1970s in film

The decade of the 1970s in film involved many significant films.__NOTOC__---- Contents
1 World cinema
2 Hollywood
3 List of films: # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.
4 Events

World cinema

In cinema all over the world, the seventies brought about vigor in adventurous, cool and realistic complex narratives with rich cinematography and elaborate scores. The cultural interaction between aided with TV and visual media and the rise in motion picture technology ushered in a new period of motion picture making.

In European cinema, the failure of the Prague Spring brought about nostalgic motion pictures reminiscent of the ones that celebrate the 1970s itself. These movies expressed a yearning and as a premonition to the decade and its dreams. The Hungarian director István Szabó made the motion picture "Szerelmesfilm" (1970), which is a nostalgic portrayal and a premonition of the fading of the young 1970s ethos of change and a friendlier social structure. The Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci made the motion picture "The Conformist" (1970). German movies after the war asked existential questions especially the works of Rainer Fassbinder. The movies of the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman reached a new level of expression in motion pictures like "Cries and Whispers" (1973). Young German directors made movies that came to be known as the German new wave. It was the voice of a new generation that had grown up after the second world war. These included directors like Wim Wenders, Hans-Jürgen Syberberg and Werner Herzog.

Asian cinema of the 1970s catered to the rising middle class fantasies and struggles. In the Bollywood cinema of India this was epitomized by the movies of Bollywood superhero Amitabh Bachchan. These movies portrayed adventurous plots with car chase trying to imitate Hollywood movies like "The French Connection", presented music with Disco beats and also presented the young middle class man as an "angry young man". The women on the other hand were shown as ones who have adopted western values and outfits especially by heroines like Parveen Babi (who was featured on the cover of "Time" magazine for a story on Bollywood's success) and Zeenat Aman. However towards the very end of the 1970s, especially after the steep rise in land prices in urban areas and the decline in employment security, the heroines were seen more often as saree-women striving to have a prosperous middle class family especially heroines like Jayaprada and Hema Malini. In this way the cinema of Asian region becomes a sociological statement of the social-economic times of the region and its people. In Malayalam cinema, Adoor Gopalakrishnan made "Swayamvaram" in 1972, which got wide critical acclaim. This was followed by the movie "Nirmalyam" by M.T. Vasudevan Nair in 1973.

Another Asian touchstone beginning in the early '70s was traditional Hong Kong martial arts film which sparked a greater interest in Chinese martial arts to the West. Martial arts film reached the peak of its popularity largely in part due to its greatest icon, Bruce Lee. His films elevated the genre to a new level and sparked a greater interest in martial arts in the West. Lee became famous for playing Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet during the 1960s yet it was when he returned to Hong Kong and starred in three films that shot him to stardom all over Asia, "The Big Boss" (1971), "Fist of Fury" (1972) and "Return of the Dragon" (1972). Yet he achieved global stardom in his last completed film and the first Kung fu film to be produced by a Hollywood studio, "Enter the Dragon" (1973). It is the most well known and considered by many to be the definitive martial arts film.

Hollywood

The decade opened with Hollywood facing a financial slump, reflecting the monetary woes of the nation as a whole during the first half of the decade. Despite this, the seventies proved to be a benchmark decade in the development of cinema, both as an art form and a business. With young filmmakers taking greater risks and restrictions regarding language and sexuality lifting, Hollywood produced some of its most critically acclaimed and financially successful films since its supposed "golden era."

In the years previous to 1970, Hollywood had began to cater to the younger generation with films such as "The Graduate". This proved a folly when anti-war films like "R.P.M." and "The Strawberry Statement" became major box-office flops. Even solid films with bankable stars, like the Pearl Harbor epic "Tora! Tora! Tora!", flopped, leaving studios in dire straits financially. Unable to repay financiers, studios began selling off land, furniture, clothing, and sets acquired over years of production. Nostalgic fans bid on merchandise and collectibles ranging from Judy Garland's sparkling red shoes to MGM's own back lots.

More of the successful films were those based in the harsh truths of war, rather than the excesses of the '60s. Films like "Patton", about the World War II general, and "M*A*S*H", about a Korean War field hospital, were major box-office draws in 1970. Honest, old-fashioned films like "Five Easy Pieces", "Summer of '42", and the Erich Segal adaptation, "Love Story", were commercial and critical hits. (Love Story and "Summer" remain, as of 2005, two of the most successful films in Hollywood history. "Summer", costing $1,000,000 USD, brought in $25,000,000 at the box office, while "Love Story", with a budget of $2,200,000, earned $106,400,000).

