Top 75 Ranked

The Greatest 1974 Films

Golden Age Cinema and Retro Hollywood Masterpieces

Explore the best films from a legendary year in cinema history, featuring crime dramas, iconic horror, and award-winning comedy classics.

Draft Best 1974 Movies with friends and our judges will crown a winner!

About Movies in 1974

If you want to pinpoint the exact moment when the New Hollywood movement reached its absolute zenith, look no further than 1974. Following the explosive creative shifts of the late sixties, this was the year when the inmates truly took over the asylum. The major studios were still reeling from a changing world, and for a brief, glorious window, they handed the keys to a generation of directors who were more interested in exploring the dark canyons of the American psyche than in providing escapist comfort.

Consider the sheer gravity of what arrived in theaters over those twelve months. We saw the release of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II, a film that defied every rule of the industry. It was a sequel that improved upon an Oscar-winning predecessor, a sprawling period piece that acted as a haunting critique of the American Dream, and a dual narrative that demanded the audience's total intellectual participation. It remains the gold standard for cinematic storytelling, proving that a blockbuster could also be a dense, literary tragedy.

But 1974 was not just about the epic. It was also the year of the paranoid thriller, a genre that perfectly captured the post-Watergate malaise. Roman Polanski delivered Chinatown, a neo-noir that replaced the heroism of the private eye with a deep, systemic rot that couldn't be cleaned up. At the same time, Coppola pulled off a rare double win by releasing The Conversation. This quiet, terrifying look at surveillance and privacy felt like a documentary of the national mood, anchored by a career-best performance from Gene Hackman. These films suggested that the truth was not only hidden but perhaps entirely unreachable.

Culturally, the year saw a fascinating tension between high art and visceral thrills. While critics were swooning over the European sensibilities of New Hollywood, Tobe Hooper was in Texas creating a different kind of masterpiece. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre might have looked like a low-budget exploitation film, but its relentless, sun-bleached terror changed the horror genre forever. It was a visceral reaction to a violent era, stripping away the gothic monsters of the past and replacing them with a terrifyingly human sort of evil.

Even the comedies of 1974 were subversive. Mel Brooks released both Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein in the same year, a feat of creative output that feels impossible today. These were movies that mocked the very foundations of Hollywood genres while simultaneously mastering them. They gave audiences permission to laugh at the absurdity of the world even as the news grew increasingly grim.

Film fans remember 1974 because it represents a time when the mainstream and the avant-garde were the same thing. You could walk into a local multiplex and see an existential masterpiece or a gritty crime drama that stayed with you for weeks. It was a year of profound artistic bravery, where the goal was not to build a franchise, but to reflect the fractured, complicated soul of a country in transition. We are still living in the shadow of that long, cinematic summer.

The Complete Rankings

Based on the top picks in drafts on SnakeDrafts

See Top Ten
75
1974 in The Author's Crime (1974)
The Author's Crime
1974

Against the wishes of her Aunt Valeria, attractive Milena travels to Milan in order to secretly marry Marco Giraldi. Three years later, Milena returns to her hometown Fermo, where her husband's shoe business is in financial difficulties. Shortly afterwards, she is abducted, a valuable painting is stolen and Aunt Valeriais murdered. Two young villains, who carried out the dirty work, are then killed...

Drama
Thriller
1h 15m
Mario Sabatini
Sylva Koscina, Pier Paolo Capponi, Luigi Pistilli, Krista Nell
74
1974 in The Castaway Cowboy (1974)
The Castaway Cowboy
1974

A Wayward Texas cowboy washes up on the beaches of Hawaii and is taken home by an fatherless boy. He saves the family's business while romancing the single mom.

Adventure
Family
1h 31m
Vincent McEveety
James Garner, Vera Miles, Eric Shea, Robert Culp
73
1974 in The Night Porter (1974)
The Night Porter
1974

A concentration camp survivor discovers her former torturer and lover working as a porter at a hotel in postwar Vienna. When the couple attempt to re-create their sadomasochistic relationship, his former SS comrades begin to stalk them.

War
Drama
1h 58m
Liliana Cavani
Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Philippe Leroy, Gabriele Ferzetti

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72
1974 in Busting (1974)
Busting
1974

Defying orders to lay-off the case, two Los Angeles vice-squad cops go after a local mobster and use unorthodox methods to achieve results.

