Movie Auditor › Rankings › 1970s
Best Movies of the 1970s, Ranked by IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDB
800 films from the 1970s are in our catalog; the 100 best are ranked below. Top of the list is The Godfather ('1972), at 9.2 on IMDb. The average IMDb score across this list is 8.0. Biggest split between audiences and critics: Kelly's Heroes, 7.6 on IMDb against 50 on Metacritic.
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| # | Movie | Genre | IMDb | Tomato | Meta | TMDB | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Godfather '1972 | Drama / Crime | 9.2 | 97% | 100 | 8.7 | Francis Ford Coppola |
| 2 | The Godfather Part II '1974 | Drama / Crime | 9.0 | 96% | 90 | 8.6 | Francis Ford Coppola |
| 3 | The Chaos Class '1975 | Comedy / Drama | 9.2 | - | - | 8.0 | Ertem Eğilmez |
| 4 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest '1975 | Drama | 8.6 | 92% | 84 | 8.4 | Miloš Forman |
| 5 | Star Wars '1977 | Action / Sci-Fi | 8.6 | 93% | 90 | 8.2 | George Lucas |
| 6 | Alien '1979 | Horror / Sci-Fi | 8.4 | 93% | 89 | 8.2 | Ridley Scott |
| 7 | Apocalypse Now '1979 | Drama / War | 8.4 | 91% | 94 | 8.3 | Francis Ford Coppola |
| 8 | The Chaos Class Failed the Class '1976 | Comedy | 8.9 | - | - | 7.6 | Ertem Eğilmez |
| 9 | Tosun Pasha '1976 | Comedy | 8.9 | - | - | 8.0 | Kartal Tibet |
| 10 | Taxi Driver '1976 | Crime / Drama | 8.2 | 89% | 94 | 8.1 | Martin Scorsese |
| 11 | A Clockwork Orange '1971 | Sci-Fi / Crime | 8.2 | 86% | 77 | 8.2 | Stanley Kubrick |
| 12 | The Sting '1973 | Comedy / Crime / Drama | 8.2 | 93% | 83 | 8.0 | George Roy Hill |
| 13 | Jaws '1975 | Horror / Thriller | 8.1 | 97% | 87 | 7.7 | Steven Spielberg |
| 14 | Monty Python and the Holy Grail '1975 | Comedy / Fantasy | 8.1 | 92% | 91 | 7.8 | Terry Jones |
| 15 | Rocky '1976 | Drama | 8.1 | 93% | 70 | 7.8 | John G. Avildsen |
| 16 | The Exorcist '1973 | Horror | 8.1 | 78% | 83 | 7.7 | William Friedkin |
| 17 | Chinatown '1974 | Crime / Mystery / Thriller | 8.1 | 98% | 92 | 7.9 | Roman Polanski |
| 18 | Barry Lyndon '1975 | Drama | 8.1 | 78% | 89 | 8.0 | Stanley Kubrick |
| 19 | The Deer Hunter '1978 | Drama / War | 8.1 | 86% | 90 | 8.0 | Michael Cimino |
| 20 | The Chaos Class Is Waking Up '1976 | Comedy | 8.7 | - | - | 7.8 | Ertem Eğilmez |
| 21 | Life of Brian '1979 | Comedy | 8.0 | 96% | 77 | 7.8 | Terry Jones |
| 22 | Dog Day Afternoon '1975 | Crime / Drama / Thriller | 8.0 | 94% | 86 | 7.9 | Sidney Lumet |
| 23 | Sholay '1975 | Action | 8.1 | 95% | - | 7.1 | Ramesh Sippy |
| 24 | Young Frankenstein '1974 | Comedy | 8.0 | 95% | 83 | 7.9 | Mel Brooks |
| 25 | Network '1976 | Drama | 8.0 | 90% | 83 | 7.8 | Sidney Lumet |
| 26 | Dersu Uzala '1975 | Drama | 8.2 | 73% | - | 7.9 | Akira Kurosawa |
| 27 | Stalker '1979 | Sci-Fi / Drama | 8.0 | 100% | 85 | 8.1 | Andrei Tarkovsky |
| 28 | Papillon '1973 | Crime / Drama | 8.0 | 74% | 58 | 7.8 | Franklin J. Schaffner |
| 29 | Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii '1972 | Musical / Documentary | 8.6 | 100% | 75 | 8.1 | Adrian Maben |
| 30 | Paper Moon '1973 | Comedy / Crime / Drama | 8.1 | 91% | 77 | 7.9 | Peter Bogdanovich |
| 31 | The Message '1976 | Drama / Action | 8.1 | - | - | 7.1 | Moustapha Akkad |
| 32 | The Chaos Class Is on Vacation '1977 | Comedy / Drama | 8.6 | - | - | 7.6 | Ertem Eğilmez |
