Films From The Seventies You Should See

The seventies was one of Hollywood's best decades. Passing over some of the more obvious blockbusters (The Godfather, Star Wars, Grease) here is a list of some of the titles that helped make it a great period in film history.


Summer Of '42 (1971): Based on a coming-of-age bestselling novel about a teen having a romance with an older woman. Won The Academy Award for best musical score.

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971): Based on the novel Charlie & The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. This film made a star out of Gene Wilder. A version of this story was made in 2005 by director Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp.

Sounder (1972): This film depicts the struggles of a poor black family during the depression and was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture. Stars Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield.

The Paper Chase (1973): A film about a young Harvard law student and his experiences with a hard nose professor. Things become more interesting when the student starts dating the professor's daughter. Early film appearance by future Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner.

The Bad News Bears (1976):  Cranky former baseball player Walter Matthau coaches a little league team with a girl pitcher (Tatum O'Neal). Spawned two sequels and a TV series. An unnecessary remake was made in 2005 starring Billy Bob Thornton.

Logan's Run (1976): One of the last big sci-fi films to be released before Star Wars changed everything. Michael York stars in this futuristic tale about a society where nobody is allowed to live past 30. Logan's Run received mixed reviews when it came out but has since become a cult classic. Early film appearance by Farrah Fawcett.

Heaven Can Wait (1978): Warren Beatty is a football player who is killed before his time and is sent back to earth to live out his life in another man's body. A remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).

Breaking Away (1979): Four listless high school grads from a small quarry town compete in a cycling race. One of the greatest sports movies ever made. Early film appearances by Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern. Nominated for best picture at the Oscars, won for best original screenplay.

The Warriors (1979):  A gang from Coney Island, New York are framed for murder and become the target of rival gangs and cops. This film has a sort of sci-fi theme and is about as realistic a portrayal of gangs as West Side Story was. Another movie that originally received mixed reviews but went on to become a cult classic.