The Best Films of the Decade: The 1970’s

Most apparitions in the « Best Performances of the Year » category, in the 70’s :

Al Pacino (5) :
} 1# en 1972.
} 6# en 1973.
} 7# en 1973.
} 1# en 1974.
} 1# en 1975.

Jack Nicholson (5) :
} 1# en 1970.
} 4# en 1971.
} 3# en 1973.
} 4# en 1974.
} 2# en 1975.

Robert DeNiro (4) :
} 2# en 1973.
} 2# en 1974.
} 1# en 1976.
} 1# en 1978.

Marlon Brando (3) :
} 1# en 1972.
} 1# en 1972.
} 2# en 1979.

Gene Hackman (3) :
} 2# en 1971.
} 5# en 1973.
} 5# en 1974.

Dustin Hofmann (3) :
} 4# en 1970.
} 6# en 1974.
} 5# en 1979.

Malcolm McDowell (1) :
} 1# en 1971.

Harvey Keitel (1) :
} 1# en 1973.

Richard Dreyfuss (1) :
} 1# en 1977.

Martin Sheen (1) :
} 1# en 1979.

George C. Scott (1) :
} 2# en 1970.

Klaus Kinski (1) :
} 2# en 1972.

William Holden (1) :
} 2# en 1976.

Woody Allen (1) :
} 2# en 1976.

Christopher Walken (1) :
} 2# en 1978.

Jean-Louis Trintignant (1) :
} 3# en 1970.

Warren Beatty (1) :
} 3# en 1971.

Fernando Rey (1) :
} 3# en 1972.

John Cazale (1) :
} 3# en 1973.

Ryan O’Neal (1) :
} 3# en 1975.

David Bowie (1) :
} 3# en 1976.

Bruno Ganz (1) :
} 3# en 1977.

Richard Gere (1) :
} 3# en 1978.

Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy (1) :
} 3# en 1979.

James Caan (1) :
} 4# en 1972.

Erland Josephson (1) :
} 4# en 1973.

Robert Shaw (1) :
} 4# en 1975.

Ben Gazzara (1) :
} 4# en 1976.

Harrison Ford (1) :
} 4# en 1977.

John Hurt (1) :
} 4# en 1978.

Roy Scheider (1) :
} 4# en 1979.

Elliot Gould (1) :
} 5# en 1970.

Ben Johnson (1) :
} 5# en 1971.

Peter Finch (1) :
} 5# en 1976.

Bruce Dern (1) :
} 5# en 1978.

Sylvester Stallone (1) :
} 6# en 1976.

With Kurosawa I look at the 17 year run from Drunken Angel (1948) to Red Beard (1965) and come to the unavoidable conclusion that it is the single most brilliant and productive stretch of filmmaking in history. 17 films in 17 years, all of them in the archives, and including somewhere in the range of 6-8 masterpieces. Now for our purposes this is complicated by the fact that those 17 years are spread over 3 seperate decades. As much as I love Drunken Angel (1948) and especially Stray Dog (1949) we can safely set the 1940s aside for this conversation.

I believe Kurosawa’s 1950s are unimpeachible. Seven Samurai (1954), Rashomon (1950), and Ikiru (1952) are simply 3 of the greatest films ever made (including my choice for the single greatest). Now I am far more taken with Throne of Blood (1957) than Drake and believe it has a very strong argument for masterpiece status and I also think The Hidden Fortress (1958) is stronger than he gives it credit for, though it is certainly on a lower tier than the other 4. Suffice it to say, I think Kurosawa’s 1950s can stand comfortably next to Coppola’s 1970s.

Then when you look at the 1960s, Drake raises the suggestion that Kurosawa may have begun that decade even more strongly than the 1950s. The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962), High and Low (1963), and Red Beard (1965) is about as impressive a start to a decade as one could imagine… but unfortunately the wheels fall off in the back half of the decade.

This is probably a more longwinded response than you wanted, but to directly answer your question, Kurosawa’s 1950s are one of very few candidates that I’d put up against Coppola’s 1970s. Hitchcock’s 1950s, Godard’s 1960s, and (if I’m being transparently honest) Nolan’s 2010s would also be worth considering here.

I love the 1970s but It’s another decade where the academy got it completely wrong especially in the best supporting actor side. Real Winners 1)Karl Malden-Patton(1970) 2)James Caan-The Godfather(1972) 3)Robert De Niro-Mean Streets(1973) 4)J.Cazale/R.De Niro-Godfather Part2(1974) 5)J.Cazale/R.Shaw-Jaws(1975) 6)L.Olivier-Marathon Man(1976) 7)Christopher Walken-Deer Hunter(1978) 8)Robert Duvall-Apocalypse Now(1979) They only got two right(Walken,De Niro) and six wrong. They didn’t even nominated Karl Malden(Patton),De Niro(Mean Streets),John Huston(Chinatown),John Cazale(Godfather 2),John Cazale(Dog day afternoon),Robert Shaw(Jaws),Gene Hackman(Superman),Marlon Brando(Apocalypse Now) or Denis Hopper(Apocalypse Now).The academy should be ashamed of themselves.Any disagreements with the above mentions?