abe55

What movie would you consider the "best" best picture winner of the 1970's?

The results thus far as voted by the members:

Best of 2000's: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Worst of 2000's: Crash

Best of 1990's: The Silence of the Lambs
Worst of 1990's: Shakespeare in Love

Best of 1980's: Platoon
Worst of 1980's: Driving Miss Daisy

NoirFan

Godfather Part II. I never understood why viewers would prefer the first film.

Rockmjd23

The Godfather. That list of movies is so much better than the 80's it isn't funny.

fumanstan

The Godfather.

abe55

LOL@this being an all-out battle between The Godfathers.

Arpeggi

The Godfather Part II is my favorite movie of all time. Annie Hall and The Godfather are in my top 20.

In order:
1. The Godfather Part II
2. Annie Hall
3. The Godfather
4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
5. Patton
6. The Deer Hunter
7. The French Connection
8. The Sting
9. Kramer vs Kramer
10. Rocky

JumpCutz

I voted for Godfather II as the best, but The French Connection is my favorite.

NoirFan

Agreed. The 1970s were Hollywood's second golden age. One could even make the argument that it was the greatest decade for English-language films ever.

PopcornTreeCt

hasslein

It's been a while since I've seen them, but isn't there more "action" in the first film?

FRwL

Godfather II. Glad Coppola finally had total creative control and gave a more unconventional structure with this mythic voyage of two worlds.

nightmaster

Certainly the best decade for movies in my lifetime.

1. The Godfather
2. The Godfather Part II
3. Patton
4. Rocky
5. The French Connection
6. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
7. Kramer Vs. Kramer
8. The Deer Hunter
9. The Sting
10. Annie Hall

DeputyDave

The 70's are my favorite decade. Out of the list I had to pick Godfather (although depending on my mood G2 could bump it).

I could come up with 10 I like better than any of those that won BP.

gmanca

I'd say the first had more gun action, where as the second had more of the sophisticated, ruthless style of hits.

I always loved the juxtaposition of

lamphorn

Annie Hall.

While the first two Godfathers are excellent films, I find them personally to be a bit self-important and bloated. I also just can't care about gangsters and never understood what makes them "cool" in popular culture. I spend the whole film thinking about what murderous cocksuckers they are.

wendersfan

You're right - it isn't funny. It's very sad.

Here's the list of the nominated films from that decade:

Patton
Airport
Five Easy Pieces
Love Story
MASH
The French Connection
A Clockwork Orange
Fiddler on the Roof
The Last Picture Show
Nicholas and Alexandra
The Godfather
Cabaret
Deliverance
The Emigrants
Sounder
The Sting
American Graffiti
Cries and Whispers
The Exorcist
A Touch of Class
The Godfather: Part II
Chinatown (film)
The Conversation
Lenny
The Towering Inferno
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Barry Lyndon
Dog Day Afternoon
Jaws
Nashville
Rocky
All the President's Men
Bound for Glory
Network
Taxi Driver
Annie Hall
The Goodbye Girl
Julia
Star Wars
The Turning Point
The Deer Hunter
Coming Home
Heaven Can Wait
Midnight Express
An Unmarried Woman
Kramer vs. Kramer
All That Jazz
Apocalypse Now
Breaking Away
Norma Rae

So while not all of them stand up, there are many, many great films from that list.

wm lopez

I didn't think ANNIE HALL would even get one vote.

Mondo Kane

It's better paced (IMO)
The first time I saw Part II, I honestly thought it was directed by somebody else....Like Michael Cimino.

NoirFan

Yes, but the second film carries far greater emotional weight, and Gordon Willis' cinematography is even more stunning in Part II.

emachine

Cuckoo's Nest. I never liked The Godfather.

DeanoBKN

Godfather II...blows away the 1st one in my opinion.

Norm de Plume

1. The Deer Hunter
2. Kramer vs. Kramer
3. The Godfather II
4. The Godfather

I don't particularly care for the others.

superdeluxe

Godfather II,

suggestion, can you link to the threads of the previous decades?

Thanks

inri222

The one with the two guys in Righteous Kill

GoldenJCJ

It's funny you should mention that because I consider The Godfather pt. II to be amazingly paced and IMO, the most perfectly edited film I've ever seen.

I keep hearing about this "Godfather Saga" that plays chronologically, but I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would want to watch it. It would completely ruin pt. II.