The 1970s are often cited as the best decade for cinema. This era was a sweet spot for filmmakers: film technology had progressed considerably and the Hayes Code had melted away, while the formulaic storytelling and commercialized pressures of the 1980s had not yet taken hold. As a result, the ’70s produced more classics than any other time period, across practically every genre.
1974 was no exception. This was the year ofBlazing SaddlesandThe Godfather Part II,The Texas Chainsaw MassacreandA Woman Under the Influence. These movies have aged well; a few of them have become cultural touchstones. With this in mind, this list looks at some of the must-see movies from thatannus mirabilis.
10’Lenny' (1974)
Directed by Bob Fosse
“In here, life is beautiful.” This biopic looks at the life of controversial, influential comedianLenny Bruce(Dustin Hoffman), who was arrested multiple times on charges of “obscenity”. (A fictionalized version of the character also appeared in the showThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.) Bruce was a talented figure but a damaged one, both comedically creative and personally self-destructive, charismatic and volatile.
There’s something deeply tragic about Bruce.He was ahead of his time, performing years before the likes ofGeorge CarlinandRichard Pryor, but this meant that he was also widely reviled and mistreated by the authorities. Many comedians today complain about being bullied or rejected for their jokes; Bruce’s landed him in jail. Hoffman rises to the occasion with a predictably layered, transformative performance, earning him an Oscar nomination. On the directing side,Bob Fosse(Cabaret,All That Jazz) tells Bruce’s story through a pseudo-documentary style and striking black-and-white cinematography.
9’The Phantom of Liberty' (1974)
Directed by Luis Buñuel
“Chance governs all things; necessity, which is far from having the same purity, comes afterwards.“Luis Buñuelwasa master of surreal cinema, responsible for offbeat gems likeThe Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisieand the eye-slashing short filmUn Chien Andalou.The Phantom of Libertyis one of his masterpieces, presenting a series of loosely connected vignettes that challenge social norms. From a dinner party where guests sit on toilets to a missing child who is present yet unseen,Buñuel crafts a narrative that is both absurd and thought-provoking.
The end result is a kaleidoscope of seemingly disconnected scenes—smoking, gambling priests, a man arrested for impersonating a police inspector who turns out to be the real thing. It’s not chaos for its own sake; it’s Buñuel’s razor-sharp critique of human absurdity. The movie is both narratively playful and surprisingly deep; goofy sight gags co-exist alongside barbed satire and dreamlike imagery.
The Phantom of Liberty
8’Blazing Saddles' (1974)
Directed by Mel Brooks
“These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know… morons.” One of the funniest movies of the ’70s,Blazing Saddlesis an envelope-pushing Western comedy with a satirical edge. It centers on Bart (Cleavon Little), a Black sheriff appointed to a frontier town as part of a corrupt political scheme. Partnering with the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), Bart confronts the town’s bigotry and thwarts the villains' plans. The plot itself is sometimes a little shaggy, but the comedic highs more than make up for any structural wobbles.
Mel Brooksloads the film with a relentless barrage of visual gags, throwaway one-liners, and clever background jokes that reward repeat viewings.The dialogue is endlessly quotable, from absurd non-sequiturs to iconic exchanges lifted or parodied from other films. Not every scene has aged well but, overall, Blazing Saddles is fun and punchy. Its DNA lives on in everything fromA Million Ways to Die in the WesttoDjango Unchained.
Blazing Saddles
7’The Conversation' (1974)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
“I’m not following you; I’m looking for you. There’s a big difference.“The Godfathermovies are widely regarded as masterpieces, but there’s another fantastic film sandwiched between them inFrancis Ford Coppola’s filmography:The Conversation. This psychological thriller featuresGene Hackmanas Harry Caul, a paranoid surveillance expert who becomes entangled in a murder plot after recording a seemingly innocuous conversation. In contrast to the grandeur ofThe Godfather,The Conversationis restrained, ambiguous, and moody.
Released in the shadow of Watergate, with public trust eroding and surveillance fears rising,The Conversationstruck a cultural nerve that still resonates todayin an era of data breaches, hacking, and digital footprints (not to mention Signal group chats). Coppola digs deep into that anxiety, crafting a story that’s less about espionage and more about the emotional toll of watching, and being watched. Hackman anchors all this with one of his very best performances, making Caul a tragic, flawed, and moving protagonist.
The Conversation
6’Ali: Fear Eats the Soul' (1974)
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
“When we’re together, we must be nice to each other. Otherwise, life’s not worth living.” This poignant drama fromRainer Werner Fassbinder(The Marriage of Maria Braun,The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant)tells the story of Emmi (Brigitte Mira), an elderly German woman, who falls in love with Ali (El Hedi ben Salem) a younger Moroccan immigrant. Their unconventional relationship faces prejudice and discrimination from those around them, including Emmi’s family members.
