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Best of 1970

Best Movies of 1970, Ranked

1,260 films on the site were released in 1970, and 39 have enough critic or audience ratings to be ranked. The Wild Child tops the list, ahead of Woodstock and The Conformist. The biggest hit was The Aristocats with $191M worldwide, and Patton won Best Picture at the 1971 Oscars. This page covers 1970 alone; the 1970s page ranks the whole decade.

films released in 1970
1,260
ranked by rating
39
worldwide, top 10 hits
$447.4M
award wins
19
  1. The Wild Child (1970) movie poster #1 The Wild Child 94 Metascore
  2. Woodstock (1970) movie poster #2 Woodstock 95 Metascore
  3. The Conformist (1970) movie poster #3 The Conformist 100 Metascore
#1 of 1970

What Is the Best Movie of 1970?

The Wild Child is the best-rated film of 1970, with a rank value of 88/100 from critics and audiences, ahead of Woodstock (87/100). Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).

Ranked

Top 25 Movies of 1970, Ranked

Woodstock and The Conformist follow The Wild Child. Drama is the most common genre in the top 25 (16 films). Robert Altman has 2 films on the list. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).

Best of the 1970s
  1. Woodstock (1970) movie poster
    2. Woodstock 95 Metascore (Metascore 95 out of 100)

    1970 · History, Music · 3h 4m

    Dir. Michael Wadleigh No Echo Score: ranked 87/100 on critics & audiences

  2. The Conformist (1970) movie poster
    3. The Conformist 100 Metascore (Metascore 100 out of 100)

    1970 · Drama · 1h 47m

    Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci No Echo Score: ranked 86/100 on critics & audiences

  3. Patton (1970) movie poster
    4. Patton 86 Metascore (Metascore 86 out of 100 (20 critic reviews))

    1970 · Biography, Drama · 2h 52m

    Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner No Echo Score: ranked 82/100 on critics & audiences

  4. Five Easy Pieces (1970) movie poster
    5. Five Easy Pieces 85 Metascore (Metascore 85 out of 100 (15 critic reviews))

    1970 · Drama · 1h 38m

    Dir. Bob Rafelson No Echo Score: ranked 79/100 on critics & audiences

  5. The Honeymoon Killers (1970) movie poster
    6. The Honeymoon Killers 82 Metascore (Metascore 82 out of 100)

    1970 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 47m

    Dir. Donald Volkman No Echo Score: ranked 76/100 on critics & audiences

  6. MASH (1970) movie poster
    7. MASH 80 Metascore (Metascore 80 out of 100 (8 critic reviews))

    1970 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 56m

    Dir. Robert Altman No Echo Score: ranked 76/100 on critics & audiences

  7. La Piscine (1970) movie poster
    8. La Piscine 76 Metascore (Metascore 76 out of 100 (9 critic reviews))

    1970 · Drama, Romance · 2h 2m

    Dir. Jacques Deray No Echo Score: ranked 75/100 on critics & audiences

  8. Let It Be (1970) movie poster
    9. Let It Be 72 Metascore (Metascore 72 out of 100 (13 critic reviews))

    1970 · Music, Documentary · 1h 21m

    Dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg No Echo Score: ranked 74/100 on critics & audiences

  9. Mandabi (1970) movie poster
    10. Mandabi 73 Metascore (Metascore 73 out of 100 (9 critic reviews))

    1970 · Drama · 1h 32m

    Dir. Ousmane Sembene No Echo Score: ranked 73/100 on critics & audiences

  10. Brewster McCloud (1970) movie poster
    11. Brewster McCloud 72 Metascore (Metascore 72 out of 100 (12 critic reviews))

    1970 · Fantasy, Comedy · 1h 45m

    Dir. Robert Altman No Echo Score: ranked 72/100 on critics & audiences

  11. There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) movie poster
    12. There Was a Crooked Man... 72 Metascore (Metascore 72 out of 100)

    1970 · Comedy, Western · 2h 6m

    Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz No Echo Score: ranked 72/100 on critics & audiences

