1974

The Academy got it right.

Winner & should have wonThe Godfather Part II poster

The Godfather Part II

Composite 88.39

The Academy's ballot

The Academy and the numbers agree.

The full slate

#1
The Godfather Part II poster

The Godfather Part II (1974)

🏆 Winner⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great💰 Box office #4

Composite 88.39

Dir. Francis Ford Coppola · Al Pacino · Robert Duvall · Diane Keaton · Robert De Niro

IMDb 9.0 (1,497,615 votes) · TMDB 8.572

In 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 Cuba.

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#2
Chinatown poster

Chinatown (1974)

🎬 Nominee⭐ Top-rated🏛️ All-time great

Composite 79.58

Dir. Roman Polanski · Jack Nicholson · Faye Dunaway · John Huston · Perry Lopez

IMDb 8.1 (376,930 votes) · TMDB 7.909

Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.

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#3
Young Frankenstein poster

Young Frankenstein (1974)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #6

Composite 78.12

Dir. Mel Brooks · Gene Wilder · Peter Boyle · Marty Feldman · Madeline Kahn

IMDb 8.0 (180,407 votes) · TMDB 7.9

A young neurosurgeon inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a pretty lab assistant and the elderly housekeeper. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather was delusional, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind.

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#4
The Conversation poster

The Conversation (1974)

🎬 Nominee⭐ Top-rated

Composite 74.72

Dir. Francis Ford Coppola · Gene Hackman · John Cazale · Allen Garfield · Frederic Forrest

IMDb 7.7 (136,231 votes) · TMDB 7.502

A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.

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#5
Blazing Saddles poster

Blazing Saddles (1974)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #1

Composite 74.07

Dir. Mel Brooks · Cleavon Little · Gene Wilder · Slim Pickens · Harvey Korman

IMDb 7.7 (165,106 votes) · TMDB 7.2

A town—where everyone seems to be named Johnson—stands in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, robber baron Hedley Lamarr sends his henchmen to make life in the town unbearable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor, so Hedley convinces him to send the town the first black sheriff in the west.

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#6
A Woman Under the Influence poster

A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 73.84

Dir. John Cassavetes · Gena Rowlands · Peter Falk · Fred Draper · Lady Rowlands

IMDb 8.0 (33,454 votes) · TMDB 7.8

Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.

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#7
Fear Eats the Soul poster

Fear Eats the Soul (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 72.74

Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder · Brigitte Mira · El Hedi ben Salem · Irm Hermann · Barbara Valentin

IMDb 8.0 (26,081 votes) · TMDB 7.7

Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.

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#8
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre poster

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 72.73

Dir. Tobe Hooper · Marilyn Burns · Allen Danziger · Paul A. Partain · William Vail

IMDb 7.4 (212,944 votes) · TMDB 7.286

Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.

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#9
From the Village to the City poster

From the Village to the City (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 72.44

Dir. Ertem Eğilmez · Kemal Sunal · Zeki Alasya · Metin Akpınar · Halit Akçatepe

IMDb 8.3 (12,910 votes) · TMDB 8.1

After they find buried treasure, four hapless brothers from the countryside discover that changing their fortunes will take more than gold.

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#10
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three poster

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 71.86

Dir. Joseph Sargent · Walter Matthau · Robert Shaw · Martin Balsam · Héctor Elizondo

IMDb 7.6 (41,445 votes) · TMDB 7.5

In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers while the authorities question about the method of their escape.

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#11
Scenes from a Marriage poster

Scenes from a Marriage (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 71.76

Dir. Ingmar Bergman · Liv Ullmann · Erland Josephson · Bibi Andersson · Jan Malmsjö

IMDb 8.3 (10,463 votes) · TMDB 8.1

Johan and Marianne are married and seem to have it all. Their happiness, however, is a façade for a troubled relationship, which becomes even rockier when Johan admits that he's having an affair. Before long, the spouses separate and move towards finalizing their divorce, but they make attempts at reconciling. Even as they pursue other relationships, Johan and Marianne realize that they have a significant bond, but also many issues that hinder that connection.

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#12
The Phantom of Liberty poster

The Phantom of Liberty (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 70

Dir. Luis Buñuel · Adriana Asti · Milena Vukotić · Jean-Claude Brialy · Monica Vitti

IMDb 7.7 (18,553 votes) · TMDB 7.45

This Surrealist film, with a title referencing the Communist Manifesto, strings together short incidents based on the life of director Luis Buñuel. Presented as chance encounters, these loosely related, intersecting situations, all without a consistent protagonist, reach from the 19th century to the 1970s. Touching briefly on subjects such as execution, pedophilia, incest, and sex, the film features an array of characters, including a sick father and incompetent police officers.

