Rotten Tomatoes list of best 70s Movies as listed here; https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/essential-1970s-movies/
Welcome to the days of disco and dirty deeds as we plunge into a new wave of movies: raw and renewed, unfiltered, while laying the groundwork for blockbuster era to come. Welcome to the 140 essential movies of the ’70s.
The two moods we aimed to capture in this countdown: The wilting of ’60s flower power optimism under the harsh light of urban reality and decay; meanwhile the destruction of the musty Hays Code — a musty ruleset that dictated what could be depicted on-screen for decades — suddenly allowing directors to pursue more personal expressions in film, often violent and sexual. You’ll find stories of lone men (Taxi Driver, Dog Day Afternoon) and women (Wanda, Norma Rae) against the system, and paranoid political thrillers (All the President’s Men, Three Days of the Condor). There are the horror hallmarks (Alien, Halloween) including international (Suspiria, Deep Red), and box office game changers (Star Wars, Jaws). Low-budget exploitation (The Last House on the Left, Mad Max), and a few things a willing warped mind can get off on (The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Holy Mountain). All movies considered for this list needed to have a Tomatometer (after 5 reviews) and have been made during the decade, even if it didn’t get a major release until later, e.g. Hausu or Killer of Sheep.
Now, let’s strut them mean streets, let’s do the time warp again, let’s have ourselves a close encounter with 140 essential 70s movies!
List of Nominees and Winners
FRED ASTAIRE "The Towering Inferno"
JEFF BRIDGES "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot"
WINNER - ROBERT DE NIRO "The Godfather Part II"
MICHAEL V. GAZZO "The Godfather Part II"
LEE STRASBERG "The Godfather Part II"
WINNER - INGRID BERGMAN "Murder on the Orient Express"
MADELINE KAHN "Blazing Saddles"
DIANE LADD "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
TALIA SHIRE "The Godfather Part II"
VALENTINA CORTESE "Day for Night"
"CHINATOWN" Robert Evans, Producer
"THE CONVERSATION" Francis Ford Coppola, Producer; Fred Roos, Co-Producer
WINNER - "THE GODFATHER PART II" Francis Ford Coppola, Producer; Gray Frederickson and Fred Roos, Co-Producers
"LENNY" Marvin Worth, Producer
"THE TOWERING INFERNO" Irwin Allen, Producer
"CHINATOWN" John A. Alonzo
"EARTHQUAKE" Philip Lathrop
"LENNY" Bruce Surtees
"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" Geoffrey Unsworth
WINNER - "THE TOWERING INFERNO" Fred Koenekamp, Joseph Biroc
"CHINATOWN" Anthea Sylbert
"DAISY MILLER" John Furness
"THE GODFATHER PART II" Theadora Van Runkle
WINNER "THE GREAT GATSBY" Theoni V. Aldredge
"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" Tony Walton
"CHINATOWN" Roman Polanski
"DAY FOR NIGHT" Francois Truffaut
WINNER - "THE GODFATHER PART II" Francis Ford Coppola
"LENNY" Bob Fosse
"A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE" John Cassavetes
"BLAZING SADDLES" John C. Howard, Danford Greene
"CHINATOWN" Sam O'Steen
"EARTHQUAKE" Dorothy Spencer
"THE LONGEST YARD" Michael Luciano
WINNER - "THE TOWERING INFERNO" Harold F. Kress, Carl Kress
WINNER - "AMARCORD" Italy
"CATS' PLAY" Hungary
"THE DELUGE" Poland
"LACOMBE, LUCIEN" France
"THE TRUCE" Argentina
ALBERT FINNEY "Murder on the Orient Express"
WINNER - ART CARNEY "Harry and Tonto"
DUSTIN HOFFMAN "Lenny"
JACK NICHOLSON "Chinatown"
AL PACINO "The Godfather Part II"
WINNER - ELLEN BURSTYN "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
DIAHANN CARROLL "Claudine"
FAYE DUNAWAY "Chinatown"
VALERIE PERRINE "Lenny"
GENA ROWLANDS "A Woman under the Influence"
"CHINATOWN" Art Direction: Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell; Set Decoration: Ruby Levitt
"EARTHQUAKE" Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, E. Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Frank McKelvy
WINNER - "THE GODFATHER PART II" Art Direction: Dean Tavoularis, Angelo Graham; Set Decoration: George R. Nelson
"THE ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD" Art Direction: Peter Ellenshaw, John B. Mansbridge, Walter Tyler, Al Roelofs; Set Decoration: Hal Gausman
"THE TOWERING INFERNO" Art Direction: William Creber, Ward Preston; Set Decoration: Raphael Bretton
