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  "path": "/best-movie-directors-1970s",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-27T04:45:02.000Z",
  "site": "https://nofilmschool.com",
  "tags": [
    "Best directors",
    "1970s",
    "Directors",
    "Hays Code",
    "auteur",
    "Ingmar Bergman",
    "William Friedkin",
    "The Omen",
    "Godzilla",
    "Dario Argento",
    "Rainer Werner Fassbinder",
    "Jeff Goldblum",
    "www.youtube.com",
    "Martin Scorsese",
    "Elaine May",
    "George Lucas",
    "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre",
    "Steven Spielberg",
    "Night of the Living Dead",
    "Francis Ford Coppola",
    "Monty Python"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nEspecially in American cinema, the 1970s were a period of great change. The 1950s and 1960s saw the end of the Golden Age of the studio system, the end of the Hays Code, and the beginning of the Vietnam War. Nihilism and violence were on the rise, as were the filmmakers of New Hollywood, who helped define auteur filmmaking. Across the globe, many directors were using this period to push the envelope and mint masterpieces.\n\nWhile all the filmmakers on this list made films before or after the 1970s, these are 20 of the best directors whose work defined the decade, in order of when their first film of the 1970s premiered.\n\n## 1. Ingmar Bergman\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__Cries & Whispers __(1972), __Scenes from a Marriage__(1973), __Autumn Sonata__(1978)\n\nWhile Swedish __auteur__ Ingmar Bergman directed iconic classics from basically every decade in which he worked, he generously gifted the 1970s some of his most towering achievements, including the television miniseries __Scenes from a Marriage__ , which was later edited into a three-hour feature that debuted in 1974.\n\n## 2. Chang Cheh\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__The Heroic Ones__(1970), __Five Deadly Venoms__(1978), __Crippled Avengers__(1978)\n\nLegendary Chinese filmmaker Chang Cheh directed a whopping 56 movies between 1970 and 1979, shaping the modern __kung fu__ movie as the genre’s international popularity surged throughout the decade.\n\n## 3. William Friedkin\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__The Boys in the Band__(1970), __The French Connection__(1971), __The Exorcist__(1973)\n\nThe queer classic __The Boys in the Band__ has nothing to do with the seminal crime movie __The French Connection__ , which in turn has __nothing__ to do with the controversial horror hit __The Exorcist__(which has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the scariest movies of all time). Ditto the 1977 thriller __Sorcerer__. William Friedkin was able to dance across genres throughout the 1970s, minting classics left and right without ever once feeling like he was repeating himself.\n\n## 4. K. Balachander\n\n**Selected Filmography:** __Patham Pasali__(1970), __Avargal__(1977), __Thappu Thalangal__(1978)\n\nTamil cinema legend K. Balachander is known for films that tackle important social issues and often center on strong female characters. The prolific Indian filmmaker helmed more than 70 movies throughout his career, but the 1970s were when he truly began to both find his voice and commercial success.\n\n## 5. Brian De Palma\n\n**Selected Filmography:** __Sisters__(1972), __Phantom of the Paradise__(1974), __Carrie__(1976)\n\nBrian De Palma is known for a certain style of voyeuristic thriller, but his 1970s output proved he truly has the range to do anything. In addition to helming the first Stephen King adaptation ever with the high school horror movie __Carrie__ , he also contributed one of cult cinema’s greatest musicals with the splashy, zany __Phantom of the Paradise__.\n\n## 6. Richard Donner\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__The Omen__(1972), __A Shadow in the Streets__(1975), __Superman__(1978)\n\nRichard Donner is another filmmaker who couldn’t resist taking on wildly different genres and making all-time classic entries. The Omen, for instance, was one of the only horror movies to win an Oscar in the 20th century, while __Superman__ established the model for superhero cinema, the echoes of which can still be felt today in modern franchises like the MCU and the DCU.\n\n## 7. Jun Fukuda\n\n**Selected Filmography:** __Godzilla vs. Gigan__(1972), __Godzilla vs. Megalon__(1973), __Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla__(1974)\n\nAs the Shōwa era of the Godzilla franchise was drawing to a close, Jun Fukuda was keeping the lights on more or less singlehandedly, turning out a series of delightful matinee __kaiju__ movies that helped foster enduring fandom across the globe.\n\n## 8. Melvin Van Peebles\n\n**Selected Filmography:** __Watermelon Man__(1970), __Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song__(1971), __Don't Play Us Cheap__(1972)\n\nMelvin Van Peebles is a firebrand who used the success of his studio film __Watermelon Man__ to launch his indie career, giving himself the freedom to bring his unadulterated vision to the screen with __Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song__ , which kickstarted the blaxploitation subgenre in the 1970s.