The 1970s was the innovative age of the movie industry. The feat would not have been possible if not for the highly creative movie directors who pulled strings. Despite severe financial constraints associated with Hollywood in the 1970s, movie directors refused to restrain their creativity. Rather than giving in to restrains, these directors took advantage of the restrictions which had grown weak to start new movie genres in the decade.
Drawing inspiration from the advanced French movie industry after the Second World War, movie directors in the 1970s adopted a dominating theme of sex and violence to change the movie industry’s landscape. Undoubtedly, the movie directors’ creative vestiges of the 1970s are still visible in the movie industry while some of the dominating figures have continued their long careers.
Presenting: the top ten best directors of the 1970s!
10. Brian De Palma
Brian did not grow up with a flair for arts. He was a physics student at Columbia University when his exposure to films got his interest. He took a step further by obtaining an M.A in theatre at Sarah Lawrence College in 1964. Brian developed his interest in crime genres. His movies were associated with violence and sexual content. Brian’s obsession with the movies of renowned French movie producer Jean Luc Godard led him to set the goal of becoming the “American Godard.”
Brian’s major innovation was the introduction of “split-screen,” which he introduced in his movie Dionysus in ’69 and directed in 1970. On the split-screen, Brian said, “I came up with the idea of split-screen to show the actual audience involvement, to trace the life of the audience and that of the play as they merge in and out of each other.”
After his first movie, Brian directed other movies in the 1970s, including Get to know your rabbit (1972), Sisters (1972), The Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Obsession (1976), Carrie (1976), and The Fury (1978).
Brian’s career in the movie industry has spanned over 50 years, and he continues to blend his movies with time.
9. John Carpenter
Carpenter was simply made for the movie industry. At an early age, even before his admission into High School, he developed a huge passion for making short movies. Undoubtedly, his father, who was a music professor, had a profound impact on his career. Carpenter’s first movie, Resurrection of Broncho Billy, which he co-directed with John Longenecker in 1970, won the best live-action short movie. Carpenter became famous for short movies in the early years of his career. His movies in the early 1970s, such as Dark Star (1974), did not experience a high commercial success, but Carpenter soon found his rhythm with Halloween in 1978. Carpenter gave rise to the “Slasher genre,” which was new at that time. He soon got involved in directing music videos as well as several horror and science fiction movies.
8. David Cronenberg
David grew up with a mixed family that exposed him to a lot of books at an early age. Sighting his passion for acting in his childhood, his father sought to nurture him into real art movies. Conversely, movies about pirates and violence attracted David’s mind. His exposure to science fiction magazines and comic books developed his interest in authors like Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov.
David’s first movie was Crimes of the Future (1970), but it was Shivers (1975), Rabid (1977), and Brood (1979) that had the true signature of his innovation. His introduction of the “Body Horror” genre with Shivers earned him more audience for his uniqueness. In 1979, David directed Fast Company (1979), a movie that had the stamp of his early interest in gang violence movies with car racing and bikes. Though it was Philip Brophy that coined the term “body horror” in 1983, Cronenberg was directing movies that fall in that genre since 1975.
The Village Voice recognized David’s creativity by naming him as “the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the English-speaking world.” Cronenberg was undoubtedly one of the best directors of a time.
7. Steven Spielberg
Spielberg is the director with the Midas touch in the movie industry. Spielberg first showed glimpses of his brilliance in art at age 13. As a teenager, he wrote a 40-minute war movie titled Escape to Nowhere. The movie earned him several recognitions as a student. The recognitions were just glimpsing of what would be a phenomenally successful career.
Spielberg continued his pursuit by studying film at California State University. He began directing movies with Duel (1971), Something Evil (1972), and Savage in 1973. However, Spielberg’s career took a new turn in 1975 when he directed Jaws in 1975. The movie was the first major commercial success of Spielberg. It laid the foundation for what Spielberg was later known for – commercial success. Jaws had a commercial success of $470million, making it one of the decade’s biggest successes. His other movie, Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), was also a huge commercial success. The National Film Registry has inducted seven of Spielberg’s movies into their database, one of the highest number of films by a single director.
Spielberg was not interested in creating a new genre. His uniqueness was his creative and intelligent mind.
6. George Roy Hill
Here is what an obituary quote about George says, “Few directors achieved such fame and success… Even fewer enjoyed such eminence for such a short period”.