One of the most insightful films of the decade came from the mind of a Hollywood outsider, Czechoslovakian director Miloš Forman, whose "Taking Off" became a bold reflection of life at the beginning of the seventies. The 1971 film satirized the American middle class, following a young girl who runs away from home, leaving her parents free to explore life for the first time in years. While the film was never given a wide release in America, it became a major critical achievement both in America and around the world (garnering the film high honors at the Cannes Film Festival and several BAFTA Award nominations).

Sean Connery returned to the role of James Bond in 1971 in "Diamonds Are Forever" after having George Lazenby fill in for one outing in 1969. Roger Moore succeeded Connery in 1973 with an adaptation of Ian Fleming's "Live and Let Die" which was the most successful of his Bond films in terms of admissions. "Live and Let Die" was followed by an adaptation of "The Man with the Golden Gun" in 1974, which at the time garnered the lowest box office taking of any Bond film before it. After its release Harry Saltzman co-owner of Danjaq with Albert R. Broccoli sold his half to United Artists causing a three-year gap until the next Bond film, the longest gap since the start of the franchise in 1962. The series picked up again in 1977 with "The Spy Who Loved Me" and ended the decade with "Moonraker" in 1979, which was the highest grossing Bond film (not adjusting for inflation) of all time until "GoldenEye" in 1995.

An adaptation of an Arthur Hailey novel would prove to be one of the most notable films of 1970, and would set the stage for a major trend in seventies cinema. The film, "Airport", featured a complex plot, characters, and an all-star cast of Hollywood A-listers and legends. "Airport" followed an airport manager trying to keep a fictional Chicago airport operational during a blizzard, as well as a bomb plot to blow up an airplane. The film was a major critical and financial success, helping pull Universal Studios into the black for the year. The film earned senior actress Helen Hayes an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and garnered many other nominations in both technical and talent categories. The success of the film launched several other disaster films, many of which following the same blueprint of major stars, a melodramatic script, and great suspense.

Three "Airport" sequels followed in 1974, 1977, and 1979, each successor making less money than the last. 1972 brought "The Poseidon Adventure", which starred a young Gene Hackman leading an all-star cast to safety in a capsized luxury liner. The film earned an Academy Award for visual effects (and Best Original Song for "The Morning After", as well as numerous nominations, including one for its notable supporting star, Shelley Winters, but its sequel in 1979 was far less successful. "The Towering Inferno" teamed Steve McQueen and Paul Newman against a fire in a San Francisco skyscraper. The film cost a whopping $14 million to produce (expensive for its time), and won Academy Awards for Cinematography, Film Editing, and Best Original Song. The same year, the epic "Earthquake" featured questionable effects (camera shake and models) to achieve a destructive 9.9 earthquake in Los Angeles. Despite this, the film was one of the most successful of its time, earning $80 million at box office. By the late seventies, the novelty had worn off and the disasters had become less exciting. 1977 brought a terrorist targeting a "Rollercoaster", in a 1978 "Swarm" of bees, and a less-than-threatening "Meteor" in 1979.

The early '70s also brought a rebirth of gritty crime film, three years after the influential "Bullitt". "The French Connection", starring Gene Hackman as a drug detective while "Get Carter" featured gratuitous nudity and "A Clockwork Orange" featured much blood and gore to complement its complex story. African American filmmakers also found success in the seventies with such hits as "Shaft" and "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song". Like other sequels in the seventies, "Shaft" went on to have two more adventures, each less successful than the last.

An adaptation of a Mario Puzo novel, "The Godfather", became one of the best-loved and most respected works of cinema upon its release in 1972. The three-hour epic followed a Mafia boss, played by Marlon Brando, through his life of crime. Beyond the violence and drama were themes of love, pride, and greed. "The Godfather" went on to earn $134 million at American box office, and $245 million throughout the world. It won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay. Its director Francis Ford Coppola was passed over in favor of Bob Fosse and his musical, "Cabaret", which also earned an Oscar for its star, Liza Minnelli. "" followed in 1974, with roughly the same principal cast and crew, earning Oscars for star Robert De Niro, its director, composer, screenwriters and art directors. The film also earned the Best Picture Oscar for that year.