\n\n## 9. Dario Argento\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__The Bird with the Crystal Plumage__(1970), __Deep Red__(1975), __Suspiria__(1977)\n\nItalian horror master Dario Argento rose to prominence with stylish entries in the then-popular __giallo__ genre, but eventually went on to invent a genre all his own with the beautiful, lurid, indefinable __Suspiria__.\n\n## 10. Rainer Werner Fassbinder\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant__(1972), __Fear Eats the Soul__(1974), __Fox and His Friends__(1975)\n\nNew German Cinema titan Rainer Werner Fassbinder was extraordinarily prolific, helming 22 features before his death at age 37 in 1982. A whopping 16 of those movies were released in the 1970s, including the unforgettable drama __The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant__ (which was recently shouted out by Jeff Goldblum in a viral video where he was asked which movie character he would take to the Met Gala).\n\n## 11. Martin Scorsese\n\n**Selected Filmography:** __Mean Streets__(1973), __Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore__(1974), __Taxi Driver__(1976)\n\n- YouTube www.youtube.com\n\nMartin Scorsese is a towering icon of cinema, and while he would rise to even greater heights in 1980 and beyond, many of his 1970s films - especially __Taxi Driver__ - still stand tall as zeitgeist-defining classics.\n\n## 12. Elaine May\n\n**Selected Filmography:** __A New Leaf__(1971), __The Heartbreak Kid__(1972), __Mikey and Nicky__(1976)\n\nElaine May is a pioneering female filmmaker who was one of the only women helming major studio movies in the 1970s, including the Oscar-nominated romantic comedy __The Heartbreak Kid__.\n\n## 13. George Lucas\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__THX 1138__(1971), __American Graffiti__(1973), __Star Wars__(1977)\n\nIf he had only directed the nostalgic smash hit __American Graffiti__ , George Lucas could have earned a place on this list, but he had the gall to add the 1977 sci-fi mega-blockbuster __Star Wars__ to his resume as well, rewriting the DNA of cinema in the process.\n\n## 14. Tobe Hooper\n\n**Selected Filmography:** __Eggshells__(1971), __The Texas Chain Saw Massacre__(1974), __Salem’s Lot__(1979)\n\nThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre alone would have landed anybody on this list. The seminal proto-slasher (which is a bitter, brutal response to the violence of the Vietnam War) is so intense that people remember it as having much more blood than it actually does. However, he also went ahead and directed the __Salem’s Lot__ miniseries, thus contributing one of the most enduring Stephen King adaptations before the end of the decade.\n\n## 15. Gordon Parks\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__Shaft__(1971), __Shaft’s Big Score!__ (1972), __The Super Cops__(1974)\n\nCivil rights photojournalist Gordon Parks, who didn’t make his feature debut until he was 56 years old, was another pioneering figure in the blaxploitation genre, directing the first two installments of the iconic __Shaft__ franchise.\n\n## 16. Steven Spielberg\n\n**Selected Filmography:** __Duel__(1971), __Jaws__(1975), __Close Encounters of the Third Kind__(1977)\n\nWhile __Duel__ proved that young director Steven Spielberg could turn a limited budget into a taut thriller, __Jaws__ proved he could rule the world. The massive hit is responsible for the modern summer blockbuster, which Spielberg would go on to define in the late 1970s and beyond.\n\n## 17. George A. Romero\n\n**Selected Filmography:** __The Crazies__(1973), __Martin__(1977), __Dawn of the Dead__(1978)\n\nWhile George A. Romero is best known for his zombie movies, the socially conscious approach that he perfected in 1968’s Night of the Living Dead was put to good use in all kinds of horror subgenres in the 1970s outside of his classic zombie sequel __Dawn of the Dead__ , including vampire movies (__Martin__), sci-fi horror (__The Crazies__), and witch movies (1972’s __Season of the Witch__).\n\n## 18. Bob Fosse\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__Cabaret__(1972), __Liza with a Z__(1972), __All That Jazz__(1979)\n\nWhile Bob Fosse wasn’t a particularly prolific filmmaker, __Cabaret__ and __All That Jazz__ are two of the most important movie musicals of all time. The Academy would seem to agree, as they nominated both for Best Picture. While neither won, __Cabaret__ still holds the record for the most-awarded movie not to win Best Picture, thanks to its eight Oscars in other categories.\n\n## 19. Francis Ford Coppola\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__The Godfather__(1972), __The Godfather Part II__(1974), __Apocalypse Now__(1979)\n\nIn the 1970s alone, Francis Ford Coppola put out one of the most iconic gangster movies of all time, one of the most iconic sequels of all time, and one of the most iconic war movies of all time. Not shabby for just 10 years!\n\n## 20. Terry Jones\n\n**Selected Filmography:**__Monty Python and the Holy Grail__(1975), __Monty Python's Life of Brian__(1979)\n\nMonty Python member Terry Jones only directed two movies in the 1970s, but considering the fact that they were two of the most influential comedies in the history of cinema, we’ll give him a pass.\n\nEven a list with 20 entries can’t encompass the beautiful sprawl of an entire decade. Who are __your__ favorite 1970s filmmakers? Did they make the list or not? Shout them out in the comments below!",
  "title": "20 Directors Behind the Greatest Movies of the 1970s"
}