Crime
Drama
1h 32m
Peter Hyams
Elliott Gould, Robert Blake, Allen Garfield, Antonio Fargas
71
1974 in Beyond the Door (1974)
Beyond the Door
1974

Jessica Barrett, wife and mother of two young children, begins to show signs of demonic possession while pregnant with her third child. As she seeks help from her husband and doctor, a mysterious man approaches her and seems to have some answers.

Horror
1h 49m
Ovidio G. Assonitis
Juliet Mills, Gabriele Lavia, Richard Johnson, Nino Segurini
70
1974 in The Girl from Petrovka (1974)
The Girl from Petrovka
1974

A beautiful Russian ballerina falls in love with an American news correspondent. The KGB is most displeased and does everything it can to break them up.

Comedy
Drama
1h 43m
Robert Ellis Miller
Goldie Hawn, Hal Holbrook, Anthony Hopkins, Grégoire Aslan
69
1974 in The Midnight Man (1974)
The Midnight Man
1974

An ex-convict, and ex-cop, finds himself in the midst of drama as a murder, of a female student, is commited at the university where he works as a night watchman. He is reluctantly drawn into the criminal investigation and eventually becomes a suspect in the case. Will he be able to find the real murderer and clear his own name, or not?

Mystery
Thriller
1h 59m
Roland Kibbee
Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Cameron Mitchell, Morgan Woodward
68
1974 in Freebie and the Bean (1974)
Freebie and the Bean
1974

Two San Francisco detectives want to bring down a local hijacking boss. But they'll have to get to him before a hitman does.

Action
Comedy
1h 53m
Richard Rush
Alan Arkin, James Caan, Loretta Swit, Jack Kruschen
67
1974 in The White Dawn (1974)
The White Dawn
1974

In 1896, three survivors of a whaling ship-wreck in the Canadian Arctic are saved and adopted by an Eskimo tribe but frictions arise when the three start misbehaving.

History
Adventure
1h 50m
Philip Kaufman
Warren Oates, Timothy Bottoms, Louis Gossett Jr., Joanasie Salamonie
66
1974 in The Black Godfather (1974)
The Black Godfather
1974

The heroes in The Black Godfather are members of an African-American criminal organization. Like Brando in The Godfather, they're not averse to robbery and murder, but they do draw the line at narcotics. When the Mafia infiltrates the 'hood with dangerous drugs, the Black Godfather (Rod Perry) orders his minions to put an end to this perfidy.

Action
Crime
1h 30m
John Evans
Rod Perry, Damu King, Don Chastain, Diane Sommerfield
65
1974 in For Pete's Sake (1974)
For Pete's Sake
1974

Henrietta Robbins borrows money from a loan shark to finance her husband's investment in the stock market. However, when their stock plummets, she scrambles to find a way to pay the money back.

Comedy
1h 30m
Peter Yates
Barbra Streisand, Michael Sarrazin, Estelle Parsons, Molly Picon
64
1974 in The Gambler (1974)
The Gambler
1974

New York City English professor Axel Freed outwardly seems like an upstanding citizen. But privately Freed is in the clutches of a severe gambling addiction that threatens to destroy him.

Drama
Crime
1h 51m
Karel Reisz
James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton, Morris Carnovsky
63
1974 in Our Time (1974)
Our Time
1974

Drama about students at a girls' school, their boyfriends, and an unexpected pregnancy.

Drama
1h 30m
Peter Hyams
Pamela Sue Martin, Betsy Slade, Parker Stevenson, George O'Hanlon, Jr.
62
1974 in The Super Cops (1974)
The Super Cops
1974

The true story of two New York City cops. Greenberg & Hantz fought the system, became detectives and were known on the streets as "Batman & Robin."

Action
Comedy
1h 30m
Gordon Parks
Ron Leibman, David Selby, Sheila Frazier, Pat Hingle
61
1974 in The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
The Cars That Ate Paris
1974

The small town of Paris, Australia deliberately causes car accidents, then sells/salvages all valuables from the wrecks as a means of economy.

Comedy
Horror
John Meillon, Terry Camilleri, Kevin Miles, Max Gillies
60
1974 in Airport 1975 (1974)
Airport 1975
1974

When an in-flight collision incapacitates the pilots of an airplane bound for Los Angeles, stewardess Nancy Pryor is forced to take over the controls. From the ground, her boyfriend Alan Murdock, a retired test pilot, tries to talk her through piloting and landing the 747 aircraft. Worse yet, the anxious passengers — among which are a noisy nun and a cranky man — are aggravating the already tense atmosphere.