Not all of the "street smart" urban related films were 100% live action. Director Ralph Bakshi would initially release the 1st animated full length feature specifically oriented towards adults (Fritz the Cat) then move on to two other features that dealt with the mafia and other ethnic-related urban issues. Both Heavy Traffic and Coonskin (the latter renamed as Streetfight) would prove that this kind of material could be handled effectively in the animation genre. Bakshi would later produce fantasy oriented films (Wizards and The Lord of the Rings) before the decade ended.

In the middle '70s movies began to also reflect the disenfranchisement brought by the excesses of the past twenty years. A deeply unsettling look at alienation and city life, "Taxi Driver" earned international praise, first at the Cannes Film Festival and then at the Academy Awards, where it was nominated for Best Leading Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Supporting Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Score (Bernard Herrmann), and Best Picture. "All the President's Men" dealt with the impeachment of Richard Nixon, while "Network" portrayed greed and narcissism in both American society and television media. The film won Oscars for Best Actor (Peter Finch), Best Actress (Faye Dunaway), Best Supporting Actress (Beatrice Straight), and Best Screenplay (Paddy Chayefsky). Thanks to a stellar cast, experienced director, and a poignant story, "Network" became one of the largest critical successes of 1976. Another film, "Rocky", about a clubhouse boxer (played by Sylvester Stallone) who is granted a world championship title fight won the Best Picture Academy Award that year. The film also became a major commercial success and spawned four sequels through the rest of the seventies and eighties.

Throughout the seventies, the horror film developed into a lucrative genre of film. It began in 1973 with the terrifying "The Exorcist", directed by William Friedkin and starring the young Linda Blair. The film saw massive success, and the first of several sequels was released in 1977. 1976 brought the equally creepy suspense thriller, "Marathon Man", about a man who becomes the target of a former Nazi dentist's torment after his brother dies. The same year, the Devil himself made an appearance in "The Omen", about the spawn of Satan. 1978's "Halloween" was a precursor to the "slasher" films of the eighties and nineties with its psychopathic Michael Myers. Cult horror films were also popular in the seventies, such as Wes Craven's early gore films "Last House on the Left" and "The Hills Have Eyes", as well as Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre".

The blockbuster was born in 1975. While the 1973 horror classic "The Exorcist" was among the top five grossing films of the seventies, the first film given the blockbuster distinction was 1975's "Jaws". Released on June 20th, the film about a series of horrific deaths related to a massive great white shark was director Steven Spielberg's first big-budget Hollywood production, coming in at $9 million in cost. The film slowly grew in ticket sales and became one of the most profitable films of its time, ending with a $260 million dollar gross in the United States alone. The film won Academy Awards for its skillful editing, chilling score, and sound recording. It was also nominated for Best Picture that year, though it lost to Miloš Forman's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (which also won acting awards for Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher). It spawned the successful sequel, "Jaws 2" in 1978, which featured the same cast, but without Steven Spielberg. Another tailor-made blockbuster, Dino De Laurentiis' "King Kong" was released, but to less than stellar success. "King Kong" did mark the first time a film was booked to theaters before a release date, a common practice today.

The massive success of "Jaws" was eclipsed just two years later by another legendary blockbuster and film franchise. The George Lucas science-fiction epic "" (at the time called simply "Star Wars") hit theater screens in May 1977, and became a major hit, growing in ticket sales throughout the summer and the rest of the year. In time earning some $460 million, the good versus evil fantasy set in space was not soon surpassed. The film's breathtaking visual effects won an Academy Award. The film also won for John Williams's uplifting score, as well as art direction, costume design, film editing, and sound. "Star Wars" effectively removed any specter of studio bankruptcy that had haunted the studios since early in the decade. When a television film, "The Star Wars Holiday Special", was released as a spin-off from "Star Wars" in 1978; it failed to receive the status of the original film, and was deemed a flop. It would be two years until the "Star Wars" series would be revived with "The Empire Strikes Back". Another success in visual effects came the same year as "Star Wars", with Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", another blockbuster and alien contact set in the wilderness. For the picture, Spielberg received his first Oscar nomination for directing. A year later the most iconic superhero was brought to the screen in "Superman", who was portrayed by classically-trained actor Christopher Reeve. It was met by resounding praise for strong performances and its epic scope which resulted in numerous sequels and is regarded as one of the greatest superhero films ever made, beginning a new era of superhero films.

