A movie can make a decade feel close through a familiar song, a crowded city street, or a family under pressure. The best movies about the 70’s preserve more than clothes and old cars. They hold on to music, social change, and the way filmmakers began to tell stories differently.
These picks offer a vivid look at a decade that could feel exciting, uneasy, or both at once. You’ll find drama, crime, suspense, science fiction, youth stories, and later period pieces. Each offers a different way to spend time with the people and ideas that shaped the era.
The selection includes films made during the 1970s and later movies that revisit it.
Key Takeaways
- The picks cover several genres and moods.
- Some films were released during the 1970s.
- Others are later stories set in the decade.
- Cooley High takes place in 1964, not the 1970s.
- Choose by mood, not by rank.
What Makes These the Best Movies About the 70’s?
A movie can qualify because it was made in the 1970s, because its story takes place then, or both. A period piece is a film whose story takes place in a historical period earlier than its production. The 1970s run from 1970 through 1979.
The era’s cinema includes midnight movies, modern blockbusters, Blaxploitation films, neo-noirs, and New Hollywood cinema. That range gives you very different views of history, culture, and daily life. The film’s release date and story setting can point to different years.
| Film type | Release period | Story setting |
|---|---|---|
| Period release | 1970-1979 | 1970s |
| Later period piece | After 1979 | 1970s |
| Earlier historical setting | 1970-1979 | Before 1970 |
Check the release year and story setting separately before calling a film a period release.
A best-movies comparison across the 70s, 80s, and 90s depends on whether you mean films released in those years or later films set in them. These 15 recommendations are grouped by theme, not ranked as a top 10.
Use this quick check before choosing:
- Check the release year.
- Check when the story takes place.
- Decide whether you want a contemporary or later perspective.
Checking both the release year and the story setting prevents a period piece from being mistaken for a film made in the period.
Which 1970s Dramas Examine Crime, War, and Power?
These dramas range from a family’s criminal empire to the isolation of a cabdriver and the trauma of war. Each scale feels different, from private choices to conflicts that engulf whole communities. The four films make strong picks when you want character-driven drama.
Choose among family crime, urban alienation, and the costs of war. These period releases give each kind of conflict room to grow without turning the characters into simple heroes or villains.
The Godfather
Francis Ford Coppola directed The Godfather (1972), a crime drama about the Corleone family and its pursuit of power. The film’s story moves through family ties, business, and violence. Those forces make the family’s private life inseparable from its criminal empire.
Coppola gives the drama a patient pace, letting small choices gather weight. A family gathering can feel warm, then turn tense as loyalty and ambition collide. That shift makes the film more than a crime story about who controls a city.
If you want a long-form drama with family at its center, this is the pick. It gives you a close view of power being passed down and defended. The Corleones’ world feels personal even when the stakes grow larger.
Taxi Driver
Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver (1976), which follows Travis Bickle through a lonely life in New York. He drives a cab through streets that leave him feeling cut off from other people. His work keeps him moving, but it does little to ease his isolation.
The film’s view of urban life feels uneasy rather than neat. Travis watches the city, forms harsh ideas about it, and grows more troubled. New York becomes part of his state of mind, not just a place where the story happens.
Taxi Driver suits you if you want a drama focused on one person’s psychological unraveling. Its tight focus makes the city feel close and oppressive. The film asks you to watch Travis without treating his choices as a clear moral guide.
The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter (1978) is a Vietnam War drama about the people changed by war. Its attention to friendship and home life gives the conflict a human scale. The story’s emotional force comes from how war reshapes people, not from battle alone.
The film tied at rank 211 in a poll of films. That placement offers one way to see how it appeared in that poll, not a final measure of quality. A poll rank cannot decide whether its long, serious drama will suit your taste.
Choose it when you want a war film that stays with its characters and their bonds. It gives the effects of conflict space to unfold. The result is a demanding drama about what people carry after the fighting.
Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979) follows a journey through Vietnam during the war. The trip pushes its characters toward danger and moral uncertainty. As the journey grows stranger, the film turns war into a test of judgment and control.
Coppola builds a large world around a focused mission. The river route gives the story a clear path, while each stop shifts its mood. The film’s scale makes the conflict feel huge, but its questions remain tied to individual choices.
This pick works when you want a war drama with a bold visual style and an unsettled tone. It offers a different kind of conflict from The Deer Hunter’s attention to lasting ties. Choose The Godfather for a crime-family saga, and Taxi Driver for a more intimate portrait of urban alienation.
Which 1970s Films Make Suspense and Spectacle Unforgettable?
These four films show how the decade could make dread, adventure, and spectacle feel radically different. Their worlds pull you in through political fear, strange danger, or a threat close to home. Each is a period release with its own kind of suspense.
Pick the film by the experience you want, not by a poll position. The 2022 Sight and Sound poll had 1,639 participants, and each submitted a top-ten ballot. Tied positions show how ballots placed films, not which movie is objectively superior.