Fear Eats the Soulborrows some tropes of 1950s melodramas, including stark framing, vivid colors, and meticulous compositions, he handles the material with unusual emotional complexity. It’s a sensitive and subtle movie; not just a romance but a study of social change. Such issues around migration and citizenship are still explosive in Germany today, evident in the rise of the AfD party. In other words,Fear Eats the Soulis both topical and timeless.Politics aside, it’s simply a touching character study, and well worth checking out.
5’A Woman Under the Influence' (1974)
Directed by John Cassavetes
“I love you more than I ever loved any woman.“A Woman Under the Influencecenters on Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands), a housewife whose erratic behavior causes tension within her working-class family. Her husband, Nick (Peter Falk), is a construction worker who struggles to understand her, at times reacting with tenderness, at other times with aggression. As Mabel’s instability worsens, Nick has her institutionalized, leaving him to navigate his own shortcomings as both a husband and a father.
Ranking amongJohn Cassevetes' finest work and a milestone of independent film,AWoman Under the Influenceis a bruising, emotionally raw dramawith impressive psychological depth.The highlight is Rowlands, who turns in a mesmerizing performance, oscillating between explosive and fragile. This is complemented by Cassavetes' cinéma vérité style which makes everything feel uncomfortably real. It’s not an easy film, but it’s undeniably powerful; one of cinema’s most uncompromising portraits of a marriage under pressure.
A Woman Under The Influence
4’Young Frankenstein' (1974)
“My grandfather’s work was doomed!” Another classic by Mel Brooks,Young Frankensteinfocuses on Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder), an American neurosurgeon who is determined to distance himself from the infamous legacy of his grandfather, Victor Frankenstein. However, upon inheriting the family estate in Transylvania, curiosity gets the best of him, and he finds himself following in his grandfather’s footsteps—reanimating the dead with the help of his assistants, the dim-witted Igor (Marty Feldman) and the devoted Inga (Teri Garr).
The finished product is a loving and hilarious homage to the classic horror films of the 1930s.It’s packed with laugh-out-loud moments, from Igor’s ever-moving hump to the monster’s tap-dancing performance of “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” On the acting front, Wilder’s performance is a masterclass in controlled chaos, seamlessly balancing manic energy with refined comedic precision. Watch any random scene and you’re likely to catch a visual joke tucked into the background or a perfectly delivered line that still lands decades later.
Young Frankenstein
3’The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' (1974)
Directed by Tobe Hooper
“Who will survive and what will be left of them?” The legendaryTexas Chain Saw Massacrefollows a group of friends who stumble upon a decaying house occupied by a family of cannibals, including the monstrous Leatherface. What begins as a road trip turns into an unrelenting nightmare as the group is picked off one by one in increasingly gruesome fashion. This basic plot has since been done to death but, at the time, it was fresh and audacious, heightened further byTobe Hooper’s raw, documentary-style approach.
Still, despite the legions of copycats,The Texas Chain Saw Massacrecontinues to be unnerving and intense.Dread permeates every frame, culminating in a bloody, brutal third act. The viewer is on the edge of their seat as Sally (Marilyn Burns) attempts to escape, rooting hard for her to succeed. In this regard, she’s the prototypical final girl, andTexas Chainsaw Massacrethe ultimate power tool-driven slasher. It crams so much dark creativity into a mere 83 minutes.
2’Chinatown' (1974)
Directed by Roman Polanski
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” One of the greatest neo-noirs ever made,ChinatownseesJack Nicholsontaking on the role of Jake Gittes, a private investigator hired by a woman claiming to be Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her husband’s alleged infidelity. But what begins as a routine case quickly spirals into a tangled web of corruption, deceit, and murder, exposing the sinister forces controlling Los Angeles’ water supply.
Chinatownis a bleak, intricate mystery,as well as an emblem of the cynicism of 1970s America. It’s stylish, smart, and steeped in moral decay.Robert Towne’s screenplay is terrific, handling a labyrinthine plot with clarity and purpose. It’s often ranked among the best ever written. The performances are just as good: Nicholson is gruff and witty but real, while Dunaway is enigmatic and compelling. Though the movie bears many of the trappings of a standard crime flick, the killer writing and performances ensure that it rises above the genre, becoming more than the sum of its parts.
1’The Godfather Part II' (1974)
“I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart.” Claiming the top spot on this list is, unsurprisingly,The Godfather Part II, which is not only the best movie of 1974 butone of the greatest of all time.It’s perhaps the best sequel ever, firing on all cylinders and deepening its predecessor’s themes of power, family, and corruption. The film interweaves two parallel narratives: the rise of young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) in early 20th-century New York and his son Michael’s (Al Pacino) consolidation of power in the present day.
Coppola creates a vivid on-screen underworld populated by memorable characters, with De Niro and Pacino turning some of the strongest performances of their storied characters. The narrative structure is ambitious, yet Coppola has the chops to pull it off, ensuring that the momentum rarely flags. In the end,The Godfather Part IIbecomes a kind of modern myth, a larger-than-life vision of violence and ambition.
The Godfather Part II
The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
