10 most POWERFUL FILMS of the 1970s

[Allhallowsday]

...The Fox & The Hound - I feel silly listing a cartoon, but the end worked well, & it built up tension well.
...
That's it; only 6, & I'm not really sure they're good enough to be listed.

  They're not!     I will say you made me think of an animated film that fits the bill : WATERSHIP DOWN .

[zelmo73]

I'm not sure Close Encounters delivers a punch exactly, but it is an interesting fantasy take on a family falling apart. When viewed as that I can see it as powerful.

For me, it was when the aliens took the kid away from her mom and her reaction to it. When you're 4 years old and seeing that happen in a movie, I guess it can hit you pretty hard at that age.

The Fox & The Hound - I feel silly listing a cartoon, but the end worked well, & it built up tension well.

He stuck up for his buddy at the end. That's some deep loyalty, man. Like mob movie sh*t...you know, "never rat on your friends," that sort of thing. 

Star Wars - Seeing Luke turn off his computer & seeing Han come back.

That, and all the other stuff that led up to that moment, like Ben's ghost calling out from the grave "Use the Force, Luke!" And yeah, the destruction of Alderaan and Ben Kenobi getting killed (this was a couple decades before I read Lord Of The Rings and experienced the death of Gandalf) is stuff that can traumatize a 3 year old; think of all the Xanax cases years later that resulted from the death of Mufasa in The Lion King (1994). 

[Allhallowsday]

...
He stuck up for his buddy at the end. That's some deep loyalty, man...

I don't think there's a higher quality than loyalty. 

I understand movies have a lot of power over the young.  I thought CARNIVAL OF SOULS was powerful when I first saw it... at age like 9... though I still love it, it doesn't hold up that well... not so "powerful".   NIGHT OF THE HUNTER was powerful too (and still is)...

[ralfy]

..."merit"

... 10 ...

I mentioned ten. The rest are honorable mentions.

[TheBouncer]

'Five easy pieces' 1970 - Jack Nicholson's blue collar character jumping into the back of the removal van and playing the piano amongst the traffic.

[RCMerchant]

'Five easy pieces' 1970 - Jack Nicholson's blue collar character jumping into the back of the removal van and playing the piano amongst the traffic.

I'm glad to see that someone besides me liked it!

[Rev. Powell]

'Five easy pieces' 1970 - Jack Nicholson's blue collar character jumping into the back of the removal van and playing the piano amongst the traffic.

I'm glad to see that someone besides me liked it!

It would probably be in my next ten. The scene where he confronts his father is POWERFUL.