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1970 Movies

Take a nostalgic look back at the top movies of 1970, celebrating the films, directors and actors that defined the year and left a lasting legacy in the world of entertainment.

1970 Academy Awards

Patton
Written by: Francis Ford Coppola, Edmund H. North
Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring: George C. Scott, Michael Bates, Karl Malden
Country: United States of America
Outline: The controversial career of General George S. Patton during World War II.
source: imdb.com
Little Big Man
Written by: Calder Willingham, Thomas Berger
Directed by: Arthur Penn
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George
Country: United States of America
Outline: A 121-year-old man recounts his life story to a historian, detailing his experiences with the Battle of Little Bighorn and his interactions with General Custer.
source: imdb.com
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Written by: Larry Forrester, Hideo Oguni, Ryūzō Kikushima
Directed by: Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda, Kinji Fukasaku
Starring: Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi, E.G. Marshall, James Whitmore, Takahiro Tamura, Eijirō Tōno, Jason Robards
Country: United States of America
Outline: The film dramatizes the events leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, presenting both American and Japanese perspectives. It was praised for its historical accuracy and attention to detail, as well as its visual effects and action sequences.
source: en.wikipedia.org
Ryan's Daughter
Written by: Robert Bolt
Directed by: David Lean
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, John Mills, Trevor Howard, Christopher Jones, Leo McKern
Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Outline: Set in a remote Irish village during World War I, the film follows Rosy Ryan, a young woman who has an affair with a British officer, leading to personal and community turmoil. Despite initial critical reception, it was a commercial success and won two Academy Awards.
source: en.wikipedia.org
Catch-22
Written by: Joseph Heller
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Starring: Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Jack Gilford, Bob Newhart, Jon Voight, Orson Bean, Charles Grodin, Martin Sheen, Anthony Perkins, Jack Warden
Country: United States of America
Outline: Based on Joseph Heller's novel, the film follows Captain Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Force bombardier during World War II, who is determined to escape the madness of war. The film is known for its satirical take on the absurdities of war and bureaucracy.
source: en.wikipedia.org
Love Story
Written by: Erich Segal
Directed by: Arthur Hiller
Starring: Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley, Ray Milland, Russell Nype, Tom Skeritt, Sidney Walker, Barbara Anderson, Robert Modica, Bobbi Jordan
Country: United States of America
Outline: The film tells the story of Oliver Barrett IV, a wealthy Harvard student, and Jennifer Cavilleri, a working-class Radcliffe student, who fall in love despite their different backgrounds. Their love story is tested by illness and tragedy.
source: en.wikipedia.org
Airport
Written by: Arthur Hailey
Directed by: George Seaton, Henry Hathaway
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, George Kennedy, Van Heflin, Maureen Stapleton, Barry Nelson, Lloyd Nolan, John Davidson, Helen Hayes, James Stewart
Country: United States of America
Outline: Set in a major international airport, the film follows the lives of airport personnel and passengers as they deal with a bomb threat on an international flight. It was a commercial success and led to a series of disaster films in the 1970s.
source: en.wikipedia.org
Woodstock
Written by: Michael Wadleigh
Directed by: Michael Wadleigh
Starring: Janis Joplin, Canned Heat, Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, Country Joe & The Fish, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, John Sebastian
Country: United States of America
Outline: A documentary capturing the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival, showcasing performances by iconic artists and the spirit of the counterculture movement.
source: imdb.com
The Conformist
Written by: Bernardo Bertolucci, Franco Arcalli, Alberto Moravia
Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Dominique Sanda, Enzo Tarascio, Pierre Clémenti
Country: Italy
