23 films from the 1970s that still hold up

At the time, “Joe” flew under the radar a bit, even though it featured early turns from Peter Boyle and the debut of Susan Sarandon. There is a hippie element to the plot that is maybe a little dated, but otherwise it holds up. The film focuses on a man frustrated with his life who falls in with the titular Joe, a hateful, angry man with a propensity for violence that begins to sway the protagonist into a darker, more dangerous version of his anger. Does that feel resonant at all these days?

In the 1970s, Robert Altman was at his peak. By being a period piece, it makes it easier for “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” to hold up and not feel dated. The anti-Western is set in 1902, and features stellar turns from Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, the latter of whom got an Oscar nomination.

Alan J. Pakula made a trilogy of paranoid thrillers in the 1970s that are all still held in acclaim. “Klute” is the smallest story of the bunch. The titular detective, played with steely aplomb by Donald Sutherland, is on a missing-persons case that brings him into the inner circle of Bree, a woman who is what was known at the time as a “call girl.” Jane Fonda won an Oscar for the role, and the film is not condemning nor judgmental of Bree in a way that was uncommon for most of film history.

Look, since the 1970s “The Godfather” has been considered one of the best movies of all time. That is still the case. It still gets aired on TV, much to the enthusiasm of its many fans. There was a TV series about the creation of the movie recently. People still love “The Godfather,” and it still has cultural cache.

Cynicism about politics? Yeah, that holds up. Peter Boyle is back again, this time playing a Democratic political strategist who needs to find a candidate to run against an entrenched Republican senator. He finds Robert Redford’s Bill McKay, an idealistic guy without political ambition who agrees to join an “unwinnable” race to espouse his personal values. Then the race suddenly becomes winnable, and those values are eroded more and more.

Elaine May only directed a handful of films, and this is the best of the bunch. Based on a Neil Simon script, the film features great turns from Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Jeannie Berlin (May’s daughter), and Eddie Albert. The only issue is that the film is infamously hard to find and hard to see.

Another Altman movie, albeit one that is kind of dated in a couple ways. The director’s premise is that the character of Philip Marlowe, a tough-nosed ‘40s and ‘50s private eye popularized by writer Raymond Chandler, has been effectively dropped into 1970s Los Angeles. He’s wearing a suit and smoking as he is surrounded by tanned men and women in limited clothing. However, it’s also one of the best movies of the 1970s, a true gem of a film noir. If you haven’t seen it, definitely give it a chance.

We have to cover Martin Scorsese, a quintessential 1970s filmmaker. “Taxi Driver” is his most famous film from the decade, but it is also not palatable to everybody. “Mean Streets” isn’t exactly a lighthearted romp, but it may work better to a wider audience, and it is still quite good.

Francis Ford Coppola did more than direct “The Godfather” and its sequel in the 1970s. He also directed “The Conversation,” a film about surveillance and voyeurism. It certainly resonates with the modern era, even if technology has gotten a lot more advanced. Every time your Instagram serves you up an ad for something you were just talking about with a friend, think of “The Conversation.”

There are a couple jokes involving Japanese tourists at the beginning of “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” that some may dislike, though the joke is clearly on Walter Matthau’s character for being racist and ignorant. Beyond that, though, this is a gripping thriller that still works. They remade it 2009 with Denzel Washington and John Travolta, but the original still holds up better.

People like to talk about how you could “never make” “Blazing Saddles” these days. There are a lot of quibbles one can have with that assertion, but we’re going with Mel Brooks' other movie from 1974, “Young Frankenstein.” Why? Because it’s funnier and a better movie.

You still hear people talk about fear of sharks. Not just in open water. There are those who admit to an irrational fear of finding a shark in a swimming pool. This all stems from “Jaws.” It still is instilling fear in modern generations.

It feels like, in some ways, ‘70s cynicism has found kinship with 2020s cynicism. “Dog Day Afternoon” has plenty of that, but mostly this movie holds up as a gripping thriller with a few excellent performances. Based on the true story of a bank robbery gone wrong, Al Pacino is electric in the lead role, but he’s not the only one.

Stanley Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon” is starting to emerge from his impressive filmography. Long overlooked as his film between “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Shining,” it is now being recognized by many as a classic. While “A Clockwork Orange” is weird and alienating — plus very disturbing in parts — the period piece “Barry Lyndon” probably holds up better.

Another Pakula film, and this is his most famous and most beloved. Yes, it is a contemporary story. The film is about Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein breaking the Watergate scandal and bringing down Richard Nixon. Even if you know how it all goes, the film is still compelling, and political intrigue never goes out of style.

Ned Beatty gives a speech in “Network” that is as resonant today as it was then. Sure, maybe the way we consume television, and the news, has changed technologically speaking. “Network” was somewhat prescient, if a little heavy-handed at times, but that’s polemic filmmaking for you. Regardless, a great movie.

What can we say that hasn’t been said? “Star Wars” changed film. It changed fandom. It changed the entertainment landscape. Also, the first movie is actually still fun to watch! We will also give “Star Wars” credit for kicking off the most impactful film franchise ever.

The eternal popularity of the Beatles helps “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” hold up. You still get why the characters in the film are so dedicated to seeing the Fab Four. Also, let’s be honest, the films of the 1970s were very dude-heavy. Here is a film where the protagonists are female, which is nice to have in the mix.

Well, Jamie Lee Curtis just won an Oscar. This is where it all started. She became a star thanks to John Carpenter’s “Halloween,” which helped jumpstart the rise of the slasher film. Modern horror movies still owe a debt to “Halloween,” but few of them did it better.

In 1973, “An American Family” aired. It is seen as arguably the first reality TV show. Years before reality TV became ubiquitous, Albert Brooks, in all his genius, saw “An American Family” and thought, “Hey, I should satirize that” — and he did. It’s so good, and it feels way more resonant now.

“Alien” rips. It’s an all-killer, no-filler horror movie. Sigourney Weaver became a star thanks to “Alien.” A franchise that existed for decades happened thanks to “Alien.” It certainly holds up, as unnerving as ever.

The Muppets are timeless. This was their first film, but far from their last. “The Muppet Movie” is still a lot of fun, and the puppetry is still impressive. Plus, you get to hear Jim Henson and Frank Oz do the voices, which is definitely preferable.

Francis Ford Coppola almost killed himself making “Apocalypse Now.” The filming was so arduous that it is almost impossible to chronicle it all. Was it worth it? That’s Coppola’s question to answer. All we know is that the movie is still great, and it probably holds up better than any Vietnam movie, because it is the most ethereal and mood-based.