The 1970s: The Decade Cinema Changed Everything

When Hollywood stopped being polite

The New Hollywood decade — when studios lost control, auteurs took over, and cinema became an art form that could accommodate paranoia, failure, and genuine ambiguity. Nothing has matched it since.

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Created: February 9, 2026

The Collection

The Godfather

The Godfather

1972
1
The Godfather
1972
1
The Godfather
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Francis Ford Coppola
Cast Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
Box Office $136,381,073
Why Coppola elevates pulp crime material into operatic tragedy, establishing the template for prestige …
Chinatown

Chinatown

1974
2
Chinatown
1974
2
Chinatown
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Roman Polanski
Cast Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston
Box Office $29,200,000
Why Polanski deconstructs the detective noir archetype by making corruption systemic and inescapable ra…
Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver

1976
3
Taxi Driver
1976
3
Taxi Driver
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Martin Scorsese
Cast Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
Box Office $28,262,574
Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now

1979
4
Apocalypse Now
1979
4
Apocalypse Now
IMDb 8.4 / 10
Director Francis Ford Coppola
Cast Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall
Box Office $96,042,913
Network

Network

1976
5
Network
1976
5
Network
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Sidney Lumet
Cast Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch
Box Office $23,689,877
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

1975
6
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1975
6
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Miloš Forman
Cast Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman
Box Office $108,981,275
The French Connection

The French Connection

1971
7
The French Connection
1971
7
The French Connection
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director William Friedkin
Cast Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey
Box Office $51,700,000
Badlands

Badlands

1973
8
Badlands
1973
8
Badlands
IMDb 7.7 / 10
Director Terrence Malick
Cast Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates
Days of Heaven

Days of Heaven

1978
9
Days of Heaven
1978
9
Days of Heaven
IMDb 7.7 / 10
Director Terrence Malick
Cast Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard
Box Office $3,446,749
Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon

1975
10
Dog Day Afternoon
1975
10
Dog Day Afternoon
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Sidney Lumet
Cast Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen
Box Office $50,000,000
The Deer Hunter

The Deer Hunter

1978
11
The Deer Hunter
1978
11
The Deer Hunter
IMDb 8.1 / 10
Director Michael Cimino
Cast Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale
Box Office $48,979,328
Annie Hall

Annie Hall

1977
12
Annie Hall
1977
12
Annie Hall
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Woody Allen
Cast Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts
Box Office $38,251,425
Nashville

Nashville

1975
13
Nashville
1975
13
Nashville
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Robert Altman
Cast Keith Carradine, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley
Box Office $9,984,123
Jaws

Jaws

1975
14
Jaws
1975
14
Jaws
IMDb 8.1 / 10
Director Steven Spielberg
Cast Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Box Office $267,263,625

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