After the rich global cinematic feast dished out by the 1960s, one would have expected that the 1970s would have increased that output. However, the 1970s pushed cinema in different directions. A few political events, some starting from the 1960s, easily played a part. To name a few global events: increasing American involvement in the Vietnam War from the mid 1960s, the May 1968 French protests, the toppling of Salvador Allende in Chile (Sept 11, 1973) violent military dictatorships in Brazil, Argentina and their disappearance of citizens, Emergency in India from 1975-77, Canada’s October crisis in 1970 and the OPEC Oil Embargo. This is not a comprehensive list but shows that cinema couldn’t have been top of people’s minds. Interestingly, this likely also played a part in the escapist summer blockbuster that came out in 1975: Jaws. This was followed 2 years later by Star Wars. Recently, Sight and Sound magazine labeled 1975 as the “year that changed cinema forever”. They picked Jaws in one corner and Jeanne Dielman in the other. One started the summer blockbuster trend, the other a path towards a new variation of artistic cinema. The 1970s also saw a handful of post-Vietnam American films and the war’s impact played a direct and indirect part in many violent and crime films. It wasn’t all doom and gloom violence in 1970s cinema. In India, the continued Parallel Cinema movement ushered in new socially charged films from the 1970s-1980s that examined rural life and also the plight of the growing middle class in urban areas.
It is tough to limit this list down to 30 films especially with the diverse range of cinematic genres and style.
Top 30 films of the 1970s:
1. Sholay (1975, India, Ramesh Sippy)
2. The Godfather (1972, USA, Francis Ford Coppola)
3. Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972, West Germany/Mexico/Peru, Werner Herzog)
4. Ankur (1974, India, Shyam Benegal)
5. Stalker (1979, Russia, Andrei Tarkovsky)
6. The Battle of Chile (1975, Venezuela/France/Cuba, Patricio Guzmán)
7. Network (1976, USA, Sidney Lumet)
8. Manila in the Claws of Light (1975, Philippines, Lino Brocka)
9. The Last Picture Show (1971, USA, Peter Bogdanovich)
10. Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty)
11. Scenes from a Marriage (1973, Sweden, Ingmar Bergman)
12. Solaris (1972, Russia, Andrei Tarkovsky)
13. The Conversation (1974, USA, Francis Ford Coppola)
14. The Godfather Part II (1974, USA, Francis Ford Coppola)
15. Uski Roti (1970, India, Mani Kaul)
16. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974, West Germany, Rainer
Werner Fassbinder)
17. Les Orders (1974, Canada, Michel Brault)
18. Adoption (1975, Hungary, Márta Mészáros)
19. Montreal Main (1972, Canada, Frank Vitale)
20. Chess of the Wind (1976, Iran, Mohammad Reza Aslani)
21. Titas Ekti Nodir Naam (A River Called Titas, 1973, India,
Ritwik Ghatak)
22. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
(1975, Belgium, Chantal Akerman)
23. Insiang (1976, Philippines, Lino Brocka)
24. The Emigrants / The New Land (1971/1972, Sweden, Jan
Troell)
25. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973, Spain, Victor Erice)
26. The Devil, Probably (1977, France, Robert Bresson)
27. Taxi Driver (1976, USA, Martin Scorsese)
28. Days of Heaven (1978, USA, Terrence Malick)
29. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, France/Italy/Spain,
Luis Buñuel)
30. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, UK, Terry Gilliam/Terry
Jones)
Honourable mentions (in no particular order):
Killer of Sheep (1977, USA, Charles Burnett)
Le Cercle Rouge (1970, France/Italy, Jean-Pierre Melville)
The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1972, West
Germany/Austria, Wim Wenders)
The Conspirators (1972, Brazil, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade)
Cuadecuc, vampir (1971, Spain, Pere Portebella)
Garm Hava (Hot Winds, 1974, India, M.S. Sathyu)
The Conformist (1970, Italy/France/Germany, Bernardo
Bertolucci)
A Clockwork Orange (1971, UK, Stanley Kubrick)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971, USA, Monte Hellman)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976, USA, John Cassavetes)
A Woman Under the Influence (1974, USA, John Cassavetes)
Ek Din Pratidin (And Quiet Rolls the Dawn, 1979, India, Mrinal
Sen)
Chronicles of the Years of Fire (1975, Algeria, Mohammed
Lakhdar-Hamina)
The Mother and the Whore (1973, France, Jean Eustache)
Claire’s Knee (1970, France, Eric Rohmer)
Note: Fassbinder’s World on a Wire is a TV serial but if I considered it as a film, it would be on this list.
