My Top Five Films of the 1970s Ranked

[@eltayebtaha]

WE NEED ONE ABOUT THE 60's

[@duhduh666]

AND THE 50s

[@gpapa31]

Loads of Hitch and Lean I predict

[@maciejatkowski5524]

@@gpapa31 Nah, probably not „loads”, especially the 60s. I predict something like Blow-Up, 2001, yes, Lawrence of Arabia, the Trial, aaaaand… I don’t know ;)

[@IlluminatiLand]

@@duhduh666 My fav movies are from the 50s

[@only257]

@@duhduh666 agreed 😊

[@lloydpassafume5357]

Barry Lyndon floored me when I watched it. To me this was Kubrick’s unsung masterpiece. I genuinely went in thinking this would be boring but I was engaged for the entirety of the movie. A Criterion I’m very proud to own

[@quis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes]

I think this is literally everyone’s experience with that movie.

[@maciek8159]

It's on my criterion wish list. That and paths of glory are his true masterpieces forget about the shining.

[@lloydpassafume5357]

@@maciek8159 you read my mind. Those are tied for my favorite Kubricks as well.

[@craigmurdock4740]

I agree that it is probably his masterpiece. What a difficult thing to chose hahahaha.

[@lloydpassafume5357]

@@craigmurdock4740 Agreed

[@andykang6469]

1. KLUTE (Alan J. Pakula 1971) -- This is one of my all time favorite! 2. The Day of the Jackal (Fred Zinnemann 1973) 3. Peppermint Soda (French: Diabolo Menthe) ( Diane Kurys 1977) 4. Walkabout ( Nicolas Roeg 1971) 5.The Passenger (Michelangelo Antonioni 1975)

[@danielcaraveo4844]

The Day Of the Jackal. What a movie good choice.

[@domwalker6526]

Klute is 🔥🔥🔥

[@bencarlson4300]

I’ve only seen Day of the Jackal, but that is a masterpiece that flies under the radar for most people.

[@elnick1000]

GOOD CHOICES OF DAY OF THE JACKAL and WALKABOUT. The Passenger? I love his film L'aventura.

[@shobhitbhatnagar729]

Mine are 1. Chinatown 2. Network 3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 4. The Godfather 1 &2 5. Don't look now This list may change , if i watch more movies from 70s

[@Celestialrob]

Love these retrospective posts, thank you. I was a projectionist when Carrie came out. The famous jump scene is incredible to repeatedly watch from the projection booth. I saw Apocalypse Now by mistake, knowing nothing about it. We'd gone to the cinema to see something else. The experience was one of the great moments from seeing over 14,000 different movies. I've never seen your final choice, which really surprises me as I love Altman movies. I'm on a major Film Noir journey at the moment, but will definitely add it to my list. For what it's worth, my faves from this decade are (in no order) Cries & Whispers, Jeanne Dielman, Stalker, Apocalypse Now and Taxi Driver. Again thanks!

[@painless465]

5. All the Presidents Men 4.Jaws 3.Annie Hall 2.The Conversation 1. The Godfather Very hard because the 70's were the pinnacle of American "real" cinema So many worthy contenders

[@michaelkelmonroe7547]

Your film & art intuition and expertise, combined with your ability to critique is so powerful - love hearing your thoughts.

[@beestingza]

Maggie is criminally undersubbed, but she's finally getting the following she deserves. I think her low key production style and cerebral analysis isn't flashy enough for the masses, but true cinephiles eventually find her.

[@michaelkelmonroe7547]

@@beestingza I agree, it's a shame and I think she deserves more recognition overall. I'm really glad she's persisted in sharing her insights and clear passion for the art of filmmaking. This is really high end thoughts and critiques she offers - I've learned so much and thought about a lot of things in new ways - like even with movies I thought I'd already picked apart quite thoroughly - by listening to her.

[@beestingza]

@@michaelkelmonroe7547 Yeah buddy. She's great. She obviously does it for the love of film. I begged her for ages to start a Patreon and she refused until just over a year ago.

[@slc2466]

Shelley Duvall breaks your heart in "Three Women"- she brings to mind Janis Ian's "At Seventeen" with a twist; her character's an outsider but imagines herself as popular, and Duvall does a beautiful job with all the facets of the role, including showing the inherent insecurity that may be driving her actions.

[@JJJJJVVVVVLLLLL]

🎯

[@mundicox8951]

Your way of describing aspects of film is always so impressive, such as your metaphor for Picnic at Hanging Rock feeling like revisiting an old house, or the way you interpret the aesthetics of Barry Lyndon. As a literature student, i'm always in awe!

[@wailer27]

why are you being so sycophantic?

[@mundicox8951]

@@wailer27 Im not. Just really appreciate when language is used well.

[@beestingza]

@@wailer27 He's not, he's paying her a polite compliment. Many of us have been watching Maggie for years and do have an honest appreciation for her style and precise language. Piss off.