| 33 | Annie Hall '1977 | Comedy / Drama / Romance | 7.9 | 97% | 92 | 7.7 | Woody Allen |
| 34 | The King of the Street Cleaners '1977 | Comedy / Romance / Drama | 8.5 | - | - | 7.8 | Zeki Ökten |
| 35 | Solaris '1972 | Drama / Sci-Fi / Mystery | 7.9 | 92% | 93 | 7.8 | Andrei Tarkovsky |
| 36 | Patton '1970 | War / Drama | 7.9 | 92% | 86 | 7.4 | Franklin J. Schaffner |
| 37 | The Last Picture Show '1971 | Drama / Romance | 8.0 | 98% | 93 | 7.6 | Peter Bogdanovich |
| 38 | All the President's Men '1976 | Drama / Mystery / Thriller | 7.9 | 95% | 84 | 7.7 | Alan J. Pakula |
| 39 | Anand '1971 | Drama | 8.1 | - | - | 7.0 | Hrishikesh Mukherjee |
| 40 | Fiddler on the Roof '1971 | Drama / Romance | 8.0 | 81% | 67 | 7.7 | Norman Jewison |
| 41 | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory '1971 | Fantasy / Comedy | 7.8 | 84% | 67 | 7.5 | Mel Stuart |
| 42 | Sleuth '1972 | Thriller / Mystery / Crime | 7.9 | 90% | - | 7.7 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
| 43 | Being There '1979 | Comedy / Drama | 7.9 | 95% | 83 | 7.6 | Hal Ashby |
| 44 | Mirror '1975 | Drama | 7.9 | 100% | 82 | 7.9 | Andrei Tarkovsky |
| 45 | Kramer vs. Kramer '1979 | Drama | 7.8 | 90% | 77 | 7.6 | Robert Benton |
| 46 | Cries and Whispers '1972 | Drama | 7.9 | 92% | - | 7.9 | Ingmar Bergman |
| 47 | Manhattan '1979 | Comedy / Drama / Romance | 7.8 | 93% | 83 | 7.7 | Woody Allen |
| 48 | A Woman Under the Influence '1974 | Drama / Romance | 8.0 | 88% | 88 | 7.7 | John Cassavetes |
| 49 | Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession '1973 | Comedy / Sci-Fi | 8.2 | - | - | 7.9 | Leonid Gaidai |
| 50 | Autumn Sonata '1978 | Drama | 8.1 | 85% | - | 8.0 | Ingmar Bergman |
| 51 | Woodstock '1970 | Documentary / Musical | 8.1 | 100% | 95 | 7.6 | Michael Wadleigh |
| 52 | Aguirre, the Wrath of God '1972 | Drama | 7.8 | 96% | - | 7.4 | Werner Herzog |
| 53 | Gentlemen of Fortune '1971 | Comedy / Crime / Drama | 8.3 | - | - | 7.8 | Aleksandr Sery |
| 54 | Harold and Maude '1971 | Comedy / Drama / Romance | 7.8 | 86% | 62 | 7.6 | Hal Ashby |
| 55 | Cabaret '1972 | Musical / Romance / Drama | 7.8 | 92% | 80 | 7.4 | Bob Fosse |
| 56 | The Outlaw Josey Wales '1976 | Western | 7.8 | 91% | 69 | 7.5 | Clint Eastwood |
| 57 | Dawn of the Dead '1978 | Horror / Sci-Fi | 7.8 | 92% | 71 | 7.5 | George A. Romero |
| 58 | Le Cercle Rouge '1970 | Crime / Drama / Thriller | 7.9 | 96% | 92 | 7.6 | Jean-Pierre Melville |
| 59 | Day for Night '1973 | Comedy / Drama | 8.0 | 98% | - | 7.8 | François Truffaut |
| 60 | The Conformist '1971 | Drama | 7.9 | 98% | 100 | 7.6 | Bernardo Bertolucci |
| 61 | Dirty Harry '1971 | Action / Crime / Thriller | 7.7 | 89% | 87 | 7.5 | Don Siegel |
| 62 | Halloween '1978 | Horror / Thriller | 7.7 | 97% | 91 | 7.6 | John Carpenter |
| 63 | Ali: Fear Eats the Soul '1974 | Romance / Drama | 8.0 | 100% | - | 7.7 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder |
| 64 | Blazing Saddles '1974 | Western / Comedy | 7.7 | 89% | 73 | 7.2 | Mel Brooks |
| 65 | Kes '1970 | Drama | 7.9 | 100% | - | 7.4 | Ken Loach |
| 66 | Serpico '1973 | Crime / Drama | 7.7 | 93% | 83 | 7.5 | Sidney Lumet |
| 67 | The Day of the Jackal '1973 | Action / Thriller | 7.8 | 91% | 80 | 7.5 | Fred Zinnemann |
| 68 | The Conversation '1974 | Crime / Drama / Mystery | 7.7 | 94% | 88 | 7.5 | Francis Ford Coppola |
