“You kids these days ever heard about a little movie called The Godfather? Great film, but very obscure. Came out in 1972, which may as well be 600 years ago in the eyes of all you young whippersnappers. No phones back then, just quarters. You took a quarter to the picture house, and you went and watched yourself a picture. Of course, before going there, you would tie an onion to your belt, which was the style at the time…”
No, but seriously, people know about The Godfather. And The Godfather Part II. And countless other absolutely iconic and pretty much timeless movies that came out in the 1970s. But there are others that have remained timeless, or have maybe even gotten better with time, like some wines, yet they’re far more obscure. Take the following films, for example. You might’ve seen or heard of some, or maybe not. They’re all undeniably worth seeking out and digging up if you’re already caught up on all the usual suspects, ‘70s cinema-wise…
10
‘Smile’ (1975)
Not to be mixed up with a certain horror movie of the 2020s (the name’s shared and all), Smile (1975) is less of a horror movie, but it does try to feel uneasy throughout. It’s a dark comedy, or a satire, more accurately, revolving around the organization of a beauty pageant in California. There’s an ensemble cast here, and a continuing sense of nothing really going right for anyone.
It’s a bit more in line with Robert Altman’s ensemble dramedies than it is an outright farce, though that being said, it probably emphasizes the comedy part of “dramedy” more than most Altman films. Much of what Smile has to say about what it’s making fun of still holds up perhaps distressingly well, and you can’t say that about many satirical movies that came out more than half a century ago.
9
‘The Crook’ (1970)
The Crook is one of those movies you might come across, and you don’t really remember how, but you remember it being very good. And then you try and find it again, and it’s hard to find, because no one seems to know about it at all. It is just called “The Crook,” or at least that’s the English title, which might not sound terribly interesting, but the film itself is.
It’s got a ton of style for sure, and is sort of just a portrait of a thief going through turbulent times in his criminal life. If you liked Le Samouraï, which is a bit better known, then The Crook works well as almost a spiritual sequel of sorts, albeit one that’s a little faster-paced and with a bit more action than Le Samouraï has (for better or worse).
8
‘The Battle of Okinawa’ (1971)
One reason The Battle of Okinawa might be somewhat obscure is the fact that it’s an absolutely shattering and soul-crushing watch, even compared to other anti-war movies. It’s about the World War II battle you’d expect it to be about, shown from the Japanese perspective as soldiers and civilians alike realize the desperation of the situation they’re in, but also grapple with the societal expectation that they fight on.
It’s always hard to say, with a movie like this, how close to reality it actually is (you can’t fully judge unless you were there), but The Battle of Okinawa feels awfully authentic. It is an overall great war film; just one that’s a lot trickier to recommend than most from around this time. Still, if you’re specifically looking for war movies that haven’t aged, then this one qualifies, since the intensity and graphic nature of the violence here is still startling.
7
‘Mad Dog Morgan’ (1976)
To some extent, you’ve got an over-the-top and kind of wild Dennis Hopper performance to be found in Mad Dog Morgan, but it’s also an unsettling role of his. The movie itself isn’t very fun, either, at least not in the sense that some of the movies out there with Hopper hamming it up prove fun. This is, instead, a bleak and brutal Western of sorts.
“Of sorts” is important to specify here, since Mad Dog Morgan takes place in Australia, and is about the titular bushranger, rather than being set in the Old West and having more expected cowboys, lawmen, or Western criminals rampaging around. Mad Dog Morgan is also something of a fever dream, largely to drive home just how mad Morgan really was, and the delirium and savageness found here still pack quite the punch.
6
‘Where Spring Comes Late’ (1970)
Yōji Yamada is not a household name, but he is a great director regardless, and is at least well-recognized in Japan. Lots of that recognition has to do with his Tora-san series, which spanned 50 entries and had Yamada direct all but two of them, but he’s also directed plenty of non-Tora-san movies, with Where Spring Comes Late being one of the very best.
It’s a family drama about a father who loses his job, and so he decides to relocate and take his family with him, in turn going from being a miner to being a farmer. Where Spring Comes Late is surprisingly engaging and moving, even if such a premise might sound a little dull on paper. It’s all done with a ton of empathy and presented in a manner that’s both simple and beautiful. It would have to easily rank up there among the most underrated dramas of the 1970s, so that’s the main reason for including it here.