Drama
Thriller
1h 47m
Jack Smight
Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
59
1974 in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Uptown Saturday Night
1974

Two blue-collar buddies search the underworld for a winning lottery ticket lost in a nightclub holdup.

Comedy
Crime
Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte, Flip Wilson
58
1974 in Benji (1974)
Benji
1974

Benji is a stray who has nonetheless worked his way into the hearts of a number of the townspeople, who give him food and attention whenever he stops by. His particular favorites are a pair of children who feed and play with him against the wishes of their parents. When the children are kidnapped, however, the parents and the police are at a loss to find them. Only Benji can track them down, but will he be in time? If he can save the day, he may just find the permanent home he's been longing for.

Adventure
Family
1h 26m
Joe Camp
Patsy Garrett, Allen Fiuzat, Cynthia Smith, Peter Breck
57
1974 in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Man with the Golden Gun
1974

Cool government operative James Bond searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun's heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga, a hitman so skilled he has a seven-figure working fee. Bond then joins forces with the swimsuit-clad Mary Goodnight, and together they track Scaramanga to a Thai tropical isle hideout where the killer-for-hire lures the slick spy into a deadly maze for a final duel.

Adventure
Action
2h 5m
Guy Hamilton
Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams
56
1974 in The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
The Island at the Top of the World
1974

A Victorian gentleman hopes to find his long-lost son, who vanished while searching for a mysterious Viking community in a volcanic valley somewhere in uncharted Arctic regions. The gentleman puts together an expedition team to go on the search, but when they reach their destination they must escape from some Viking descendants who will kill to keep their existence a secret.

Adventure
Family
1h 33m
Robert Stevenson
Donald Sinden, David Hartman, Jacques Marin, Mako
55
1974 in From Beyond the Grave (1974)
From Beyond the Grave
1974

Four customers purchase (or take) items from Temptations Limited, an antiques shop whose motto is "Offers You Cannot Resist". A nasty fate awaits all of them—particularly those who cheat the shop's Proprietor.

Fantasy
Horror
1h 37m
Kevin Connor
Peter Cushing, David Warner, Donald Pleasence, Ian Ogilvy
54
1974 in The Little Prince (1974)
The Little Prince
1974

After a pilot is forced to make an emergency landing in the Sahara Desert, he befriends a young prince from outer space; the friendship conjures up stories of journeys through the solar system for the stranded aviator.

Science Fiction
Fantasy
1h 28m
Stanley Donen
Steven Warner, Richard Kiley, Bob Fosse, Gene Wilder
53
1974 in Rhinoceros (1974)
Rhinoceros
1974

A boozing young man in love with his co-worker finds that everyone around him, even his pompous and condescending best friend, is changing into a rhinoceros.

Comedy
Drama
1h 44m
Tom O'Horgan
Gene Wilder, Zero Mostel, Karen Black, Joe Silver
52
1974 in S*P*Y*S (1974)
S*P*Y*S
1974

Two CIA bunglers botch a Soviet defection, then both sides mark them for termination.

Action
Comedy
1h 27m
Irvin Kershner
Elliott Gould, Donald Sutherland, Zouzou, Joss Ackland
51
1974 in Truck Turner (1974)
Truck Turner
1974

Truck Turner and his partner Jerry, who make their living as bounty hunters in Los Angeles, are hired to hunt down Gator, a pimp who has skipped bail.

Drama
Action
1h 31m
Jonathan Kaplan
Isaac Hayes, Yaphet Kotto, Alan Weeks, Annazette Chase
50
1974 in The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974)
The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat
1974

Fritz, now married and a father, is desperate to escape the domestic hell he now finds himself in. Lighting up a joint, he begins to dream about his eight other lives, hoping to find one to provide a pleasant distraction. The drug-induced journeys he takes include spells as an astronaut, Hitler's psychiatrist, a courier travelling in hostile territory during a race war, and as a pupil of an Indian guru in the sewers of New York.

Animation
Comedy
1h 16m
Robert Taylor
Skip Hinnant, Reva Rose, Bob Holt, Robert Ridgely
49
1974 in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
1974

In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?