The success of Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" in 1977 stirred a new trend in moviemaking. "Annie Hall", a love story about a depressed comedian and a free-spirited woman, was followed with more sentimental films, including Neil Simon's "The Goodbye Girl", "An Unmarried Woman" staring Jill Clayburgh, the autobiographical Lillian Hellman story, "Julia", starring Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave, and 1978's "Heaven Can Wait" and "International Velvet".

Younger audiences were also beginning to be the focus of cinema, after the huge blockbusters that had attracted them back to the theater. John Travolta became popular in the pop-culture landmark films, "Saturday Night Fever", which introduced Disco to middle America, and "Grease", which recalled the world of the 1950s. Comedy was also given new life in the irreverent "Animal House", set on a college campus during the 1960s. "Up in Smoke", starring Cheech and Chong, was another irreverent comedy about marijuana use became popular among teenagers. The new television comedy program, "Saturday Night Live", launched the careers of several of its comedians, such as Chevy Chase, who co-starred in the 1978 hit "Foul Play" with Goldie Hawn.

The decade closed with two films chronicling the Vietnam War, Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter" and Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now". Both films focused on the horrors of war and the psychological damaged caused by such horrors. Christopher Walken and director Michael Cimino earned Oscars for their work on the film, which earned a Best Picture Academy Award. Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep were also nominated for their work in "The Deer Hunter". "Apocalypse Now" won for cinematography and sound, and earned nominations for Robert Duvall and Coppola.

1979 saw the poignant "Kramer vs. Kramer", the inspiring "Norma Rae", and the nuclear thriller, "The China Syndrome". "Alien" scared summer movie-going audiences of 1979 with its horrible monster from outer space, achieving similar success that Jaws had seen four years earlier. Meanwhile, "The Onion Field" and "...And Justice for All" focused on the failures of the American judicial system. The year ended with Hal Ashby's subtle black comedy "Being There" and "The Muppet Movie", a family film based on the Jim Henson puppet characters.

List of films

Films made in the 1970s include:

#

* "10" (1979)
* "1941" (1979)
* "200 Motels" (1971)

A

* "Abby" (1974)
* "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" (1972)
* The "Airport" film series:
** "Airport" (1970)
** "Airport 1975" (1974)
** "Airport 77" (1977)
** "" (1979)
* "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974)
* "Alice in Wonderland" (1976)
* "Alien" (1979)
* "All That Jazz" (1979)
* "All the President's Men" (1976)
* "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1979)
* "Amarcord" (1974)
* "American Graffiti" (1973)
* "And Now For Something Completely Different" (1971)
* "Animal House" (1978)
* "Annie Hall" (1977)
* "Apocalypse Now" (1979)
* "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975)
* "The Aristocats" (1970)
* "Ashanti" (1979)
* "Assault on Precinct 13" (1976)
* "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" (1978)
* "Autumn Sonata" (1978)

B

* "Baby Snakes" (1979)
* "Badlands" (1973)
* "The Bad News Bears" (1976)
* "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" (1970)
* "Bananas" (1971)
* "The Barefoot Executive" (1971)
* "Barry Lyndon" (1975)
* "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971)
* "Behind the Green Door" (1972)
* "Being There" (1979)
* "Ben" (1972)
* "Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens" (1979)
* "Benji" (1974)
* "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" (1970)
* "Black Belt Jones" (1974)
* "Black Caesar" (1973)
* "Black Christmas" (1974)
* "The Black Godfather" (1974)
* "The Black Hole" (1979)
* "Black Mama, White Mama" (1972)
* "Blackenstein" (1974)
* "Blacksnake" (1972)
* "Blacula" (1972)
* "The Blank Generation" (1976)
* "Blazing Saddles" (1974)
* "Blood for Dracula" (1974)
* "Blood Sucking Freaks" (1976)
* "Blue Collar" (1978)
* "Bobby" (1973)
* "Boss Nigger" (1975)
* "Boxcar Bertha" (1972)
* "The Boy Friend" (1971)
* "The Boys from Brazil" (1978)
* "The Boys in the Band" (1970)
* "Boys in the Sand" (1971)
* "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" (1974)
* "The Brood" (1979)