[@wailer27]

@RJ Inkglider your rant got banned, can you repost in a more civilised way maybe?

[@beestingza]

@@wailer27 I"m not going to censor myself for KZbin but I'll put it in code: "He's not, he's paying her a polite compliment. Many of us have been watching Maggie for years and do have an honest appreciation for her style and precise language. P1$$ 0ff." Reply

[@pegacorn13]

This was great. I love your choices! My Personal Favorites: 1. Harold and Maude 2. Picnic at Hanging Rock 3. Carrie 4. Rocky (Born and raised in Philly!) 5. Alien

[@scmkar]

Great list... The 70s were a great era for films. Here are my highest rated films from 70s films from my Top100 of all time: 1. Cries and Whispers (Bergman, 1972) 2. A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick, 1971) 3. Badlands (Malick, 1973) 4. Alien (Scott, 1979) 5. All That Jazz (Fosse, 1979)

[@freedom_rock18]

What about dogs day afternoon, or the omen, sorcerer, a bridge to far, days of heaven, the deer hunter, or alien which changed the way the way of science fiction horror

[@Wildcock23]

5. The French Connection (1971) 4. The Godfather (1972) 3. Mad Max (1979) 2. A Clockwork Orange (1971) 1. Taxi Driver (1976)

[@redpepper7181]

Recently re-watched Mad Max 1 and 2, both low budget, great characters, they’re really stood the test of time.

[@schoolofrockcary6625]

The duel scene in Barry Lyndon is just a true masterclass all around. Good choice! Sticks with you long after the last frame rolls...

[@leandroingrassia]

My personal favourites of the decade, but i still have a lot to watch: 5) The Conformist (1970) - Bernardo Bertolucci 4) A Clockwork Orange (1971) - Stanley Kubrick 3) Taxi Driver (1976) - Martin Scorsese 2) Barry Lyndon (1975) - Stanley Kubrick 1) Apocalypse Now (1979) - Francis Coppola

[@sandorx4]

Barry Lyndon is an ok choice.

[@esbenjakobsen4575]

Great list.

[@fromtexas2734]

There are so many great ones from the 1970s! It's extremely difficult to pick just 5 of them. Just 5 is tough. That's tough. "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre." "Superman" from 1978. John Carpenter's "Halloween." Ridley Scott's "Alien." "Phantasm." "Jaws." Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," folks. John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13." "The Godfather" 1 & 2. "The French Connection" 1 & 2. "Star Wars." "Enter the Dragon." And many more!

[@garyredman892]

Great List. All of them brilliant. My favorites from my favorite decade of films: 1. Jaws (Spielberg - Still his best directed film) 2. The Long Goodbye (Altman - the decades best director) 3. All That Jazz (Fosse - my favorite musical of all time) 4.Watership Down (Rosen - Saw this about 100 times on HBO when I was young. Haunting and beautiful) 5. Monty Python & the Holy Grail (Jones & Gilliam - funniest movie ever made).

[@reviewbomb85]

Your a Robert Altman Fan?

[@nashf5925]

you cant miss Arnie's brief screen presence as a goon in The Long Goodbye,

[@lacrimatorium]

I always consider Kubrick's The Shining as being a 70's film. For 2 reasons. One, it was made in the same way as other 70's films by a 70's era studio. You'll notice Kubrick took a long time to make another film after this. Two, technically 1980 is the last year of the 70's. Thanks for sharing your list Maggie! Very thoughtful and personal. All worthy films.

[@beestingza]

Yeah I always think of the Shining as a 70's movie also, from the clothes to the style, even the way Wendy and Jack talk sounds 70's.

[@uhdudewhy7980]

1. Apocalypse Now 2. A Clockwork Orange 3. The Day of the Locust 4. Blazing Saddles 5. Jaws Hard list to make. So many good movies from the '70s. My top 5 is based on how often I watch them nowadays.

[@miket3910]

My top 5: 1.) The Ascent 2.) Aguirre the wrath of god 3.) McCabe and mrs miller 4.) Stalker 5.) godfather part 2

[@maciejatkowski5524]

2001 is from 68.

[@miket3910]

@@maciejatkowski5524I know I edited it out and put in stalker in its place

[@maciejatkowski5524]

@@miket3910 Good choice ;) I've never seen The Ascent, I'm gonna check it out, thanks.

[@MoreTEN]

Not a big fan of The Godfater(s), but great top two picks.

[@yashnigam6]

This is why I follow your channel. I was expecting to hear the usual movies people talk about when talking about great movies of the 70s (Taxi Driver, The Godfather, Chinatown, etc.), and instead I learn about 3 movies I never even heard of. Gonna check some of these out.

