My 1970s Movies

Although back in 1970s UK, we called them films, not movies - but you know how much I love a little alliteration! When choosing my top three from each year, I based many of these films on my current tastes – pretty sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed Telly Savalas’ band of misfit soldiers at 10 years old. But heck, it had Clint Eastwood, as did many of my faves from the 70s.
You may think the following lists woefully incomplete, but the majority of others getting a mention were ones I’ve heard of – not necessarily the highest grossing or critically acclaimed. And you’ll notice a bunch of musicals and horror among the action and rom-coms.

1970 – Two Mules for Sister Sara, Kelly’s Heroes, MASH.

Airport, Love Story, The Aristocats, Ryan’s Daughter, Catch-22, The Owl and the Pussycat, The Railway Children.

1971 – Shaft, Dirty Harry, Get Carter.
Klute, Play Misty for Me, Duel, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Fiddler on the Roof, Diamonds Are Forever, Walkabout,
Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Beguiled, A Clockwork Orange.

1972 – Sleuth, What’s Up Doc, The Poseidon Adventure.
The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris, Silent Running, Cabaret, Frenzy, The Getaway, The Way of the Dragon, The Mechanic, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Deliverance.

1973 – Live and Let Die, The Sting, The Three Musketeers.
The Exorcist, Enter The Dragon, The Way We Were, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Day of the Jackal, Magnum Force, The Wicker Man, American Graffiti, High Plains Drifter, Papillon, Serpico, Paper Moon, A Touch of Class, Badlands.

1974 – Death Wish, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Blazing Saddles.
Murder on the Orient Express, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Towering Inferno, The Land That Time Forgot, The Great Gatsby, Confessions of a Window Cleaner, The Odessa File, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

1975 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Jaws, The Stepford Wives, The Man Who Would Be King, The Return of the Pink Panther, Tommy, Funny Lady, Shampoo, Rollerball, Three Days of the Condor, Rooster Cogburn, Shivers.

1976 – Carrie, Bugsy Malone, The Slipper and the Rose.
A Star is Born, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Eagle Has Landed, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Marathon Man, The Omen, Logan’s Run, King Kong, Rocky, Taxi Driver, All the President's Men.

1977 – Saturday Night Fever, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars.
Smokey and the Bandit, The Spy Who Loved Me, Goodbye Girl, A Bridge Too Far, The Hills Have Eyes. The Deep, The Gauntlet Annie Hall, Black Joy.

1978 – Grease, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Every Which Way but Loose.

Superman, Death on the Nile, Halloween, Blue Collar, Heaven Can Wait, The Wild Geese, Battlestar Galactica, Convoy, Coma, Damien: Omen II, The Boys from Brazil, The Deer Hunter, Midnight Express.

1979 – Alien, Life of Brian, Star Trek.
Mad Max, 10, Moonraker, Kramer vs. Kramer, The Amityville Horror, Escape from Alcatraz, Time After Time, Apocalypse Now, All That Jazz, Being There.


Hands up if you remember trying to get into an X-rated (18+) film when you’re only thirteen. For me, that was Enter the Dragon and, guess what? My (strict) mum and dad took me to see it!
The old film ratings changed on 1st July 1970, with the A rating going from 11+ to 8+, an extra level AA for 14+ and the X rating going up from 16+ to 18+.