Top Ten Films of the 1970s


1979
1. MANHATTAN (Woody Allen)
2. THE ONION FIELD (Harold Becker)
3. ALIEN (Ridley Scott)
4. BEING THERE (Hal Ashby)
5. ALL THAT JAZZ (Bob Fosse)
6. APOCALYPSE NOW (Francis Ford Coppola)
7. THE BLACK STALLION (Carroll Ballard)
8. THE JERICHO MILE (Michael Mann)
9. THE CHINA SYNDROME (James Bridges)
10. HARDCORE (Paul Schrader)

Honorable Mention: CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER (Silver); IN A YEAR OF 13 MOONS (Fassbinder); THE IN-LAWS (Hiller); KRAMER VS. KRAMER (Benton); OVER THE EDGE (Kaplan); SAINT JACK (Bogdanovich); STALKER (Tarkovsky)

Notable Shorts: ASPARAGUS (Pitt)

Most Overratred: None

1978
1. DAWN OF THE DEAD (George Romero)
2. DAYS OF HEAVEN (Terrence Malick)
3. THE DEER HUNTER (Michael Cimino)
4. BLUE COLLAR (Paul Schrader)
5. THE GREEN ROOM (François Truffaut)
6. HALLOWEEN (John Carpenter)
7. THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN (Liu Chia-Liang)
8. FINGERS (James Toback)
9. THE DRIVER (Walter Hill)
10. AUTUMN SONATA (Ingmar Bergman)

Honorable Mention: GATES OF HEAVEN (Morris); GET OUT YOUR HANKERCHIEFS (Blier); INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (Castellari); LONG WEEKEND (Eggleston); MARTIN (Romero); THE SILENT PARTNER (Duke); STRAIGHT TIME (Grosbard); WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN (Karel Reisz)

Notable Shorts: None

Most Overrated: COMING HOME (Ashby)

1977
1. ANNIE HALL (Woody Allen)
2. 3 WOMEN (Robert Altman)
3. STROSZEK (Werner Herzog)
4. THE DUELLISTS (Ridley Scott)
5. SUSPIRIA (Dario Argento)
6. PROVIDENCE (Alain Resnais)
7. SORCERER (William Friedkin)
8. THE ASCENT (Larisa Shepitko)
9. STAR WARS (George Lucas)
10. THE AMERICAN FRIEND (Wim Wenders)

Honorable Mention: HITCH-HIKE (Campanile); NEWS FROM HOME (Akerman); SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (Badham); SOLDIER OF ORANGE (Verhoeven)

Notable Shorts: None

Most Overrated: KILLER OF SHEEP (Burnett)

1976
1. TAXI DRIVER (Martin Scorsese)
2. CARRIE (Brian De Palma)
3. ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (John Carpenter)
4. NETWORK (Sidney Lumet)
5. HARLAN COUNTY U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple)
6. ILLUSTRIOUS CORPSES (Francesco Rosi)
7. SMALL CHANGE (François Truffaut)
8. MIKEY AND NICKY (Elaine May)
9. THE MARQUISE OF O (Eric Rohmer)
10. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (Alan Pakula)

Honorable Mention: THE BATTLE OF CHILE - PART II (Guzmán); GOD TOLD ME TO (Cohen); JONAH WHO WILL BE 25 IN THE YEAR 2000 (Tanner); THE LAST HARD MEN (McLaglen); MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE (Wang Yu); THE MIDDLEMAN (Ray); WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? (Ibàñez Serrador)

Notable Shorts: THE SIGNALMAN (Clark); TAKE THE 5:10 TO DREAMLAND (Conner)

Most Overrated: None

1975
1. JAWS (Steven Spielberg)
2. DERSU UZALA (Akira Kurosawa)
3. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (Milos Foreman)
4. BARRY LYNDON (Stanley Kubrick)
5. NASHVILLE (Robert Altman)
6. HARD TIMES (Walter Hill)
7. THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (John Huston)
8. FRENCH CONNECTION II (John Frankenheimer)
9. JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (Chantal Akerman)
10. NIGHT MOVES (Arthur Penn)

Honorable Mention: BITE THE BULLET (Brooks); DEEP RED (Argento); LOVE AND DEATH (Allen); MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE (Wang); MIRROR (Tarovsky); PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (Weir); SEVEN BEAUTIES (Wertmüller); SMILE (Ritchie)

Notable Shorts: None

Most Overrated: None

1974
1. THE GODFATHER: PART II (Francis Ford Coppola)
2. THE CONVERSATION (Francis Ford Coppola)
3. CHINATOWN (Roman Polanski)
4. CALIFORNIA SPLIT (Robert Altman)
5. ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (Martin Scorsese)
6. HEARTS AND MINDS (Peter Davis)
7. JUGGERNAUT (Richard Lester)
8. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (Tobe Hooper)
9. THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT (Michael Cimino)
10. PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (Brian De Palma)