[@MLElf]

Your lists are so good, they’ve inspired me to see so many films I may have missed

[@ACD1994]

My Top 5 1). One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest 2). Network 3). Dog Day Afternoon 4). The Deer Hunter 5). Kramer Vs. Kramer Honorable Mentions: Chinatown, Eraserhead, Rocky, Taxi Driver, Suspiria... You make Barry Lyndon sound, so, so good! I'm going to have to check this out..

[@Bobmacca64]

PS: the work that can be found in your website is remarkable. The drawings are fantastic. It is a real pleasure for an art lover to come across your channel and website.

[@totallytomanimation]

I like that you smartly defined the list as "My" top five films of the 70s and that you made it clear these are personal reactions, with clear and well thought out reasons. Definitely earns a a Subcscribe for quality and clarity of thought and expression, as I personally discerned from this and a few other of your vids. Interesting that Barry Lyndon's on your list. When Lyndon came out, it was not received kindly by public or critics, but with time, it became clear that it was unfairly maligned and it's greatness finally embraced.

[@robertbrowning3684]

You missed a few Tax Driver, Nashville, Tommy, Dirty Harry, the Outlaw Jose Wales, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Godfather.The Deer Hunter, -so many great films in the 70's. I saw them live first run in the theater in the days before VHS or DVD's or cable TV or multi plex's

[@mikejunior211]

Sissy Spacek is such an underrated actress compared to let's say Merryl Streep. i love, love love 3 women and also Carrie... I also loved her in Terrence Malick's "Badlands' (1973) which i was expecting to be in your list.

[@timbodedidleo]

Nice film list. Similar to my own! I want to list ten films from the 70s. No special order. 1 - Wake In Fright 1971 -Set in Outback Australia - a hellish stranger out of place story which follows a rapid decent into alcohol driven masculine "aggressive hospitality". Grim to say the least but facinating. Done so well they called it a "horror movie". 2 - Mad Max 1979 -A road cop action vengeance thriller set in a dystopian world where social order is breaking down. This is a low budget stunner. 3 - Barry Lyndon 1975 -For all the same reasons you conveyed here. A wonderfully sumptuous cinematic expirence with four of the best kissing scenes ever put to celluloid. 4 - China Town 1974 -A sex scandal crime unravelling American neo-noir classic. 5 - Picnic At Hanging Rock 1975 -Love this feminine period romantic drama with the ever so intriguing unresolved ending. And for all those themes you so eloquently convey on this channel here. This film moves serenely and imo features time bending/inter dimensional mysterious natural world meets civil world intrigue. (Peter Weir's sense of tone is the greatest) 7 - A Clockwork Orange 1971 -A dystopian future of gang violence and State power mind control. Malcom McDowell shines so brilliantly in the role of Alex. 8. The Parallax View 1974 -Unexpectedly good. A political assignation plotline. A deep state thriller which investigates mind control /agent recruitment and touches on above law corporate allied government subversion. 9. Jaws 1975 -An open sea fishing trip into terror. One of Steven Spielbergs greatest. 10. Stalker 1979 -Every good film list deserves one film maker like Andrei Tarkovsky. Find me a film sculpting in a suspended space that's leading us into a poetic existential zone. Find me a film like Stalker, that's like an enveloping meditation. (I bet you can't) 11. The Gods Must Be Crazy 1980 -Two worlds meet. An african tribal culture meets modernity with profoundly interesting results. An entertaining film with so much charm and hilarity it can warm the hearts of the most cynical and critical. (Woops, I went one year over!)

[@hoibsh21]

I thought for sure you would pick The Conversation. I'm gonna go with 1. Jaws. 2. The Exorcist 3. The French Connection 4. Close Encounters 5. The Godfather

[@bennyl.5]

I totally agree with your summation of Carrie. As a matter of fact I love that movie, but that opening scene is so traumatic, that I don't re watch that movie as much as say Blow Out because it is so emotionally loaded. Picnic At Hanging Rock is just gorgeous, one of the most visually rewarding movies I can think of

[@GentlemanJim61]

My top 5- 1. Taxi Driver 2. The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three 3. Jaws 4. Deliverance 5. Dirty Harry

[@jenniferhodgson4165]

I recently discovered your channel and I love it. Your always on point to the point. I thought I was a movie buff but a lot of the movies you mentioned I haven't seen. Of course I have heard of them. The 70's seem so long ago.

[@williamblakehall5566]

Easily the most intriguing reviews I've ever heard for Picnic at Hanging Rock and Barry Lyndon, thank you.

[@skullivan7610]

I agree that Picnic at Hanging Rock is one of the best films from the decade but Dominic Guard's godawful performance prevents it from being in my top 5. I also agree that Barry Lyndon is one of the most beautifully shot films. 1. The Conversation 2. Aguirre, the Wrath of God 3. Walkabout 4. Days of Heaven 5. The Spirit of the Beehive

[@bencarlson4300]

It was pretty hard to narrow down a list: 1. Apocalypse Now 2. Eraserhead 3. The Conversation 4. Barry Lyndon 5. Monty Python and the Holy Grail Apologies to: Dog Day Afternoon, Picnic at Hanging Rock, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Network, The Day of the Jackal, and Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion among many others.