  12. The Landlord (1970) movie poster
    12. The Landlord 75 Metascore (Metascore 75 out of 100)

    1970 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 52m

    Dir. Hal Ashby No Echo Score: ranked 72/100 on critics & audiences

  13. The Out of Towners (1970) movie poster
    14. The Out of Towners 72 Metascore (Metascore 72 out of 100)

    1970 · Comedy · 1h 41m

    Dir. Arthur Hiller No Echo Score: ranked 71/100 on critics & audiences

  14. Little Big Man (1970) movie poster
    15. Little Big Man 63 Metascore (Metascore 63 out of 100 (7 critic reviews))

    1970 · Adventure, Drama · 2h 19m

    Dir. Arthur Penn No Echo Score: ranked 71/100 on critics & audiences

  15. Take the Money and Run (1970) movie poster
    16. Take the Money and Run 67 Metascore (Metascore 67 out of 100)

    1970 · Comedy, Crime · 1h 25m

    No Echo Score: ranked 70/100 on critics & audiences

  16. Catch-22 (1970) movie poster
    17. Catch-22 70 Metascore (Metascore 70 out of 100 (11 critic reviews))

    1970 · Drama, Comedy · 2h 2m

    Dir. Mike Nichols No Echo Score: ranked 69/100 on critics & audiences

  17. The Aristocats (1970) movie poster
    18. The Aristocats 66 Metascore (Metascore 66 out of 100)

    1970 · Adventure, Comedy · 1h 18m

    Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman No Echo Score: ranked 69/100 on critics & audiences

  18. El Topo (1970) movie poster
    19. El Topo 65 Metascore (Metascore 65 out of 100 (15 critic reviews))

    1970 · Drama, Western · 2h 5m

    No Echo Score: ranked 68/100 on critics & audiences

  19. Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) movie poster
    20. Two Mules for Sister Sara 62 Metascore (Metascore 62 out of 100)

    1970 · Adventure, Romance · 1h 56m

    No Echo Score: ranked 67/100 on critics & audiences

  20. Husbands (1970) movie poster
    21. Husbands 66 Metascore (Metascore 66 out of 100 (16 critic reviews))

    1970 · Drama, Comedy · 2h 34m

    Dir. John Cassavetes No Echo Score: ranked 66/100 on critics & audiences

  21. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) movie poster
    22. Tora! Tora! Tora! 46 Metascore (Metascore 46 out of 100)

    1970 · Action, Drama · 2h 24m

    Dir. Richard Fleischer No Echo Score: ranked 65/100 on critics & audiences

  22. The Boys in the Band (1970) movie poster
    23. The Boys in the Band 65 Metascore (Metascore 65 out of 100)

    1970 · Drama · 1h 58m

    Dir. William Friedkin No Echo Score: ranked 65/100 on critics & audiences

  23. The Vampire Lovers (1970) movie poster
    24. The Vampire Lovers 63 Metascore (Metascore 63 out of 100)

    1970 · Horror · 1h 31m

    Dir. Roy Ward Baker No Echo Score: ranked 63/100 on critics & audiences

  24. Bloody Mama (1970) movie poster
    24. Bloody Mama 69 Metascore (Metascore 69 out of 100 (6 critic reviews))

    1970 · Drama, Crime · 1h 30m

    No Echo Score: ranked 63/100 on critics & audiences

Box office

What Were the Highest-Grossing Movies of 1970?

The Aristocats earned $191M worldwide, ahead of Airport ($100.5M). The top 10 took $447.4M together; 41 films released in 1970 have a box office record here. Grosses that look like data errors are left out.

Full 1970 box office
  1. The Aristocats (1970) movie poster #1 $191M worldwide The Aristocats $59M domestic · Adventure
  2. Airport (1970) movie poster #2 $100.5M worldwide Airport $100.5M domestic · Action
  3. Patton (1970) movie poster #3 $61.7M worldwide Patton $61.7M domestic · Biography
  4. Little Big Man (1970) movie poster #4 $31.6M worldwide Little Big Man $31.6M domestic · Adventure
  5. Joe (1970) movie poster #5 $19.3M worldwide Joe $19.3M domestic · Crime
  6. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) movie poster #6 $19M worldwide Beneath the Planet of the Apes $19M domestic · Action
  7. Getting Straight (1970) movie poster #7 $13.3M worldwide Getting Straight $13.3M domestic · Drama
  8. Kelly's Heroes (1970) movie poster #8 $5.2M worldwide Kelly's Heroes $5.2M domestic · Adventure
  9. Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) movie poster #9 $5.1M worldwide Two Mules for Sister Sara $5.1M domestic · Adventure
  10. The Conformist (1970) movie poster #10 $726.4K worldwide The Conformist $238.8K domestic · Drama
Awards

Which 1970 Movies Won the Most Awards?