Outline: A young Italian man, Marcello Clerici, is recruited by the Fascist secret police to assassinate his former professor. The film explores themes of conformity, repression, and political betrayal.
source: imdb.com
Le Cercle Rouge
Written by: Jean-Pierre Melville
Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring: Alain Delon, Bourvil, Yves Montand, Gian Maria Volonté
Country: France
Outline: In Marseille, a recently released convict plans a heist with an escaped prisoner and an ex-cop, leading to a tense confrontation with a relentless inspector.
source: criterion.com
White Sun of the Desert
Written by: Valentin Yezhov, Rustam Ibragimbekov
Directed by: Vladimir Motyl
Starring: Anatoly Kuznetsov, Spartak Mishulin, Pavel Luspekayev
Country: United States of America
Outline: During the Russian Civil War, a Red Army soldier is tasked with guarding a harem, leading to unexpected adventures in the desert.
source: en.wikipedia.org
Borsalino
Written by: Jean-Claude Carrière, Jean Cau, Jacques Deray, Claude Sautet
Directed by: Jacques Deray
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Catherine Rouvel
Country: France
Outline: In 1930s Marseille, two small-time crooks, Roch Siffredi and François Capella, form a partnership after a fight over a woman. They rise in the criminal underworld, eventually taking control of the city's fish market.
source: imdb.com
Il conformista
Written by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Dominique Sanda
Country: Italy
Outline: Set in 1930s Italy, Marcello Clerici, a mid-level Fascist functionary, is ordered to assassinate his former professor, an anti-Fascist dissident in Paris. His mission becomes complicated when he begins an affair with the professor's wife.
source: imdb.com
The Boys in the Band
Written by: Mart Crowley
Directed by: William Friedkin
Starring: Kenneth Nelson, Leonard Frey, Cliff Gorman, Laurence Luckinbill, Frederick Combs, Keith Prentice, Robert La Tourneaux, Reuben Greene, Peter White
Country: United States of America
Outline: Tempers fray and true selves are revealed when a heterosexual accidentally intrudes on a homosexual party.
source: imdb.com
The Things of Life
Written by: Claude Sautet, Jean-Loup Dabadie, Paul Guimard, Sandro Continenza
Directed by: Claude Sautet
Starring: Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, Léa Massari, Gérard Lartigau
Country: France
Outline: A highway engineer is involved in a car crash, after which, near death, he remembers his life leading up to the accident.
source: imdb.com
M*A*S*H
Written by: Ring Lardner Jr.
Directed by: Robert Altman
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Rene Auberjonois, Michael Murphy, Bud Cort, Gary Burghoff, Timothy Brown, John Schuck, G. Wood
Country: United States of America
Outline: The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and hijinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.
source: imdb.com
Little Big Man
Written by: Calder Willingham
Directed by: Arthur Penn
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam, Richard Mulligan
Country: United States of America
Outline: A 121-year-old man recounts his extraordinary life, including being raised by the Cheyenne and surviving the Battle of Little Bighorn.
source: en.wikipedia.org
Le Boucher
Written by: Claude Chabrol, Paul Gegauff
Directed by: Claude Chabrol
Starring: Stéphane Audran, Jean Yanne, Maurice Risch, Jean-François Garreaud, Jacques Dufilho, Jean Carmet, Jean-François Poron, Jean-Claude Bouillaud, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Jean-Pierre Darras, Jean-Pierre Bisson, Jean-Pierre Darras
Country: France
Outline: A schoolteacher and a butcher become romantically involved, but their relationship is tested when a series of murders occur in their small town.
source: imdb.com
The Wild Child
Written by: François Truffaut, Jean Gruault
Directed by: François Truffaut
Starring: François Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Cargol, Françoise Seigner, Jean Dasté, Guy Decomble, Jean-Claude Drouot, Guylaine Schlumberger, Jean-Claude Brialy, Jean-Pierre Kérien, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Jean-Pierre Darras, Jean-Pierre Bisson
Country: France
Outline: A man discovers a feral child in the woods and attempts to educate him, leading to unexpected challenges.
source: imdb.com
Five Easy Pieces
Written by: Carole Eastman
Directed by: Bob Rafelson
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Lois Smith, Billy Green Bush
Country: United States of America
Outline: A pianist from a wealthy family abandons his career and family to pursue a more bohemian lifestyle.
source: imdb.com