[@stofflwoffl3370]

3 Women I still haven't seen. Thx for that Recommendation! 🤩 There are really a lot of my absolute Favorites... alongside the Kubrick's or Coppola's: - Network, Lumet - Stalker, Tarkowski - Autumn Sonata, Bergman - The Last Picture Show, Bogdanovic - The Confession, Costa-Gravas - Cria Cuervos..., Saura - The Fifth Seal, Fabri

[@domwalker6526]

3 women was the movie that made me fall in love with Altman. I just love the study of these 3 women and the way they change throughout and how they are connected. It's a masterpiece Sissy and Shelly are sensational in the way they change throughout

[@only257]

joke this film went through a highly technical process called tension extraction before it was released to the theaters 😂

[@earlybird3668]

My favorite films from the 1970's: 1. Jaws 2.Star Wars. 3. The Godfather. 4. Superman 5. The French Connection 6. All that Jazz 7. Annie Hall 8. Animal House 9. Alien 10. Enter the Dragon

[@Bobmacca64]

It's wonderful to see that you picked Barry Lyndon. It is definitely my favourite film of Kubrick's, as well as my favourite film of all time. How gorgeous is this movie? :) And scenes like the candlelit game of cards are to die for:)

[@paulm749]

Here's what I would go with - 1. Godfather part 2 - delivers on the promise of part 1. Pacino won't let you look away. 2. The Conversation - Gene Hackman's best performance? Theme more relevant than ever. 3. Dog Day Afternoon - great ensemble cast, great writing. A study in pathos and tension. 4. Taxi Driver - Rot at the core of 70's Big Apple. DeNiro won't let you look away. 5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - because I love sci-fi. Barely beats out Star Wars. Lovers of 70's cinema will notice the common element between the first 3 movies: I knew it was you.

[@NaughtyVampireGod]

Yeah . . . Cazale. No one has a record like that.

[@reviewbomb85]

Close Encounters better than JAWS? come on now. You and I are close. We both have GF 2 on top. I have Taxi driver at #2.

[@paulm749]

@@reviewbomb85 A good sci-fi story just speaks to me and evokes a sense of wonder and makes me ponder some of the deeper questions about our existence. JAWS is a great adventure/suspense/horror story, so the two movies are in very different categories, with CE falling in the category I generally find to be more appealing. To be fair, I haven't watched JAWS in a long, long time and it might be time to revisit it.

[@binglamb2176]

So happy to see you include Barry Lyndon. It's such a beautiful movie and an automatic re-watch whenever I encounter it or want to leave the modern world and lose myself in the 18th century. Another automatic re-watch is Chinatown.

[@rhythmoriented]

I like this list, especially the surprise inclusion of Carrie - which pretty much started the teen-centered horror angle - but would have included my first R-rated film: Dog Day Afternoon.

[@angelorossowrites]

Great list! I enjoyed all of those films. Days of Heaven and 5 Easy Pieces also come to mind.

[@AnthonyGuerrino_aka_TonyMoro]

Star Wars, Alien, Rocky, Exorcist, and Black Christmas are my absolute favorites from the 70s!

[@skeller61]

Great list, thanks! Having not thought about it much, I would include: The Sting - The big con, as pulled off by Robert Redford and Paul Newman (after their Butch Cassidy success). It had almost a stage like quality with such a great screenplay. The Godfather (since you took my #1 in Apocalypse Now 😊). Wonderful cinematography. Dirty Harry - Clint Eastwood’s legendary series that set a standard for gritty cop dramas throughout the 70’s. A Clockwork Orange - Yeah, it’s one of my all time favorites. The Kubrick lighting and stylized settings add a surreal air to the ultraviolence. The Marathon Man - A great story, well told, with a great cast that is so well paced. Obviously, I’m an old guy who grew up with these movies. There are a lot of great films that aren’t testosterone infused, but these are the ones I thought of when I thought about the 70’s.

[@andrewhopkinson8736]

I love 70's movies, they are so gritty and real (sometimes TOO real). Apocalypse Now was a great call, it is possibly the greatest cinematic achievement of all time (not necessarily the greatest movie, but sheer will it took to pull it off is incredible). The thing I love the most about it is that for an action movie, it is the last one of it's kind where everything you see on the screen is real, real helicopters, real explosions, no CGI, no green screen, no matte paintings, no models. Seeing as you are such a SW fan I am surprised Star Wars didn't make it. It is a perfect adventure movie, and a perfect movie in general, it often gets overlooked as a work of art because it has reached a mythical and overhyped status in our culture, but the flow of the story between action and character development is impeccable. For 70's movie fans another film worth checking out is Sorcerer (1977) by the director of The Exorcist. It was eclypsed by Star Wars the year it was released, but is a great movie, very tense and very "real". Very much a "guy's" film, but still excellent.

