Best Films of the 1970s

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.

Best Films of the 1960s

The 1950s saw the release of many brilliant works of cinema from around the world but the 1960s increased that quality substantially. The 1960s is the decade when the words 'World Cinema' truly came to fruition. Some of my all-time favourite films come from this decade so trying to narrow down a list to just 30 titles was a very difficult task.

When it comes to co-productions, Italy and France rule this list with 53% of all titles (16/30) being either an Italian or French production: 8 co-productions involve both France and Italy; 13 productions involving Italy and 3 productions involving France. Of course, when it comes to those co-productions, many are perceived as belonging to only 1 country such as La Dolce Vita is considered an Italian film while Playtime as being French.

Interestingly, Italy dominates the top 10 with 5 titles including the first 4 spots. Safe to say, Italian films never hit such highs in any of my other decades list. So the 1960s were easily my favourite decade when it came to Italian cinema.

Top 30 films of the 1960s:

1. The Battle of Algiers (1966, Italy/Algeria, Gillo Pontecorvo)

2. Hands over the City (1963, Italy/France, Francesco Rosi)

3. Il Posto (1961, Italy, Ermanno Olmi)

4. La Dolce Vita (1960, Italy/France, Federico Fellini)

5. Mahanagar (The Big City, 1963, Satyajit Ray)

6. Bandits of Orgosolo (1961, Italy, Vittoria De Seta)

7. Playtime (1967, France/Italy, Jacques Tati)

8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, UK/USA, Stanley Kubrick)

9. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964, UK/USA, Stanley Kubrick)

10. Soleil Ô (1967, Mauritania/France, Med Hondo)

11. Black God, White Devil (1964, Brazil, Glauber Rocha)

12. Army of Shadows (1969, France/Italy, Jean-Pierre Melville)

13. An Autumn Afternoon (1962, Japan, Yasujiro Ozu)

14. L'Avventura (1960, Italy/France, Michelangelo Antonioni)

15. Le samouraï (1967, France/Italy, Jean-Pierre Melville)

16. Le Trou (1960, France/Italy. Jacques Becker)

17. Z (1969, France/Algeria, Costa-Gavras)

18. Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962, France/Italy, Agnès Varda)

19. My Life to Live (1962, France, Jean-Luc Godard)

20. Aimless Bullet (1961, South Korea, Yu Hyun-mok)

21. El Verdugo (The Executioner, 1963, Spain, Luis García Berlanga)

22. Change of Life (1966, Portugal, Paulo Rocha)

23. The Sound of Music (1965, USA, Robert Wise)

24. A Married Couple (1969, Canada, Allan King)

25. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960, Japan, Mikio Naruse)

26. Blow-Up (1966, UK/Italy, Michelangelo Antonioni)

27. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966, Italy/Spain, Sergio Leone)

28. Memories of Underdevelopment (1968, Cuba, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea)

29. The Exterminating Angel (1962, Mexico, Luis Buñuel)

30. Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-Capped Star, 1960, India, Ritwik Ghatak)

Tough to leave out many films. Here are 11 that shouldn’t have missed out (in no particular order):

Psycho (1960, USA, Alfred Hitchcock)

Last Year at Marienbad (1961, France, Alain Resnais)

The Housemaid (1960, South Korea, Kim Ki-young)

Breathless (1960, France, Jean-Luc Godard)

Ikarie XB1 (1963, Czechoslovakia, Jindrich Polák)

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968, Italy/USA, Sergio Leone)

Closely Watched Trains (1966, Czechoslovakia, Jirí Menzel)

Noite Vazia (1964, Brazil, Walter Hugo Khouri)

The Round-Up (1966, Hungary, Miklós Jancsó)

The House is Black (1963, Iran, Forugh Farrokhzad)

La Jetée (1962, France, Chris Marker)

Best Films of the 1940s

Safe to say, the world had more serious matters to consider in the 1940s. Yet, somehow this decade resulted in two films that have dominated the Best Films of All Time list for the longest time – Casablanca and Citizen Kane. In addition, a shining example of Neorealism cinema debuted in this decade with Bicycle Thieves. Plus, quite a few 1940s noir films still top many all time film noir lists.

As WWII was fought mostly in Europe and some parts of Asis and North Africa, it isn’t surprising that majority of this list is made up of American films (6/10 films). The 4 non-American films in the list were released in 1945 or after, which makes sense with the end of WWII and the post-war recovery.

