"One of the reasons 1970s cinema has such a hold on contemporary audiences and filmmakers is because the decade saw unprecedented changes in politics, technology, and the kind of stories audiences gravitate toward. It was a time of upheaval both culturally and politically with issues like the Civil Rights Movement, gender roles, and the war in Vietnam tackled at kitchen tables and political conventions.
To celebrate this distinct cinematic era, Stacker looked at data on all movies turning 50 in 2024, meaning the films themselves were released theatrically in 1974 and encapsulated the exciting energy of '70s cinema. The films on this list are ranked in the top 50 by IMDb user ratings, with ties broken by the number of IMDb user votes. In order to qualify, each film had to have at least 2,500 user votes and be released theatrically in 1974. Metacritic scores are provided for critical context."