[@TTM9691]

Great list, and I knew Barry Lyndon and 3 Women would be in there! Hey, there's a 70s movie I'd love to hear your thoughts on: 1971's "Carnal Knowledge" directed by Mike Nichols, with Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Candice Bergen, Ann Margaret, script by Jules Pfeiffer. I think it's a perfect movie, one of my favorites of the 70s. Would love to hear YOUR thoughts on it!

[@vicjames3256]

Damn, Picnic at Hanging Rock has been on my TBW list for 2 years. Guess it's time to watch it. Apocalypse Now is def been my favorite since I was 14. I have always been drawn to ambitious imperfect art to the clean, taught perfect film. 3 Women also moved me deeply when watching.

[@carsonwall2400]

This is impossible for me, because virtually all of my favorite movies are from the 70's lol. If I had to pick 5 that are representative to me: -Solaris (1972) -Chinatown (1974) -Three Women (1977) -Days of Heaven (1978) -Godfather II (1974)

[@davidw5532]

There’s just too many from this time period that I love. So hard to do any list as a result. If I had to choose one film from this decade that impressed me deeply it would be Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. I’ll name another one that really affected me as well that doesn’t always get a lot of mention. It’s Hal Ashby’s Being There. Love your picks and I haven’t seen 3 Women. I should really check it out as I admire Altman’s work too. I love his film McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Anyway, just recently discovered your channel and I’m very impressed. You have a vast knowledge of cinema and you articulate your points very well. Great job! 👍🏻

[@jonanjello]

Though I’ve only seen it once, Hanging Rock is amazing. Your insight is brilliant. Every viewing of Barry Lyndon is a captivating experience. I had to stop at your 3 Women as I’ve never seen it, but that’s not because of a lack of trying. Gosh I need to see that film! Thanks, DFL

[@darrylgreen5655]

The cinematography of Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" contains imagery which suggests paintings move into action, which exemplifies how art imitates life (or perhaps how life imitates art). One of my favorites of the decade was The Paper Chase (1973). The film carries us through the determined Mr. Hart's journey to attain recognition and validation from Professor Kingsfield (superbly played by John Houseman) who is both his mentor and nemesis.

[@BobBluth]

I like that you did 5 favorites instead of best. Favorites are more interesting and revealing. My top 5 (as of today): 5. Young Frankenstein 4. Jaws 3. Star Wars 2. Dawn of the Dead 1. Network

[@josephr9930]

Yes Network was astounding. Still is.

[@cloudtx]

Solid picks! I'm not an expert on this decade but there are few that I really enjoy from this time. Specially Alien and Rocky.

[@andrzejgootagoota7237]

Excellent choice. My top is: 1. Apocalypse Now 2. Exorcist 3. The Last Picture Show 4. Barry Lyndon. 5. Le Locataire ( The Tenant).

[@willhemmings]

Love this! Must get a dvd of Three Women. Well here are my top five from the 1970's, Robert Altman is in 5th place, McCabe & Mrs Miller (1971) about an unsuccessful bloke in a very hostile environment. 4th, Cabaret (1972). The first and one of the few adult films (also Crash 1996) I have seen. Still astonishing after all these years. 3. Chinatown (1974). Polanski knew how to make a film; and Chinatown is superb in every department. 2. The Godfather (1972). How did Coppola do this? I don't know, but it is so assured, so committed to the art of making a story come to life on film, that I revel in its greatness. 1. Apocalypse Now (1979). No distance separates me from Coppola's Apocalypse Now. This is an immersive experience. There's nothing like it

[@athenassigil5820]

I love Barry Lyndon...beautiful look, story and cinematography. There are only a few of us that love this film, but just like 2001, I've watched it at least 30 times. Loved your 70s picks, too.

[@michaelkelmonroe7547]

There's something about The French Connection: the ambiguous ending, the way it was shot, the protagonist's (?) flaws bathed in unflattering light instead of glorified - there's a lot worth mentioning about that flick, though I don't think it quite makes it onto THIS fantastic list you made.

[@deepfocuslens]

That ending always stayed with me. Thank you for mentioning!

[@darrylgreen5655]

Speaking of ambiguous/ intriguing endings, The Conversation (1974) stirred my recollection.The final scene where Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) meticulously and exhaustively disassemble his home in search of an elusive listening device always left me in wonderment almost on par with the ending to Blow Up (1966).

[@davidgalloway6403]

The super long version of apocalypse now makes sense of the third act, it zooms out of an analysis of war into an analysis of the revolutionary’s psychology, essentially drawing the conclusion that war is inevitable, that it is apart of the revolutionary’s condition, and - inasmuch as Revolution is the natural post cursor to consciousness - apart of the human condition.

