DISCOVER--the very best of 1970s cinema
The economy was crap, the music was crap, the TV was crap... but the films were amazing. Just look what was coming out of American and European cinema before Speilberg and Lucas ruined everything...
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48 titles
- DirectorBarry ShearStarsAnthony QuinnYaphet KottoAnthony FranciosaTwo New York City cops go after amateur crooks who are trying to rip off the Mafia and start a gang war.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRichard DreyfussRon HowardPaul Le MatA group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiKaren AllenTom HulceAt a 1962 college, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsMartin SheenSissy SpacekWarren OatesAn impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsClint EastwoodGeraldine PageElizabeth HartmanWhile recuperating in a Confederate girls' boarding school, a Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women's hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsShelley WintersDon StroudPat HingleA psychologically disturbed matriarch presides over her damaged family of bank-robbing misfits.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsWilliam HoldenKay LenzRoger C. CarmelA young girl runs away from home and meets a grouchy older man who reluctantly takes her in. Eventually they develop a romantic and affectionate relationship.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsWarren OatesIsela VegaRobert WebberAn American barroom pianist and his prostitute girlfriend go on a trip through the Mexican underworld to collect the bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
- DirectorJacques RivetteStarsJuliet BertoDominique LabourierBulle OgierA mysteriously linked pair of young women find their daily lives preempted by a strange boudoir melodrama that plays itself out in a hallucinatory parallel reality.
- DirectorCharles BailStarsTamara DobsonStella StevensNi TienWhen fellow operatives (and childhood friends) Matthew Johnson and Melvin Johnson disappear during an undercover mission in Hong Kong, Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson) travels there to find them. With the help of local detective Mi Ling, Cleopatra discovers that her friends' disappearance has to do with The Dragon Lady, a much-feared blonde "lipstick lesbian" who runs a Macao casino and controls a major chunk of the local drug trade.
- DirectorJohn MiliusStarsWarren OatesBen JohnsonMichelle PhillipsJohn Dillinger and his gang go on a bank robbing spree across the midwest, but one G-Man is determined to bring him down.
- DirectorDon SiegelClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodAndrew RobinsonHarry GuardinoWhen a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsPeter FondaSusan GeorgeAdam RoarkeDown-on-their-luck racers Larry and Deke steal from a supermarket manager to buy a car that will help them advance their racing chances. Their escape does not go as planned when Larry's one-night stand, Mary, tags along for the ride.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsJulie ChristieDonald SutherlandHilary MasonA married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsRyan O'NealBruce DernIsabelle AdjaniA getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.
- DirectorJames FargoStarsClint EastwoodTyne DalyHarry GuardinoInspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan reluctantly teams up with rookie Inspector Kate Moore to foil a terrorist organization made up of disgruntled Vietnam veterans.
- DirectorRobert ClouseStarsBruce LeeJohn SaxonJim KellyA Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJack NicholsonKaren BlackBilly Green BushA dropout from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodSondra LockePat HingleA hard but mediocre cop is assigned to escort a prostitute into custody from Las Vegas to Phoenix, so that she can testify in a mob trial. But a lot of people are literally betting that they won't make it into town alive.
- DirectorMike HodgesStarsMichael CaineIan HendryBritt EklandWhen his brother dies under mysterious circumstances in a car accident, London gangster Jack Carter travels to Newcastle to investigate.
- DirectorWalerian BorowczykStarsLise DanversFabrice LuchiniCharlotte AlexandraAn erotic collection of short stories, an anthology comprised of tantalizing tales about sexual desire and its diverse manifestations.
- DirectorMichael MillerStarsYvette MimieuxTommy Lee JonesLisa CopelandA wrongfully imprisoned young woman accused of murdering the guard who assaulted her escapes from jail and becomes a fugitive.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJames CaanRobert DuvallArthur HillMike Locken, who works for a private security firm affiliated with the C.I.A., is betrayed by his partner and left apparently crippled for life.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsJane FondaDonald SutherlandCharles CioffiA small-town detective searching for a missing man has only one lead: a connection with a New York prostitute.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsMarlon BrandoMaria SchneiderMaria MichiA young Parisian woman meets a middle-aged American businessman who demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex.
- DirectorTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseMichael PalinBorn on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsElliott GouldNina van PallandtSterling HaydenPrivate investigator Philip Marlowe helps a friend out of a jam, but in doing so gets implicated in his wife's murder.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonGeorges AdetIn czarist Russia, a neurotic soldier and his distant cousin formulate a plot to assassinate Napoleon.
- DirectorTed PostStarsClint EastwoodHal HolbrookMitchell RyanInspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan pursues a conspiracy of vigilante cops, who are not above going beyond the law to kill San Francisco's undesirables.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsDavid BowieRip TornCandy ClarkAn alien must pose as a human to save his dying planet, but a woman and greed of other men create complications.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsWarren BeattyJulie ChristieRene AuberjonoisA gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroHarvey KeitelDavid ProvalIn New York City's Little Italy, a devoutly Catholic mobster must reconcile his desire for power, his feelings for his epileptic lover, and his devotion to his troublesome friend.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsGene HackmanJennifer WarrenEdward BinnsLos Angeles private investigator Harry Moseby is hired by a client to find her runaway teenage daughter. Moseby tracks the daughter down, only to stumble upon something much more intriguing and sinister.
- DirectorBoris SagalStarsCharlton HestonAnthony ZerbeRosalind CashDr Robert Neville has developed an experimental vaccine which makes him the only immune survivor of a biological catastrophe. A gang of homicidal mutants blame science for their condition and attempt to kill him.
- DirectorJohn FlynnStarsRobert DuvallKaren BlackJoe Don BakerEarl Macklin robs a bank owned by the mob, serves his prison time and is released, only to start a private war against the crime outfit that owned the bank.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJames CoburnKris KristoffersonRichard JaeckelPat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsLee MarvinGene HackmanSissy SpacekA vicious Kansas City slaughterhouse owner and his hick family are having a bloody "beef" with the Chicago crime syndicate over profits from their joint illegal operations. Top enforcer Nick Devlin is sent to straighten things out.
- DirectorMiklós JancsóStarsLajos BalázsovitsPamela VilloresiFranco BranciaroliPrince Rudolf, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, deliberately provokes his father, Kaiser Franz Joseph, by his dissolute and feckless behaviour. His defiance of the Kaiser's rigid adherence to duty and the good of the empire leads to a tragic confrontation between power and hedonism at the Mayerling hunting lodge.
- DirectorSilvio AmadioStarsGloria GuidaNino CastelnuovoAnita SandersGardener Napoleone takes a job in a southern-Italian villa and quickly finds himself embroiled in a menage-a-trois with Paola and her mother, which soon leads to sex, death and mayhem.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonJohn BeckA nerdish store owner is revived out of cryostasis into a future world to fight an oppressive government.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsJohn WayneLauren BacallRon HowardA dying gunfighter spends his last days looking for a way to die with a minimum of pain and a maximum of dignity.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsCharlton HestonEdward G. RobinsonLeigh Taylor-YoungA nightmarish futuristic fantasy about the controlling power of big corporations and an innocent cop who stumbles on the truth.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsKeith CarradineShelley DuvallJohn SchuckWhen two men break out of prison, they join up with another and restart their criminal ways, robbing banks across the South.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsJenny AgutterDavid GulpililLuc RoegTwo city-bred siblings are stranded in the Australian Outback, where they learn to survive with the aid of an Aboriginal boy on his "walkabout": a ritual separation from his tribe.Jon is not on Facebook, but can reply to comments here, at the base of this list.
Thanks, Boris
Obsessed with the popular culture of the 1960s and surrounding decades, Jon Abbott has been writing about film and TV for over thirty years in around two dozen different publications, trade, populist, and specialist. He is the author of several books, including
Irwin Allen Television Productions 1964-1970,
Stephen J. Cannell Television Productions: A History of All Series and Pilots,
The Elvis Films,
Cool TV of the 1960s: Three Shows That Changed the World,
and Strange New World: Sex Films of the 1970s.
See his Amazon author's page, and his other lists on the IMDB, all under the pre-fix DISCOVER.