Dave Tompkins :: DVD Library :: IMDb Charts :: Top by Decade :: 1970s


(text-only version)

1.  The Godfather (1972)

The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.

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2.  The Godfather: Part II (1974)

The early life & career of Vito Corleone in 1920's New York is portrayed while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on his crime syndicate stretching from Lake Tahoe, Nevada to pre-Revolution 1958 Cuba.

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3.The Rascals' Class Misses its Grades (1976)
4.The Foster Brothers (1976)
5.Anand (1971)
6.Saban, Son of Saban (1977)
7.The Crazy Class Wakes Up (1977)
8.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Upon arrival at a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients together to take on the oppressive Nurse Ratched, a woman more a dictator than a nurse.

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9.The Dunce Class on Vacation (1978)
10.  Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

Luke Skywalker leaves his home planet, teams up with other rebels, and tries to save Princess Leia from the evil clutches of Darth Vader.

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11.The Girl with the Red Scarf (1978)
12.Feyzo, the Polite One (1978)
13.The King of the Street Cleaners (1977)
14.Sholay (1975)
15.  The Message (1977)

Handsomely-mounted historical epic concerns the birth of the

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16.  Apocalypse Now (1979)

During the on-going Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade Green Beret who has set himself up as a God among a local tribe.

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17.  Alien (1979)

A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates.

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18.  A Clockwork Orange (1971)

In future Britain, charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge is jailed and later volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem... but not all goes to plan.

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19.  Taxi Driver (1976)

A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as nighttime taxi driver in a city whose perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge to violently lash out, attempting to save a teenage prostitute in the process.

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20.Michael the Brave (1593)
21.  The Sting (1973)

In 1930s Chicago, a young con man seeking revenge for his murdered partner teams up with a master of the big con to win a fortune from a criminal banker.

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22.Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973)
23.  Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Grail, encountering many very silly obstacles.

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24.  Chinatown (1974)

A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water.

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25.The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975)
26.  Deruzu uzara (1975)

A Russian army explorer who is rescued in Siberia by a rugged Asian hunter renews his friendship with the woodsman years later when he returns as the head of a larger expedition...

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27.  The Deer Hunter (1978)

An in-depth examination of the way that the Vietnam war affects the lives of people in a small industrial town in the USA.

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28.  Autumn Sonata (1978)

After having neglected her children for many years, world famous pianist Charlotte visits her daughter Eva in her home...

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29.  Network (1976)

A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor's ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.

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30.  Annie Hall (1977)

Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.

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31.  Stalker (1979)

Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers. Over his wife's numerous objections...

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32.  Paper Moon (1973)

During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.

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33.  Monty Python: Life of Brian (1979)

Brian is born on the original Christmas, in the stable next door. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.

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34.  A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

Mabel, a wife and mother, is loved by her husband Nick but her madness proves to be a problem in the marriage. The film transpires to a positive role of madness in the family, challenging conventional representations of madness in cinema.

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35.  Barry Lyndon (1975)

An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's position in 18th Century aristocracy.

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36.  The Mirror (1975)

A man in his forties is going to die and remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments but things that also tell the story of all the Russian nation...

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37.  The Last Picture Show (1971)

The coming of age of a youth named Sonny in a small Texas town in the 1950s.

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38.  Sleuth (1972)

A man who loves games and theater invites his wife's lover to meet him, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.

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39.  Le Cercle Rouge (1970)

Corey is a cool, aristocratic thief, released from prison on the same day that Vogel, a murderer, escapes from the custody of the patient Mattei...

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40.  Jaws (1975)

When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it.

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41.  Solaris (1972)

The Solaris mission has established a base on a planet that appears to host some kind of intelligence...

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42.  Cries & Whispers (1972)

When a woman dying of cancer in turn-of-the century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.

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43.  Harold and Maude (1971)

Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.

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44.  Rocky (1976)

A small time boxer gets a once in a lifetime chance to fight the heavyweight champ in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.

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45.  Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)

Emmi, a woman truly in the second half of life, falls in love with Ali, a Berber guest worker more than ten years younger...

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46.  Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

A man robs a bank to pay for his lover's operation; it turns into a hostage situation and a media circus.

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47.  The Conformist (1970)

A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.

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48.  Papillon (1973)

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

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49.  Young Frankenstein (1974)

Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad's castle and repeats the experiments.

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50.  Being There (1979)

Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies. His simple TV-informed utterances are mistaken for profundity.

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Count: 37 / 50