Honorable Mention: ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL (Fassbinder); BLACK CHRISTMAS (Clark); BUSTING (Hyams); CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (Rivette); DEATHDREAM (Clark); THE PARALLAX VIEW (Pakula); THE PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK (Barilli); THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY (Buñuel); PHASE IV (Bass); RABID DOGS (Bava); TRUCK TURNER (Kaplan); A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (Cassavetes)

Notable Shorts: None

Most Overrated: GOING PLACES (Blier)

1973
1. THE LONG GOODBYE (Robert Altman)
2. MEAN STREETS (Martin Scorsese)
3. BADLANDS (Terrence Malick)
4. SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (Ingmar Bergman)
5. DON'T LOOK NOW (Nicholas Roeg)
6. F FOR FAKE (Orson Welles)
7. THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE (Jean Eustache)
8. THE WICKER MAN (Robin Hardy)
9. DAY FOR NIGHT (François Truffaut)
10. THE EXORCIST (William Friedkin)

Honorable Mention: BELLADONNA OF SADNESS (Yamamoto); CHARLEY VARRICK (Siegel); THE DAY OF THE JACKAL (Zinnemann); ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE (Guercio); THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (Yates); HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (Eastwood); THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (Hough); PAPER MOON (Bogdanovich); PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (Pekinpah); SERPICO (Lumet); SEX & FURY (Suzuki); TERRIFYING GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL: LYNCH LAW CLASSROOM (Suzuki); TORSO (Sergio Martino)

Notable Shorts: LUCIFER RISING (Anger)

Most Overrated: LAST TANGO IN PARIS (Bertolucci)

1972
1. LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (Eric Rohmer)
2. THE GODFATHER (Francis Ford Coppola)
3. THE HEARTBREACK KID (Elaine May)
4. THE RULING CLASS (Peter Medak)
5. FRENZY (Alfred Hitchcock)
6. SOLARIS (Andrei Tarkovsky)
7. ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK (Sergio Martino)
8. ULZANA'S RAID (Robert Aldrich)
9. FAT CITY (John Huston)
10. THE HOT ROCK (Peter Yates)

Honorable Mention: ACROSS 110TH STREET (Shear); AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GOD (Herzog); CABARET (Fosse); CISCO PIKE (Norton); CRIES AND WHISPERS (Bergman); DEATHDREAM (Clark); THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (Buñuel); IMAGES (Altman); KING BOXER (Chang); MILANO CALIBRO 9 (Di Leo); SLEUTH (Mankiewicz); SWEET SUGAR (Levesque); WAKE IN FRIGHT (Kotcheff)

Notable Shorts: EYE MYTH (Brakhage); LA CHAMBRE (Akerman)

Most Overrated: None

1971
1. MCCABE AND MRS MILLER (Robert Altman)
2. WALKABOUT (Nicholas Roeg)
3. STRAW DOGS (Sam Pekinpah)
4. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (William Friedkin)
5. A NEW LEAF (Elaine May)
6. MURMUR OF THE HEART (Louis Malle)
7. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (Stanley Kubrick)
8. WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (Mel Stuart)
9. TWO LANE BLACKTOP (Monte Hellman)
10. SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS (Aldo Lado)

Honorable Mention: A BAY OF BLOOD (Bava); THE BEGUILED (Siegel); FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (Jewison); THE FIFTH CORD (Bazzoni); FOUR NIGHTS OF A DREAMER (Bresson); THE HOSPITAL (Hiller); KLUTE (Pakula); LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (Hancock); LITTLE MURDERS (Arkin); MACBETH (Polanski); PLAY MISTY FOR ME (Eastwood); TWO ENGLISH GIRLS (Truffaut)

Notable Shorts: None

Most Overrated: TAKING OFF (Forman)

1970
1. CLAIRE'S KNEE (Eric Rohmer)
2. THE WILD CHILD (François Truffaut)
3. THE CONFORMIST (Bernardo Bertolucci)
4. M.A.S.H. (Robert Altman)
5. DEEP END (Jerzy Skolimowski)
6. THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (Billy Wilder)
7. DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE (Frank Perry)
8 BED AND BOARD (François Truffaut)
9. LE BOUCHER (Claude Chabrol)
10. LOVING (Irvin Kershner)

Honorable Mention: THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE (Peckinpah); CATCH-22 (Nichols); FIVE EASY PIECES (Rafelson); I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER (Cates); PATTON (Schaffner); ROAD TO SALINA (Lautner); TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA (Siegel)

Notable Shorts: None

Most Overrated: None