Top 10 Films of the 1940s (roughly in order of preference):

1. Citizen Kane (1941,USA, Orson Welles)

2. Bicycle Thieves (1948, Italy, Vittorio De Sica)

3. Rome: Open City (1945, Italy, Roberto Rossellini)

4. Double Indemnity (1944, USA, Billy Wilder)

5. Casablanca (1994, USA, Michael Curtiz)

6. Sullivan’s Travels (1941, USA, Preston Sturges)

7. The Great Dictator (1940, USA, Charles Chaplin)

8. The Third Man (1949, UK, Carol Reed)

9. Late Spring (1949, Japan, Yasujirô Ozu)

10. I Walked with a Zombie (1943, USA, Jacques Tourneur)

Honourable mentions:

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949, UK, Robert Hamer)

The Lady Eve (1941, USA, Preston Sturges)

Best Films of the 1930s

While the 1920s produced a wealth of cinematic riches, that decade also marked the final flourish of silent cinema. The 1930s were characterized by the advent of “talkies” or sound films, which changed the cinematic landscape and how people perceived cinema. Hollywood studios began the shift away from silent films but the 1930s still had a good amount of silent cinema to choose from, especially from Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu who released a handful of silent cinema at the start of the decade.

Top 10 Films of the 1930s:

1. Modern Times (1936, USA, Charles Chaplin)

2. M (1931, Germany, Fritz Lang)

3. L'Âge d'or (1930, France, Luis Buñuel)

4. The Rules of the Game (1939, France, Jean Renoir)

5. I Was Born, But… (1932, Japan, Yasujirô Ozu)

6. Duck Soup (1933, USA, Leo McCarey)

7. City Lights (1931, USA, Charles Chaplin)

8. Bringing Up Baby (1938, USA, Howard Hawks)

9. The Blood of a Poet (1932, France, Jean Cocteau)

10. Earth (1930, Soviet Union, Aleksandr Dovzhenko)

Best Films of the 1920s

This Best of Decades list is inspired by the recent Decades Countdown at Wonders in the Dark. Also, the idea of looking back at Cinema made 100 years ago was appealing. Silent Cinema through the 1910s produced many worthy gems but the 1920s saw a jump in film production both in terms of quantity and quality. The “Roaring 20s” meant that Hollywood studio system was properly established along with the current star system. Notable directors also made their first films such as Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Sergei Eisenstein. In the case of Chaplin and Keaton, their style and notable signature was established in the 1920s including the releasing of many iconic films. Half of this top 10 could easily be filled with films from Chaplin and Keaton. Films of many genres were released not only in US but across Europe as well. Many of the films that have become part of the Essential Cinema canon came out in this decade as well, such as Sunrise (1927, F.W. Murnau), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, Robert Wiene), Metropolis (1927, Fritz Lang), Battleship Potemkin (1925, Sergei Eisenstein), Nosferatu (1922, F.W. Murnau), Greed (1924, Erich von Stroheim), The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928, Carl Theodor Dreyer) plus a handful of Chaplin (The Kid, The Gold Rush) and Keaton (Sherlock Jr., The General) titles.

Top 10 films of the 1920s:

1. Metropolis (1927, Germany, Fritz Lang)

2. The Gold Rush (1925, USA, Charles Chaplin)

3. The Crowd (1928, USA, King Vidor)

4. Battleship Potemkin (1925, Soviet Union, Sergei Eisenstein)

5. The General (1926, USA, Clyde Bruckman / Buster Keaton)

6. Man with a Movie Camera (1929, Soviet Union, Dziga Vertov)

7. Nosferatu (1922, Germany, F.W. Murnau)

8. Pandora’s Box (1929, Germany, G. W. Pabst)

9. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928, France, Carl Theodor Dreyer)

10. Napolean (1927, France, Abel Gance)

Honourable mentions:

The Kid (1921, USA, Charles Chaplin)

The Cameraman (1928, USA, Edward Sedgwick / Buster Keaton)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, Germany, Robert Wiene)

Un chein Andalou (1929, France, Luis Buñuel)

Top 10 by Country

Germany and US are tied with 3 films each in the top 10. France and Soviet Union have 2 films each. The top 10 ended up being more spread-out than I had anticipated. Of course, there are still a lot of films from many international nations that are either lost or not widely available, which means this list will change over the years.

