1977 changed moviemaking forever. This is when the blockbuster began. Technically Jaws is the grandfather, but this is the year the floodgates broke open, and the one that changed cinema forever. Ironically, this is the year that ended whatever future the auteur era of the 70s had. After this, the studios all got bought by conglomerates, and we moved toward where we are today, a cinema built on franchises and tentpoles. There are still some twists and turns along the way, but that’s what this year ultimately led to.

The big movies take a bit of the air out of the room this year, and you also start to see a bit of the changing of the guard anyway. The auteur works that defined 1971 to 1976 are all starting to look a little stale. They aren’t working as well as they used to, and you start to see a couple of big failures start to happen, which is what will ultimately (after 1980) push Hollywood away from that system and a more studio-driven format.

Still, there’s some cool stuff here. Read the rest of this page »

1976 is a year that a lot of people gravitate to because it’s got some of the most memorable films of the 70s in it. The Best Picture list of this year includes All the President’s Men, Network, Rocky and Taxi Driver. That alone means it’s gonna have a lot of eyeballs on it. And then there’s some other really iconic films from this year too. You could pinpoint a lot of really pivotal moments for film that all happened in this year. John Wayne’s last film, the last great western before the genre died out, and, oh yeah… those four films previously mentioned.

The other great thing about this year, as is the case with most 70s years, is that there are so many great films below the top ten that are just great, most of which are true hidden gems that are largely forgotten nowadays.

Also take a look out for one of my absolute favorite comedies of all time. Read the rest of this page »

If 1973 isn’t the strongest year of the decade, then 1975 for sure is. This top ten list, though. Holy shit. When the weakest one in the bunch is something that you disagree with because it’s not your cup of tea, that’s a strong year. You can’t argue with the cultural impact or strength of any of these films. Kubrick, Lumet, Spielberg, Gilliam, Altman, Forman, Pollack, Russell. That’s just 8 of the top 10. That’s nuts.

I will admit, it’s somewhat top heavy a year, as the lower films aren’t as strong as the ones in some other years. But still, when you have a top ten as strong as this one, you don’t need much else. Read the rest of this page »

What I love most about 1974 is that the top ten (and the top ten most people would have for this year, which is even more impressive) has two films on it from two different directors! 40% of the top ten list is two directors. Well, if we’re getting specific… that’s four of my top five for this year. Which is nuts.

But also, this top ten list is great. There’s one movie that absolutely no one has ever heard of that I hold dear for a variety of reasons that will translate to almost no one else, but everything else is just amazing stuff.

And I will repeat what I’ve said in other years from this decade… there’s a lot of cool stuff below the line. Some really cool movies you might not know at first glance that you’ll really enjoy if you give them a shot. Read the rest of this page »

1973 has a good case for it to be considered the strongest year of the 70s. Nine out of my top ten are straight up all-time classics. Inarguable classics. And then 11-20 are all just incredible movies, with some great gems sprinkled throughout the rest of the list.

The 70s are in full swing here, and I think ‘iconic’ is the way a lot of these are. One of the most iconic characters of all time, iconic horror movies, iconic uses of music, iconic performances by famous actors.

There’s nothing more to add. These movies are great, and you should watch them. Read the rest of this page »