Patton leads with 9 wins from 16 nominations, then Airport and The Great White Hope with 2 wins each. Patton won Best Picture at the 1971 Oscars. In all, 20 films released in 1970 have award nominations on the site, with 19 wins between them.

1971 awards season
  1. Patton (1970) movie poster
    Patton 9 / 16
    1970 · Biography, Drama · 9 wins from 16 nominations
  2. Airport (1970) movie poster
    Airport 2 / 15
    1970 · Action, Drama · 2 wins from 15 nominations
  3. The Great White Hope (1970) movie poster
    The Great White Hope 2 / 7
    1970 · Drama, Sport · 2 wins from 7 nominations
  4. Five Easy Pieces (1970) movie poster
    Five Easy Pieces 1 / 10
    1970 · Drama · 1 win from 10 nominations
  5. Scrooge (1970) movie poster
    Scrooge 1 / 10
    1970 · Drama, Thriller · 1 win from 10 nominations
  6. MASH (1970) movie poster
    MASH 1 / 6
    1970 · Drama, Comedy · 1 win from 6 nominations
  7. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) movie poster
    Tora! Tora! Tora! 1 / 5
    1970 · Action, Drama · 1 win from 5 nominations
  8. Woodstock (1970) movie poster
    Woodstock 1 / 3
    1970 · History, Music · 1 win from 3 nominations
By genre

What Is the Best 1970 Movie in Each Genre?

The highest-ranked 1970 film of 12 genres, from Drama (The Wild Child) to War (Catch-22). Each film appears once, under its first genre that is still free.

Release months

When Were 1970's Movies Released?

October was the busiest month of 1970 with 113 releases; its best-rated film is The Conformist. January shows 263 because films whose exact release day is unknown are stored on January 1.

  • January Best: MASH
    263
  • February Best: Patton
    83
  • March Best: Woodstock
    106
  • April
    84
  • May Best: Let It Be
    83
  • June Best: Catch-22
    85
  • July Best: Take the Money and Run
    68
  • August Best: La Piscine
    86
  • September Best: The Wild Child
    99
  • October Best: The Conformist
    113
  • November Best: Scrooge
    78
  • December Best: Brewster McCloud
    112
Languages

Which Languages Were 1970's Movies In?

41% of 1970's films with a known language are in English (506). Italian comes next with 95 films, out of 50 languages in all.

Every year

Best Movies by Year

A best-of page for each of 55 years, from 1900 to 2026 (so far). Before 1980 there is one page per decade, for its first year (1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970); from 1980 every year has its own.

2020s
2010s
2000s
1990s
1980s
1900–1970
FAQ

Best Movies of 1970: Questions & Answers

Quick answers about 1970's best-rated films, biggest hits and awards, from the lists above.

What is the best movie of 1970?

The Wild Child is the best-rated film of 1970 on What's After the Movie, with a rank value of 88/100 from critics and audiences. Woodstock is second and The Conformist third. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).

About The Wild Child

What was the highest-grossing movie of 1970?

The Aristocats earned $191M worldwide, the most of any 1970 release on the site. Airport follows with $100.5M.

1970 box office

Which 1970 movie won the Oscar for Best Picture?

Patton (1970) won Best Picture at the 1971 Academy Awards.

Patton

Which 1970 film won the most awards?

Patton has the best award record of the 1970 releases on the site: 9 wins from 16 nominations.

1971 awards season

How many movies were released in 1970?

The site lists 1,260 films released in 1970. 39 of them are ranked, and October had the most releases with a known day (113).

How are the best movies of 1970 ranked?

Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases). Only feature films count (60 minutes or longer, no concert recordings), and a film needs enough ratings, box office or award attention to be ranked.