Favorite Films of the 70s

Top 15 films of the 70s. The further back in time I go, the fewer films I have seen from that era, and generally the films I have seen are the "classics" or the go-to films that people will tell you to watch from that time. So this list probably isn't as diverse as some of my others, but these are the films that excited, enthralled, or entranced me when I first saw them. As usual, alphabetical order.

Annie Hall

By far my favorite Woody Allen film, and in my opinion, the objectively best film he's made. Allen's performance is the same as every other film he's been in, but his comedy here is better than any of his others. Some lines crack me up every time, and I can't imagine anybody other than Woody delivering them properly; the line regarding a nutcracker and a lobster gets me every time in its simplicity. And the cameo from Christopher Walken (who would later co-star in one of the decade's best films, The Deer Hunter) is one of the best and funniest scenes of the movie.

Apocalypse Now

This is just one big, monstrous, epic journey into a forest of darkness and death. The acting is superb, and the cinematography is some of the best ever put to the screen. Ironically, the film is made all the better by watching the documentary Hearts of Darkness, which chronicles the tremendous efforts and difficulties (to put it mildly) that went into the making of this masterpiece. Francis Ford Coppola, despite being perhaps the Director of the Decade, went through the closest I can imagine to true filmmaking hell. Along the way, with so many problems arising, he became convinced he was making a complete blunder of a film, but stuck with it because he literally had everything (his house included) on the line. It paid off in dividends when it won the Palme d'Or and went on to become one of the most famous and well-regarded films in history.

Badlands

I have a love-hate relationship with Terrence Malick. I love many of his films so dearly, but am also disappointed many times by his style over substance approach to some of his work. The Thin Red Line literally rides a very thin line for me because in many ways it is very much that - style over substance. But for some reason I love it. I was, however, majorly disappointed with The Tree of Life, which I walked out of about 2/3 of the way through. Only movie in my life I've ever walked out on. It was beautiful, but the substance was practically non-existant for me. No surprise, since the screenplay reads like a novel. But back to Badlands, which is undoubtedly his most story-oriented picture. As with any Malick film, the cinematography is beautiful, but the story is great, as is the acting. And that score. Wow. It's no wonder Tony Scott wanted to use it again in True Romance, where it worked perfectly. One of the great film scores of all time.

Cries and Whispers

Ingmar Bergman was always drawn to stories about death. From the literal embodiment of Death in The Seventh Seal, to The Virgin Spring, to this film, to Fanny and Alexander, Bergman was clearly fascinated with death and all of its intricacies and implications. And in each film, he approaches death in a very different way. The Seventh Seal dealt with it on more of a detached, visually-literal level. The Virgin Spring approached the topic of death by murder (later inspiring The Last House on the Left among others). Cries and Whispers approaches the emotional side of death, which is perhaps why I loved it so much.

Dog Day Afternoon

One of two Lumet films on this list. Definitely one of Pacino's best performances, if not his very best. A great example of contained story-telling and filmmaking. Lumet's absolutely wonderful book Making Movies sheds some light on the filmmaking behind this movie, and ultimately what makes it so powerful. Curious to note is the use of minimal artificial lighting, something that Lumet didn't often use in his films. Beyond the style and story, it's worth seeing just for Pacino's raw, emotionally powerful performance.

Five Easy Pieces

One of four films on this list showcasing Jack Nicholson. Five Easy Pieces may not be his best performance (I'm not even sure what is - the man is so diverse and talented), but it's definitely one of his best. The film itself is magical for showing the darker side of human nature - not in an over-the-top way such as There Will Be Blood, but in a realistic method that regards the way we sometimes take our own self-hatred and regrets out on the world and those around us - even those dearest to us. A powerful story.

Interesting note: This is one of the Coen Brother's favorite films


The Godfather I & II

It seems almost cliche to include these films, but it would be an injustice to leave them out. Not much needs to be said here: they are, quite simply, two of the best films ever made. From the innovative cinematography (which was actually innovated in the earlier Klute, but perfected here), to the wide array of fantastic performances, to Coppola's perfect directing and writing... there's nothing to dislike but only adore.


Halloween

John Carpenter is often credited for "creating" the slasher genre with this film, though that's far from accurate. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre pre-dated this one (side note: the famous meat-hook scene actually appears in an early, absolutely horribly-hilarious film Trog), and Peeping Tom beat Halloween to the stab (get it?) by nearly twenty years (not to mention other slashers like Psycho and Black Christmas). But, Carpenter's film was certainly one of the most successful slasher films to date (considering budget-to-gross ratio). Halloween was hugely successful in building suspense and tension slowly, with very little violence in the first half of the film. If only modern horror films would bother taking their time to establish characters we care about before showing blood (which this film actually does little of).


The Last Detail

Perhaps one of Jack Nicholson's best performances, the film is simple in its story, but elegant in its style and deep in its characters. Nicholson won numerous awards, including Best Actor at Cannes, but failed to win the Oscar (which Nicholson later expressed disappointment at, claiming it to be his best performance). It's an entertaining, touching, and splendid little film.

The Last Picture Show

Bogdanovich, like Paper Moon, shot this in black and white, which underscored the dreary, depressing mood of a story set among a dying Texas town. One of Jeff Bridges' first roles (and his first Oscar nomination), it showed exactly why he would later go on to be considered one of the greatest actors of all time. The story is about many things; love, loss, the growing freedom and independence of the early 70s, and nature of how some things are constantly changing, and some never do. It contains some of the most heartbreakingly subtle scenes of the 1970s.


Network

The second Lumet film, and one of my very favorites of his filmography. Also one of the best screenplays ever written. The film is chalk-full of dialogue, but it moves like an Aaron Sorkin film. The film was way ahead of its time, building to a climax that seemed outrageous at the time, but not so unlikely these days. It also showcases what is in my opinion one of the best, least-gratuitous sex scenes in all of film. A great example of excellent writing, and the best dialogue driven film until Sorkin/Fincher's The Social Network.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I found this film brilliantly entertaining, with a wonderful performance from Nicholson, and a fantastic supporting cast (note a young Danny deVito). Louise Fletcher is fantastic as Nurse Ratched, one of the best villains in history. The plot is funny, entertaining, moving, sweet, dark, and uplifting all at once. It's no surprise this is one of the few films in history to win the "top 5" Academy Awards (Actor, Actress, Director, Screenplay, Picture).


The Outlaw Josey Wales

Not the first Clint Eastwood western, but one of his very best along with Unforgiven. It's also one of the first to be a rebuke of some of his earlier westerns, and the general western genre up until that time. The atmosphere is phenomenal, the performance of Chief Dan George is one of the film's many highlights, and the revisionist nature of the film is amazing. You'll notice it from the very beginning, when it becomes clear the villains are not Confederate soldiers, but Union soldiers.


Paper Moon

The second (chronologically) of two Bogdanovich films on this list. Paper Moon is the more entertaining of the two, being a comedy set during the Great Depression about a con man (Ryan O'Neal) and a little girl, who may be his daughter (Tatum O'Neil, who deservedly won an Oscar), as they travel across the country. Madeline Kahn was also nominated (but lost to O'Neil) for her performance as Trixie Delight (a name later re-used in the fantastic show Californication). One of the most brilliant directorial moves on behalf of Bogdanovich was his choice to shoot in black-and-white, which perfectly juxtaposes the comedic side of the film with the Depression-era backdrop.

Taxi Driver

See: Best Films of All Time for Description

Runners Up

Blazing Saddles
Chinatown
Dirty Harry
Jaws
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Stalker
Suspiria
The Deer Hunter
The Sting
Young Frankenstein
Shampoo