C

* "Cabaret" (1972)
* "Caligula" (1979)
* "Candleshoe" (1977)
* "Capricorn One" (1978)
* "Carnal Knowledge" (1971)
* "Car Wash" (1976)
* "Carrie" (1976)
* "Catch-22" (1976)
* "Charlie Muffin (aka A Deadly Game)" (1979)
* "Charlotte's Web" (1973)
* "Cherry, Harry & Raquel!" (1970)
* "China 9, Liberty 37" (1978)
* "The China Syndrome" (1979)
* "Chinatown" (1974)
* "Claire's Knee" (Le Genou de Claire) (1970)
* "Claudine" (1974)
* "Cleopatra Jones" (1973)
* "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold" (1975)
* "A Clockwork Orange" (1971)
* "" (1976)
* "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977)
* "The Clown Murders" (1976)
* "Coffy" (1973)
* "Coma" (1978)
* "Coming Home" (1978)
* "Compañeros" (1970)
* "The Conversation" (1973)
* "Convoy" (1978)
* "Cooley High" (1975)
* "Coonskin" (1975)
* "Count Dracula" (1970).
* "Crimes of the Future" (1970)
* "Cross of Iron" (1977)

D

* "Darling Lili" (1970)
* "Dawn of the Dead" (1978)
* "Day for Night" (La Nuit américaine) (1973)
* "The Day of the Jackal" (1973)
* "The Day of the Locust" (1975)
* "Days of Heaven" (1978)
* "Deadly Weapons" (1973)
* "Death Wish (film)" (1974)
* "Debbie Does Dallas" (1978)
* "Deep Throat" (1972)
* "The Deer Hunter" (1978)
* "Deliverance" (1972)
* "Desperate Living" (1977)
* "The Devil in Miss Jones" (1972)
* "The Devils" (1971)
* "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971)
* "Dirty Harry" (1971)
* "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975)
* "Dolemite" (1974)
* "" (1976)
* "Don's Party" (1971)
* "Don't Look Now" (1973)
* "Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde" (1976)
* "Dracula" (1979)
* "Dracula AD 1972" (1972)
* "Drum" (1976)
* "The Duellists" (1977)

E

* "The Eagle Has Landed" (1976)
* "Electra Glide in Blue" (1973)
* "Emily" (1976)
* "Enter the Dragon" (1973)
* "Eraserhead" (1977)
* "Escape to Witch Mountain" (1975)
* "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)" (1972)
* "The Exorcist" (1973)

F

* "Faces of Death" (1978)
* "Farewell My Lovely" (1975)
* "The Farmer's Daughter" (1973)
* "Fast Company" (1979)
* "Female Trouble" (1975)
* "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971)
* "Fingers" (1978)
* "A Fistful of Dynamite" (1971)
* "Five Easy Pieces" (1970)
* "Flesh for Frankenstein" (1973)
* "Flesh Gordon" (1974)
* "Flower and Snake" (1974)
* "The Forgotten" (1973)
* "The Four Musketeers" (1974)
* "Four of the Apocalypse" (1975)
* "Foxy Brown" (1974)
* "Freaky Friday" (1976)
* "The French Connection" (1971)
* "Fritz the Cat" (1972)

G

* "Ganja & Hess" (1973)
* "Get Carter" (1971)
* "The Getaway" (1972)
* "The Go-Between" (1971)
* "The Godfather" (1972)
* "The Godfather Part II" (1974)
* "Going in Style" (1979)
* "The Goodbye Girl" (1977)
* "Grease" (1978)
* "The Great Santini" (1979)
* "The Greatest" (1977)
* "The Groove Tube" (1974)
* "The Gumball Rally" (1976)

H

* "Halloween" (1978)
* "Hardcore" (1979)
* "The Harder They Come" (1971)
* "Harlan County, USA" (1976)
* "Harry and Tonto" (1974)
* "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
* "Hell Up in Harlem" (1973)
* "Herbie Rides Again" (1974)
* "High Anxiety" (1977)
* "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977)
* "The Hired Hand" (1971)
* "Hit!" (1973)
* "Hot Summer in the City" (1976)
* "Hugo the Hippo" (1976)

I

* "I Spit on Your Grave" (1978)
* "Idaho Transfer" (1973)
* "Inglorious Bastards" (Quel maledetto treno blindato) (1977)
* "Interiors" (1978)
* "It's Alive" (1974)