"Benji's Theme (I Feel Love)" from "BENJI"; Music by Euel Box; Lyrics by Betty Box
"Blazing Saddles" from "BLAZING SADDLES"; Music by John Morris; Lyrics by Mel Brooks
"Little Prince" from "THE LITTLE PRINCE"; Music by Frederick Loewe; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
WINNER - "We May Never Love Like This Again" from "THE TOWERING INFERNO"; Music and Lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
"Wherever Love Takes Me" from "GOLD"; Music by Elmer Bernstein; Lyrics by Don Black
"ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE" Robert Getchell
WINNER - "CHINATOWN" Robert Towne
"THE CONVERSATION" Francis Ford Coppola
"DAY FOR NIGHT Francois Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard, Suzanne Schiffman
"HARRY AND TONTO" Paul Mazursky, Josh Greenfeld
"CITY OUT OF WILDERNESS" Francis Thompson, Producer
WINNER - "DON'T" Robin Lehman, Producer
"EXPLORATORIUM" Jon Boorstin, Producer
"JOHN MUIR'S HIGH SIERRA" Dewitt Jones and Lesley Foster, Producers
"NAKED YOGA" Ronald S. Kass and Mervyn Lloyd, Producers
"ANTONIA: A PORTRAIT OF THE WOMAN" Judy Collins and Jill Godmilow, Producers
"THE CHALLENGE...A TRIBUTE TO MODERN ART" Herbert Kline, Producer
WINNER - "HEARTS AND MINDS" Peter Davis and Bert Schneider, Producers
"THE 81ST BLOW" Jacquot Ehrlich, David Bergman and Haim Gouri, Producers
"THE WILD AND THE BRAVE" Natalie R. Jones and Eugene S. Jones, Producers
WINNER - Arthur B. Krim
"CHINATOWN" Bud Grenzbach, Larry Jost
"THE CONVERSATION" Walter Murch, Arthur Rochester
WINNER - "EARTHQUAKE" Ronald Pierce, Melvin Metcalfe, Sr.
"THE TOWERING INFERNO" Theodore Soderberg, Herman Lewis
"YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN" Richard Portman, Gene Cantamessa
"CHINATOWN" Jerry Goldsmith
WINNER - "THE GODFATHER PART II" Nino Rota, Carmine Coppola
"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" Richard Rodney Bennett
"SHANKS" Alex North
"THE TOWERING INFERNO" John Williams
WINNER - "EARTHQUAKE" Frank Brendel, Glen Robinson, Albert Whitlock
WINNER - "THE GREAT GATSBY" Adaptation Score by Nelson Riddle
"THE LITTLE PRINCE" Song Score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe; Adaptation Score by Angela Morley and Douglas Gamley
"PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE" Song Score by Paul Williams; Adaptation Score by Paul Williams and George Aliceson Tipton
WINNER - "CLOSED MONDAYS" Will Vinton and Bob Gardiner, Producers
"THE FAMILY THAT DWELT APART" Yvon Mallette and Robert Verrall, Producers
"HUNGER" Peter Foldes and René Jodoin, Producers
"VOYAGE TO NEXT" Faith Hubley and John Hubley, Producers
"WINNIE THE POOH AND TIGGER TOO" Wolfgang Reitherman, Producer
"CLIMB" Dewitt Jones, Producer
"THE CONCERT" Julian Chagrin and Claude Chagrin, Producers
WINNER - "ONE-EYED MEN ARE KINGS" Paul Claudon and Edmond Sechan, Producers
"PLANET OCEAN" George V. Casey, Producer
"THE VIOLIN" Andrew Welsh and George Pastic, Producers
"THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ" Screenplay by Mordecai Richler; Adaptation by Lionel Chetwynd
WINNER - "THE GODFATHER PART II" Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo
"LENNY" Julian Barry
"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" Paul Dehn
"YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN" Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks
Using IMDb advanced search, filtering only by English language.
Notable entries missing include:
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Omen (1976)
Damien: The Omen II (1978)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
Straight from the book of the same title, an essential list for film buffs and more casual movie lovers alike. Titles are ranked here based on when they appear in the book, which is divided by the genres Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Musical, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Thriller, War and Western, then further organized by year released.
All credits go to IMDb user: RDLongoria
Disaster films
Le Reste...
Movies of the late 1920's to 1989.
all the academy awards nominees for best picture since 1927
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is a film reference book edited by Steven Jay Schneider with original essays on each film contributed by over 70 film critics.
Decades: Rotten Tomatoes - The 140 Essential 1970s Movies
by dinkysniffVIP 5