Best Drama Movies of the 1970s
The 1970s reshaped drama cinema, and this is what survived the decade's own hype cycle — 20 films ranked purely by audience score, from 1970 to 1979. The Godfather leads at 8.7. If you only work through the top ten, you will have covered the decade properly.
20 titles · average score 8.1 ·
The top 5 picks
- 1
The Godfather (1972)
★ 8.7 · 23,368 ratingsSpanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son,…
- 2
The Godfather Part II (1974)
★ 8.6 · 14,191 ratingsIn 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…
- 3
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
★ 8.4 · 11,640 ratingsA petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.
- 4
We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974)
★ 8.3 · 661 ratingsThree partisans bound by a strong friendship return home after the war, but the clash with everyday reality puts a strain on their bond.
- 5
Apocalypse Now (1979)
★ 8.3 · 9,270 ratingsAt the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret…
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How this list is ranked
Nothing on this page is hand-picked to hit a word count. We pull films matching this list's criteria from TMDB, require a real audience behind each score, and rank by that score — 20 titles averaging 8.1. The page rebuilds daily, so new releases appear here as soon as enough people have rated them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best drama movie of the 1970s?
The Godfather (1972) leads the decade with 8.7. The full list covers 1970–1979 and averages 8.1.
How many drama movies from the 1970s are on this list?
20, each with at least 300 audience ratings behind its score. Anything with a thin vote count is excluded so the ranking reflects a real consensus.
Is this list updated?
Yes — it rebuilds every day from TMDB, so newly released movies appear as soon as enough people have rated them. You do not need an account to browse it, and there is no paywall on anything at MovieAI.