My Name Is Henry Krinkle: The 10 Best Films Of The Seventies

Join us in our decade-based film retrospective, as we delve backwards all the way from 2009 to 1910. Most decade-based best movie lists grant you a whooping 50-100 entries, which makes perfect sense given all the years you have to take into consideration. But what if you were defining a decade in just ten films? Which movies would you recommend to somebody who might only watch a handful from a given decade? This week, we look back at the Seventies.

T.J. Barnard Dec 5, 2012 5:37 pm2014-05-11T22:44:27-05:00

6. The Godfather, Part II (1974) (Dir. Francis Ford Coppola)

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Though the first Godfather film is an undeniably rich cinematic accomplishment, The Godfather Part II is the rare sequel that takes the spirit of the orignal and broadens the horizon. That’s to say, The Godfather Part II works with the same, sweeping majesty of its brother movie and uses its seeds to create arguably the greatest sequel of all-time, one that feels so necessary and essential to the understanding of the film that came before it. Everything here is measured for quality: the cinematography is gloomy, dark and haunting, the soundtrack soars, and both Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro grant two of their best-ever performances. The themes explored here, between father and son, and of family responsibility, are immortal, but ultimately The Godfather Part II succeeds because it never feels like it shouldn’t exist: not for a single solitary frame.

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