supernatural adaptation of the William Peter Blatty novel focuses on the demonic possession of an innocent child called Regan. Her desperate mother turns to religion to save her as two Catholic priests attempt to exorcise her of the demon. However, it refuses to leave without a terrifying hellish fight.
The Exorcist created one of the most surreal and astounding audience reactions in cinema history. Its initial reaction in theatres is full of stories of people fainting and even suffering heart attacks from how terrifying they found the film. Its direction and writing earned it a spot on every list of the greatest horrors ever made and lists of allegedly cursed films since bizarre incidents plagued the film’s shooting. With paranormal and possessions becoming tired in horror, contemporary viewings of the film require an understanding of how groundbreaking its subject matter was at the time.
The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
Two parallel stories make up the plot of Coppola’s sequel to The Godfather, one following a young Vito Corleone in 1910 and the other focusing on his son in the 1950s. This makes the film interesting to watch as it is both a sequel and a prequel.
Likewise to its predecessor, The Godfather Part II is considered one of the greatest gangster films of all time and one of the greatest films of all time. It is ranked 32 in the American Film Institute’s Greatest American Films in History. It is also credited with one of the greatest casts in cinema, with Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro all giving incredible performances.
Hababam Sınıfı/The Chaos Class (Ertem Eğilmez, 1975)
This Turkish drama follows a group of uneducated yet privileged students living together in a private school. When a new and strict headmaster arrives, the students naturally try to overthrow him, kickstarting a chaotic tug of war.
Eğilmez’s script represents the specific sense of humour Turkey holds. It’s culturally relevant despite the hilariously stupid antics it portrays, as well as featuring satire on the Turkish education system. It switches the tone towards its ending, demonstrating skill on both the director’s and cast’s part.
Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
Martin Scorsese dominated 70s cinema with gritty and stylised portrayals of crime, psychology, and masculinity. Taxi Driver is some of his finest work, as it shows a disturbed veteran managing a darker side of life in a corrupt New York.
Taxi Driver is a testimony to how film as a medium has no boundaries and is irreplaceable. It’s an art film, yet it is one of the most popular films. It provokes consistent interpretation through its devices of cinematography and dialogue. The blend of visuals and spoken word to create meaning proves the levels cinema can reach. De Niro’s performance as Travis brings some of the most startling yet intriguing psychological disturbances to screen.
Star Wars: A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977)
The one that started it all. George Lucas’s idea of a space soap opera came to fruition in Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV). The Evil Imperial forces kidnap a princess in their effort to take over the Galactic Empire. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo team up with two robots to rescue her and bring peace to the waking.
When taking a step back to look at what Star Wars has now become, watching this film becomes an almost surreal experience. It’s not only one of the greatest films but also one of the most important, an experience that cinema needed. It tells a story of political rebellion and imperialist rejection in a creative setting and introduces some of the most iconic characters film has ever known. The designs of the costumes, props, and settings have become staples in popular film culture, alongside the writing and performance of some iconic quotes.
Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)
In the slasher of all slashers, fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to his small town. Hunting down the town’s teenagers, the masked killer creates a terrifying night of carnage.
John Carpenter’s status as one of the masters of horror is demonstrated in this influential picture. This film kicked started one of the genre’s most iconic franchises, which is still ongoing today. Its script is a masterclass on cinematic suspense — the tension of not knowing Michael’s whereabouts scares audiences much more than throwing bloody bodies onscreen.
Сталкер/Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)
Science fiction and arthouse are brought together by director Andrei Tarkovsky in this Soviet piece. A mysterious figure leads two clients to a mysterious restricted site known simply as the “Zone”, where a room supposedly exists that grants a person’s innermost desires.
Stalker‘s screenplay is built from science fiction iconography and theological themes, showing how the outlandish genre can represent interior psychological issues. It’s a complex allegory of the human consciousness, exploring humankind’s contradictory nature. It is insightful in its themes and beautiful in its visuals. There’s a lot to take in in its analysis, as supported by how layered yet direct everything about it is.