Crime
Thriller
1h 44m
Joseph Sargent
Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Héctor Elizondo
48
1974 in Claudine (1974)
Claudine
1974

Claudine is a single mother in New York City who endures an exhausting commute to the suburbs where she works as a maid for wealthy families. In one carefully tended white community, she meets Roop, a charismatic but irresponsible garbage collector. Romance quickly ensues, but Claudine doubts that their relationship is good for her six children, and Rupert, despite his good nature, is reluctant to take on fatherhood.

Drama
Romance
1h 32m
John Berry
Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Tamu Blackwell
47
1974 in The Yakuza (1974)
The Yakuza
1974

When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.

Crime
Drama
Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, Eiji Okada, Herb Edelman
46
1974 in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974)
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
1974

The younger son of a working-class Jewish family in Montreal, Duddy Kravitz yearns to make a name for himself in society. This film chronicles his short and dubious rise to power, as well as his changing relationships with family and friends. Along the way the film explores the themes of anti-semitism and the responsibilities which come with adulthood.

Drama
Comedy
2h 0m
Ted Kotcheff
Richard Dreyfuss, Henry Ramer, Alan Rosenthal, Susan Friedman
45
1974 in The Terminal Man (1974)
The Terminal Man
1974

As the result of a head injury, brilliant computer scientist Harry Benson begins to experience violent seizures. In an attempt to control the seizures, Benson undergoes a new surgical procedure in which a microcomputer is inserted into his brain. The procedure is not entirely successful.

Horror
Science Fiction
1h 47m
Mike Hodges
George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat
44
1974 in Macon County Line (1974)
Macon County Line
1974

A vengeful Southern sheriff is out for blood after his wife is brutally killed by a pair of drifters. Low-budget film set in Georgia in 1953 and at the time of release, purported to be based on a true story.

Drama
Action
1h 29m
Richard Compton
Alan Vint, Cheryl Waters, Geoffrey Lewis, Max Baer Jr.
43
1974 in It's Alive (1974)
It's Alive
1974

The Davises are expecting a baby, which turns out to be a monster with a nasty habit of killing people whenever scared. And it's easily scared.

Horror
Science Fiction
1h 31m
Larry Cohen
John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell, Andrew Duggan, Guy Stockwell
42
1974 in The Groove Tube (1974)
The Groove Tube
1974

Television programming takes it on the chin in this ribald spoof of the networks.

Comedy
1h 15m
Ken Shapiro
Ken Shapiro, Richard Belzer, Chevy Chase, Buzzy Linhart
41
1974 in Zardoz (1974)
Zardoz
1974

In the far future, a savage trained only to kill finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity's achievements.

Fantasy
Action
1h 45m
John Boorman
Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman, John Alderton
40
1974 in Stone (1974)
Stone
1974

After one of its members witnesses a political assassination, an outlaw motorbike gang becomes the target of a string of murders, prompting a cop to join their ranks to determine who is responsible.

Action
Crime
1h 43m
Sandy Harbutt
Ken Shorter, Sandy Harbutt, Deryck Barnes, Hugh Keays-Byrne
39
1974 in The Black Windmill (1974)
The Black Windmill
1974

A British agent's son is kidnapped and held for a ransom of diamonds. The agent finds out that he can't even count on the people he thought were on his side to help him, so he decides to track down the kidnappers himself.

Thriller
Action
1h 46m
Don Siegel
Michael Caine, Donald Pleasence, Delphine Seyrig, Clive Revill
38
1974 in Earthquake (1974)
Earthquake
1974

Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.

Action
Drama
2h 3m
Mark Robson
Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene
37
1974 in Death Wish (1974)
Death Wish
1974

After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.

Crime
Drama
1h 33m
Michael Winner
Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats
36
1974 in Buster and Billie (1974)
Buster and Billie
1974

Dimwitted but sweet high school girl of easy virtue and the most popular boy in the school share an improbable romance.

Crime
Drama
1h 40m
Daniel Petrie
Jan-Michael Vincent, Pamela Sue Martin, Clifton James, Robert Englund
35
1974 in The Tamarind Seed (1974)
The Tamarind Seed
1974

During a Caribbean holiday, a British civil servant finds herself falling in love with a Russian agent.