J

* "Jaws" (1975)
* "J. D.'s Revenge" (1976)
* "Joe" (1970)
* "Julia" (1977)
* "Junior Bonner" (1972)

K

* "The Kentucky Fried Movie" (1977)
* "The Kids Are Alright" (1979)
* "The Killer Elite" (1975)
* "Killer Nun" (1978)
* "Killer of Sheep" (1977)
* "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (1976)
* "The Klansman" (1974)
* "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979)

L

* "Lacombe Lucien" (1974)
* "Lady Sings the Blues" (1972)
* "The Last House on the Left" (1972)
* "The Last Movie" (1971)
* "Last Tango in Paris" (1972)
* "Lenny" (1974)
* "Little Big Man" (1970)
* "Live and Let Die" (1973)
* "The Longest Yard" (1974)
* "The Long Goodbye" (1973)
* "The Lord of the Rings" (1978)
* "Love and Death" (1975)
* "Love Story" (1970)
* "Lisztomania" (1975)

M

* "The Mack" (1973)
* "Mad Max" (1979)
* "Mahler" (1974)
* "Mahogany" (1975)
* "Mame" (1974)
* "The Man" (1972)
* "A Man Called Horse" (1970)
* "Man of La Mancha" (1972)
* "The Man Who Would Be King" (1975)
* "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974)
* "Mandingo" (1975)
* "Manhattan" (1979)
* "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" (1977)
* "Marathon Man" (1976)
* "MASH" (1970)
* "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971)
* "McQ" (1974)
* "Mean Streets" (1973)
* "Midnight Express" (1978)
* "Mondo Trasho" (1970)
* "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1974)
* "Monty Python's Life of Brian" (1979)
* "Moon of the Wolf" (1972)
* "Moonraker" (1979)
* "More American Graffiti" (1979)
* "Mother, Jugs & Speed" (1976)
* "The Mouse and His Child" (1977)
* "Multiple Maniacs" (1971)
* "The Muppet Movie" (1979)
* "Murder by Decree" (1979)
* "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974)
* "The Music Lovers" (1970)
* "My Name is Nobody" (1973)

N

* "Napoleon and Samantha" (1972)
* "Nashville" (1975)
* "Network" (1976)
* "New York, New York" (1977)
* "The Night Porter" (1974)
* "The North Avenue Irregulars" (1979)
* "North Dallas Forty" (1979)
* "The Nun and the Devil" (1973)
* "Nickels" (1979)

O

* "Obsession" (1976)
* "The Omega Man" (1971)
* "The Omen" (1976)
* "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" (1970)
* "Once Upon a Girl" (1976)
* "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975)
* "The Opening of Misty Beethoven" (1975)
* "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976)
* "The Owl and the Pussycat" (1970)
* "Öyle Bir Kadın Ki" (She is Such a Woman) (1979)

P

* "Party at Kitty and Stud's" (1970)
* "The Passenger" (Professione: reporter) (1975)
* "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973)
* "Patton" (1970)
* "Pete's Dragon" (1977)
* "Petey Wheatstraw" (1978)
* "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (1975)
* "Pink Flamingos" (1972)
* "Piranha" (1978)
* "Play It Again, Sam" (1972)
* "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972)
* "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" (1971)

Q

* "Quadrophenia" (1973)
* "The Quick and the Dead" (1978)

R

* "Rabid" (1977)
* "Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown" (1977)
* "" (1977)
* "The Railway Children" (1970)
* "Remember My Name" (1978)
* "The Rescuers" (1977)
* "Robin Hood" (1973)
* "Rocky" (1976)
* "Rocky II" (1979)
* "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975)