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange (1971) creates a dystopian world shaped by violence and control. Its story asks what happens when the state tries to change a person’s behavior. The film turns questions of free choice into an uneasy test of how far authority should reach.
Its style can feel sharp and strange, which suits a story that refuses easy comfort. The world on screen is not meant to be a simple picture of everyday life. Instead, it gives the film room to press its moral questions.
Choose this one when you want science fiction with a tough edge and ideas to debate afterward. Its tied rank of 243 in the 2022 poll is context, not proof of a single best reading. The film’s central tension comes from choice, punishment, and control.
Star Wars
Star Wars (1977) is a science-fiction adventure built for a wide audience. Its imagined world, clear stakes, and bold sense of scale make it an easy choice when you want an escape. The story carries you into a larger universe without losing its basic adventure shape.
The film helped define the modern blockbuster through spectacle that feels big and direct. It gives you heroes, danger, and a world that invites wonder. That mix makes it a strong pick for a group with different tastes.
Star Wars tied at rank 225 in the 2022 Sight and Sound poll. The result records where it landed among submitted ballots, not an objective verdict. Pick it when you want an energetic adventure rather than a mystery that keeps you guessing.
Suspiria
Suspiria (1977) is a supernatural horror film that makes its world feel unsettling from the start. Strange events and a vivid visual style build dread without relying only on plot twists. The film’s atmosphere is a major part of what makes it memorable.
Its horror comes from the sense that ordinary places may hide something wrong. The story lets color, sound, and setting shape your response. That approach makes it a different choice from a mystery built around clues and clear answers.
Suspiria tied at rank 211 in the 2022 poll. That tie is a detail about the poll, not a claim that every viewer will rate it alike. Choose it when you want supernatural horror with a strong visual mood.
Jaws
Steven Spielberg directed Jaws (1975), a suspense film about a coastal community facing a threat in the water. The danger changes how people see the beach and their town. Summer turns from a time for swimming into a season of worry.
The film builds tension by making the threat feel close, even when it is out of sight. That choice gives ordinary stretches of water a new charge. The town’s safety and livelihood also add pressure to the story.
Jaws is a good pick when you want suspense that works for a group and makes a familiar setting feel unsafe. For a suspense-first night, choose Jaws; for a leap into science fiction, choose Star Wars.
Which Films Capture Youth, Music, and Everyday Life?
The decade’s everyday life appears here through comedy, dance, school friendships, and documentary storytelling. These films stay close to people, whether they are sorting out a relationship or finding their place among friends. They offer different ways to see daily life and changing culture.
Cooley High is the direct choice for a high-school story, though it is set in 1964. The other picks range from a relationship comedy to a documentary, so the section’s focus is wider than one age group.
Annie Hall
Annie Hall (1977) is a relationship-centered comedy about the ways people connect and drift apart. Its humor comes from how the characters think, speak, and remember their time together. The film treats a relationship as a series of small moments, not one grand declaration.
That focus makes the comedy feel personal. The characters’ habits and worries carry as much weight as the events around them. You can enjoy the jokes while noticing how hard it is for two people to understand each other.
Annie Hall tied at rank 243 in a poll of films. The tie describes its place in that poll, not a rule about its artistic value. Choose it for a smart, talk-focused movie about love and self-image.
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever (1977) follows Tony Manero, a 19-year-old from Brooklyn. He works in a paint store by day and dances at a disco at night. Those two parts of his life show a young man reaching for more than his routine offers.
The story uses music and dance, but it is not just a soundtrack or fashion showcase. Tony’s friends, family, and work shape the world he wants to leave behind. The disco gives him a place to shine, while his daily life keeps testing him.
Pick it when you want a music-centered drama with a character at its heart. Tony’s two worlds make the film’s nightlife matter beyond its songs. His choices give the dance scenes a personal stake.
Cooley High
Cooley High (1975) follows four Black high school seniors and friends on Chicago’s Near-North Side. The story is set in 1964, even though the film came out during the 1970s. That difference matters if you want a movie whose story takes place within the decade.
The film centers on school friendships and the everyday moments that bind a group together. Its young characters make plans, face setbacks, and share time in their neighborhood. The focus on Black students gives the story a clear point of view.
For movies about high school in the 70s, Cooley High is a close match in theme, but not setting. The film follows students in high school, while its story takes place in 1964. That gives you a coming-of-age story from a different point in history.
Harlan County, USA
Harlan County, USA (1976) is the documentary choice in this group. It turns away from scripted comedy and drama to focus on people and lived experience. That change in form can make the film feel immediate, especially if you want history through the voices and actions of real people.
A documentary asks you to pay attention to what people say and how events unfold. It offers a different kind of evidence from a made-up plot. Its view of work and community can add a grounded counterpoint to the other films here.
Harlan County, USA tied at rank 225 in a poll of films. The number gives context for its poll placement, not a rating every viewer must share. For a high-school coming-of-age story, Cooley High is the direct pick, with its 1964 setting clearly distinguished from the decade of its release.