[@swray2112]

Your mentioning of Spacek's ability to shift from child like to menacing has me thinking of her in Badlands, one of my favorite movies of the 70s. And other favorites of mine would be Breaking Away, Days of Heaven, The Parallax View and in my opinion Spielberg's best and most personal (including the Fabelman's) Close Encounters.

[@b.chaline4394]

Every new video I watch from you I think more and more that we are kindred spirits Maggie :D as soon as you mentioned « some of the scenes in Barry Lyndon being among the greatest ever put to film » I knew you were going to mention the first scene between Marisa Berenson and Ryan O’Neal, and one second later you did

[@wibre8753]

5. Being There 4. The Godfather 3. Taxi Driver 2. Apocalypse Now 1. Chinatown

[@Snoozoid]

1. Taxi Driver 2. Star Wars 3. Jaws 4. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest 5. The Godfather

[@Shah-of-the-Shinebox]

Just 5 is hard. Imo the 70s the greatest decade for films. Here's what I got: 5. Chinatown 1974 4. Harold and Maude 1971 3. Nashville 1975 2. Taxi Driver 1976 1. The Godfather, The Godfather Part II 1972, 1974

[@legendarygigolo823]

That's too easy, you have to pick a Godfather.

[@Shah-of-the-Shinebox]

@legendarygigolo823 it's hard. They're both good so I made it a tie lol.

[@thebossman80s]

The Warriors 1979 Wake in fright 1971 Walkabout 1971 Enter the dragon 1973 Taxi driver 1976

[@atticusxey]

Last summer I got very caught up in "Picnic at Hanging Rock", where I watched the original picture and then read the novel, which preserves the ambiguity you cherish. It is a beautiful, intriguing film. Great choices! Apocalypse Now is such a mindblowing inturpretation of Heart of Darkness. I don't know that the picture would've been made had RKO let Orson Welles make it as his first film. Robert Altman was absolutely one of my favorite directors of all time. "Images" is also among my favorites.

[@beestingza]

I only just saw Picnic at Hanging Rock recently and was very impressed. I think I must have heard about it from Maggie.

[@josephmilitello647]

Altman's A Wedding (1978) is one of the first arthouse-type movies I ever saw, and it got me on the road to becoming a film lover.

[@angelthman1659]

As usual we agree. I love all the movies you listed, except for Apocalypse Now, oddly for the same reasons you said you struggled with it. For me, I couldn't do a list without Taxi Driver and The Godfather, which I feel is the greatest movie ever made. Great list, though!

[@Tolstoy111]

The ending of AN had to be the encounter with Kurtz. It was an adaptation of Heart of Darkness and no other ending is possible.

[@NaughtyVampireGod]

yeah . . She's a bit off here . . i loved Act 3 . .Saw it in the theater as a kid . . they took an intermission right as the boat arrived at Kurtz's camp . . more like the 80/20 mark in time . . but for drama purposes ths is the logical place to take a break

[@habovay3]

Barry Lyndon is my favorite Kubrick film and in my all-time Top 10, along with Apocalypse. Home run, deepfocus!

[@matthewfuller5209]

My Top 5 1970's movies in no particular order: Brian De Palma's "Hi, Mom!" with De Niro. The 1970 Suspense-Horror of "And Soon the Darkness". John Huston's "Wise Blood" from 1979. Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu", which features an excellent soundtrack. And finally, "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" circa 1971 or so.

[@SEAKPhotog]

Interesting list. Thanks. Picnic is hauntingly melancholic - amazing atmosphere. A beautiful film. Barry Lyndon is great as well. I recently watched this for the first time. I agree, it's a vsiual feast for the eyes. Apocalypse Now (for me, the extended version) is absolutely deserving to be on your list. Picking the top 5 - 70s movies would be very hard for me. It was an amazing decade. I think I'd have to do it by top 5 per genre. Westerns, crime drama, Sci-fi, war, comedy, horror, action, etc.

[@etucker82]

1. Nashville 2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 3. Last Picture Show 4. Godfather 'Epic' - the recut for TV version in 1977 5. American Graffiti/Fiddler on the Roof Runners Up: Mean Streets, F for Fake, Life of Brian, Close Encounters, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Love in the Afternoon, Network, Blazing Saddles, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Five Easy Pieces,

[@the3rdpillblog934]

That was hard, Top 5 ... there are too many good ones. Just the ones that came to mind at first: 1. Stalker (1979) 2. Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974) 3. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) 4. A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973, only the Franco cut!) 5. Deep Red (1975) And: Raining in the Mountain (1979) Spasmo (1974) Caliber 9 (1972) .......... 🙂

[@TheWaynos73]

Love your picks! My 70s top five: 1. The Long Goodbye 2. Mad Max 3. All The Presidents Men 4. Picnic At Hanging Rock 5. Taxi Driver Honorable mentions: Network, Dog Day Afternoon, Godfather part II, Barry Lyndon, Star Wars, The China Syndrome, Alien, Capricorn One, Long Weekend, Don’s Party, Wake in Fright

[@beestingza]

Was Mad Max made in the 70's? I thought it was 80 or 81

[@TheWaynos73]

1979, with Mad Max 2 in 1981

[@ACD1994]

@@beestingza 1979

[@uriadelavaro3956]

The Godfather, Star Wars, Jaws, Alien and Apocalypse Now are my 70s picks (no particular order).