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#13
Murder on the Orient Express poster

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 69.99

Dir. Sidney Lumet · Albert Finney · Lauren Bacall · Martin Balsam · Ingrid Bergman

IMDb 7.2 (74,848 votes) · TMDB 7.146

In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.

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#14
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser poster

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 69.6

Dir. Werner Herzog · Bruno S. · Walter Ladengast · Brigitte Mira · Willy Semmelrogge

IMDb 7.6 (20,364 votes) · TMDB 7.34

The film follows Kaspar Hauser, who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time, devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black overcoat and top hat who feeds him.

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#15
Lenny poster

Lenny (1974)

🎬 Nominee

Composite 69.04

Dir. Bob Fosse · Dustin Hoffman · Valerie Perrine · Jan Miner · Stanley Beck

IMDb 7.5 (19,474 votes) · TMDB 7.291

The story of acerbic 1960s comic Lenny Bruce, whose groundbreaking, no-holds-barred style and social commentary was often deemed by the establishment as too obscene for the public.

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#16
Black Christmas poster

Black Christmas (1974)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 68.52

Dir. Bob Clark · Olivia Hussey · Keir Dullea · Margot Kidder · John Saxon

IMDb 7.1 (56,371 votes) · TMDB 6.96

As the residents of the Pi Kappa Sigma sorority house prepare for the festive season, a stranger begins to harass them with a series of obscene phone calls.

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#17
The Towering Inferno poster

The Towering Inferno (1974)

🎬 Nominee💰 Box office #2

Composite 68.07

Dir. John Guillermin · Steve McQueen · Paul Newman · William Holden · Faye Dunaway

IMDb 7.0 (52,834 votes) · TMDB 7.0

At the opening party of a colossal—but poorly constructed—skyscraper, a massive fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

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#18
Death Wish poster

Death Wish (1974)

💰 Box office #8

Composite 67.23

Dir. Michael Winner · Charles Bronson · Hope Lange · Vincent Gardenia · Steven Keats

IMDb 6.9 (48,265 votes) · TMDB 6.914

After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.

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#19
The Longest Yard poster

The Longest Yard (1974)

💰 Box office #9

Composite 66.63

Dir. Robert Aldrich · Burt Reynolds · Eddie Albert · Ed Lauter · Michael Conrad

IMDb 7.1 (23,304 votes) · TMDB 6.8

A football player-turned-convict organizes a team of inmates to play against a team of prison guards. His dilemma is that the warden asks him to throw the game in return for an early release, but he is also concerned about the inmates' lack of self-esteem.

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#20
The Man with the Golden Gun poster

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

💰 Box office #5

Composite 65.61

Dir. Guy Hamilton · Roger Moore · Christopher Lee · Britt Ekland · Maud Adams

IMDb 6.7 (122,162 votes) · TMDB 6.456

Cool government operative James Bond searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun's heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga, a hitman so skilled he has a seven-figure working fee. Bond then joins forces with the swimsuit-clad Mary Goodnight, and together they track Scaramanga to a Thai tropical isle hideout where the killer-for-hire lures the slick spy into a deadly maze for a final duel.

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#21
Gone in 60 Seconds poster

Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

💰 Box office #10

Composite 62.01

Dir. H.B. Halicki · H.B. Halicki · Marion Busia · Jerry Daugirda · James McIntyre

IMDb 6.3 (10,818 votes) · TMDB 6.224

Insurance investigator Maindrian Pace and his team lead double-lives as unstoppable car thieves. When a South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, all but one, a 1973 Ford Mustang, are in the bag. As Pace prepares to rip-off the fastback, codenamed "Eleanor", in Long Beach, he is unaware that his boss has tipped off the police after a business dispute.

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#22
Earthquake poster

Earthquake (1974)

💰 Box office #7

Composite 60.99

Dir. Mark Robson · Charlton Heston · Ava Gardner · George Kennedy · Lorne Greene

IMDb 6.0 (18,307 votes) · TMDB 6.137

Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.

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#23
Airport 1975 poster

Airport 1975 (1974)

💰 Box office #3

Composite 59.46

Dir. Jack Smight · Charlton Heston · Karen Black · George Kennedy · Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

IMDb 5.8 (13,499 votes) · TMDB 5.766

When an in-flight collision incapacitates the pilots of an airplane bound for Los Angeles, stewardess Nancy Pryor is forced to take over the controls. From the ground, her boyfriend Alan Murdock, a retired test pilot, tries to talk her through piloting and landing the 747 aircraft. Worse yet, the anxious passengers — among which are a noisy nun and a cranky man — are aggravating the already tense atmosphere.

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How scoring works: films are ranked by a composite of a weighted (Bayesian) IMDb rating — the same method as the IMDb Top 250, so a high score from few voters can't outrank a strong score from many — blended with TMDB. Box office is a tiebreaker and a badge, never part of the score. Raw IMDb ratings and vote counts are shown on each card.