Drama
Romance
Julie Andrews, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle, Dan O'Herlihy
34
1974 in Juggernaut (1974)
Juggernaut
1974

A terrorist demands a huge ransom in exchange for information on how to disarm the seven bombs he has planted aboard a trans-Atlantic cruise ship. Inspired by real events.

Thriller
Action
Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins
33
1974 in Swept Away (1974)
Swept Away
1974

A spoiled rich woman and a brutish Communist deckhand become stranded alone on a desert island after venturing away from their cruise.

Comedy
Drama
1h 50m
Lina Wertmüller
Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Riccardo Salvino, Isa Danieli
32
1974 in Phase IV (1974)
Phase IV
1974

Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.

Horror
Science Fiction
1h 26m
Saul Bass
Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford
31
1974 in The Odessa File (1974)
The Odessa File
1974

Following the suicide of an elderly Jewish man, investigative journalist Peter Miller sets out to hunt down an SS Captain and former concentration camp commander. In doing so he discovers that, despite allegations of war crimes, the former commander has become a man of importance in industry in post-war Germany, protected from prosecution by a powerful organisation of former SS members called Odessa.

Thriller
2h 10m
Ronald Neame
Jon Voight, Maximilian Schell, Maria Schell, Mary Tamm
30
1974 in The Four Musketeers (1974)
The Four Musketeers
1974

The Four Musketeers defend the queen and her dressmaker from Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter.

Action
Adventure
Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, Frank Finlay
29
1974 in Lacombe, Lucien (1974)
Lacombe, Lucien
1974

In Louis Malle's lauded drama, Lucien Lacombe is a young man living in rural France during World War II who seeks to join the French Resistance. When he is rejected due to his youth, the resentful Lucien allies himself with the Nazis and joins the Gallic arm of their Gestapo. Lucien grows to enjoy the power that comes with his position, but his life is complicated when he falls for France Horn, a beautiful young Jewish woman.

Drama
War
2h 18m
Louis Malle
Pierre Blaise, Aurore Clément, Holger Löwenadler, Therese Giehse
28
1974 in The Front Page (1974)
The Front Page
1974

Ruthless Chicago newspaper editor Walter Burns resorts to dubious motives in order to get top reporter Hildy Johnson to cover one more big crime story before retirement.

Comedy
27
1974 in The Infernal Trio (1974)
The Infernal Trio
1974

Marseilles, 1919. Georges Sarret is a distinguished and respected lawyer, recently honoured for his services in the First World War. He takes as his lover Philomène Schmidt, a young German woman, who has just lost her job and home. To enable Philomène to remain in France, Georges finds her a husband – who dies conveniently of natural causes a month after the wedding. Georges repeats the trick with Philomène's sister, Catherine – marrying her off to an old man who dies suddenly so that the scheming trio can profit from his life insurance. When an accomplice in the scheme, Marcel Chambon, threatens to blackmail them, Georges and his two lovers have no option but to kill him and his mistress...

Comedy
Crime
1h 47m
Francis Girod
Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, Mascha Gonska, Philippe Brizard
26
1974 in Mr. Majestyk (1974)
Mr. Majestyk
1974

A melon farmer battles organized crime and a hit man who wants to kill him.

Action
Crime
1h 43m
Richard Fleischer
Charles Bronson, Al Lettieri, Linda Cristal, Lee Purcell
25
1974 in The Phantom of Liberty (1974)
The Phantom of Liberty
1974

This Surrealist film, with a title referencing the Communist Manifesto, strings together short incidents based on the life of director Luis Buñuel. Presented as chance encounters, these loosely related, intersecting situations, all without a consistent protagonist, reach from the 19th century to the 1970s. Touching briefly on subjects such as execution, pedophilia, incest, and sex, the film features an array of characters, including a sick father and incompetent police officers.

Comedy
1h 44m
Luis Buñuel
Adriana Asti, Milena Vukotić, Jean-Claude Brialy, Monica Vitti
24
1974 in The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
1974

The film follows Kaspar Hauser, who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time, devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black overcoat and top hat who feeds him.

Drama
History
1h 49m
Werner Herzog
Bruno S., Walter Ladengast, Brigitte Mira, Willy Semmelrogge
23
1974 in Dark Star (1974)
Dark Star
1974

A group of scientists are sent on a mission to destroy unstable planets. Twenty years into their mission, they have to battle their alien mascot as well as a "sensitive" and intelligent bombing device that starts to question the meaning of its existence.