[@lorenr1274]

Nice picks. Here's my top 10 for 70s films. Barry Lyndon makes my cut (definitely agree it's better than Clockwork Orange) but I had to go with Godfather over Apocalypse Now, though even Godfather only barely makes my cut at #10. 1. The Exorcist, William Friedkin, 1973 2. Eraserhead, David Lynch, 1977 3. Alien, Ridley Sscott, 1979 4. Taxi Driver, Martin Scorsese, 1976 5. Cries and Whispers, Ingmar Bergman, 1972 6. Barry Lyndon, Stanley Kubrick, 1975 7. Badlands, Terrence Malick, 1973 8. Harold and Maude, Hal Ashby, 1971 9. Heavy Traffic, Ralph Bakshi, 1973 10. The Godfather, Francis Ford Copppola, 1972

[@that1guy375]

Great picks as always, with some surprises, I don't know how you narrowed it down to 5 lol. You seem to gravitate towards dream like films like I do. The 70's though? That's really tough. For my list, Picnic at Hanging Rock would definitely be there. Mirror and probably 5 Easy Pieces, but there are so many fantastic films as everyone knows. I would have to think about this for a while.

[@jeff8835]

Great, here's my top 5 minus extraordinary comments about them 5. Fruit of Paradise 4. Cries and Whispers 3. Taxi Driver 2. A Woman Under the Influence 1. In a Year With 13 Moons

[@michaeldonovan4793]

Glad to have found someone else who appreciates foreign films..Would love to see you review Shadows of our Forgotten Ancestors, Cries and Whispers, Dersu Uzala, Le Boucher and Argentina's The Secret in Their Eyes..Five of my all time favorites

[@peteralbert1485]

The scene where Shelley Duval staggers out of the house toward Sissy Spaces after trying to deliver Willie's baby - in the dark of night, her hands extended like bloody claws - is downright horrifying.

[@dumbcat]

Carrie scared the $hite out of the audience back in the day. the screams when that hand burst out of the rubble shook the theatre

[@helvete_ingres4717]

it's incredible that it manages to be scary and sad and moving and all these emotional qualities while simultaneously being so..postmodern and de-Palma-ey (self-conscious and self-reflexive in that mischievious kind of de palma way)..like when piper laurie forbids carrie from going to the prom and thunder and lightning punctuates her lines..but you also take the movie seriously at the same time. De palma is I think the only director who can sustain a full movie with that kind of tension between the audience knowing they're watching a movie (that..knows it's a movie) and the ability to be emotionally involved

[@michaeldonovan4793]

My top ten 70's films: 1. The Godfather 2. Carrie 3. Dersu Uzala 4. The Day of the Jackal 5. Cries and Whispers 6. The Deer Hunter 7. Le Boucher 8. Five Easy Pieces 9. A Woman Under the Influence 10. Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny etc.

[@kuribayashi84]

Just on top off my head: 1. Star Wars 2. Apocalypse Now 3. Alien 4. Barry Lyndon 5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind Honorable Mentions (in no particular Order): - Solaris - Stalker - Superman - Aguirre - Sorcerer - The Andromeda Strain - The Godfather - Dark Star - The Exorcist - The Spy who loved me

[@Mo-MuttMusic]

Thanks for sharing. Excellent critiques, as usual. My favorite '70s films, as you've requested: 1) "Carrie," 1976; 2) "Rocky," 1976; 3) "Eraserhead," 1977; 4) "The Godfather, Pt. II," 1974; 5) "Harlan County U.S.A.," 1976. Honorable mentions: "The Shootist," 1976; "M*A*S*H," 1970; "Rock 'n' Roll High School," 1979; "Female Trouble," 1974; "Coffy," 1973.

[@rodrigovalerosancho2234]

Female Trouble? You mean John Waters and Divine?

[@HBICTiff]

Woah, what a plot twist. I thought for sure your #1 pick would be Aguirre: The Wrath of God but 3 Women is one of my favorites, too!

[@georgekleinfelter7041]

"McCabe & Mrs. Miller," "Badlands," "Walkabout," "The Last Picture Show," and the poignant Elaine May comedies "Heaven Can Wait" and "The Heartbreak Kid." But, for my money, "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" is ultimately the best film of the 1970s -- and I'm not even a Robert Altman fan, in general.