* "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" (1974)
* "Saturday Night Fever" (1977)
* "Scars of Dracula" (1970)
* "Scenes from a Marriage" (1973)
* "School of the Holy Beast" (1974)
* "Schulmädchen-Report" (1970)
* "Scream Blacula Scream" (1973)
* "Scrooge" (1970)
* "The Seven Minutes" (1971)
* "Le Sexe qui parle" (The Sex Who Talks) (1975)
* Shaft Series:
** "Shaft" (1971)
** "Shaft's Big Score" (1972)
** "Shaft in Africa" (1973)
* "Shivers" (1975)
* "Silent Movie" (1976)
* "Silver Streak" (1976)
* "Slaughterhouse-Five" (1972)
* "Sleuth" (1972)
* "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977)
* "Snoopy, Come Home" (1972)
* "Snuff" (1975)
* "Solaris" (1972)
* "Soldier Blue" (1970)
* "Son of Dracula" (1974)
* "Space Is the Place" (1974)
* "Sparkle" (1976)
* "The Spook Who Sat By The Door" (1973)
* "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977)
* "SSSSSSS" (1973)
* "Stalker" (1979)
* "" (1979)
* "" (1977)
* "Stardust" (1974)
* "The Stepford Wives" (1975 film)
* "The Sting" (1973)
* "Storm Rider" (1972)
* "Straw Dogs" (1971)
* "Sugar Hill" (1974)
* "The Sunshine Boys" (1975)
* "Super Fly" (1972)
* "Superman" (1978)
* "Supervixens" (1975)
* "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" (1971)
* "Switchblade Sisters" (1975)

T

* "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974)
* "" (1979)
* "Taxi Driver" (1976)
* "That'll Be the Day" (1973)
* "Themroc" (1973)
* "They Call Her Cleopatra Wong" (1978)
* "They Call Me Trinity" (1971)
* "The Thing with Two Heads" (1972)
* "The Thirty-Nine Steps" (1978)
* "Three Days of the Condor" (1977)
* "The Three Musketeers" (1973)
* "Three the Hard Way" (1974)
* "Through the Looking Glass" (1976)
* "...tick...tick...tick..." (1970)
* "El Topo" (1970)
* "Tommy" (1975)
* "The Towering Inferno" (1974)
* "Track of the Moon Beast" (1976)
* "Trinity Is STILL My Name!" (1972)
* "The Turning Point" (1977)
* "The Twelve Chairs" (1970)
* "Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971)
* "Two-Lane Blacktop" (1971)

U

* "Up!" (1976)
* "Up in Flames" (1973)
* "Up in Smoke" (1978)
* "Uptown Saturday Night" (1974)

V

* "Vanishing Point" (1971)
* "Velvet Smooth (1976)

W

* "Walkabout" (1971)
* "The Warriors" (1979)
* "Waterloo" (1970)
* "Watermelon Man" (1970)
* "Watership Down" (1978)
* "The Way We Were" (1973)
* "Welcome to L.A." (1976)
* "Westworld" (1973)
* "What's Up, Doc?" (1972)
* "Which Way Is Up?" (1977)
* "Who Killed Bambi?" (1978)
* "The Wicker Man" (1973)
* "Wife to be Sacrificed" (1974)
* "The Wild Geese" (1978)
* "Willard" (1971)
* "Willie Dynamite" (1974)
* "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971)
* "The Wind and the Lion" (1975)
* "The Wiz" (1978)
* "Wizards" (1977)
* "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974)
* "A Woman's Decision" (1975)
* "Woodstock" (1970)
* "The World's Greatest Athlete" (1973)

Y

* "Yanks" (1979)
* "Young Frankenstein" (1974)

Z

* "Zardoz" (1974)
* "Zoltan, Hound of Dracula" (1978)
* "Zombi 2" (1979)
* "Zulu Dawn" (1979)

Events

The films in the 1970s came in many different varieties, as the socially-conscious directors that emerged in the late 1960's grew in very different ways, influenced by music, literature, crime and war. The decade is most known for excelling in the crime-drama genre. The early part of the decade focused on increasingly realistic, gritty films, including Coppola's first two "Godfather" pictures and Robert Altman's black comedy "MASH". A trend that lasted through the decade was the popularity of disaster films, starting with "Airport" in 1970. Another trend was the birth of the blockbuster horror film, initiated by William Friedkin's "The Exorcist", which spawned numerous imitators. A pivotal moment in films was the release of Steven Spielberg's first blockbuster hit, "Jaws", was considered to be the birth of the blockbuster motion picture (a trend sealed two years later with the release of "". The end of the decade saw two epic Vietnam War films, from directors Michael Cimino ("The Deer Hunter") and Coppola ("Apocalypse Now").

ee also

* Film, History of cinema, List of movies.
* Years in film 1970-1979:
** 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
* Decades in film:
** 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s -- 1980s 1990s 2000s.
* History of cinema