Comedy
Science Fiction
Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dan O'Bannon, Dre Pahich
22
1974 in Céline and Julie Go Boating (1974)
Céline and Julie Go Boating
1974

Julie, a daydreaming librarian, meets Céline, an enigmatic magician, and together they become the heroines of a time-warping adventure involving a haunted house, psychotropic candy, and a murder-mystery melodrama.

Comedy
Drama
3h 13m
Jacques Rivette
Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier, Marie-France Pisier
21
1974 in The Longest Yard (1974)
The Longest Yard
1974

A football player-turned-convict organizes a team of inmates to play against a team of prison guards. His dilemma is that the warden asks him to throw the game in return for an early release, but he is also concerned about the inmates' lack of self-esteem.

Comedy
Drama
2h 1m
Robert Aldrich
Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad
20
1974 in The Great Gatsby (1974)
The Great Gatsby
1974

Nick Carraway, a young Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, the nouveau riche Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy.

Drama
Romance
2h 24m
Jack Clayton
19
1974 in Foxy Brown (1974)
Foxy Brown
1974

A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.

Action
Crime
1h 34m
Jack Hill
Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown, Terry Carter
18
1974 in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
1974

Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.

Romance
Drama
1h 33m
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Brigitte Mira, El Hedi ben Salem, Irm Hermann, Barbara Valentin
17
1974 in The Sugarland Express (1974)
The Sugarland Express
1974

Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.

Crime
Drama
Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, Ben Johnson, Michael Sacks
16

An American bartender and his prostitute girlfriend go on a road trip through the Mexican underworld to collect a $1 million bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.

Action
Crime
Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young
15
1974 in Harry and Tonto (1974)
Harry and Tonto
1974

Harry is a retired teacher in his 70s who has lived in the Upper West Side of New York City all his life. When his building is torn down to make way for a parking garage, Harry and his beloved cat Tonto begin a journey across the United States — visiting his children, seeing a world he never seemed to have the time to see before, making new friends, and saying goodbye to old friends.

Comedy
Drama
1h 55m
Paul Mazursky
Art Carney, Ellen Burstyn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Larry Hagman
14
1974 in Emmanuelle (1974)
Emmanuelle
1974

An employee at the French Embassy in Bangkok invites his wife to join him – and enjoy the benefits of their open marriage.

Drama
Romance
1h 35m
Just Jaeckin
Sylvia Kristel, Alain Cuny, Marika Green, Daniel Sarky
13
1974 in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
1974

With the help of an irreverent young sidekick, a bank robber gets his old gang back together to organise a daring new heist.

Comedy
Action
1h 55m
Michael Cimino
Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis
12
1974 in The Parallax View (1974)
The Parallax View
1974

An ambitious reporter gets in trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.

Crime
Drama
1h 42m
Alan J. Pakula
Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, William Daniels, Walter McGinn
11
1974 in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
1974

After her husband dies, Alice and her son, Tommy, leave their small New Mexico town for California, where Alice hopes to make a new life for herself as a singer. Money problems force them to settle in Arizona instead, where Alice takes a job as waitress in a small diner.

10

At the opening party of a colossal—but poorly constructed—skyscraper, a massive fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

Action
Drama
2h 45m
John Guillermin
Why it ranks

The disaster epic reaches its spectacular zenith here, wedding high-concept pyrotechnics with a genuine sense of architectural hubris. It is a shimmering example of blockbuster craftsmanship that utilizes its gargantuan star power to fuel a genuinely harrowing spectacle of urban anxiety.

9
1974 in Lenny (1974)
Lenny
1974

The story of acerbic 1960s comic Lenny Bruce, whose groundbreaking, no-holds-barred style and social commentary was often deemed by the establishment as too obscene for the public.

Drama
1h 51m
Bob Fosse
Dustin Hoffman, Valerie Perrine, Jan Miner, Stanley Beck
Why it ranks

Bob Fosse utilizes a gritty, non-linear documentary aesthetic to capture the manic brilliance and tragic martyrdom of Lenny Bruce. Dustin Hoffman’s volatile portrayal strips away the artifice of celebrity to reveal the exhausting friction between free speech and social decorum.

8
1974 in The Conversation (1974)
The Conversation
1974

A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.

Crime
Drama
Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest
Why it ranks

In an era defined by surveillance and institutional distrust, Coppola’s sonic thriller captures the psychological disintegration of a man haunted by his own voyeurism. The intricate sound design serves as a chilling protagonist in its own right, mirroring the fractured psyche of a nation.