Which Modern Movies Set in the 70s Are Worth Watching?
A later director can revisit the 1970s with distance, turning period details into a fresh interpretation of the time. These later stories use different settings, from Los Angeles entertainment to suburban Detroit. Their later production dates do not make them period releases.
Boogie Nights, American Hustle, and The Virgin Suicides were made after 1979. They fit if you want modern movies set in the 70s rather than films produced during that era. Each brings a different focus to its characters and world.
Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights (1997) follows a young talent discovered by a porn producer. The adult-film industry becomes the setting for a character-driven rise and fall. The film looks at people whose work and personal ties shape their place in that world.
Rather than treating the industry as mere background, the story follows how its people build careers and relationships. The rise brings hope and new status, while the fall tests those bonds. That shift gives the film a human focus beyond its setting.
Choose it when you want a Los Angeles story about ambition and the cost of belonging. Its 1997 release makes it a later period film, not a release from the decade it depicts. It offers one view of work and identity in the era.
American Hustle
American Hustle (2013) follows two con artists forced to work for an FBI agent. Their schemes place the characters in a world where trust can change with each new move. The pressure comes from juggling a risky job and the lies that support it.
The film uses its period setting to frame a story about people trying to control their own fate. Its characters make deals, read one another, and test the limits of their choices. That makes it a fit when you want a crime story driven by personality.
It is a later production set in the 1970s, not a film made during those years. The story’s appeal rests on its shifting alliances and the people caught inside them. Pick it for a crime-focused take on the decade.
The Virgin Suicides
The Virgin Suicides (1999) is set in suburban Detroit in the mid-1970s. Its story views family life and young people through a close neighborhood lens. Instead of a city industry or a con, it turns to the mystery and limits of knowing other people.
The suburban setting gives the film a quieter mood than Boogie Nights or American Hustle. Its focus on memory shapes how the story unfolds. The period details frame a world seen from a distance, rather than serving as a simple display of old fashions.
If you want a more reflective story, this one offers a distinct view of the era. The film’s 1999 release keeps it in the later period film group. For a suburban coming-of-age story told through a later lens, choose The Virgin Suicides.
If a scene brings another title to mind, try a movie screenshot search and compare the result with details you remember.
How Do You Choose a Film for Tonight and Check Netflix?
Start with the mood you want, then verify the title’s format and current US availability on the service. A quick mood check can narrow the 15 picks before you browse. Netflix’s October 30, 2026 US arrivals include Obsess, a series, not a movie.
| If you want | Try this kind of film | Expect |
|---|---|---|
| Nostalgia | Music-centered or youth story | Period atmosphere and everyday details |
| Tension | Crime drama or mystery | Unease and moral conflict |
| Escape | Science fiction or adventure | Large-scale spectacle |
A dated arrivals list records additions, not the full Netflix catalog.
Use these steps to check a title:
- Search the title in Netflix.
- Confirm whether the result is a film or series.
- Check that it is currently available in the US.
Netflix’s arrivals listing names Obsess, but it does not establish which films are currently available. The service’s catalog can change, so an old list cannot confirm a film’s status today. You can also sign up for entertainment updates if you like fresh viewing ideas.
Check the Netflix title page on the day you plan to watch, since a series listing is not a film recommendation.
Conclusion
The 1970s on screen can feel gritty, playful, frightening, or full of music, depending on the film you choose. You do not need one movie to sum up the decade. A comedy, a crime drama, and a later period film can each show a different part of life.
Pick the genre that fits tonight, then start with one title from that group.
FAQ
What does it mean when a movie is set in the 1970s?
A movie is set in the 1970s when its story takes place from 1970 through 1979, regardless of its release year. A film made decades later can still tell a story from that time. Release date describes when audiences first saw the film, while setting describes when its events happen.
Which later movie gives the strongest sense of 1970s life?
Boogie Nights gives you a view of the entertainment industry, while The Virgin Suicides offers a suburban perspective. Neither covers every part of life in the decade. Choose Boogie Nights if work and industry interest you most, or The Virgin Suicides for family life and a quieter setting.
Were all the movies in this selection released during the 1970s?
No, 12 were released during the 1970s, and three were made later but set in the decade. Boogie Nights came out in 1997, The Virgin Suicides in 1999, and American Hustle in 2013. Those later production dates do not change the time of their stories.
Are films about the 1970s historically accurate?
Some details may reflect the era, but a fictional film can dramatize its characters and events. Period settings, clothes, and cultural references help create a sense of time. Documentaries make different claims because they record real people and events, though editing still shapes what viewers see.
What is New Hollywood cinema?
New Hollywood cinema describes a more director-driven and formally adventurous style of American filmmaking linked with the era. It is a label for a movement, not for every movie released during the 1970s. Films from the same decade also include blockbusters, horror, crime stories, and many other styles.