Best of the Decade: Top 10 List

Previously, I had published a Top 50 of the Decade List (2010-2019).

This is now narrowing down a Top 10 from the 50 films.

Top 10 films from 2010-2019:

1. Zama (Argentina co-production, Lucrecia Martel)
2. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
3. Certified Copy (France/Iran/Italy, Abbas Kiarostami)
4. Timbuktu (Mauritania/France, Abderrahmane Sissako)
5. Holy Motors (France, Leos Carax)
6. Transit (Germany/France, Christian Petzold)
7. Jauja (Argentina co-production, Lisandro Alonso)
8. Like Father, Like Son (Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda)
9. This is Not a Film (Iran, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb/Jafar Panahi)
 10. The Treasure (Romania/France, Corneliu Porumboiu)

Best of Decade List: 2010-2019

This is a first pass towards coming up with a Top 10 of the Best Decade list (2010-2019). Here are my favourite 50 films of the decade.

Note: the films for each year are arranged in order of preference

2010: 5 films

Certified Copy (France/Iran/Italy, Abbas Kiarostami)
The Strange Case of Angelica (Portugal co-production, Manoel de Oliveira)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand co-production, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Carlos (France, Olivier Assayas)
Valhalla Rising (Denmark/UK, Nicolas Winding Refn)

2011: 4 films

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
This is Not a Film (Iran, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb/Jafar Panahi)
The Turin Horse (Hungary co-production, Béla Tarr/Ágnes Hranitzky)
A Separation (Iran, Asghar Farhadi)

2012: 3 films

Holy Motors (France, Leos Carax) 
Neighboring Sounds (Brazil, Kleber Mendonça Filho)
Leviathan (USA/France/UK, Lucien Castaing-Taylor/ Verena Paravel)

2013: 3 films

Like Father, Like Son (Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Vic + Flo Saw a Bear (Canada, Denis Côté)
Bastards (France, Claire Denis)

2014: 6 films

Timbuktu (Mauritania/France, Abderrahmane Sissako)
The Tribe (Ukraine/Netherlands, Miroslav Slaboshpitsky)
Jauja (Argentina co-production, Lisandro Alonso)
Two Days, One Night (Belgium/France/Italy, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
Li’l Quinquin (France, Bruno Dumont)
From What is Before (Philippines, Lav Diaz)

2015:  7 films

The Treasure (Romania/France, Corneliu Porumboiu)
Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia co-production, Ciro Guerra)
Right Now, Wrong Then (South Korea, Hong Sang-soo)
Our Little Sister (Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda)
The Pearl Button (Chile/France/Spain/Switzerland, Patricio Guzmán)
Aligarh (India, Hansal Mehta) 
Taxi (Iran, Jafar Panahi)

2016: 3 films

Shin Godzilla (Japan, Hideaki Anno/Shinji Higuchi)
Aquarius (Brazil/France, Kleber Mendonça Filho)
Neruda (Chile/Argentina/France/Spain/USA, Pablo Larraín)

2017: 8 films

Zama (Argentina co-production, Lucrecia Martel)
A Man of Integrity (Iran, Mohammad Rasoulof)
Western (Germany/Bulgaria, Valeska Grisebach)
Life and Nothing More (Spain/USA, Antonio Méndez Esparza)
Cocote (Dominican Republic co-production, Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias)
A Gentle Creature (France/Russia/Ukraine co-production, Sergei Loznitsa)
Closeness (Russia, Kantemir Balagov)
The Nothing Factory (Portugal, Pedro Pinho)

2018: 5 films

Transit (Germany/France, Christian Petzold)
Burning (South Korea, Lee Chang-dong)
Long Day’s Journey Into Night (China, Bi Gan)
An Elephant Sitting Still (China, Hu Bo)
Ash is Purest White (China co-production, Jia Zhang-ke)

2019: 6 films

One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk (Canada, Zacharias Kunuk)
Varda by Agnès (France, Agnès Varda)
Vitalina Varela (Portugal, Pedro Costa)
Pain and Glory (Spain/France, Pedro Almodovar)
Beanpole (Russia, Kantemir Balagov)
Martin Eden (Italy/France/Germany, Pietro Marcello)