7
1974 in Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Murder on the Orient Express
1974

In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.

Drama
Thriller
Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman
Why it ranks

Sidney Lumet transforms the confines of a luxury locomotive into a masterclass of ensemble blocking and glamorous suspense. The film serves as a lavish celebration of the star-driven studio era, anchored by Albert Finney’s transformative and eccentric turn as the definitive Poirot.

6
1974 in A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
A Woman Under the Influence
1974

Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.

Drama
Romance
2h 35m
John Cassavetes
Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands
Why it ranks

Gena Rowlands delivers a performance of jagged, uncompromising honesty in John Cassavetes’ devastating portrait of domestic fracture. This is raw, unvarnished cinema that dares to examine the suffocating borders of suburban sanity through a radical, handheld intimacy.

5

A young neurosurgeon inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a pretty lab assistant and the elderly housekeeper. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather was delusional, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind.

Comedy
Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn
Why it ranks

Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks craft a pitch-perfect stylistic homage to Universal horror while maintaining a frenetic, improvisational comedic energy. The film’s gorgeous monochromatic cinematography ensures that the sharp-witted parody feels as lush and atmospheric as the classics it mocks.

4
1974 in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
1974

Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.

Horror
1h 23m
Tobe Hooper
Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail
Why it ranks

Tobe Hooper’s visceral masterpiece transcends the slasher label through its relentless, sun-baked claustrophobia and a documentary-like sense of dread. It remains a staggering sensory assault that redefined the boundaries of onscreen terror and industrial nihilism.

3
1974 in Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blazing Saddles
1974

A town—where everyone seems to be named Johnson—stands in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, robber baron Hedley Lamarr sends his henchmen to make life in the town unbearable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor, so Hedley convinces him to send the town the first black sheriff in the west.

Western
Comedy
Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman
Why it ranks

Mel Brooks shatters the solemnity of the Hollywood Western with a high-velocity barrage of meta-commentary and unapologetic vulgarity. By weaponizing absurdity, the film dismantles racial mythology and genre tropes with more intellect than its chaotic surface suggests.

2

Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.

Why it ranks

Roman Polanski breathes acidic new life into the noir tradition with a script of clockwork precision and a pervasive atmosphere of civic decay. It is a haunting exploration of how systemic rot hideously triumphs over individual idealism in the California sun.

1

In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

Why it ranks

Francis Ford Coppola achieves a rare cinematic alchemy by deepening the Corleone mythology through a masterful parallel structure that eclipses its predecessor. This operatic meditation on the erosion of the American soul remains the definitive statement on the corruptive nature of absolute power.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this list and SnakeDrafts

The greatest films of 1974 span a variety of genres including crime dramas like "Chinatown" and "The Godfather Part II," iconic horror such as "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," and classic comedies like "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein." This diversity showcases the creative peak of the New Hollywood era.

Key crime dramas from 1974 include "The Godfather Part II," widely praised for its complex narrative and character development, as well as "Chinatown" and "The Conversation," both of which feature intricate plots and atmospheric tension essential to the genre.

1974 was a landmark year for horror with the release of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," a film that redefined the genre with its raw intensity and pioneering approach to slasher horror, setting a standard that continues to influence filmmakers today.

Yes, 1974 saw the release of enduring comedies like Mel Brooks’s "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein," both celebrated for their sharp wit and innovative parodies that remain influential in comedy filmmaking.

Directors like Francis Ford Coppola with "The Godfather Part II" and "The Conversation," Mel Brooks with "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein," and Roman Polanski’s "Chinatown" delivered landmark works that not only defined their careers but also the era’s cinematic innovation.

Dramas such as "A Woman Under the Influence" and "Lenny" delve into psychological and emotional depths, exploring complex character studies and social issues, illustrating the shift toward more personal, character-driven narratives in 1970s cinema.

Films from 1974 mirror the era’s changing societal attitudes, with themes of distrust in authority in "The Parallax View," critiques of traditional values in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," and explorations of identity and power dynamics seen in "Chinatown."

Yes, "Murder on the Orient Express" is known for its star-studded ensemble cast, including Albert Finney and Lauren Bacall, enhancing its appeal as a classic mystery thriller with a powerful array of performances.
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