| 69 | Amarcord '1973 | Comedy / Drama | 7.8 | 88% | - | 7.9 | Federico Fellini |
| 70 | Badlands '1973 | Drama / Romance / Crime | 7.7 | 97% | 94 | 7.5 | Terrence Malick |
| 71 | The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie '1972 | Comedy | 7.7 | 98% | 93 | 7.4 | Luis Buñuel |
| 72 | The Man Who Would Be King '1975 | Drama | 7.7 | 97% | 91 | 7.5 | John Huston |
| 73 | Scenes from a Marriage '1974 | Drama / Romance | 8.3 | - | - | 8.1 | Ingmar Bergman |
| 74 | All That Jazz '1979 | Drama | 7.8 | 88% | 72 | 7.5 | Bob Fosse |
| 75 | A Special Day '1977 | Drama / Romance | 8.1 | 100% | - | 8.1 | Ettore Scola |
| 76 | Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion '1970 | Drama / Thriller | 8.0 | 100% | 89 | 8.2 | Elio Petri |
| 77 | The Holy Mountain '1973 | Drama | 7.7 | 85% | 76 | 7.5 | Alejandro Jodorowsky |
| 78 | Deliverance '1972 | Drama / Thriller | 7.6 | 90% | 80 | 7.3 | John Boorman |
| 79 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind '1977 | Sci-Fi / Drama | 7.6 | 91% | 90 | 7.4 | Steven Spielberg |
| 80 | The French Connection '1971 | Action / Crime / Thriller | 7.6 | 97% | 94 | 7.5 | William Friedkin |
| 81 | Enter the Dragon '1973 | Action | 7.6 | 88% | 83 | 7.4 | Robert Clouse |
| 82 | Duel '1971 | Action / Thriller | 7.6 | 90% | 81 | 7.4 | Steven Spielberg |
| 83 | Kelly's Heroes '1970 | Comedy / War | 7.6 | 79% | 50 | 7.4 | Brian G. Hutton |
| 84 | Days of Heaven '1978 | Drama / Romance | 7.7 | 93% | 94 | 7.5 | Terrence Malick |
| 85 | Johnny Got His Gun '1971 | War / Drama | 7.8 | 67% | 71 | 7.5 | Dalton Trumbo |
| 86 | The Last Waltz '1978 | Documentary / Musical | 8.1 | 98% | 84 | 7.7 | Martin Scorsese |
| 87 | The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! '1976 | Comedy / Romance | 8.0 | - | - | 7.2 | Eldar Ryazanov |
| 88 | The Ascent '1977 | Drama / War | 8.2 | 100% | - | 7.9 | Larisa Shepitko |
| 89 | Jeremiah Johnson '1972 | Western | 7.6 | 92% | 75 | 7.3 | Sydney Pollack |
| 90 | That Obscure Object of Desire '1977 | Comedy / Drama / Romance | 7.8 | 97% | 84 | 7.4 | Luis Buñuel |
| 91 | Hedgehog in the Fog '1975 | Animation / Mystery | 8.1 | - | - | 7.5 | Yuri Norstein |
| 92 | Love and Death '1975 | Comedy / Romance | 7.6 | 100% | 89 | 7.5 | Woody Allen |
| 93 | Sorcerer '1977 | Thriller | 7.7 | 84% | 68 | 7.5 | William Friedkin |
| 94 | Fantastic Planet '1973 | Animation / Sci-Fi | 7.6 | 91% | 73 | 7.6 | René Laloux |
| 95 | Office Romance '1977 | Comedy / Romance | 8.2 | - | - | 7.8 | Eldar Ryazanov |
| 96 | Robin Hood '1973 | Animation | 7.5 | 56% | 57 | 7.3 | Wolfgang Reitherman |
| 97 | Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town '1970 | Animation / Fantasy | 7.7 | 93% | - | 7.2 | Jules Bass |
| 98 | The Devils '1971 | Drama / Horror | 7.7 | 56% | 52 | 7.5 | Ken Russell |
| 99 | The Spirit of the Beehive '1973 | Drama / Fantasy | 7.7 | 93% | 87 | 7.6 | Víctor Erice |
| 100 | 12 Chairs '1971 | Comedy / Crime | 8.1 | - | - | 7.6 | Leonid Gaidai |
Our catalog covers roughly the 8,800 most-rated films on TMDB, so lesser-known titles may be missing. Order uses a confidence-weighted IMDb score so a perfect score from a handful of votes does not beat a well-established classic; the scores shown are the raw ones.
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