[@GordonKegg]

I agree about Barry Lyndon, very underrated, however in top 50 of sight and sound ten year poll.

[@linjicakonikon7666]

My top 5: 1) Alien (Scott) 2) The Conversation (Coppola) 3) Young Frankenstein (Brooks) 4) A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick) 5) Dueling Banjos ( Boorman)

[@ringo8410]

Interesting list. I actually have not seen any of these movies, but I will have to give them a shot. My favorite movie of the '70s is probably Network. It's scary how accurately it predicted a lot of media and political trends of the late 2010s and the 2020s some 40 years before they would occur. A lot of people might say - and have said about its sister movie, A Face In The Crowd - that Network is "dated", but that is not true at all. Some of the news practices of the time have changed, but the 'business' side of news broadcasting is perhaps worse now than what Chayefsky predicted.

[@davidellis5141]

Apocalypse Now & Network were my favorite films of the 70's & Sorcerer was the most underrated. Halloween & Assault On Precinct 13 showcased the genius of John Carpenter. I liked 1900 & few did ..

[@toddboughn5168]

Apocalypse Now and Network are on my top 10 of the 70s. Sorcerer is not only my favourite Friedkin film, but also my absolute favourite of the decade.

[@davidellis5141]

@@toddboughn5168 Cool ! Sorcerer was so great " I owed you a favor , this is it " The music by Tangerine Dream & cinematography !

[@Kthomasritchie]

Assault on Precinct 13 is my all time favourite Carpenter movie. All his films after Dark Star and made during the '80s are great.

[@davidellis5141]

@@Kthomasritchie Assault is on YT for free with no commercials. Some kind soul uploaded it .. Got A Smoke 🚬 ?

[@Kthomasritchie]

@@davidellis5141 Can't argue with a confident man.

[@ChrisLind81]

5. Dawn of the dead 4. Apocalypse now 3. The exorcist 2. Taxi driver 1. Deliverance Deliverance just gets better the older you get, and you realize that you probably would be more like Lewis (Burt Reynolds) than Ed (Jon Voight) in the same situation.

[@pbarnette]

The only thing I would change is Nashville rather than Three Women. Nashville captured the feel of the 1970's better than any other film of the decade.

[@JerryTucker-ou4mz]

1. The Exorcist '73 2. Alien '79 3. Dawn of the Dead '78 4. Rollerball '75 5. Logan's Run '76 And the obvious runners up: Star Wars '77, Animal House '78, Jaws '75, Taxi Driver '76, Mad Max '79, The Godfather '72, Chinatown, Suspiria, The Omega Man, All The Presidents Men, Soylent Green...I'm probably forgetting a bunch of other ones...

[@beestingza]

I would love it if you would review Dressed to Kill. I discovered that movie recently and was stunned at how prescient it was about the transsexual movement and some of the dark aspects of it that have now been made taboo. Also the nerd kid in the film is basically a self-insert of DePalma as a child- he was a science and computer prodigy and won science fairs and scholarships, etc. He's truly a genius.

[@SmileAndWave]

My favourite from the 70s has to be another Altman movie; Nashville.

[@miket3910]

Altman such a beast

[@usmanqudrat2500]

Carrie was the first film adaptation of a Stephen King novel which happened to be his first novel as well

[@Mooseman327]

1. Taxi Driver 2. The Mirror 3. The Spirit of the Beehive 4. Badlands 5. Chinatown 6. The Conversation 7. The Godfather 8. Carrie 9. Barry Lyndon 10. Apocalypse Now HM: Celine and Julie Go Boating, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Days of Heaven, A Woman Under the Influence, The Exorcist

[@kevinogracia1615]

Excellent. Apoc Now is based on Joseph Conrad's -"Heart of Darkness." A great read. I forgot about Three Women... classsic. The seventies had so many great films... Peace on earth.

[@johngiresi3703]

Great picks. I would pick (not in order) Network, The Godfather 1, Barry Lyndon, Nashville, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest

[@preservedmoose]

What a great selection - very interesting choices - I had never heard of Barry Lyndon before and will definitely get hold of a copy. I'm pretty sure it was Robert Redford who talked about the change, as also happened with music, from the studios not really understanding what worked and what didn't, which allowed a lot of really great film-making to take place, to the situation where they had "the formula" and it was much much more difficult to make really interesting films. BTW It's really nice to hear someone refer to these as films as well as movies...maybe that makes sense as we are talking about the '70s :)

[@forecheckbackcheckpaycheck]

Had to try it myself, man this was tough. 1) Duck, You Sucker 1971 2) The Long Goodbye 1975 3) The Godfather 1972 4) Apocalypse Now 1979 5) Paper Moon 1973