There was a lot of uniqueness about George Roy. He can combine both his passion for film directing and planes. This ability created beautiful scenes out of his movies. Roy was so obsessed with the dominating theme of his movies, which he referred to as “Innocence vs. Evil.” Roy was also famous for his ability to record commercial success from his movies.
Roy made series of movies in the 1970s, including Slaughterhouse-fire (1972), Great Waldo Pepper (1975), Slapshot (1977), A Little Romance (1979), and Sting (1973).
Of all the movies directed by George Roy, Sting earned him the highest recognition, including the best director prize in 1973. The movie made George Roy a household name in the 1970s. It also received accolades as one of the best films ever. George also has a legacy of being a huge inspiration to contemporary movie directors.
5. Richard Donner
According to the American author, Michael Barson, “Donner is one of Hollywood’s most reliable makers of action blockbusters.” Every assessment comes with its personal bias, but one fact that the movie industry cannot argue was that Donner was one of the most creative minds in the 1970s.
The Omen (1976) was Richard Donner’s breakthrough movie, but Superman (1978) got everyone on their feet. The movie was the first modern superhero movie. The characters in the movie and their roles have earned a place in the minds of the billions of people who have watched the movie. Superman was a huge commercial success in the 1970s. The movie earned Donner a lot of recognition and awards in the 1970s. Although Fleischer Studios sacked Donner from the second part of the movie because of poor relations with the producers, the producer kept his description of the roles, and the second part was as successful as the first.
Donner later married Lauren Shuler, another movie producer who was highly involved in their X-Men series in 2000. The couple established the Donners Company, which has been actively involved in directing popular movies.
4. John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger was a famous name before the 1970s. He began an acting career by staging short comic shows for his fellow troops. From his short shows, John developed an acting career, and he was successful at it until the 1960s when he gave up acting and took up the role of a director.
Unlike every other name on the list, Schlesinger’s first movie was a high success. The Midnight Cowboy, which he shot in 1970, earned Schlesinger the best director award for 1970. He continued with other movies in the 1970s, such as Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), which also earned him a nomination for the best director. Schlesinger shot Day of the Locust in 1975, Marathon Man in 1976, and Yanks in 1979. These movies earned him numerous nominations as a leading director. John Schlesinger was a famous name in the 1970s, and there were few in the better industry.
3. Martin Scorsese
Scorsese is one of the most famous names in Hollywood. Scorsese began his extremely outstanding career by studying English literature at New York University. He also has a master’s degree in fine arts, where he developed his childhood ambition for directing. As a young boy with asthma, Scorsese did not have the luxury of getting involved in sports, but he soon made up for that with an outstanding career in movie production.
In the 1970s, he was highly associated with some of the industry’s famous names, amongst whom he soon made a name for himself. Scorsese directed movies like Boxcar Bertha (1972), Meanstreets (1973), New York New York (1977), Mean Streets (1973), and Taxi Driver (1976). Martin Scorsese was a famous name on the nominations for the best director in the decade. He would end up becoming the most nominated director ever in the Hollywood industry.
2. George Lucas
George was the most renowned figure in movie directing in the 1970s. He is arguable the most financially successful movie director of the 20th century. His movie Star Wars (1977) was the highest-grossing film of the decade. The movie also won six awards, the highest of any film in the 1970s. Like American Graffiti (1973) and THX 1138, his other movies also recorded huge commercial success in the 1970s. There was no better figure than George in movie directing in the 1970s.
1. Francis Ford
There were two remarkable Fords in the 20th century. One revolutionized the world of technology and wheels. The other transformed the movie industry.
Five academy awards and many Golden Globe recognition was enough to crown Francis Ford as the best movie director of the 1960s and 1970s. Audiences often consider The Godfather (1972) as one of the best movies of all time. Like so many other names on the list, Francis Ford gave a fresh look to the gangster movie genre and registered his name into other genres. Francis Ford is undoubtedly the best movie director in the 1970s.
Final Thoughts
Much of the fame of Hollywood is down to the brains behind the production of movies. The 1970s were highly innovative with the introduction of different genres. It is not a surprise to see those names are still dominating the industry after over 50 years.
About the author
Author: Chris Ingledue
Contact: email
Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!