5
‘Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival’ (1970)
There were well over 20 Zatoichi movies released during the 1960s and 1970s, with many of them being fast-paced, no-nonsense, and reliably entertaining. Of the ones that came out in that latter decade, Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival was probably the best, and it could well also be the greatest 21st movie in a long-running series.
Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival has got a particularly high amount of action, some unusual side characters, and visuals that were – up until that point in the series – quite distinctive.
Okay, not many movie series get to 21 or more entries, so there’s not much competition, in any event, but Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival could win regardless. It’s got a particularly high amount of action, some unusual side characters, and visuals that were – up until that point in the series – quite distinctive. You should totally watch other Zatoichi movies, too, especially because the series has proven influential in some ways, but this 21st film isn’t the worst starting point, in terms of showcasing Zatoichi, as a series, at its peak.
4
‘Going in Style’ (1979)
For a while, Going in Style is a kind of nice hangout movie, and bittersweet, but not without sweet moments. It goes into more comedic territory when the plot properly gets underway, since Going in Style concerns a group of three elderly men who attempt to rob a bank, only to find that being in one’s old age makes such a thing even harder than usual.
And that robbery attempt happens surprisingly early on, and then there’s a lot of Going in Style to go. At that point, it gets heavy. You start the film thinking it’s a bit like Ocean’s One-Hundred-and-Eleven, and end it perhaps thinking of the more recent The Irishman; specifically, the final half-hour or so of that film. It’s a surprising emotional journey you’re taken on, and really, Going in Style is so much more powerful and impactful than people seem willing to give it credit for (also, forget about the recent film of the same name; that remake had almost nothing in it that made the first one special).
3
‘The Avenging Eagle’ (1978)
Of all the martial arts movies out there about revenge, The Avenging Eagle is one of the best, because of course it is. How disappointing would it be if it wasn’t, with a title like that? No literal eagle being some kind of avenger, though. But there’s an Eagle Clan, and they’re made of fighters trained by a tyrannical leader to become ruthless assassins.
One member of the clan wants to break free of the life, and he meets another warrior who lost people in his own life due to the actions of the Eagle Clan. So they team up, and a whole lot of avenging/martial arts action ensues. The Avenging Eagle doesn’t have much beyond that, but the story here is actually a little more compelling than the stories found in most martial arts flicks of the 1970s, and the action (you know, the main attraction) is phenomenally done, so that’s what counts the most.
2
‘The Man Who Stole the Sun’ (1979)
Not naming any names, but there’s, uh, one person on this site who keeps talking about The Man Who Stole the Sun, even though most of the world seems okay not knowing about this movie’s existence. In defense of the rest of the world, this is a difficult movie to find and thereby watch, but it’s worth it, since it’s honestly one of the greatest action/thriller films ever made.
It’s also a few other genres at the same time, being darkly funny, satirical, dramatic, and willing to engage with the difficult and ever-complex subject that is nuclear weaponry, and the paranoia that comes with such weapons existing. The Man Who Stole the Sun is also a bit of a psychological dramedy about a man snapping and building his own nuclear bomb, and then a bunch of other crazy things that happen once he does. It really does have to be seen (if you can find it) to be believed.
1
‘I Never Sang for My Father’ (1970)
Since it’s really just a straightforward drama about a handful of relatively ordinary characters, I Never Sang for My Father might sound a bit boring on the surface. It’s about a man approaching his middle-aged years, dealing with parents who are now elderly. His mother dies early in the film, which makes his father more reliant on him, which causes drama when the man’s trying to further his career and possibly start a family of his own.
It’s not nearly as well-known as Tokyo Story, but I Never Sang for My Father is similarly emotional and uncompromising in its look at the struggles of getting old, and the way elderly people can become vulnerable in so many (not always obvious) ways. It’s a quiet and slow film, but I Never Sang for My Father is eventually extremely powerful, and it houses one of Gene Hackman’s best (and most underrated) performances, too.
I Never Sang for My Father
- Release Date
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October 18, 1970
- Runtime
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92 minutes
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Melvyn Douglas
Tom Garrison
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Dorothy Stickney
Margaret Garrison
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